Making Money (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Making Money (Discworld)
Book Review: Refreshingly different
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the most enjoyable `new' Discworld book I've read for quite a while. Yes, it has a slightly different approach from the later books (less philosophising and more getting on with the story), but it's all a matter of personal taste as to how much you like/dislike that approach. Me, I loved it!Book Review: Heading for the dark side?
Summary: 5 Stars
Yet another Pratchett masterpiece, complete with danger, excitement and dribbling psychopaths. His storylines are, as always, superbly thought out, gripping and full of hilarious one-liners, but they do seem to be getting darker. At times Making Money makes rather uncomfortable reading - fine for grown-ups and thrill seekers, but a little disturbing for younger readers. Nevertheless, a triumph.Book Review: Surprisingly, it's not just Going Postal rehashed
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading the synopsis and some of the reviews on this site, I was expecting Making Money to be essentially Going Postal with 'post office' crossed out and replaced with 'bank'. Happily, my preconceptions were wrong.
Making Money is a return to an older form, lighter in tone (and plot) than any Discworld since at least Night Watch. Moist is left in charge of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork where he faces the seemingly gold-obsessed Chief Clerk, his predecessor's disinherited family and the conservative Ankh-Morpork public in his drive for reform. The villain of the piece is Cosmo Lavish, whose obsessions make him a more credible threat to himself than to Moist Von Lipwig. As Nobby Nobbs observes early on, there is never any doubt that he will succeed. Moist Von Lipwig looks set to become Ankh-Morpork's resident reformer, with the tax office next on the list. (I'll reserve judgement on how funny even Terry Pratchett can make taxation.)
Making Money is probably not going to be many fans' absolute favourite Discworld books, but reading an average Discworld is still a very pleasant way to spend a rainy day.
Book Review: A great "all-new" Discworld book
Summary: 4 Stars
The Discworld series started as a straightforward parody of fantasy literature. It quickly grew into something more, and has been growing ever since. Making Money is actually something of a throwback, much lighter in tone than Thud or Wintersmith before it, lighter on the lessons gods and trolls have to teach us about humanity, and lighter on the story. The story is THERE, don't get me wrong, and it's quite satisfying for the most part, but it has a little too much in common with Going Postal: Moist is forced to take charge of a failing institution, he has an innovative idea which meets with instant success, and there is a strange magical machine in the basement. In addition, there is no real villain- Cosmo Lavish is more of a threat to himself than anyone else, and a confrontation with another antagonist at the end of the book is resolved by such a blatant deus ex machina that the characters have no choice but to aknowledge it as such. Although, to be fair, that's foreshadowed a few times during the book.
The real strength of Making Money is the jokes and Pratchett's gifted writing- I consider recommending this to non-fantasy reading friends all the time, before remembering that it features golems and Igors and necroma- that is, Post Morten Communications. Pratchett's genius is to render these almost mundane, not so it's boring, but so it doesn't seem unusual or out of place. And, of course, there's his benevolent dictator, Havelock Vetinari, whose masterplan for books to come is hinted at a few times here.
This is still definitely not a Discworld book from the good old days: Rincewind is too busy in the Science Of Discworld books to be flung around the Disc for another accidental adventure; Death is just getting on with things and only has time for a quick cameo, and Granny Weatherwax is busy training up Tiffany Aching. This is one of the new-school Discworld books, like it or not. I like it a lot.
Book Review: Moist in the Mint
Summary: 3 Stars
Moist von Lipwig, Terry Pratchett's most dashing hero, has made such a shining success of running the Ankh-Morpork post office (see 'Going Postal') that now he is getting bored. The post office is running smoothly, and there's nothing for him to do. So Lord Vetinari offers him the opportunity to take over the running of the Ankh-Morpork Royal Mint, and the bank next door. this job also involves looking after the Chairman of the bank, who happens to be a small dog, Mr Fusspot.
Of course, Moist has lots of radical new ideas for the Mint, and of course he encounters opposition. And of course he makes a success of it all, just as he did of the Post office. And of course there's a villain who's out to do him down. And of course Moist wins the day. In short, very much like 'Going Postal' only not as good.
I was really looking forward to reading this one, as I enjoyed 'Going Postal' very much. But I found it a disappointing sequel. Not nearly as funny or as exciting as Moist's earlier adventure, in fact I found much of it quite forgettable. i couldn't put 'Going Postal' down once i'd started reading it, but I found I could put this one down quite easily. The sparkle that 'Going Postal' had seems to be lacking in this one.
Like most recent Discworld novels, it is short on humour. I regret the days when the Discoworld series used to be funny. It's not a bad book, and it passed the time pleasantly enough, but it just didn't grip me.