Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Moist von Lipwig became the model citizen (mostly) in Going Postal. His fiancée, Miss Dearheart is out searching for golems, and he has to amuse himself, until Lord Vetinari assigns him his next task. The controlling owner of the Royal Bank is dying , and a stand-in is necessary to keep the bank out of the control of the hands of the Bank’s corrupt family. Lipwig is , of course, volunteered for the job with Vetinari’s usual style.
In an effort to rejuvenate the Bank, Moist introduces the idea of paper money and personally takes to the street to experiment with his theory. A nephew of the owner has a liquid model of the banking system which pinpoints problems or successes (and can be manipulated). An Igor assists him in his work. Mr. Bent keeps the books and supervises all bank employees. Lipwig’s interfering in his bank may be enough to topple his carefully balanced mind. Add in the expected attempts of the Bank’s family to grab control and Miss Dearheart’s golem find, and the book is as quirky as all Pratchett books.
This task turns out less successful for Lipwig than the Postal Service. With his failure will he be hanged yet again?
As always Pratchett is entertaining. There are certainly enough oddities to keep readers coming back. However, this book didn’t have quite the appeal for me that Going Postal had. Maybe because Going Postal was my first adult read of his, it was new and fresh. Maybe I was just in a different mood. I think that Making Money has less commentary; it’s solely for laughs.
