Product Description

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 Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too). As they say: 'You'd better watch out...'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13193 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk 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

A.S. Byatt, Sunday Times
Has the energy of The Hitch-Hikers 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.

Synopsis
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 Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too). As they say: 'You'd better watch out...'

Customer Reviews

What kinds of strange and curious creatures do you think exist ?
Thanks to this book I am now acquainted with all kinds of possible and impossible beings. I have read all the Discworld novels and I can say, that this one is one of the best. I especially liked the idea of tod taking over the job of the missing Hogfather - with Nobby sitting on his bony knees waiting for a present. Hard to put down!! Let me also recommend reading Tino Georgiou's bestseller--The Fates--if you missed it!

A pure delight and a histerically funny tale about a different Christmas... and "haute cuisine"
I confess immediately that I am addicted to Pratchett and greatly enjoyed almost all of the Discworld novels - and here is what I consider his second best (number 1 in my book being "Small gods"). And Pratchett's second best is still a great masterpiece. The story is quite simple - on the Discworld there is no Christmas, but instead there is the (almost identical) Hogwatch Night. So the local Santa Claus is of course called the Hogfather. And this year there is a major problem - the Hogfather is missing and there is an urgent need for a remplacement, a back up, an interim, whatever, but the Hogwatch Night must go on! Children are waiting for their toys and a merry "ho, ho, ho".
Now, in order to replace the Hogfather, the candidate must have some important qualities: he must be a supernatural being. He must have the ability to be in many places in the same time. He must be able to travel instantly from one point to another. He must have a long experience in supernatural work necessary to keep the world in order. And the most important - he must have a 100% success in his previous line od duty. So, what do you think, who will get the job? Well, I am certain you have already guessed....
The very idea of replacing the Hogfather (Santa Claus) by... well, the guy who replaces him, was already a great idea. But it gets better. The author actually managed to keep this idea under good control, avoiding all the traps and producing an incredible amount of smart gags, funny jokes and delicious one liners, when in the same time always keeping the good taste and never allowing himself even one vulgarity. Great achievement!
But after all, most of Pratchett books are like that. So, what makes this one a masterpiece? It is the "haute cuisine" moment. Now, Pratchett always claimed that "cuisine" and food are two different things - and in this book he proves his point, describing the best and the most expensive restaurant in Ankh Morpork struggling to serve dinner to customers without any real food! Some knowledge of French will be required to appreciate this fragment of the book (or at least a French English dictionary) but otherwise this is probably the most intelligent and funniest (the most tasty) gag in all Pratchett's works until now.
To conclude, this work is a treasure - go get it! There is no excuse - you have to read it!

One of the best books I've read.
I read this book about 3 years ago but I still reckon it's one of the best Pratchett books I've read so far. I think it's just written very well as well as being very interesting. It seemed to draw me into it's pages more-so than any other Pratchett book.