Making Money (Discworld)

Another fine Pratchett story. My only disappointment is that he could have done a bit more with it. The ending did feel a little rushed.
I hope they make a TV movie out of it...Mr Fusspot will be amusing.

This is a sequel to Going Postal, and some exposure to the disk world universe is necessary to fully enjoy the many characters. It is a light hearted romp, that can be consumed in an afternoon of lying by the pool or on the beach.

Second Book following the adventures of Moist Von Lipvig (first is "Going Postal"). Builds on the story of the first, but easily read as a stand alone. Didn't think that Terry could come up with another character that I enjoy as much as Sam Vines, but he has done so with these two books. Enjoy!

I love Pratchett. And the characters are really great. I recommend reading Going Postal first to really get the characters and background but this is a great read. Everything he has written is good. I loved Going Postal so much I'm glad that he wrote about them again.

The second in the Moist von Lipwig storyline in the Discworld series. It follows Moist as he revives the Royal Bank, and comes out a conman crook! Awesome, well-written, an excellent addition to a TP collection

You'd think by now that Terry Pratchett would run out of jokes and wry observations, but there is no sign of it in "Making Money." Wonderful characters, laugh-out-loud yet sophisticated humor (as far as I can tell...how does one really know?), and thought provoking situations guarantee you'll be up later than you planned, reading about making money, and annoying your partner with your giggling.

I'm a huge Discworld fan and enjoyed "Making Money," which is a continuation of "Going Postal," but I couldn't quite shake the feeling that Terry Pratchett wrote this latest installment on automatic, or else got a golem to write it for him. All of the right characters are included---some like Death in cameo roles, and others like Lord Vetinari, almost too visible (a little of Ankh-Morpork's Patrician goes a long way). It's got all of the right standing, falling, and knocking-people-down-with-ladders jokes, plus Punes, or plays on words.

But for a Discworld novel, "Making Money" lacks Pratchett's usual shoot-from-the-hip-and-mouth-and-other-body-parts originality. Maybe Moist von Lipwig, former Postmaster General and current trouble-shooter at the Royal Mint, is too slight a character to have the weight of two Discworld novels resting on his shoulders. Maybe his antics at the Mint are too similar to his antics at the Post Office.

Or maybe it's because I can't stand his girlfriend, Adora Belle---Gladys the Golem has a nicer personality. Heck, the villain, Cosmo Lavish has a nicer personality, which is another one of this book's problems. We don't have a villain we can really hate. I spent the last half of the novel worrying about whether Cosmo's thumb would fall off, not whether he would succeed in replacing the Patrician at Ankh-Morpork's grubby helm.

I'll still grab Pratchett's next fantasy off of the shelf as soon as it appears, but the Moist von Lipwig books are definitely not up to his Night Watch-, Witch-, or Death-standard of Discworld novels.

Having fixed the post office and turned its two arms into a functioning system. Moist's next challenge is to fix the banking system. Can he do it, or will he fall victim to the internecine back stabbing in the banking family.

I've read ALL of the Pratchett Discworld novels to date, and this isn't one of them. I don't know what he thinks he is getting away with, but the characters, jokes, and story flow are not consistent with his previous work. Jokes concerning looking up the Golem's dress and a beard compared to pubic hair are not funny and below the Pratchett good taste standard. If you want to read Pratchett, this novel is not relevant. I want my money back, Terry.

This book was so funny, i think everyone should own all of Terry Pratchett books he has such a wonderfull imagination this book is writen to take you on from another book Going postal which i would also recomend they are both Brilliant,funny books that you cant put down.

This book was so funny, i think everyone should own all of Terry Pratchett books he has such a wonderfull imagination this book is writen to take you on from another book Going postal which i would also recomend they are both Brilliant,funny books that you cant put down.

Up to his usual ironic obsurdity.A truely enjoyable book.The story follows a line similar to Going Postal[some of the same characters].
If you enjoy Pratchett you wont be dissapointed, if you have never read Pratchett START NOW.

It seems, after reading Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel "Making Money", that money does make the world go `round, even if that world is flat and balanced on the backs of four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle.

In "Making Money", Terry Pratchett and his `hero' Moist von Lipwig do for and to the monetary system exactly what they did for and to the post office in "Going Postal". The result is the same - - - - a Buster Keaton-like romp through the strange and wonderful world of Discworld.

It is impossible to detail the plot of this book without giving away spoilers so I think it best just to say that Lord Vetinari has determined that Ankh-Morpork's monetary system is in dire straits and in need of improvement. Vetinari picks, in his inimitable way, Moist von Lipwig to lead the way. In essence, Moist is set-up by Vetinari to become Ankh-Morpork's Alan Greenspan. Unlike Greenspan, however, Moist must deal with a cast of characters that have no idea as to what Moist is up to or trying to achieve. (Well, maybe that isn't so unlike Greenspan!).

"Making Money" feature a cast of old but mostly new characters. As to established characters, Vetinari is featured and his is as delightfully Machiavellian as ever. There are cameo appearances by DEATH, the Watch, and CMOT Dibbler. However, new or newer characters play the largest roles. Moist's second appearance is terrific. Pratchett does a very nice job turning him into what I hope is a regular role. Moist's girlfriend the chain-smoking Adore Belle Dearheart makes her presence felt. Mr. Bent, the oh-so serious bank manager plays straight man to Moist's light-hearted con-man character. Bent is tied to the old ways - where money must be based on gold and nothing but gold. There is something very William Jennings Bryan-like about Bent and his straight-laced approach is the perfect foil for Moist's extraordinarily flexible approach to monetary issues. Moist's antagonists are the Lavish family, Cosmo Lavish and his rather large sister Pucci (of whom Pratchett says in a great line, "she had no idea how to handle people and she tried to make self-esteem do the work of self-respect, but the girl could flounce better than a fat turkey on a trampoline".) They make good foils for Moist and Vetinari.

As always the plot has many twists and turns and one-liners fly almost as fast as the slings and arrows of the Assassins' Guild. Pratchett has a great way with humor and manages to combine that humor with a good deal of insight into how `things' work in the real world. His look at the monetary system in "Making Money" can now stand with Pratchett's look at rock music Soul Music, religion Small Gods, the post office Going Postal, and movies Moving Pictures as some very funny looks at our world through the prism of Discworld.

"Making Money" was a fun book for me to read. It was typical Pratchett (high praise) and I think most Pratchett fans will enjoy it. I certainly did. L. Fleisig