Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.39 You Save: $3.60 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.28 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Hogfather
Book Review: COWER BRIEF MORTALS - HO HO HO
Summary: 5 Stars
So what happens when the Hogfather dissapears from the Discworld? Terry Pratchett answers this in this great book that will really make you think about what you belive in.
Visit with your favorite Discworld characters during Hogswatch - and see the reaction when Death (as the Hogfather) visits a department store. Find out how Susan deals with monsters (not the POKER!) and just what to give Hex for christmas.
Hogfather is very fast-paced and takes all the cliches of christmas and puts a spin on them as Death looks at them from his own special point of view.
Terry Pratchett is not only a very funny writer, he also has the knack of making you think - when you don't even realise you are doing it. This book contains very subtle insights - that you will find yourself realising only later how important and profound they actually are. He also pokes a sly dig at the X-Files (if you read carefully and don't miss any footnotes, you will find it).
For those lovers of Hex - the Discworld's only computer - you will be pleased to find he has a large role in this - and we watch as Ridcully and Death become computer literate: in their own individual ways.
I loved this book - and I know that you will as well. It's a great read not just for lovers of Terry Pratchett, but for those who want to re-discover the real meaning of christmas.
Book Review: The part of Santa Claus will be played by....Death?!?
Summary: 5 Stars
Given Pratchett's unswerving ability to lampoon anything and everything, it was only a matter of time before old St. Nick got his share.Hogfather primarily focuses on two struggles. First, there is Death, who is trying to prevent the Hogfather's demise by keeping the belief in him alive during Hogswatch(the Discworld equivalent of Christmas). This involves him putting on a fake beard and suit, as well as adopting a VERY necessary fake belly, and masquerading as the Hogfather. Second, we have Death's granddaughter, Susan, who is on the trail of the Hogfather's potential assassin, Mr. Teatime. She is joined by The Death of Rats, a talking raven, and Bilious, the "oh god" of Hangovers.
This book, like the best of Pratchett's work, is loaded with humorous scenes. One of my personal favorites is when Death arrives at the Maul (yeah, that is how it's spelled) so that the children can "sit on the Hogfather's lap and tell him what they want". Between Death giving the children, literally, whatever they want/deserve (be it a doll, a real pony, or a giant broadsword) and the children constantly pointing out that Death's pigs have widdled on everything, I rarely stopped laughing.
This is a perfect addition to the Discworld series and one of my personal favorites. Recommended!
Book Review: One of the greats
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the twentieth book in Terry Pratchett's series on the Discworld - a flat world, supported on the backs of four massive elephants riding on the back of a planet-sized turtle. Anything hilarious can happen here, and eventually does.
In this book, the Ankh-Morpork Guild of Assassins receives their strangest contract ever - they are to arrange the death of the Hogfather (the Disc's version of Santa Claus)! A very strange assassin is assigned the project, and he goes after it with disturbing enthusiasm. But, there are more players to this game than meets the eye, including Death and his granddaughter. Will the Hogfather survive? And if not, what might the cost be?
This is another great Discworld book, one of my favorites - heck, I love any Discworld book with Death in it! As with many of the later Terry Pratchett books, this one is not laugh-out-loud funny like the early ones were. I mean, it is quite funny, but even more so, this is a thoughtful book that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat and your nose planted firmly in the book. The characters are fascinating, and the plot is great!
So, if you like the Discworld books in general, then be assured that this is one of the greats. I highly recommend this book.
Book Review: Hilarious, yes, but also profound and thoughtful.
Summary: 5 Stars
At this point, I think I've read about two-thirds of the Discworld books, so take that into account when I make this next statement: Hogfather is probably the funniest of any of the Discworld books I've read. The disappearance of Discworld's version of Santa Claus leads Death to take over the reins, and the resulting madness is hilarious, horrifying, and absolutely brilliant. (A long sequence involving the replacement of a mall Hogfather had me laughing uncontrollably.) But as usual, what really makes Pratchett's work so magical is not just the way he exerts a masterful control over his plot - really, any other author would lose control of all this madness, but Pratchett juggles it all perfectly - but the way that he spins it into something more profound and meaningful. Only in Discworld could a story about retiring Tooth Fairies, a profoundly disturbed Assassin, a Death with a fake beard and belly, and a Hangover God turn into a complex and thoughtful meditation on the nature of humanity and the importance of our dreams and fantasies. Hogfather is in the upper-tier of Discworld books, and given the high quality of the rest of the series, that's high praise indeed. A thoughtful, hilarious, moving, unsettling joy to read.Book Review: Wow!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel that I ever completed. I was rather distracted when I first picked up 'Reaper Man' and never actually managed to get all the way through it.Having read this entire book cover to cover in the course of one afternoon, I can honestly say that it is among my favourites. I have now read it three times within the past two years, and hope to read it again around next Christmastime.
The Hogfather is the Discworld's version of Father Christmas, a big, jolly fat man who rides through a sleigh on Hogswatch Night, the sleigh being pulled by four giant hogs.
The hero of the story is none other than Death himself, and his granddaughter, Susan. Certainly a very cheery vision for Christmastime!
Those readers who are interested in Terry Pratchett's inimitable style and wonderful stories will love this book for everything that the Discworld means. Those of you who love getting deeper into the philosophical meanings of Pratchett's work will also enjoy this story, with it's deeper hints at the meaning of belief and existance.
Certainly a must-read book for any Discworld fan, the Hogfather is one of the best I've ever read.