Hogfather: 20 (Discworld) - Softcover

Pratchett, Terry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006227628X ISBN 13: 9780062276285

Publisher: Harper, 2014

Synopsis

It's the most wonderful time of the year, Hogswatchnight, when the Hogfather himself dons his red suit and climbs in his sleigh pulled by--of course--eight hogs, to shower gifts across Discworld. But when the fat man goes missing, someone has to sit in. It's up to Death to take up the reigns--otherwise the sun won't shine tomorrow . . . or ever again.

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 criminal element. Suddenly Discworld's entire myth system is unraveling at an alarming rate. Drastic measures must be taken, which is why Death himself is taking up the reins of the fat man's vacated sleigh . . . which, in turn, has Death's level-headed granddaughter, Susan, racing to unravel the nasty, humbuggian mess before the holiday season goes straight to hell and takes everyone along with it.

About this title

Review:

What could more genuinely embody the spirit of Christmas (or Hogswatch, on the Discworld) than a Terry Pratchett book about the holiday season? Every secular Christmas tradition is included. But as this is the 21st Discworld novel, there are some unusual twists.

This year the Auditors, who want people to stop believing in things that aren't real, have hired an assassin to eliminate the Hogfather. (You know him: red robe, white beard, says, "Ho, ho, ho!") Their evil plot will destroy the Discworld unless someone covers for him. So someone does. Well, at least Death tries. He wears the costume and rides the sleigh drawn by four jolly pigs: Gouger, Tusker, Rooter and Snouter. He even comes down chimneys. But as fans of other Pratchett stories about Death know, he takes things literally. He gives children whatever they wish for and appears in person at Crumley's in The Maul.

Fans will welcome back Susan, Death of Rats (the Grim Squeaker), Albert and the wizardly faculty of Unseen University and revel in new personalities like Bilious, the "oh god of Hangovers." But you needn't have read Pratchett before to laugh uproariously and think seriously about the meanings of Christmas. --Nona Vero, Amazon.com

Review:

"[Combines] the energy of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the inventiveness of Alice in Wonderland...It has also an intelligent wit and a truly original grim and comic grasp of the nature of things"
-"Sunday Times"

"I'm addicted to Terry Pratchett." -A.S. Byatt, "Sunday Times"

"Pratchett's writing is a constant delight. No one mixes the fantastical and mundane to better comic effect or offers sharper insights into the absurdities of human endeavour." -"Daily Mail"

- "Has the energy of "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "and the inventiveness of "Alice in Wonderland"... It has also an intelligent wit and a truly original grim and comic grasp of the nature of things." --"The Sunday Times"

- "I'm addicted to Terry Pratchett." --A.S. Byatt

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 006227628X
• ISBN 13: 9780062276285
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 416