Terry Pratchett's Hogfather

The Auditors strike again in Pratchett's 20th novel, Hogfather. 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".

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.

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 12

The myth of the Hogfather and how to celebrate Hogswatch

A look at the Discworld Mid-winter festival.

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 11

The Auditors, the civil servants of the Discworld

We meet The Auditors whose ultimate goall is retaining perfect order

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 10

Hex, the ultimate thinking machine

An introduction to the Unseen University's only computer

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 9

Failing student wizard Mr Sideney

An introduction to the not so great Mr Sideney

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 8

Teatime, the Assassin's assassin

An introduction to Jonathon Teatime

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 7

Corporal Nobbs and Constable Visit of the City Watch

An introduction to the colourful characters of the City Watch

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 6

DEATH's manservant Albert

An introduction to DEATH's right hand man

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 5

The Unseen University

A look at Ankh Morpok's legendary, and only, Wizard training school

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 4

The history and geography of Ankh-Morpork

A guide to Discworld's capital city

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 3

Susan's strange genealogy

An introduction to DEATH's granddaughter Susan Sto Helit

12 Days Of Hogswatch - Day 2

The 'Life' of DEATH

A look at who DEATH really is

12 Days of Hogswatch - Day 1

Welcome to the Discworld

DEATH talks to Terry Pratchett author of the Discworld about his creation.

Hogfather - The Movie

I've been a Terry Pratchett fan for years. My first book was Mort which had been borrowed from my friend Fraser. Once I'd opened the first page I didn't want to put it down and I've been hooked ever since.

A live action Discworld movie has been a long time coming. I know Pratchett has sold the rights to many books, and on occasions been so unhappy at the treatment he's bought the rights back. There have been two cartoon versions - of Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters which were pretty good, but it will be great to see it in movie form.

For the uninformed, the Discworld is a fantasy land that lives of the back of a giant turtle swimming its way through the universe. Basically, Terry Pratchett has created an allegory and satire of our world, each book comments on different topics such as newspapers, wars, the postal system etc. They’re witty, convincing and plain brilliant. Hogfather is about Santa Claus or Father Christmas if you prefer.

The story revolves around the fact that the Hogfather has gone missing after an assassin is hired to kill him. In response Death (yes, Death) dons a red suit and white beard and with the help of his butler Alfred, the Death of Rats and his grand-daughter Susan, he sets out to ensure all the children’s wishes come true.