Paperback, 479 pages
English language
Published Nov. 11, 2008 by Corgi.
The Ankh-Morpork Post Office is running like . . . well, not at all like a government office. The mail is delivered promptly; meetings start and end on time; five out of six letters relegated to the Blind Letter Office ultimately wend their way to the correct addresses. Postmaster General Moist von Lipwig, former arch-swindler and confidence man, has exceeded all expectations—including his own. So it's somewhat disconcerting when Lord Vetinari summons Moist to the palace and asks, "Tell me, Mr. Lipwig, would you like to make some real money?"Vetinari isn't talking about wages, of course. He's referring, rather, to the Royal Mint of Ankh-Morpork, a venerable institution that haas run for centuries on the hereditary employment of the Men of the Sheds and their loyal outworkers, who do make money in their spare time. Unfortunately, it costs more than a penny to make a penny, so the whole process …
The Ankh-Morpork Post Office is running like . . . well, not at all like a government office. The mail is delivered promptly; meetings start and end on time; five out of six letters relegated to the Blind Letter Office ultimately wend their way to the correct addresses. Postmaster General Moist von Lipwig, former arch-swindler and confidence man, has exceeded all expectations—including his own. So it's somewhat disconcerting when Lord Vetinari summons Moist to the palace and asks, "Tell me, Mr. Lipwig, would you like to make some real money?"Vetinari isn't talking about wages, of course. He's referring, rather, to the Royal Mint of Ankh-Morpork, a venerable institution that haas run for centuries on the hereditary employment of the Men of the Sheds and their loyal outworkers, who do make money in their spare time. Unfortunately, it costs more than a penny to make a penny, so the whole process seems somewhat counterintuitive.Next door, at the Royal Bank, the Glooper, an "analogy machine," has scientifically established that one never has quite as much money at the end of the week as one thinks one should, and the bank's chairman, one elderly Topsy (nee Turvy) Lavish, keeps two loaded crossbows at her desk. Oh, and the chief clerk is probably a vampire.But before Moist has time to fully consider Vetinari's question, fate answers it for him. Now he's not only making money, but enemies too; he's got to spring a prisoner from jail, break into his own bank vault, stop the new manager from licking his face, and, above all, find out where all the gold has gone—otherwise, his life in banking, while very exciting, is going to be really, really short. . . .
An enjoyable second romp with Moist von Lipwig. I'm still not completely convinced about the golum parts but it's still good value.
Great follow up to Going Postal, but not as enjoyable as the first one. In this one, the reformed thief/con man/scammer Moist Von Lipwig is put in charge of the Ankh-Morpork Bank.
It is an outrageous and sarcastic commentary on the financial systems and the very meaning of money in our own world. I have grown to love the character of Von Lipwig and the whole world of Discworld.
This instalment is one of the more "mature" ones in terms of content and themes. But it pulls off a stinging critique of our obsession with money and the power it conveys.
Much better than [b:Going Postal|64222|Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222.SY75.jpg|1636617], but I guess the Moist series is not for me: I found this one too manic and disjointed for my taste, but thankfully with enough delicious humor and Sir Terry’s trademark decency to make it enjoyable. And even if this wasn’t my cup of tea, I’m just amazed by his versatility and willingness to experiment with different styles.
(Listened to the audiobook. It may have received a different score if I’d read it.)
Still one of the finest, clearest, and funniest explanations of how financial markets work.
reread 6/22/13
Making Money (2007) is the lastest installment of The Discworld Series, and is really a continuation of Going Postal (2004), in which we meet Moist von Lipwig, a man sentenced to hang as a cheat, con, and thief, until Ankh-Morpork's dictator, Lord Vetinari, realizes that his talents could be put to very good use.
Actually, he was hanged. But--that's another tangent of the story for the former Albert Spangler, who survives to have a new lease on life as Moist von Lipwig, a man whose talents include the charm, gift of gab, quick thinking, and outright sneakiness that somehow allow him to mezmorize people--okay, con people--into doing whatever he needs them to do. And Lord Vetinari has a job for him. In Going Postal, the job is to somehow rescue a failing postal system and make it run efficiently, which Lipwig pulls off with ingenuity, luck, and style. (Style …
Making Money (2007) is the lastest installment of The Discworld Series, and is really a continuation of Going Postal (2004), in which we meet Moist von Lipwig, a man sentenced to hang as a cheat, con, and thief, until Ankh-Morpork's dictator, Lord Vetinari, realizes that his talents could be put to very good use.
Actually, he was hanged. But--that's another tangent of the story for the former Albert Spangler, who survives to have a new lease on life as Moist von Lipwig, a man whose talents include the charm, gift of gab, quick thinking, and outright sneakiness that somehow allow him to mezmorize people--okay, con people--into doing whatever he needs them to do. And Lord Vetinari has a job for him. In Going Postal, the job is to somehow rescue a failing postal system and make it run efficiently, which Lipwig pulls off with ingenuity, luck, and style. (Style is important.) This time around, though, Lord Vetinari has another job. "Tell me, Lipwig, how would you like to make some real money?" That is, how would Lipwig like to take over the Bank of Ankh-Morpork and The Royal Mint? At first Lipwig refuses, but of course, we know that he will be forced into the position in the most comically way possible.
Actually, Lipwig's job as Postmaster General has gotten a bit too easy and boring for this former man of danger. In fact, this tale opens with Lipwig trying to break into his own office. He still has a criminal mind, and in his restlessness, he's taken up Edificeering and Extreme Sneezing as leisure pursuits. Well, especially when his fiance, Adora Belle Dearheart, is away for extended lengths of time. Her presence, it seems, provides enough danger for him.
As usual, the variety of characters is not missing--Igors, golems, trolls, vampires, werewolves, and insane rich people populate Discworld, and these books are always fun to read. Actually, the chairman of the bank is Mr. Fusspot, a delightful terrier. Lord Vetinari has the chairman eating out of his hand, by the end of the book.
And Lipwig? Oh, he'll run the mint and the bank for awhile, but--Lord Vetinari knows that one day, Lipwig will again become a danger to himself and the city and--just how old is the taxmaster? .......
I enjoyed Making Money very much (it's not usually this fun), and my only reservation about this novel was that I found myself missing the Watch, or the cops of Ankh-Morpork. I particularly enjoy Commander Vimes, and was a bit disappointed that he was barely in this novel. The Watch is a most diverse group of characters who add splash to any occasion and I think they should always be invited to the story.
..which is still my favorite Discworld novel (so far, of the ones I've read) despite the fact that it's not about the Watch
**Involves scaling the highest, steepest, trickiest and most difficult buildings in the city.
I have no idea, but Lord Vetinari says it's potentially lethal, and I believe him.
It took me much longer to read this book than I anticipated it would. Mostly this is due to circumstances outside of my reading life, but a tad bit of it has to do with my decided lack of interest in money. Seems odd, but I really don't want to be rich, and I don't have an obsession with money. So, it took me a while to get into the book. And it took me a while to appreciate some of the characters that pop up in the book. But once I started thinking of this as less of a story about money and more as a story about the Discworld, that old charm took over and I raced through the rest.
If you enjoy the character of Moist von Lipwig or you just like a story that takes a good jab at banking, you'll enjoy this one.
