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: #11950 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

Abridged ... but still a good story
This was my first Pratchett audio books and, though abridged, was a joy to listen to, especially when travelling.

I love the way Tony Robinson (not one of my favourite actors) voices the characters, it is virtually perfect. I would love to see him narrate the entire book, rather than the abridged version.

ISIS books produce the unabridged version - but a quick word of advice - Nigel Planer is deadpan with little alteration in his voice. At times he appears bored with the story, pausing where there shouldn't be pauses and placing emphasis (when he gets round to it) where it shouldn't be. It appears to be a paycheque for Planer.

Robinson, on the otherhand, appears to be a Pratchett fan, is narration is full of the depth of the true connoisseur.

Overall, abridged or not, I'd sooner have Robinson than Planer.

One final comment about the ISIS audio books - avoid the MP3 versions which have every chapter on one single disc. The chapters don't run properly due to the numbering system that they are using for the individual tracks. Instead of 01, 02 ... 10, 11, etc they have used 1, 2, 3, etc meaning that you start on track 1 then move to track 10, 11, etc. If you are after a straight run without problems, fork out the extra money and buy the multi disc versions, you can play these anywhere on any system.

If you're new to Pratchett, or travelling, or going into hospital, then the abridged version are well worth having.

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!

BEWARE: ABRIDGED
Nowhere on the description of this audiobook on Amazon is there any mention of the fact that it is abridged and is not in fact a narration of the book as in, for example, Harry Potter, but essentially only a summary, being only 3 cds long.
I bought this and "Making Money" and the reading by Tony Robinson is superb, but I would recommend anybody who wants the proper full version to buy the unabridged version (Nigel Planer, Harper Audio) for another 10 US dollars.
Basically a great book was ruined by the felling of having been totally ripped off: Amazon - please show clearly when an audiobook is abridged or risk your customers feeling conned!