"Exceptionally amusing and enjoyable." —Michael Moorcock
'Twas the night before Hogswatch and all through the house . . . something was missing. Don't miss this hilarious and irreverent installment in the beloved Discworld series from New York Times bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, Hogswatchnight, when the Hogfather himself dons his red suit and climbs in his sleigh pulled by—of course—eight hogs, to shower gifts across Discworld. But when the fat man goes missing, someone has to sit in. It’s up to Death to take up the reigns—otherwise the sun won’t shine tomorrow . . . or ever again.
Who would want to harm Discworld's most beloved icon? Very few things are held sacred in this twisted, corrupt, heartless—and oddly familiar—universe, but the Hogfather is one of them. Yet here it is, Hogswatchnight, that most joyous and acquisitive of times, and the jolly, old, red-suited gift-giver has vanished without a trace. And there's something shady going on involving an uncommonly psychotic member of the Assassins' Guild and certain representatives of Ankh-Morpork's rather extensive criminal element. Suddenly Discworld's entire myth system is unraveling at an alarming rate. Drastic measures must be taken, which is why Death himself is taking up the reins of the fat man's vacated sleigh . . . which, in turn, has Death's level-headed granddaughter, Susan, racing to unravel the nasty, humbuggian mess before the holiday season goes straight to hell and takes everyone along with it.
The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but Hogfatheris the fourth book in the Death series. The collection includes:
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.
Hometown:
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Date of Birth:
April 28, 1948
Place of Birth:
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
Education:
Four honorary degrees in literature from the universities of Portsmouth, Bristol, Bath and Warwick
Read an Excerpt
This volume was conceived with the double aim of providing a background and a further context for the new Dumbarton Oaks English translation of the Life of St Neilos from Rossano, founder of the monastery of Grottaferrata near Rome in 1004. Reflecting this double aim, the volume is divided into two parts. Part I, entitled "Italo-Greek Monasticism," builds the background to the Life of Neilos by taking several multi-disciplinary approaches to the geographical area, history and literature of the region denoted as Southern Italy. Part II, entitled "The Life of St Neilos," offers close analyses of the text of Neilos's hagiography from socio-historical, textual, and contextual perspectives. Together, the two parts provide a solid introduction and offer in-depth studies with original outcomes and wide-ranging bibliographies. Using monasticism as a connecting thread between the various zones and St Neilos as the figure who walked over mountains and across many cultural divides, the essays in this volume span all regions and localities and try to trace thematic arcs between individual testimonies. They highlight the multicultural context in which Southern Italian Christians lived and their way of negotiating differences with Arab and Jewish neighbors through a variety of sources, and especially in saints' lives.
Terry Pratchett is fast, funny and going places. Try him.
A. S. Byatt
Discworld is more complicated and satisfactory than Oz. Truly original. Pratchett creates a brilliant excess of delectable detail!
Interviews
Before the live bn.com chat, Terry Pratchett agreed to answer some of our questions:Q:
Your work is praised for its outlandish humor and sharp-witted satire. What are some of the things that influence your outlook? What do you think makes effective satire?
A:
Well, I don't think my humor is outlandish. I'd say it's quite logical; it just applies logic in places where we've hitherto not employed it! Just about everything influences me, but I suppose the basic driving force is a desire to slap the world on the face and say, "Will you just shut up and be sensible for five minutes?"
I think satire succeeds best when it slides in quietly, like some magician who can remove your underwear without your knowing. I'm not certain that hatred drives good satire, despite what is often said.
Q:
If you were given a round-trip plane ticket to any destination, where would you go, and why?
A:
Oh, Australia. Probably to Alice Springs, so that I could hire a 4x4 and drive to Ayers Rock again. I don't know why, but the Red Centre always seems like home to me -- I go there a lot.
Q:
Please recommend three of your favorite books.
A:The Specialist by Charles "Chic" Sale. It's the musings of an old-time privy builder, and for quiet, memorable humor, it can't be beaten. I think it was originally published in the U.S.
Then there's The Evolution Man by the late Roy Lewis (it's been published all over the place under various titles, like Once Upon an Ice Age and What We Did to Father -- I don't know if it is currently in print). It is probably the best, and certainly the funniest, SF book ever written. It makes you think, too.
I'll cheat with the last one and pick the entire Flashman series, by George MacDonald Fraser. They're funny, thrilling, and well researched too.
Q:
Which book would you give as a gift this year?
A:
Although it's not a recent publication, I'm planning to give a copy of Carl Sagan's Contact to someone whose interest was triggered by the movie.
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