Making Money

Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series need no introduction. 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! It will be released in just a few days, so keep an eye out for that book.

The final verdict: 7.5/10
For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe

4 commentaires:

Unknown said...
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Bradi said...

I read your review of this book, one which I am impatiently anticipating. I know you want to remain "spoiler-free", but the review doesn't read well. It reads like the back of the book and generalizing what most people could guess from the plot summary on the back cover. The most confusing aspect of this is that you gush about it for the entire review, and then give the book a 7.5/10- what? Obviously, there was something off or you would have rated it higher- why did you not point this out in your review? I'm not saying you have to like the book, but if you are going to review it (then advertise it), you should at least point out some good and bad things about it.

Patrick said...

Brandi,

I never include spoilers in my reviews. If you take a look around, you'll see that it's the case for everything I do.

Plus, this book is strictly embargoed until September 24th. If I were to include spoilers, I could lose my privilege to receive ARCs in the future...

MAKING MONEY is a good book, but it remains a comedy. I love American Pie, yet it will never have the quality of Schindler's List...

So patience, for you only have a few more days to go.:-)

Bradi said...

I guess I meant more of a "why was it rated low" instead of "why aren't their spoilers". I don't mind spoiler-free reviews, but it's hard to gauge what you really thought about it when the review is a recap of the back of the book and nothing more. The only thing I picked up was that the book was "light fantasy", which I'm not actually sure what that means. Is it just what you label comedy? Is it being a comedy what caused you to mark it down? Were some of the jokes not quite there or was the story a bit disappointing? That's all stuff that you can comment on without giving plot away :) You obviously love to read and write, so I just wanted to point out some problems which I found. So maybe in this case, it was a "critique" of your critique :)

Thanks again, and thanks for responding.