Book Review: Making Money

Hey, I'm finally tossing up a review that has nothing to do with Pro Wrestling! Don't expect this often as when I read standard fiction, I view it as far too old to bother with doing a review for. I wasn't even going to do this one until I realized it was published in September 2007.

I'm using the Canadian/UK cover art for the book by the way, as Pratchett's American publisher is apparently blind and makes just about the worst covers ever for every book of his released here, when there is absolutely nothing wrong with Kidby's art. His Discworld art is probably my favorite art for anything fantasy related. The US Publisher hates America, so they replace Kidby's finely well done highly marinated and cared for cut of grade A steak with a freezer burnt patty that may may or may not be beef. And smells oddly of dog urine.

Making Money

by Terry Pratchett

If Making Money shows anything about Pratchett's work, it shows that his writing style can more or less make anything seem interesting, even among what would be viewed as downright hack-ish done by just about anyone else, such as an overall plot recycling.

I enjoyed going through Making Money. So much so that I did my usual “Must find negative in every positive” glance at it. It was easy to find the the sole glaring flaw of the book. In the most cynical simplification one could make about it, it's a rehash of the first Moist Von Lipwig novel, Going Postal.

Both books relatively start with Lord Vetinari threatening Moist with a dreadful thing called opportunity. Both times Moist doesn't really want anything to do with it, but Vetinari... Vetinaris him into compliance. Both times Moist finds a facility in horrible disrepair, poorly managed, and completely ignored by the public. Both times Moist solves the problem set before him with unorthodox methods. Both times Moist deals with someone antagonizing him from completing his plans. Both times Moist is sucessful and Vetinari plots shoving another public service upon Moist.

Does this mean if you've read Going Postal you should skip Making Money, or you should read Going Postal instead if you haven't? No. Despite a whole paragraph's worth of ideas he has plagiarized from himself, he still manages to do the most important thing to someone reading a Discworld book. Entertain you. For that alone, I'd suggest you'd get it, for there are so many books out there which fail to do that.

Making Money is a shining example of the journey being so much more than the destination. A bad concept being executed excellently is much more entertaining than a great concept executed poorly(I'm looking at you, Tolkien.) Pratchett's characters, dialogue, and narrative will once again push you to finish the book as they have in the thirty or so books before. The satire is still fresh in spite of the redundant plot, and tosses you some food for thought here and there about how we do things here in reality.

That being said, when he inevitably gets to the next Moist book, which is likely to be on the subject of taxes in Ankh-Morpork, I do hope he doesn't commit the same sin again. Making Money could be compared to a routine episode of a television sitcom- entertaining but formulaic. You enjoy it, but it could be better. It really prevents Making Money from being great, forcing it to instead only be good.