Terry Pratchett is flat out awesome.  To say I’m a huge fan is an understatement.  I used to love Pratchett so much that I would force myself to take breaks between his novels because I never wanted to be without the promise of a new Discworld book to read.  I remember a time when I always kept a brand new, unread Pratchett novel sitting in my room.  My strategy was this: anytime something really shitty happened during the day I would crack open the new Pratchett novel that night.  So no matter how bad things got…I always knew that at the end of the day I’d have an amazing book to read.  And I knew I would be laughing, smiling and caught up in the lives of the characters - because that’s what these books do.

Somewhere along the way, the series lost its totemic power to me.  I’m not even sure why.  But from time to time I still come across a new Pratchett novel in a bookstore and grab it.  And it is still always a very enjoyable read.  I recently read his latest novel, Making Money.

Making Money follows the “retired” con-man Moist von Lipwig.  After his success with the Post Office in Going Postal, Moist has become so bored that he is literally climbing the walls.  The Patrician approaches him to manage the Royal Mint and Bank of Ankh-Morpork.  Moist initially refuses but, guess what, certain events happen which make his fate inescapable.  Of course, in Ankh-Morpork, dealing with high finance turns out to also include dealing with necromancers, golems, and a chief cashier with a past that is truly terrifying (and hilarious).

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