Making Money (Discworld Novels) author: Terry Pratchett rating: asin: 0061161640 binding: Hardcover list price: $25.95 USD amazon price: $17.13 USD

Ankh-Morpork, the jewel... well... the city... umm... the twin cities sitting like a rank bit of flotsam on the flatulent banks of the twin rivers Ankh and Morpork. Where only a tyrant can rule.

"Mr. Lipwig, how would you like to make some real money?" is the line that sets this latest installment of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels off to full, hilarious gallop.

Moist van Lipwig, Postmaster General, is in a funk. He's turned the Royal Postal Service into a well-oiled machine, with mail delivered on-time, dead letters being forwarded on to the rightful recipients 5 out of 6 times. And the danger has left his life, the thrill that he once knew as one of Discworld's greatest con men who robbed plenty of banks - with words. That, and his golden suit has become too recognizable, and his past rears its ugly head.

A year has passed since Moist in his alias as Andrew Spangler was hanged until dead (see Going Postal), but saved by an angel in the form of Ankh-Morpork's thinking tyrant Lord Vetinari and put in charge of the Post. Not only did Moist revive the Postal Service, but managed to incorporate the clacks service into the communications system, all under Vetinari's semi-benevolent thumb.

Moist is depressed. He's lonely, because his fianc Miss Dearheart (who is anything BUT dear to anyone who has met one of her stilettos) has gone off seeking golden golems buried under what might be the site of the first city on Disc World, the mighty empire of Um. And he's seeking thrills in dangerous ways, which include semi-transparent taunts thrown at Vetinari via "misprinted" postage stamps.

Moist soon finds himself put squarely in the bulls-eye of Ankh-Morpork's most dangerous family, the Lavishes, who have been in control of the Royal Bank and the Royal Mint for hundreds of years, soaking it for all it's worth. And the erstwhile leader of the Lavish clan features himself, not as Vetinari's replacement, but as Vetinari, himself!

Moist has a vision of what the true value of money is, powered by the Glooper hidden amongst the amazingly detailed fornication (that's arched columns, people!) buried under the Royal Bank. But money needs backing - or does it just need to be believed?

Reading "Making Money" is a small lesson in economics, banking, and the real value of money, told as only Terry Pratchett can, with his skewering humor and amazingly diverse cast of characters.