Hogfather

It’s finally time for the last book in the Death saga, Hogfather. This is one that I have a bit more familiarity with than most of the other Death saga books. It is by far the one that I’ve been looking forward to the most in the saga.

I know a bit about the plot, of course. An unhinged member of the Guild of Assassins is commissioned to kill the Hogfather, Discworld’s analogue for Santa Claus. Chaos, as ever, ensues. Where does Death come into it? Wait and see.

I’m done with the book and I am more than ready to summarize it further.

Death comes into it by taking on the duties of the Hogfather on “Hogswatch Night” (Christmas Eve Night, essentially) to ensure that there is sufficient belief in the Hogfather in order to save him from non-existence. Obvious, isn’t it?

The primary plot of the book follows Susan, Death’s granddaughter, as she investigates and unravels the plot to kill the Hogfather. We occasionally have scenes of Death-as-Hogfather along the way, and even meet him in places his duties collide with Susan’s investigation.

There is, as there always is, a B-plot involving how all of this affects the Wizards. In this case, because there is excess belief that used to belong to the Hogfather, all sorts of mystical semi-mythical beings are springing into existence the moment someone talks about it. My favorite of the bunch is the “oh god” of hangovers, who actually accompanies Susan for a fair portion of the story.

I would certainly say that of the Discworld books I have read so far, this ranks among the most chaotic. And that is an awfully high bar to clear. It mostly achieves this by having so many different storylines to pass between. Susan as the primary focus, Death and the Wizards as secondary focuses, and of course glimpses into how the team that the Assassin has cooked up are executing (pun intended) their plan and the aftermath.

I highly recommend it, if only for some of the more poignant quotes from Death towards the end of the book about the nature of belief. Very impactful.