Going Postal: A Novel of Discworld
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
Helpful Score: 1
"Going Postal" is one of the amusing Discworld novels I have read to date, written by Terry Pratchett.
The discworld is a fantasy world Pratchett created in "The Color of Magic." As befits its name, the discworld is a flat world, borne upon the backs of four enormous elephants who stand astride a cosmic turtle as it swims through the universe.
"Going Postal" chronicles the adventures of a conman named Moist von Lipwig, hanged for his crimes but given an on-the-sly pardon by the patrician of the city as long as he consents to make the Ankh-Morphok post office an institution to be proud of.
It's a rollicking fun tale, with corporate intrigue, inspirational razzle-dazzle, golems who are earning their freedom by hiring themselves out to employers, some clever parallels to computer hackers and geek culture, and a searing portrayal of corporate excess and corruption.
Writing in 2004, Pratchett takes a decidedly prescient view of the economy, showing the inevitability of collapse in any system where profit rather than service is the primary motivation. Reacher Gilt, one of the primary antagonists, would be right at home at Enron, Arthur Andersen, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs or any number of other businesses that made the news in 2008.
When my daughter was disappointed today not to find a copy of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" at the library, I got her to check this out instead. As expected, she found it right up her alley.
The discworld is a fantasy world Pratchett created in "The Color of Magic." As befits its name, the discworld is a flat world, borne upon the backs of four enormous elephants who stand astride a cosmic turtle as it swims through the universe.
"Going Postal" chronicles the adventures of a conman named Moist von Lipwig, hanged for his crimes but given an on-the-sly pardon by the patrician of the city as long as he consents to make the Ankh-Morphok post office an institution to be proud of.
It's a rollicking fun tale, with corporate intrigue, inspirational razzle-dazzle, golems who are earning their freedom by hiring themselves out to employers, some clever parallels to computer hackers and geek culture, and a searing portrayal of corporate excess and corruption.
Writing in 2004, Pratchett takes a decidedly prescient view of the economy, showing the inevitability of collapse in any system where profit rather than service is the primary motivation. Reacher Gilt, one of the primary antagonists, would be right at home at Enron, Arthur Andersen, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs or any number of other businesses that made the news in 2008.
When my daughter was disappointed today not to find a copy of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" at the library, I got her to check this out instead. As expected, she found it right up her alley.
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