Making Money (Discworld Novel) [マスマーケット]

I'm a huge Discworld fan and enjoyed "Making Money," which is a continuation of "Going Postal," but I couldn't quite shake the feeling that Terry Pratchett wrote this latest installment on automatic, or else got a golem to write it for him. All of the right characters are included---some like Death in cameo roles, and others like Lord Vetinari, almost too visible (a little of Ankh-Morpork's Patrician goes a long way). It's got all of the right standing, falling, and knocking-people-down-with-ladders jokes, plus Punes, or plays on words.

But for a Discworld novel, "Making Money" lacks Pratchett's usual shoot-from-the-hip-and-mouth-and-other-body-parts originality. Maybe Moist von Lipwig, former Postmaster General and current trouble-shooter at the Royal Mint, is too slight a character to have the weight of two Discworld novels resting on his shoulders. Maybe his antics at the Mint are too similar to his antics at the Post Office.

Or maybe it's because I can't stand his girlfriend, Adora Belle---Gladys the Golem has a nicer personality. Heck, the villain, Cosmo Lavish has a nicer personality, which is another one of this book's problems. We don't have a villain we can really hate. I spent the last half of the novel worrying about whether Cosmo's thumb would fall off, not whether he would succeed in replacing the Patrician at Ankh-Morpork's grubby helm.

I'll still grab Pratchett's next fantasy off of the shelf as soon as it appears, but the Moist von Lipwig books are definitely not up to his Night Watch-, Witch-, or Death-standard of Discworld novels.

It seems, after reading Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel "Making Money", that money does make the world go `round, even if that world is flat and balanced on the backs of four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle.

In "Making Money", Terry Pratchett and his `hero' Moist von Lipwig do for and to the monetary system exactly what they did for and to the post office in "Going Postal". The result is the same - - - - a Buster Keaton-like romp through the strange and wonderful world of Discworld.

It is impossible to detail the plot of this book without giving away spoilers so I think it best just to say that Lord Vetinari has determined that Ankh-Morpork's monetary system is in dire straits and in need of improvement. Vetinari picks, in his inimitable way, Moist von Lipwig to lead the way. In essence, Moist is set-up by Vetinari to become Ankh-Morpork's Alan Greenspan. Unlike Greenspan, however, Moist must deal with a cast of characters that have no idea as to what Moist is up to or trying to achieve. (Well, maybe that isn't so unlike Greenspan!).

"Making Money" feature a cast of old but mostly new characters. As to established characters, Vetinari is featured and his is as delightfully Machiavellian as ever. There are cameo appearances by DEATH, the Watch, and CMOT Dibbler. However, new or newer characters play the largest roles. Moist's second appearance is terrific. Pratchett does a very nice job turning him into what I hope is a regular role. Moist's girlfriend the chain-smoking Adore Belle Dearheart makes her presence felt. Mr. Bent, the oh-so serious bank manager plays straight man to Moist's light-hearted con-man character. Bent is tied to the old ways - where money must be based on gold and nothing but gold. There is something very William Jennings Bryan-like about Bent and his straight-laced approach is the perfect foil for Moist's extraordinarily flexible approach to monetary issues. Moist's antagonists are the Lavish family, Cosmo Lavish and his rather large sister Pucci (of whom Pratchett says in a great line, "she had no idea how to handle people and she tried to make self-esteem do the work of self-respect, but the girl could flounce better than a fat turkey on a trampoline".) They make good foils for Moist and Vetinari.

As always the plot has many twists and turns and one-liners fly almost as fast as the slings and arrows of the Assassins' Guild. Pratchett has a great way with humor and manages to combine that humor with a good deal of insight into how `things' work in the real world. His look at the monetary system in "Making Money" can now stand with Pratchett's look at rock music Soul Music, religion Small Gods, the post office Going Postal, and movies Moving Pictures as some very funny looks at our world through the prism of Discworld.

"Making Money" was a fun book for me to read. It was typical Pratchett (high praise) and I think most Pratchett fans will enjoy it. I certainly did. L. Fleisig

The Post Office is an easy target for a gifted satirist like Pratchett; macroeconomics are much harder. Pratchett manages to bring it all off, but overall "Making Money" ranks in the middle third of Pratchett's writing.

Moist Von Lipwig, confidence man, trickster and Ankh Morpork's Postmaster, is bored. And when he is bored, he will take terrible chances. In many ways, it's how he feels alive. The tyrant of Ankh Morpork, the Patrician, Lord Vetinari,recognizes all this and manipulates people and circumstances so the Moist is made the head of the city's largest bank, with a goal of monetary reform. Well, not the actual chairman; the actual head of the bank is a small dog with a taste for toffee.

Moist must cope with the old family shareholders - the completely dysfunctional Lavish clan - as well as entrenched staff, his checkered past coming back to haunt him and missing gold bullion. Moist copes better than Pratchett does. As a novel, "Making Money" is more episodic than was "Going Postal," and the conclusion is weaker. "Money" has its moments, and you will laugh out loud more than once. But as a story, it's just not as strong as, say, Pratchett's last half dozen. In particular, Pratchett doesn't pull all of the plot threads together with his usual skill.

And it must be unbelievably difficult to make economics amusing. Moist's instructions from Lord Vetinari are to get the suspicious citizens of Ankh Morpork to accept paper currency, to free the City from the gold standard. On one level, it is nearly impossible to make it funny; on another, it is nearly impossible to satirize because its satirizes itself too effectively. Pratchett gets a nod just for making the attempt. The "dismal science," to use Carlyle's phrase, could use some humor.

But even a below-average Pratchett novel is a treat, and "Money" is a delight. It's just not outstanding.