Who would want to harm Discworld's most beloved icon? Very few things are held sacred in this twisted, corrupt, heartless -- and oddly familiar -- universe, but the Hogfather is one of them. Yet here it is, Hogswatchnight, that most joyous and acquisitive of times, and the jolly old, red-suited gift-giver has vanished without a trace. And there's something shady going on involving an uncommonly psychotic member of the Assassins' Guild and certain representatives of Ankh-Morpork's rather extensive criminal element. Suddenly Discworld's entire myth system is unraveling at an alarming rate. Drastic measures must be taken, which is why Death himself is taking up the reins of the fat man's vacated sleigh . . . which, in turn, has Death's level-headed granddaughter, Susan, racing to unravel the nasty, humbuggian mess before the holiday season goes straight to hell and takes everyone along with it.

Terry Pratchett had led a pretty normal life until people started buying his books. At first, he thought it was a good way to earn a little extra money to build a bigger greenhouse, but when the greenhouse looked like taking over the garden he realised that he would never have to work again.

Few authors are as accessible to the public as Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series. He often posts to his own newsgroup (alt.fan.pratchett) which is a bit like God turning up in church and sitting in a pew. He spends an enormous amount of time wading through fan mail, but the times when everyone got a response have long gone.

The Discworld is now BIG business. Clarecraft (now closed) were the first people to see the marketing opportunities and their range of Discworld figures is still in demand today. Each new figure was scrutinized by Terry and Clarecraft often made adjustments as a result of his comments. This sort of involvement is typical of Terry who has always been very careful to control the quality of Discworld spin-offs. And nobody knows that better than CMOT Briggs