Making Money (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Making Money (Discworld)
Book Review: Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series need no introduction.
Summary: 5 Stars
Indeed, given the fact that the series has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, Pratchett's latest requires very little in the way of hype. By now, when one purchases a Disworld novel, one should know what to expect. And though making people laugh is not an easy gig, the author, somehow, always rises up to the challenge and delivers a book that lives up to the high expectations which are inherent to any Pratchett new release.
Following up on Going Postal, Terry Pratchett lets Moist Von Lipwig, he of the golden suit and new Postmaster General, the man notorious for introducing the commemorative cabbage stamp with the cabbage-flavored glue, once again shine in the spotlight. Naturally, familiar faces from various Discworld novels make appearances throughout Making Money.
When Lord Vetinari informs the Postmaster General that he plans to put him in charge of the Royal Mint, Lipwig is acutely aware that this is a man he can't say no to, and thus his life becomes more complicated. As if this predicament wasn't enough, to his dismay he suddenly finds himself running the bank next door. He soon realizes that the mint runs at a loss. He also discovers that a panoply of people want him dead. And, to add to his woes, he must take the Chairman of the bank, a dog named Mr Fusspot, for walks. But Moist Von Lipwig is always up for a challenge, even though he is about to be exposed as a fraud.
Witty humor permeates the narrative and the dialogues, of course. Which is not surprising, for this aspect has become Pratchett's trademark. Like a majority of the Discworld novels, Making Money is, in light of the current market, "light" fantasy fare. Still, after plowing through Thiong'o's Wizard of the Crow and then reading the first half of Donaldson's Fatal Revenant, I found Pratchett's latest to be oh so satisfying! You will find yourself smirking and chuckling in every single chapter, and there is not a boring moment in this one.
Watching Moist Von Lipwig trying to dig himself out of this hole makes for an enjoyable reading experience. In addition, it was interesting to witness Pratchett's introduction of the paper denominations instead of gold, as well as the parallel between the repercussions this causes on Ankh-Morpork's national economy and our own, if only from an historical standpoint. Though the Discworld installments can at times feel a little absurd, there is an underlying intelligence which pervades every page. This, in my humble opinion, is nothing short of brilliant.
The timing for Making Money's release is perfect. Summer is all but over, and everyone is back in school or at work. Hence, we could all use a few laughs, something that Making Money provides in industrial quantity.
This book should please Terry Pratchett's legions of fans and anyone looking for a light fantasy offering. As is the case with most Discworld books, you can enjoy this one even if you're not familiar with the entire saga.
Making Money appears to contain all the necessary ingredients to make it yet another memorable Discworld novel! I'd also recommend reading Tino Georgiou's bestselling novel--The Fates--if you haven't yet!
Book Review: Back on form
Summary: 4 Stars
One of the best of the recent run of Discworld novels, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a neatly worked out storyline. A small voice tells inside tells me that it's not up there with something like Guards! Guards! or Lords and Ladies but given that those are two of the best humorous books ever written, what could be? Book Review: Entertaining, clever, but not his best
Summary: 4 Stars
Moist von Lipwig is back, with a new challenge ahead of him. I enjoyed this book; a highly entertaining read with Pratchett's trademark wit and social observation. However, it's not one of his best. Possibly, this is because as a main character, Moist von Lipwig does not have much in the way of complexity. He's the classic lovable rogue, the con-man with an honest soul, but that's pretty much all there is to him. This means that Making Money is basically very similar in plotline to Going Postal. However, I got the feeling that Making Money was played for laughs - there was never the sense of menace or pathos that Pratchett has achieved in his other books - even Going Postal.
I think this would appeal more to the fans of the Rincewind books than to the devotees of the darker books featuring either Sam Vimes or Granny Weatherwax.
Book Review: Don't say you weren't warned
Summary: 3 Stars
Look, I know that this book is a best-seller and I KNOW that, because of the recent announcement about Terry Pratchett having alzheimers, one should be kinder in their reviews.
Truth is I love the Discworld books and have all of them and will continue to collect them as they come.
HOWEVER, what Terry Pratchett has shown throughout his years of writing is that the strength of the book depends greatly on the strength of the main characters of the book.
And Moist is, well, very well named.
The book failed to go off with a bang because the gunpowder was, ahem, damp.
I was not very fond of Going Postal, so I had no high expectations for this one. Which turned out to be a good thing in the end because, if I had anticipated it with the high hopes I had for Wintersmith (which was an EXCELLENT book, spend your money on that one instead), I'd have given up on Terry Pratchett for good (or at least, not buy Raising Taxes).
Moist Von Lipwig fails to attract sympathy, love, or any sort of emotion whatsoever as a character. As Terry himself put it in the book, everyone expected him to win. There was no doubt whatsoever that he would pull off some sort of trick out and save the day. Where's the fun in that? The book smelt of someone trying too hard to be funny, whereas the previous discworld books had a sort of natural flow of humour which lent itself well to the plot.
Come on, Mr Pratchett. Hang Albert Spangler AND Moist Von Lipwig. I don't think he deserves the Angel of Publishing.
It's not a bad read, purely because it is still of the House of PRatchett. It's still a good book if you've not read any previous Discworld novels. In fact in general it's a pretty good book, full stop. It's just a little short of the Golem Standard set by the other books
Book Review: More of the old humour & not as political.
Summary: 5 Stars
The first 100 pages or so were more like his previous couple of books, being that they are more serious, political and not so funny as his first books (The Colour Of Magic etc.). It seemed though that after that he got his second wind and the jokes started coming thick & fast - some had me howling with laughter so much I forgot to breath. Lets hope Mr. Pratchett writes more books like this and less of the political ones.