Hogfather - Terry Pratchett > Reviews > mad wizards and Death's granddaughter

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Pretty compelling but not addictive
How does it compare to similar audio books?	Very good
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Excellent

Advantages:	brilliant read, fab till the end, wicked satire
Disadvantages:	ending is a bit weak in comparison but still good

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This book had a lot more impact the second time round. The problem was, reading it for the first time, it was quite difficult to get into, as a result of the confusing tongue-in-cheek references to things which can only be understood later on in the book and a rambling philosophy which apparently has no relevance but is very interesting. If you're in the mood for that sort of thing.

Terry Pratchett’s brilliant satire is hard to beat. He has an uncanny grasp of the human race and what it does, thinks and gets away with. In effect, his books take the “michael” out of people. All people. The hypocrisy, stupidity and contrariness of just about every person on this planet, their beliefs and behaviour, not limited to those you see every day but widely ranging and painfully accurate. He has it all worked out, down to the last little detail, and if you look carefully you can see yourself in his creations.

This particular book is about Christmas, or “Hogswatch” in Discworld. Pratchett has a ball picking up on all the commercialism, hypocrisies and bizarre traditions exhibited during the Christmas period. The basic plot (if there is such a thing in Terry Pratchett novels) is that the Auditors (grey non-living organisers of the Universe) want to destroy all life because it is untidy and irregular. As a result, they plan to rid the world of the Hogfather (a.k.a. Father Christmas) for a reason not revealed until towards the end of the book. This, of course, causes chaos in Discworld (as does everything really) and Death’s granddaughter has to go around clearing things up in a beautifully Mary-Poppins type manner. The book is filled with crazy scenarios, clever wit and a million laughs.

Terry Pratchett’s method of reporting many simultaneous events by constantly flicking between different characters allows for exploration of plenty of fabulous characters. These include such curiosities as Death (an anthropomorphic personification who has become too interested in humans), Susan the strangely over-adept governess and her ingratiatingly cute charges Gawain and Twyla, Mister Teatime the Assassin (pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh, of course…) who seems to enjoy his job far too much, and rather a lot of wizards. Wizards are a trademark of Pratchett’s Discworld series, as the category in which his novels would fall is fantasy. This is exhibited in all the gnomes, fairies and supernatural included in such a nonchalant way. However, even though the story is completely unbelievable and obviously not true, mannerisms and behaviour are based on fact and experience of people, and you find yourself getting swept away; and after the initial reading of this novel, I read it the second time in one weekend despite its length.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has some patience and a sense of humour. It opens your eyes to the ways of the world in a wonderful and enlightening yet bizarre and extremely humorous way.

I loved this book and its descriptive passages, intelligent irony and creativity. Take care to read the parts indicated by the asterisks, these are often the funniest parts of a page. Unfortunately, the one let-down in the book is the end, where many loose ends have to be tied up and the philosophy gets, depending on your view, either shaky or too difficult.

£5.99 from most retailers. Any bookshop that sells Terry Pratchett should sell this one.