SOURCE: West, Michelle. Review of Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett. Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 96, no. 4 (April 1999): 36-40.

In the following excerpt, West argues that a seasonal novel such as Hogfather examines complex issues in addition to being a basic Christmas story.

Speaking of strong affection, it's that time of year again. Pratchett time.

It's also a month away from Christmas at this writing, which makes Hogfather, the latest Pratchett offering, particularly timely. There isn't, so to speak, a Christmas tradition in Discworld—I mean, in a city like Ankh-Morpork, where suicide is defined as saying the wrong thing in the wrong place and, for example, ticking off a bunch of stupid but highly violent trolls, it's highly unlikely that you'd find someone who'd want to climb up on a wooden lower case “t” and have himself killed for the betterment of those around him.

But people will...