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137th out of 455 books
—
336 voters
Hogfather (Discworld #20)
It's the night before Hogswatch. And its too quiet.
Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...
Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and...more
Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...
Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and...more
Paperback, 445 pages
Published
2006
by Corgi
(first published 1996)
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This is a book about the nature of belief; the reminder that things we think of as essential, eternal, unbreakable are here because we willed them to be. It is the book about origins, of sorts.
This book is a reminder that what we think of as sweet harmless stories come from darker, scary places. And that is for a reason. So many things stem from the simple fact - we, humans, need to believe; we need to create and fantasize to make the world make any sense, to have the world we think of as perman...more
This book is a reminder that what we think of as sweet harmless stories come from darker, scary places. And that is for a reason. So many things stem from the simple fact - we, humans, need to believe; we need to create and fantasize to make the world make any sense, to have the world we think of as perman...more
This book is hilarious.
The Auditors have decided that they need to "remove" the Hog Father...so they contact the Assassin's guild and Mr. Teatime (pronounce it "Teh-ah-tim-eh." ) is sent to "inhum" him (but Hog Father isn't human). As you can imagine chaos ensues. With Death taking over the Hog Father's role to keep belief in him alive, while Mr. Teatime (pronounce it "Teh-ah-tim-eh.") and Susan (Deaths grand daughter) are in the realm of the tooth fairy...Teatime trying to use what's there to a...more
The Auditors have decided that they need to "remove" the Hog Father...so they contact the Assassin's guild and Mr. Teatime (pronounce it "Teh-ah-tim-eh." ) is sent to "inhum" him (but Hog Father isn't human). As you can imagine chaos ensues. With Death taking over the Hog Father's role to keep belief in him alive, while Mr. Teatime (pronounce it "Teh-ah-tim-eh.") and Susan (Deaths grand daughter) are in the realm of the tooth fairy...Teatime trying to use what's there to a...more
11 likes · like · see review
Discworld. Someone's put out a hit on the Hogfather, but the show must go on, so this year Death's putting on the red suit and delivering the Hogswatch gifts. Every other year or so, I reread this at Christmas. It's about winter holidays, but also about that small wedge of truth where myth and belief meet. The story mostly focuses on Death and his granddaughter Susan Sto-Helit, but there are cameos by the Assassins' Guild, Foul Ole Ron's band of beggars, the Unseen University (and Hex!), and eve...more
As usual, plenty of humour with an edge. I did occasionally wonder where and how all the plot threads were going to meet up and how they were connected. I'm not sure the Auditors were strictly necessary to the plot, but maybe they figure elsewhere in Discworld novels I haven't read yet.
I enjoyed the hijinks at Unseen University more than I expected to. The daft old wizards were funnier than I'd seen them be before; underling wizard Ponder and the thinking machine, Hex, are charming.
The send-up...more
I enjoyed the hijinks at Unseen University more than I expected to. The daft old wizards were funnier than I'd seen them be before; underling wizard Ponder and the thinking machine, Hex, are charming.
The send-up...more
I first was exposed to this book by a TV show on an obscure cable channel. I initially couldn't believe the story line but once I got into it I was hooked. I don't know how I've missed the works of Terry Pratchett all these years and he reminds me a bit of Doug Adams. This could become the new Christmas holiday classic in my house. The bottom line is that it's a totally alt-world view of the Christmas holiday and Santa Claus, with Death, his granddaughter (don't ask) and a member of the Assassin...more
I listen to this book every Christmas!
3 likes · like · see review
I just finished rereading this (for about the 5th time). It was my first Discworld book many years ago, and it really is not the best to start with. If you aren't familiar with the Disc or Pratchett's style of writing, it can be confusing. On a second reading, once you understand what is going on and you see how all the pieces tie together, only then do you see how wonderful this story is.
Let me share a few of my favorite quotes from near the end of the story. These may help you understand what...more
Let me share a few of my favorite quotes from near the end of the story. These may help you understand what...more
2 likes · like · see review
Another simply brilliant installment within the epic ‘Discworld’ series, which has captured the hearts of innumerable readers young and old.
Hogfather (now a major television drama series), is Discworld no. 20 and a continuation of this mind-blowing otherworldly creation that Pratchett is famous for. This brilliant novel is a festive feast of darkness and death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too!), complete with the energy of ‘the Hitch-hiker’s guide to the galaxy’ and the inventiveness of ‘A...more
Hogfather (now a major television drama series), is Discworld no. 20 and a continuation of this mind-blowing otherworldly creation that Pratchett is famous for. This brilliant novel is a festive feast of darkness and death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too!), complete with the energy of ‘the Hitch-hiker’s guide to the galaxy’ and the inventiveness of ‘A...more
”In a sense, everything exists.”
It's been awhile since I last read a Discworld novel, tiring somewhat after reading the first 18 books more or less chronologically. Picking up the series again, I cannot help but smile for two reasons, for every Discworld novel is both a solid read in its own right and a catalog of references to the charming stories preceding it. Another brick placed on the edifice of one of my most enjoyable literary experiences.
Belief is a powerful thing and in the magically ch...more
It's been awhile since I last read a Discworld novel, tiring somewhat after reading the first 18 books more or less chronologically. Picking up the series again, I cannot help but smile for two reasons, for every Discworld novel is both a solid read in its own right and a catalog of references to the charming stories preceding it. Another brick placed on the edifice of one of my most enjoyable literary experiences.
Belief is a powerful thing and in the magically ch...more
Dec 23, 2012
Invadozer Saphenousnerves Circular-thallus Popewaffensquat
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy
In this book it's Death (in his genuine stereotype glory replete with
robes and scythe) replacing Hogfather (Pratchett's Discworld answer
to S. Claus) with a fun handfull of subplots running around the main
story. Death practices: Ho HO HO. Death's grandaughter is looking up
the tooth fairy and University teachers are trying to figure out why
imps and garish instafairies are out stealing socks and pencils or
puking in corporeal form. It all ties together.
The best part about this whole book was the hog...more
robes and scythe) replacing Hogfather (Pratchett's Discworld answer
to S. Claus) with a fun handfull of subplots running around the main
story. Death practices: Ho HO HO. Death's grandaughter is looking up
the tooth fairy and University teachers are trying to figure out why
imps and garish instafairies are out stealing socks and pencils or
puking in corporeal form. It all ties together.
The best part about this whole book was the hog...more
Die Scheibenwelt-Romane hab ich schon sehr oft in Buchläden gesehen und fand die Aufmachung der Bücher auch immer irgendwie ansprechend, aber traute mich nie ein Buch zu kaufen. Dieses hier bekam ich irgendwann mal von einer lieben Freundin zum Geburtstag geschenkt. Lange Zeit gammelte es jedoch in meinem Bücherregal bis ich mich daran wagte es zu lesen und .. ich würde jetzt gerne sagen es hat sich soo gelohnt, aber ich muss gestehen das ich nicht ganz verstehe wieso die Scheibenwelt-Romane sic...more
On a flat earth on the back of four elephants on the back of a giant turtle flying through space, Death plays Hogsfather (i.e., Santa), when not so mysterious forces put a hit on the fat man.
It’s like Terry Pratchett saw The Nightmare Before Christmas and then decided do something completely different.
For those not familiar with Pratchett’s work, he manages to combine the absurd (A Tooth Fairy who subcontracts) with the sublime.
Death, as always, makes a great central character. By turns clueless...more
It’s like Terry Pratchett saw The Nightmare Before Christmas and then decided do something completely different.
For those not familiar with Pratchett’s work, he manages to combine the absurd (A Tooth Fairy who subcontracts) with the sublime.
Death, as always, makes a great central character. By turns clueless...more
'Ik wil,' zei meneer Kruimpjes van de supermarkt, 'dat je Berevaar arresteert!'
'Waarvoor dan?' zei Korporaal Bolleboos.
'Dat zit me daar zomaar allemaal pakjes weg te geven!'
Er zat iemand op de stoel. Met een kind op zijn knie. Maar wel een raar iemand, onder dat rode pak. Een knokig iemand, met holle oogkassen en een valse baard. WAT WIL JIJ VOOR JE BEREWAAKSAVOND, KLEIN MENSJE? Waar is de echte gebleven? Waarom komt de Dood door de schoorsteen gekropen? De dag voor Berewaak is dit jaar nog donk
Aug 08, 2012
Nenia Campbell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
x-series-bk-20,
x-1990s
When a group of evil beings known as "The Auditors" decide to
kidnap the Sandy Claws
kill the Hogfather,
Death is forced to take his place
. Does he do a good job? Well . . . except for the sinister "HO HO HO" . . . and his tendency to take children's letters to Santa the Hogfather a little *too* literally.
Meanwhile, Susan, Death's adopted grandaughter, is working as a governess to some well-meaning but rather pretentious members of the Ankh-Morporkian upper-middle-class. She spends most of her...more
Meanwhile, Susan, Death's adopted grandaughter, is working as a governess to some well-meaning but rather pretentious members of the Ankh-Morporkian upper-middle-class. She spends most of her...more
I thought the book was awesome. The first thing I discovered of Terry Pratchett was the movie, Hogfather. I was just thrown into the middle of the action. I was new to the smart humor and characters, and the overall awe-inspiring imagination of Pratchett. I decided that I was going to read the book the moment I found out there was one. Then I realized that it was book twenty in an on-going series. I couldn't wait to read it, though, so I figured I'd read the first two books, then this one. I th...more
Terry Pratchett does for fantasy what Douglas Adams did for science fiction...pure comedic genius.
I came back to the Discworld after a very long break due to being 'over it' after overdosing on so many Discworld novels in the late 90's...I'm glad I did.
Hogfather is just one story that features in the Discworld series. If you don't know what the Discworld is, then you must lead a poor shallow inconsolable life and no amount of funny witty puns collected in to an adventure filled story is going to...more
I came back to the Discworld after a very long break due to being 'over it' after overdosing on so many Discworld novels in the late 90's...I'm glad I did.
Hogfather is just one story that features in the Discworld series. If you don't know what the Discworld is, then you must lead a poor shallow inconsolable life and no amount of funny witty puns collected in to an adventure filled story is going to...more
Terry Pratchett's character Death is one of the funniest I've come across. So when Death is called upon to stand in for the Hogfather, Discworld's version of Santa Claus, it's an explosively awesome combination.
The real Hogfather is incapacitated (in fact, mysterious forces are trying to kill him) and Death has to hitch up the hog-driven sleigh and make merry for the children of the Disc. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure they really believe in the Hogfather. Death tries to the best...more
The real Hogfather is incapacitated (in fact, mysterious forces are trying to kill him) and Death has to hitch up the hog-driven sleigh and make merry for the children of the Disc. It's in everyone's best interest to make sure they really believe in the Hogfather. Death tries to the best...more
Jan 10, 2010
Thomas Fackler
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hysterical-fiction
Do you ever wonder what makes a human human?
Here's a conversation between DEATH and His grand-daughter, Susan, that I think answers the question appropriately:
"'.... Now...tell me...'
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HADN'T SAVED [THE HOGFATHER:]?
'Yes! The sun would have risen just the same, yes?'
NO.
'Oh, some on. You can't expect me to believe that. It's an astronomical fact.'
THE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN.
She turned on him. 'It's been a long night, Grandfather! I'm tired and I need a bath! I don't...more
Here's a conversation between DEATH and His grand-daughter, Susan, that I think answers the question appropriately:
"'.... Now...tell me...'
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HADN'T SAVED [THE HOGFATHER:]?
'Yes! The sun would have risen just the same, yes?'
NO.
'Oh, some on. You can't expect me to believe that. It's an astronomical fact.'
THE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN.
She turned on him. 'It's been a long night, Grandfather! I'm tired and I need a bath! I don't...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Finally! I have found my Dec book club book. This is an alternate world Christmas story- in the Discworld it's Hogswatch and the Hogfather. It's a quirky, funny fantasy that I enjoyed from beginning to end! There is a wonderful movie adaptation of this book that I would recommend to all - it's become a part of our Christmas tradition. So I'm surprised it took me so many terrible Christmas books before I thought of this one. And it's one of those unusual situations where I saw the movie before I...more
I'm always somewhat disappointed and disengaged when I read a book of which I've already seen the movie. I keep referencing the movie in my head, picking the right parts, comparing the characters. It's just not as fun as reading a book through fresh eyes. However, it's important to note that the movie version of Hogfather is fracking dead on.
Terry Pratchett is just an amazingly creative mind, and the world he created is stunningly detailed. Sure this is a Santa Claus retell, but it's clever, fun...more
Terry Pratchett is just an amazingly creative mind, and the world he created is stunningly detailed. Sure this is a Santa Claus retell, but it's clever, fun...more
Nov 28, 2012
Book Warehouse
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
british-author,
fantastical,
funny-ha-ha,
family,
good-vs-evil,
strong-women,
christmas,
anassa
Like Good Omens and almost anything else by Terry Pratchett, every time I read this book I gain a new insight into either it or the topics he's addressing. Hogfather is a brilliant look at Christm— sorry, Hogswatch, belief, and childhood, and stars one of my very favourite characters, Susan, the no-nonsense, highly practical granddaughter of Death himself. See, the Hogfather's gone missing and it's up to Susan and her grandpa to rescue him. So Death puts on a false beard and a padded red tunic,...more
In this parody from the fantasy Discworld, a hit from the Assassin�s Guild is put on the Hogfather, a version of our world�s Santa Claus. He does in fact disappear and Death tries his best to take over the job, with much inventive humor and wit on the part of Pratchett�s twisted mind. For example, if a kid wants a real crossbow, that�s what he gets. Meanwhile the professors of wizardry at the Unseen University are stumbling around trying to make sense of the surprising changes occurring in the w...more
Oct 08, 2011
Sarah
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ausgeliehen-stabi-gütersloh,
read-in-2011
Als ich dieses Scheibenwelt-Buch in der Bibliothek entdeckte, musste cih es auch unbedingt mitnehmen. Ich wollte nämlich aufgrund eines gewissen Online-Rollenspiels, in dem ich sehr gerne mitgespielt habe, mehr über den Auftragsmörder Kaff-eh-trin-ken erfahren. Und ein Scheibenweltroman, in dem TOD eine wichtige Rolle spielt, kann ja nur toll sein.
So ist es. Der Schneevater ist verschwunden, aber irgendjemand muss ihn vertreten. Doch ob TOD dieser Aufgabe so gerecht wird? Dessen Enkelin Susanne...more
So ist es. Der Schneevater ist verschwunden, aber irgendjemand muss ihn vertreten. Doch ob TOD dieser Aufgabe so gerecht wird? Dessen Enkelin Susanne...more
1 like · like · see review
The subject of Hogfather is Christmas. Except on Discworld, it's called Hogswatch, the jolly old fat man is the Hogfather, and he rides around in a sleigh pulled by four large boars named Gouger, Rooter, Tusker and Snouter. Like Santa Claus, the Hogfather goes about climbing down chimneys and leaving presents for children. But this year, things are a little different. The Hogfather seems to have gone on a diet because he's nothing but skin and bones?well, actually, just bones. It seems the Hogfa...more
Fantastic satirical look at Christmas, with the best line for why we create religions,
Death: Humans need fantasy to *be* human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
Susan: With tooth fairies? Hogfathers?
Death: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
Susan: So we can believe the big ones?
Death: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
Susan: They're not the same at all.
Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it d...more
Death: Humans need fantasy to *be* human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
Susan: With tooth fairies? Hogfathers?
Death: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
Susan: So we can believe the big ones?
Death: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
Susan: They're not the same at all.
Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it d...more
The Hogfather is just like santa...except with more pig. On Hogswatch night he flies all over the world in his sleigh drawn by four large pigs and leaves presents for the good little boys and girls of the disc. Except this year the jolly fat man has gone missing and Death has taken up a fake beard and stuffed a pillow under his robes and will be filling in until the Hogfather can be found.
Susan, Death's granddaughter just wants a normal life. In her current job as a governess to two terminally c...more
Susan, Death's granddaughter just wants a normal life. In her current job as a governess to two terminally c...more
I have absolutely nothing to say about this book. But I'm making an effort to write about the books I read. So here it goes.
This is a Discworld book. If you know what that means, then you already know the most important things one could say about Hogfather. If you don't know what the Discworld is? There's a wealth of material about it on the Internet, but suffice it to say that the Discworld is a comedic fantasy realm where magic and gods and minor deities all act in concert to produce the funn...more
This is a Discworld book. If you know what that means, then you already know the most important things one could say about Hogfather. If you don't know what the Discworld is? There's a wealth of material about it on the Internet, but suffice it to say that the Discworld is a comedic fantasy realm where magic and gods and minor deities all act in concert to produce the funn...more
Who would want to harm Discworld's most beloved icon? Very few things are held sacred in this twisted, corrupt, heartless — and oddly familiar — universe, but the Hogfather is one of them. Yet here it is, Hogswatchnight, that most joyous and acquisitive of times, and the jolly old, red-suited gift-giver has vanished without a trace. And there's something shady going on involving an uncommonly psychotic member of the Assassins' Guild and certain representatives of Ankh-Morpork's rather extensive
...more
I pull out Hogfather once a year, along with my Christmas tree and strings of lights. Rereading this book is an annual Christmas tradition.
it helps if you're already familiar with Pratchett's other Discworld books, but it's not entirely neccessary. It's easy to fall into Pratchett's beautifully detailed, lovingly madcap world--a world that's not entirely unlike our own.
The book takes place on Discworld, a flat, disc-shaped planet that's supported on the back of a giant turtle that endlessly "swi...more
it helps if you're already familiar with Pratchett's other Discworld books, but it's not entirely neccessary. It's easy to fall into Pratchett's beautifully detailed, lovingly madcap world--a world that's not entirely unlike our own.
The book takes place on Discworld, a flat, disc-shaped planet that's supported on the back of a giant turtle that endlessly "swi...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backseat Book Club: Discussion Questions | 1 | 6 | Nov 29, 2012 02:24pm | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Hogging the fixes | 3 | 47 | Jan 14, 2012 02:16pm |
Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel,...more
More about Terry Pratchett...
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“Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.”
—
980 people liked it
“All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
"So we can believe the big ones?"
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
"They're not the same at all!"
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"
MY POINT EXACTLY.”
—
520 people liked it
More quotes…
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
"So we can believe the big ones?"
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
"They're not the same at all!"
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"
MY POINT EXACTLY.”
Jan 06, 2013 03:31am
Jan 06, 2013 04:30pm