Making Money
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2009) |
ISBN 0385611013 | | |
Preceded by | Wintersmith | |
---|---|---|
Followed by | Unseen Academicals |
Making Money is a
Plot
With no alternatives, Moist takes over the bank and finds out that people do not trust banks much, that the production of money runs slowly and at a loss, and that people now use stamps as currency rather than coins. His various ambitious changes include making money that is not backed by gold but by the city itself. Unfortunately, neither the chief cashier (Mr. Bent, who is rumoured to be a vampire but is actually something much worse, a clown) nor the Lavish family are too happy with him and try to dispose of him. Cosmo Lavish tries to go one step further — he attempts to replace Vetinari by taking on his identity — with little success. However all the while, the reappearance of a character from von Lipwig's past adds more pressure to his unfortunate scenario.
Moist's fiancée,
At the end of the novel, Lord Vetinari considers the advancing age of the current Chief Tax Collector, and suggests that upon his retirement a new name to take on the vacancy might present itself.
Characters
- Moist von Lipwig, Postmaster General and Vice Chairman of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork.
- Adora Belle Dearheart, fiancée of Moist and manager of the Golem Trust
- Mr Fusspot, Chairman of the Bank
- Lord Vetinari, Patrician
- Mr Mavolio Bent, Chief Cashier of the Bank
- Cosmo Lavish, a director of the Bank
- Rev Cribbins, villain with impressive teeth
Themes
According to Pratchett, Making Money is both fantasy and non-fantasy, as money is a fantasy within the "real world", as "we've agreed that these numbers of conceptual things like dollars have a value".[2]
Promotional items in the UK hardcover first edition
Some High Street booksellers have additional exclusive promotional material glued under the inside of the dust jacket:
- Borders include an Ankh-Morpork cheque book
- Waterstone'sinclude a few Ankh-Morpork bank notes
Reception
Kim Newman, writing for The Independent, called the book "on-the-nose and up-to-the-minute in its subject", praising the villain and the narration.[3] The Guardian's Patrick Ness praised the book's humanity, and its "sharp questions (...) about why we trust banks (...) as well as the nature of money", but noted that the book "is not quite as successful as" Going Postal due to the lack of some of Going Postal's forward drive.[4] The Observer's Rowland Manthrope was critical of the book, saying that "Pratchett has wit here, but has lost his normal cutting edge".[5] Nick Rennison, from The Sunday Times, said that while "Making Money is not vintage Discworld", "it still offers more comic inventiveness and originality than most other novels of the year. And more fun."[6]
References
- ^ "2008 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
- ^ Hughes, Juliette (17 February 2007). "Meeting Mr Pratchett". The Age. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Newman, Kim (16 August 2007). "Making Money, by Terry Pratchett". The Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Ness, Patrick (29 September 2007). "In mint condition". The Guardian: 16. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Manthrope, Rownland (11 November 2011). "Puzzle piece". The Observer: 25. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Rennison, Nick (4 November 2007). "Planets of the japes". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
External links
- Making Money title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database