Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
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Book Reviews of Hogfather
Book Review: One of the funniest of Pratchett's Discworld books
Summary: 5 Stars
In The HOGFATHER, Pratchett takes on the commercialization of Christmas, but also remembers it true meaning in this funny and intriguing addition to the DISCWORLD mythos. I've never found the Death themed books to be my favorites, but in this one as Death takes on the role of the Hogfather (Father Christmas) and looks at the events of the holiday with his own, shall we say, novel approach to the nature of giving; I found myself really enjoying the character for the first time. In the earlier books, Death's search for a better understanding of human nature have felt like Pratchett's takes on other stories from books and films, but this one was something very different. Just imagining Death's attempts to portray the spirit of Christmas or Hogswatch, if you prefer, were laugh out loud funny. Add to this Death's granddaughter's Susan's valiant effort(with the hilarious assistance of the God of Hangovers) to set things right against Mr. Tea-Time's(Pronounced teah-time, if you please) machinations to bring about the Death of the Hogfather...well, you can see this one's pretty manic and finds Pratchett in fine form..
Book Review: Poking fun at Christmas
Summary: 5 Stars
It's Hogswatch eve and the Hogfather is missing. Without someone to deliver presents to children around the world, the sun won't rise, so Death finds himself wearing a red suit and a fake beard, trying his best to fill the void. Meanwhile, his granddaughter, Susan, must figure out why the Hogfather is missing and set things right. Mix in the usual ineptitude of the wizards of Unseen University, and you get another fun adventure in Discworld.
As usual, Pratchett provides a biting satire of our world and traditions. Here he does a lovely job of lampooning the crass commercialism of the modern Christmas celebration, with a delightful scene that has Death playing Hogfather at a shop. But Pratchett also has some serious subtext in here about the power of imagination, both for good and for evil. His idea that childhood fantasies prepare us to believe in more important abstract concepts (such as justice and equality) provide some interesting food for thought, even while the story itself provides a great deal of entertainment.
Book Review: Perfect Pratchett
Summary: 5 Stars
Hogfather is yet another Discworld novel by English humor and satire writer Terry Pratchett. It is just as addictive and fun as all before and after it. While listening to Death, his unwilling granddaughter and the constantly ill God of Hangovers, the story of the missing Hogfather, a figure similar to Santa Claus, unfolds. The main story is incredibly amusing, but equally engrossing are the stories within the story of minor and rather odd Gods, Death's family discourse, and the existence of bogeymen, beasts and wizards. This novel appeals to a wide variety of readers. Each person will extract something different from the story. Younger readers will enjoy the humor while older readers will appreciate the upside down philosophy and satire of Discworld. All that is really required to adore Hogfather is a sense of fun and mischief and of course one afternoon to gallivant with Death's granddaughter, the Assassins' Guild and a whole slough of wizards.
Book Review: Would rate six or more stars, if I could
Summary: 5 Stars
Probably the best book Pratchett has ever written (but then, I would give »Lords and Ladies« a bad credit). To give some arguments: The plot is great because of a) the characters, led by Susan, Death (going HO, HO, HO), the Death of Rats (going HEEK, HEEK, HEEK), Ridcully the Brown and the Oh God of Hangovers; b) the villain, which is Mr. Jonathan Teatime, who has a mind like a mirror crack'd: Lots of brilliant and beautiful facettes, but nevertheless something that's broken; and c)the plot itself, which is a thrilling whodunit, because though you know who had it done and who did it, you don't know How or, even more important, WHY. The resolution ... I won't tell you, but it's brilliant (like Mr. Teatime's brain?). Read this book. Read it again. At least each year when christmas is drawing near. Then think about the sun, and blood in the snow, and an assassin with a eyeball of glass ...Book Review: Very Good
Summary: 5 Stars
Terry Pratchett is one of the only authors alive today who can still get away with writting an entire novel to make a single point. This is the first Discworld novel I read (but not the first Terry Pratchett novel)--my friend happened to have it with him when we were discussing books--and it has inspired me to read the rest of the collection. Some might say that the 21st novel is not the best place to start, but it seemed to work for me. I've read it twice, because Terry Pratchett is one of those authors where you have to. The first time, you read through it fast just to see how he ends it, and then you read through it again to find all the little things that you missed the first time because you read through it too fast. I recommend this book to anyone who's bored with the carbon copy, cookie-cutter novels that flood todays market, because this is definetely not one of them.