Review: Hogfather

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a reread, of course, because I've read most of the Discworld books multiple times.

Death's granddaughter Susan Sto Helit, determinedly sensible and capable in the face of a universe that refuses to behave sensibly, is the main protagonist, though her grandfather (by adoption of her mother), Death himself, is the instigator of much of the plot. The Hogfather, the Discworld version of Father Christmas, has been or is in the process of being assassinated by means that only make sense on the Discworld, involving tooth fairies and belief, and Death has stepped in as a locum to keep the traditions moving along. Unfortunately, Death only partially understands people and how they work, which creates much of the comedy, along with Pratchett's usual masterful parody of this-worldly things that make no sense (Christmas traditions and their inherent contradictions, mostly) and people who behave with small-minded conventionality.

As with all of his best work, though, it's not just comedy. There are some dark parts, as you'd expect with Death as a leading character and a crazed assassin (described as "a hamper of food, several folding chairs, a tablecloth, an assortment of cooking gear and an entire colony of ants short of a picnic") going around killing people he no longer has any use for, or who might cause some minor inconvenience to his mad plot. But more importantly, there's a good deal of thoughtful reflection on what the true meaning of Hogwatchnight/Christmas is, and a complicated answer that involves the long evolution of tradition and the human ability to find meaning and significance in the middle of chaos.

It's deeply life-affirming; the true villains are the Auditors, literally soulless cosmic bureaucrats who believe that life was a mistake and should be eliminated, especially the messy and chaotic parts like believing in things that make no sense. Susan provides a great bridging character, someone who rather wishes the supernatural wouldn't persist in breaking into what she's trying to make an orderly life, but who is also, when it comes right down to it, firmly on the side of humane values, and definitely not above making use of her own abilities in the cause of preserving everything the auditors oppose. There's a terrific climax in which the question "Who is a monster?" is posed and dramatically answered.

Meanwhile, the wizards of Unseen University are, as usual, tampering with things that ought not to be tampered with and eating big meals, but in a pinch putting their substantial weight behind the traditions that really matter. And there's the wonderful secondary character of the Oh God of Hangovers, Bilious, who's the counterpart of the God of Wine and only ever experiences the consequences of the party, not the party itself. He's one of Pratchett's classic types, the rather pathetic person who manages to rise to be someone we can respect at least a little, by making the right choices in tough situations.

Good and evil are clearly distinguished, but they aren't cartoonish or simplistic. Nothing here is simplistic; it's all thought-provoking and profound, and the thought-provocation rises naturally out of a really well told and highly entertaining story. It's one of the best Pratchetts, in my opinion, up there with Carpe Jugulum and Feet of Clay , to pick one from each of the other main series-within-the-series. I hold back from giving it my very highest tier ranking (Platinum) only because it does get a bit darker than I prefer in places, though for entirely justified reasons.

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