Hogfather
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| Terry Pratchett The Discworld series 20th novel – 4th Death story  |
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| Outline | |
| Characters: | Death Susan Sto Helit |
| Locations: | Death's Domain |
| Motifs: | Christmas, children's stories, the power of belief |
| Publication details | |
| Year of release: | 1996 |
| Original publisher: | Victor Gollancz |
| Hardback ISBN: | ISBN 0-575-06403-X |
| Paperback ISBN: | ISBN 0-552-14542-4 |
| Other details | |
| Awards: | |
| Notes: | Came 137th in the Big Read |
Hogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett.
The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight (32nd of December) and brings them presents. He also features in other Discworld novels.
The book is about the nature of belief, in particular that people need to believe in small things there is no evidence for, such as Hogfathers and Tooth Fairies, in order to believe in larger things, such as Justice and Hope. As Pratchett says elsewhere, fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind; it doesn't take you anywhere, but it tones up muscles that might.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
In the novel, The Auditors strike again: They decided to eliminate the Hogfather because he does not fit into their view of the universe. They meet with Lord Downey, head of the Assassin's Guild, and commission the services of Mr. Teatime (pronounced Te-ah-tim-eh), whose particular brand of insane genius makes him an ideal candidate for the assassination of the Hogfather and other anthropomorphic personifications. Death decides to take over for the Hogfather in order to make people continue to believe in him, wearing a long red cloak and a beard, but things start to become complicated because he is taking the children's wishes too literally. Meanwhile, his granddaughter Susan must find out what's happened to the real Hogfather. She visits his Castle of Bones only to find the hung-over Bilious, the "Oh God of Hangovers" (So-called because "when humans experience [him], they clutch their heads and say "oh god") whom she rescues before the castle collapses due to the lack of belief. In an attempt to cure Bilious, Susan visits Unseen University where it is discovered that several of these minor gods and beings are being created. The University's computer, Hex, explains that there is 'spare belief' in the world due to the absence of the Hogfather which is being used to create them. Susan and Bilious then travel to the land of the Tooth Fairy where they discover that Teatime has 'killed' the Hogfather by collecting millions of children's teeth and using them to control the children, forcing them to stop believing in the Hogfather. Upon throwing the assassin off the tower and apparently killing him, Susan clears the teeth away and brings back the Hogfather by rescuing him from the Auditors, who have taken the forms of dogs. They cannot return to their original state and so cannot stop themselves falling off a cliff.
Afterwards, Teatime tracks Susan to the Gaiters' nursery, but is killed by Susan using the nursery poker, which passes through Death because "it only kills monsters".
[edit] TV adaptation
A two-part TV series of Hogfather was screened on the 17th and 18th of December 2006 (8.00 pm) on Sky One in the UK, with Ian Richardson as the voice of Death and David Jason playing Death's manservant Albert. Marc Warren played Mr. Teatime. Tony Robinson played the shop keeper Vernon Crumley.
[edit] Minor creatures
This book introduced a number of minor characters that were the result of the upset balance of belief, none of which have so far been used in any other book. However, some of them played a fairly important part in the plot, such as Bilious the God of Hangovers, and the Cheerful Fairy.
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