We put together something for your entertainment and musings for the last days of 2014. We’d like to thank the authors Clive S. Johnson and D.L. Morrese for their contribution and we hope all readers will enjoy the reviews and poems that we selected.
Rabid Reader’s Movie Review — Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather
In Discworld it’s Hogswatch Eve and children are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Hogfather. Someone doesn’t want the Hogfather to make his scheduled rounds and hires the Guild of Assassins to kill the jolly, fat man. Against the fierce Mr. Teatime of the Guide of Assassins can anyone win? Can Hogswatch be saved?
Read Rabid Reader’s Movie Reviews of Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather.
An Extended Review of Hogfather, the Book
The science fiction author D.L. Morrese took the time to write a review of the Hogfather book.
The midwinter holiday on Discworld is Hogswatch rather than Christmas, and the Hogfather is the Discworld’s counterpart of Santa Claus. He climbs down chimneys, gives presents, says, “HO-HO-HO,” and drives a sleigh pulled by four flying pigs. Many children of the Disc believe in him, which is why he exists. (This is a fundamental characteristic of the magical system in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books.) Belief causes the thing believed in to exist, and when belief stops, that existence stops. Teatime, an assassin retained to do away with the Hogfather, plans to exploit this metaphysical law to accomplish his assigned task, but first, he must break into the Tooth Fairy’s castle and get control of the teeth stored there. With them, he can influence the belief of their former owners through sympathetic magic. (That’s something of a spoiler, but if you haven’t read this yet, you may be thankful for it.)
Hogfather was the first Discworld book I ever read. This was back in 1999, I think. It could have been 2000. I’m not sure. I didn’t buy it. The book was given to me, not so much as a gift, but as a case of, “Here, I’m not going to read this again, but you might like it since I know you like the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
Poetry
Clive S. Johnson, the science fiction author of the Dica Series, contributed two poems as well as some wonderful art work. Don’t miss out on his poetry Remiss and From a Moorland Walk.
Audio Book Review
Christmas 1914 follows a company of British officers that spend their Christmas on the front lines. Written by the Emmy Award winning author Charles Olivier, this audio book was produced as a audio drama featuring a full-cast performance, sound design and an original muscial score.
Read Rabid Reader’s Audio Review of Christmas Eve, 1914.