On the other hand Susan Sto-Helit is a wonderful, anti-Mary Poppins-type heroine. Though his accomplices mostly come to their own, more or less deserved ends without his direct intervention, the way he holds them in his fear is, well, fearsome. I think Teatime may actually be the most frightening villain Pratchett has imagined so far. And as a side-splitting side plot, you get to see Foul Old Ron and his team of filthy beggars changing places, for one Hogwatch Night, with the patrons of a gourmet restaurant. Like the fact that death’s granddaughter, Susan Sto-Helit (the daughter of Mort and of Death’s adopted daughter), now working as a governess to a wealthy family in Ankh-Morpork, where her job consists mainly of using the poker on creatures conjured into existence by the tortured imaginations of her young charges, finds herself riding Binky the pale horse of death across the boundaries of reality, accompanied by Bilious the “oh god” of hangovers, while Teatime’s team of crooks is picked off one by one by their worst childhood fears in a castle of human teeth. Like the fact that Death himself is doing the Hogfather’s rounds on a sleigh pulled by four wild boars, accompanied by his faithful servant Albert (in a gnome costume). Like, for instance, the fact that every time the wizards at Unseen University happen to mention a fanciful creature, like the “Eater of Socks” or the “Cheerful Fairy,” it comes into existence. And of course, because Discworld is on the edge of reality, where the boundary between Real and Unreal is very, very thin, this sort of thing is bound to cause bizarre side effects. His target is the Hogfather, the Discworld equivalent of Santa Claus, though he wouldn’t say no to killing the Tooth Fairy and Death Himself into the bargain. Together with a band of thugs, thieves, and misfits (including an expert at picking locks and a student wizard trying to pay off some debts) he takes on the job of a lifetime–or rather, of all lifetimes. The villain is a handsome young assassin named Teatime (Teh-ah-TIM-eh) who is, unlike most assassins, a raving psychopath. The twentieth Discworld novel is a good read, solid entertainment.

Pratchett hogfather