Here on this planet, Christmas will soon be upon us, and you can hardly miss seeing the image of jolly old Santa Claus. But on Discworld (a flat disc on the back of four elephants, on the back of a turtle), the end of the year is celebrated with Hogswatch, and children put out meat pies and turnips for the jolly Hogfather, who delivers presents in his sled pulled by four enormous boars. So I decided that Christmas time was the perfect time for a reread of Hogfather by Terry Pratchett.

Hogfather centers on Susan, who is trying very hard to be normal, even though she happens to be Death’s granddaughter (by adoption). She even got a job as a governess, and is determinedly proper and refined, although she does have a poker ready to hand to bash bogeyman and other monsters of childhood. But then on Hogswatch Eve, the Hogfather comes down the chimney…and despite the false beard, Susan promptly recognizes Death, who has inexplicably taken on the job. Has the old skeleton finally lost it, or is something more going on? Meanwhile, the Guild of Assassins has received a very mysterious contract, and assigned it out to Teatime (pronounced Teh-ah-tim-eh, though no one gets it right), a problematic student who makes assassins nervous. Continue reading “Book Review: Hogfather” →