skyring's review
3.0
Terry Pratchett likes jokes. He likes to set them up, he likes to - shazam! - reveal them, he likes to play with words. He writes entertainment, and he writes satire.
He's light entertainment, occupying a peculiar halfway point between satirising the present and the genre of fantasy.
He's also in that position where, after a successful career, he can write anything he wants and it will be bought by the millions. It must be hell being his editor. Hell that editors scramble for.
This book was suspiciously heavy for light entertainment. I'm not sure where it could be cut, though, just saying.
As with most of Pratchett's Discworld stories, this one is an episode in an ongoing saga. Many of the characters and settings are familiar, we meet a few new ones, we chuckle at a few old jokes, we enjoy old ones.
There, that's a quarter of the book done, just setting the stage for the rare new reader. There's not a lot of detailed description - it's all well-crafted - but we still get to learn about the King of the Golden River and the workings of the Patrician's office - the Oblong Office - all over again.
We meet - or rather re-meet - Moist von Lipwig, from "Going Postal". This time he's making some real money and sharing adventures with some of the characters from the previous tale.
Terry Pratchett must have been inspired by the Global Financial Cooling. This book is all about money and banks and trust. In a typical Ankh-Morporkian way. The Royal Mint coins the currency, usually spending more on minting the coins than the coins are worth. Some of the smaller ones are handcrafted at enormous expense. The impressive facade of the Royal Bank conceals a great many dark secrets, not least the source of the glooping sound from the basement.
Von Lipwig takes all in hand, and at the occasional peril of his life and the gold-ish standard, finds a solution. Along the way there are golems, small dogs, small gods, necromancy under a new name, a wizard with round eyeglasses, things stuck in drawers, romance and ripe fingers.
It's all good.
Nothing earthshaking. A few good jokes, a few good lines, a few good scenes.
He's light entertainment, occupying a peculiar halfway point between satirising the present and the genre of fantasy.
He's also in that position where, after a successful career, he can write anything he wants and it will be bought by the millions. It must be hell being his editor. Hell that editors scramble for.
This book was suspiciously heavy for light entertainment. I'm not sure where it could be cut, though, just saying.
As with most of Pratchett's Discworld stories, this one is an episode in an ongoing saga. Many of the characters and settings are familiar, we meet a few new ones, we chuckle at a few old jokes, we enjoy old ones.
There, that's a quarter of the book done, just setting the stage for the rare new reader. There's not a lot of detailed description - it's all well-crafted - but we still get to learn about the King of the Golden River and the workings of the Patrician's office - the Oblong Office - all over again.
We meet - or rather re-meet - Moist von Lipwig, from "Going Postal". This time he's making some real money and sharing adventures with some of the characters from the previous tale.
Terry Pratchett must have been inspired by the Global Financial Cooling. This book is all about money and banks and trust. In a typical Ankh-Morporkian way. The Royal Mint coins the currency, usually spending more on minting the coins than the coins are worth. Some of the smaller ones are handcrafted at enormous expense. The impressive facade of the Royal Bank conceals a great many dark secrets, not least the source of the glooping sound from the basement.
Von Lipwig takes all in hand, and at the occasional peril of his life and the gold-ish standard, finds a solution. Along the way there are golems, small dogs, small gods, necromancy under a new name, a wizard with round eyeglasses, things stuck in drawers, romance and ripe fingers.
It's all good.
Nothing earthshaking. A few good jokes, a few good lines, a few good scenes.
aliver's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
poisonenvy's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5*
Once again, I find myself having a whole lot of fun with Moist Von Lipwig. More than I'd expect, in a novel about banking and minting money. Very clever, and especially funny to me because at one point I had a conversation with someone about finances, and then later that night, I read nearly the exact same conversation happening in this book. A+.
The ending was a little too... silly for me, tbh. But you know what, I'm okay with it. The rest of the book was pretty solid.
Once again, I find myself having a whole lot of fun with Moist Von Lipwig. More than I'd expect, in a novel about banking and minting money. Very clever, and especially funny to me because at one point I had a conversation with someone about finances, and then later that night, I read nearly the exact same conversation happening in this book. A+.
The ending was a little too... silly for me, tbh. But you know what, I'm okay with it. The rest of the book was pretty solid.
jaredmuehlbauer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
How? HOW?! It's about fucking Finance and it was awesome! An entertaining fantasy story centering on the development of modern forms of legal tender?! He's done it again! Okay, admittedly there was a whole side plot about golems which you don't tend to see in discussions of funds, but really this was just a perfect sequel to the first book featuring this main character. Going Postal went in depth with fixing up the Post, this had a leg up when it came to fixing the Bank, as the reader is (hopefully) already familiar with Lipwig's silver tongue and gold suit. I think more than any of the #discworldbooks I've read, I would advise reading Going Postal before Making Money. There's a pleasing pattern to how certain characters previously introduced act, and it's fun to dip back into scenarios with those personalities. Very glad to realize there's one more Lipwig story I haven't read, in chronological order, no less! Sidebar: I very much appreciated the observance of the seemingly arbitrary nature of gender in the golems, which can only be determined by the individual and then must be respected by the masses; could spark good discussion. 👌🏻
reubenmd's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The fact that he wrote this in 2007? Bloody prophetic.
evnaturtleduck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
erisedstraeh's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5