Hogfather - Terry Pratchett > Reviews > Not quite Father Christmas

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to similar audio books?	Excellent
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Excellent

Advantages:	very funny and clever as well
Disadvantages:	not a good place to start if you've not read any Pratchett before .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Pratchett is a strange man with some strange ideas, and "Hogfather" is a superb book. It's full of magic, hints of our own myths and some brilliant humour.

The very boring beings that audit reality have decided to do away with the Hogfather - a figure much akin to our Father Christmas. Death knows something that no one else does - Death knows why there has to be a Hogfather (he doesn't let on until the end of the book) and since no one else is around, he takes up the job. HO HO HO. Just try to imagine death attempting to be jolly, and handing out gifts to small children. It's a thought, isn't it?

"Hogfather" gives us plenty of time with the excellent Susan Sto-Helit - daughter of Mort and therefore part of Death's family. While Death is driving his hog drawn sleigh through the night skies, Susan is trying to sort things out - after all, it makes a change from being a governess and having to take a poker to bogeymen.

We also get the pleasure of the wizards, but with a similar themse to that of Reaper Man - once again, the change of power balances means that there is spare belief /energy floating about resulting in strange things manifesting. (but only things you could believe in - hence they can get a thing that eats socks, but the "Give the archchancellor a bag of gold bird" fails to manifest. The wizards have also invented something that bears an eerie resemblance to the computer - Hex is an excellent invention, and very entertaining.

There turns out to be a complicated plot, involving, assasins, auditors and teeth, and a fair few surprises along the way. The scenes involving the Hogfather are my favourites in the book - there is a great deal of energy and vigour in them, something almost primeval and utterly memorable.

If you haven't read anything from the Discworld series, I would strongly recomend reading "Mort" before this one - it explains Susan's background and gives you some access to Death as a character. That said, "Hogfather" does stand rather well on its own, although some of the jokes will make a bit less sense.

"LET'S GET IN THERE AND SLEIGH THEM. HO. HO. HO."