Hello, it's Reviewsday Tuesday and it's time for a new episode of Discworld Discourses.
Today I am reviewing Hogfather, the 20th book in the Discworld series
By Terry Pratchett, first published in 1996.
In this book the Auditors of Reality contract the unorthodox assassin, Mr. Teatime,
To kill the Hogfather, the jolly man in a red suit
Who goes around giving presents to children once a year, you know the one!
Susan reluctantly gets involved when she realises that her grandfather, Death,
Is going around pretending to be the Hogfather,
Trying to maintain belief by filling the hole that the Hogfather has left.
This book is without question the one that I remember best.
Partly because the characters are so distinctive
And because the Christmas connotations are so memorable.
But also because there was a film adaptation on Sky One which I have seen many times.
It was really fun to reread Hogfather again
Especially as due to how the Discworld Discourses schedule has worked out
I'm reading it relatively near to Christmas.
I really love Susan as a character and this is a great book for her.
And it's also one of my favourite books for the character of Death.
He is very endearing in this book.
Teatime is also one of my favourite Discworld villains across the whole series.
To me he's the most memorable.
I think just generally this is a great book for characters,
Whether they be characters that we have already met and seen across several books before
Like Susan, and Death, and the Wizards of Unseen University,
Or whether they be characters who are just in this book, like Teatime, and Banjo, and Bilious.
I love the theme in this book of belief, and the importance of belief, the nature of belief.
And it's got some great things to say as well about childhood and human nature.
I think it's a really good example of a Pratchett book which has things to say
And makes you think, and has messages to give you, but without being preachy at all.
And I think it's beautifully written, and it's funny, and it's full of great quotes.
You can pretty much just open it at a page and you'll find something great.
I like all the stuff at Unseen University too.
One of the interesting and fun things with this reread is
How much better I have got on with the wizards and with Unseen University,
And that helps to elevate the book even more to me in this reread.
I'm pretty much just listing things that I loved about this book in this review.
I just find it a really consistently good book throughout.
I wouldn't put it as my very favourite in the Discworld series but it is up there.
And I would say that it's my favourite Death book so far.
That may change when I reread The Thief of Time because I do remember really loving that book,
But it might not, it might just remain as my favourite Death book and my favourite Susan book.
It's a joy to read for me.
And I think it's a great example of Terry Pratchett's genius as a writer.
I will give Hogfather by Terry Pratchett 4.5 out of 5.
So, some facts about Hogfather:
As I mentioned earlier, there has been a film adaptation of Hogfather.
It was a Sky One adaptation in two parts and it first aired in the UK in December 2006.
It was also released on DVD, which I have.
It starred Michelle Dockery as Susan and Marc Warren as Teatime,
With Ian RIchardson as the voice of Death,
And also interestingly David Jason playing Albert.
David Jason will go on to play Rincewind in the Sky One adaptations of the Discworld series.
I really love this adaptation and I recommend checking it out if you can.
I find it really true to the book
And when I was rereading Hogfather, I was imagining actors and scenes from the show quite often
So I feel like it's really lodged in my brain very successfully.
Gods created in this book include the Hair Loss Fairy,
Verruca Gnome, the Eater of Socks, the Stealer of Pencils, the God of Indigestion,
And the Cheerful Fairy, among others.
If you liked Hogfather, what should you read next?
Thief of Time is the next Death book so I would probably go there,
But if you haven't read Soul Music yet then I would read that because that is the previous Death book.
If you didn't get on so well with Hogfather then I would probably suggest
Doing what I quite often suggest, which is to just go to the next books in the Discworld series.
In this case, those are Jingo and The Last Continent.
That's it for today. I would love to know what you think about Hogfather if you have read it.
Who is your favourite character in the book?
And also what do you think of the Sky adaptation if you have seen it?
Our next Discworld Discourses will be of Jingo and that will be on 19th November,
And the full list of Discworld books, and when I'm planning on reviewing them,
Will be linked in the description below.
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I hope you have a fantastic day and I will see you soon!