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1st out of 10 books
—
6 voters
Going Postal (Discworld #33)
Moist von Lipwig is a con artist...
... and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet.
It's a tough decision.
But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers' Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, an...more
... and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet.
It's a tough decision.
But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers' Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, an...more
Paperback, 474 pages
Published
October 1st 2005
by Corgi
(first published 2004)
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What happens when Ventari becomes an angel and puts a con man in charge of the decrepit Post Office? Nothing one expects, of course.
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There was a silence. In that silence, Moist tried out a variety of responses, from "Pull the other one, it's got bells on" to "That's impossible", and decided they all sounded stupid. Groat looked deadly serious, so instead he said: "How?"
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There are many, many characters in the...more
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There was a silence. In that silence, Moist tried out a variety of responses, from "Pull the other one, it's got bells on" to "That's impossible", and decided they all sounded stupid. Groat looked deadly serious, so instead he said: "How?"
----------------------------------------------
There are many, many characters in the...more
Jan 04, 2009
Laura
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
will-it-hold-up-to-rereading,
discworld
This book was an excellent surprise; I love the Discworld series but was getting tired of seeing the same characters again and again in every book. But this book introduces an entirely new and refreshing cast of characters. I particularly liked the main character and felt he was very well-developed.
Pratchett's books are funny precisely because he has a very firm grasp of human nature. His best work feels surprisingly profound even though you're also laughing so hard you're afraid you might brea...more
Pratchett's books are funny precisely because he has a very firm grasp of human nature. His best work feels surprisingly profound even though you're also laughing so hard you're afraid you might brea...more
Cute, but kind of stale--like Seinfeld. It's superficially funny, but you get the feeling it's been done before. Many times.
In light of 2008's financial crisis, Going Postal might be taken as a timely reminder of the fallibility of humans, especially those entrusted with wealth or power.
In light of 2008's financial crisis, Going Postal might be taken as a timely reminder of the fallibility of humans, especially those entrusted with wealth or power.
5 likes · like · see review
Mar 14, 2007
Rachel
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
funny fantasy readers
Shelves:
fantasysci-fi
Not as good as the other ones I've read, but maybe I'm ODing just a bit. Still awesome though. Very funny, and very well done. I like him a lot better than Neil Gaimon (don't kill me!).
4.5 stars. A repeater! Loved this fabulous book! It's pure fantasy, with humans and golums mainly, but also werewolves, dwarves, trolls, etc. Going Postal is a joy on several counts, but especially character development, plot, humor, and historic references (it's set in a guild-controlled city much like Hamburg or London, around 1400 -- a fictional city, on a fictional magical planet, called Discworld).
The anti-hero is an expert con-man, a clever operator with a good heart. He is about to be ex...more
The anti-hero is an expert con-man, a clever operator with a good heart. He is about to be ex...more
1 like · like · see review
8.5/10
My first real attempt at a Terry Pratchett novel. Quite a while ago I picked up Colour of Magic and read it intermittently without ever really getting into it or thinking it was anything too special. I was given Going Postal as a gift a couple of years ago and finally picked it up and attempted it due to my keenness to get into the Discworld series. I'm glad I did!
It's very different to the normal sort of crime/action books I read and I'm trying to broaden my horizons with different styles...more
My first real attempt at a Terry Pratchett novel. Quite a while ago I picked up Colour of Magic and read it intermittently without ever really getting into it or thinking it was anything too special. I was given Going Postal as a gift a couple of years ago and finally picked it up and attempted it due to my keenness to get into the Discworld series. I'm glad I did!
It's very different to the normal sort of crime/action books I read and I'm trying to broaden my horizons with different styles...more
Oct 16, 2008
Nate D
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who refuse to read fantasy novels.
This was really surprising, actually. Perhaps it shouldn't have been, given how many people whose opinions I respect are Pratchett fans, but I haven't read a fantasy novel since giving up on Robert Jordan's painstakingly prolonged The Wheel of Time (somewhere in book 5, I think) long before college. Actually, I suppose I read a bunch of the Harry Potters in the interim, but in some ways that felt more like keeping up with pop culture than reading actual fantasy.
In any event, Going Postal was pur...more
In any event, Going Postal was pur...more
8 likes · like · see review
In Going Postal, the enlightened despot of Ankh Morpork, Lord Vetinari, rather forcibly recruits a con man, Moist von Lipwig, to take over the running of the venerable and deserted post office, where letters have been accumulating for years -- if not decades -- without delivery. Moist steps reluctantly into the moldy shoes of the Postmaster, only to discover that the previous three occupants of the position died grisly deaths in the execution of their duties (and I use the term "execution" advis...more
Jun 05, 2007
E.H.
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
language and history geeks
Shelves:
theboxmarkeddone
I picked up this book to read on a 15 hour flight from Chicago to Vietnam, on the assumption that it would be a light, pleasant way to pass the dreary hours (after one flight to China during which I watched the first X-Men film three times, I decided it was best to err on the side of having too many books rather than too few).
My assumptions proved correct, and I enjoyed the book quite thoroughly. Three things struck me:
1) Pratchett's use of language is always fun, and he occasionally makes wond...more
My assumptions proved correct, and I enjoyed the book quite thoroughly. Three things struck me:
1) Pratchett's use of language is always fun, and he occasionally makes wond...more
Mar 21, 2011
Luann
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Luann by:
Mercy (Pick-a-Shelf)
If you've read Terry Pratchett before, you know what to expect from this. If you haven't read Terry Pratchett before, well, why not? He always has something to say about everyday life and society while telling a great story in a way that's fun to read and funny as well. In this one he deals with the post office, postal workers, city politics, email (although on Discworld it's called "clacks"), people who collect things, a con-man, a chain-smoking heroine, and letters that just want to be deliver...more
1 like · like · see review
Dec 31, 2007
Eleanor
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
satire / fantasy nerds
I am probably the last person on earth to read Terry Pratchett, but I'm glad I finally did. People have been recommending his books to me for years and although I had planned on starting with book 1, Color of Magic, the bookseller recommended I start with Going Postal instead (they were also out of stock of CoM). Every time I picked this book up I laughed out loud, it has a refreshing wit combined with a sharp perception of people and their funny habits. I ate this book up and bought copy of "Gu...more
4 likes · like · see review
Suddenly, condemned arch-swindler Moist von Lipwig found himself with a noose around his neck and dropping through a trapdoor into ... a government job?
By all rights, Moist should be meeting his maker rather than being offered a position as Postmaster by Lord Vetinari, supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork. Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may prove an impossible task, what with literally mountains of decades-old undelivered mail clogging every nook and cranny of the
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett is a humorous fantasy which takes place in a magical world called Discworld with mythical creatures like golems, zombies, banshees, wizards and werewolves. The tone of the story is funny because there are laugh out loud moments and is also very light. The writing style is also witty and Terry Pratchett writing is usually a satire about modern society, in Going Postal Pratchett is making a parody of money hungry business men and other modern world customs. The stor...more
Jan 17, 2013
La Stamberga dei Lettori
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sakura87
Non è un mistero lo sfortunato trattamento subito qui in Italia dai libri di Terry Pratchett. La saga del Mondo Disco è iniziata in patria nel 1983 con Il colore della magia, e - proseguita ininterrottamente - conta oggi trentanove volumi pubblicati, due annunciati, più un numero incalcolabile di gadget, libri a tema (come mappe e guide alle città o alla scienza dell'universo creato dall'autore britannico) e miniserie tv.
Limitandoci ai libri, nel nostro paese ne sono stati tradotti solo la metà,...more
Limitandoci ai libri, nel nostro paese ne sono stati tradotti solo la metà,...more
Only in Ankh Morpork would swindling be a hanging offense, and only there would a hanged man be given a government job. The city's ruler, Lord Vetinari, a trained assassin himself, has decided to utilize the supreme skills that Moist Van Lipwig has crafted over the years, and revamp the postal service into an actual working environment which *gasp* delivers mail!
The job comes with a few perks, continuing to live being high among them, and a bodyguard whose main function is to make sure the body...more
The job comes with a few perks, continuing to live being high among them, and a bodyguard whose main function is to make sure the body...more
Wednesday was the regular meeting of the Science Fiction Book Club at my local library. The book this month (November 2012) was Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. This was another book everyone liked. Why? Here are the reasons.
1. The dialog. Much of it is so tongue in cheek. That provided plenty of chuckles and fit right into the tone of the story.
2. The names: Names like Moist, Dearheart, Recher Guilt and Mr Groat just to name a few helped build the identity of the characters. Not that they alway...more
1. The dialog. Much of it is so tongue in cheek. That provided plenty of chuckles and fit right into the tone of the story.
2. The names: Names like Moist, Dearheart, Recher Guilt and Mr Groat just to name a few helped build the identity of the characters. Not that they alway...more
I am usually interested in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, at least to an extent. But the two (hopefully three!) books with the main character of Moist von Lipwig are definitely his best. I can't say what it is about Moist that appeals so much to me; perhaps because he's a rogue, and a charming one at that. (Most rogues are; that's why they're rogues.)
In this case, though, Moist is a busted rogue. Soon after that, right in the beginning of the book, he becomes a hanged rogue...or, at least, ...more
In this case, though, Moist is a busted rogue. Soon after that, right in the beginning of the book, he becomes a hanged rogue...or, at least, ...more
Just re-read this over the weekend. Liked it even more the second time. Such loveable charachters. Amazing that he wrote this in 2004 when this could have been written about the 2009 crash:
At three am Mr. Cheeseborough arrived, in a hurry and bitter tears, to learn that his bank was a shell of paper. He brought his own clerks, with their nightshirts tucked into hastily donned trousers...
It wasn't until almost dawn that the somber men arrived. They were older and fatter and better- but not showie...more
At three am Mr. Cheeseborough arrived, in a hurry and bitter tears, to learn that his bank was a shell of paper. He brought his own clerks, with their nightshirts tucked into hastily donned trousers...
It wasn't until almost dawn that the somber men arrived. They were older and fatter and better- but not showie...more
I have been lost. But reading Going Postal has given me purpose once more. It gave me hope. It gave me life. Some books, somehow, manage to arrive at the right page of your life.
As Moist von Lipwig would say... Life is what we make it, never forget that. Smile and give them a show. It's all about the show.
++++++ favourite quotes and possible spoiler ahead ++++++
"That's the fashion. Fast as the speed of light, they say. Ha! It's got no soul, sir, no heart," Mr. Groat pg. 58
Smile, say the right ki...more
As Moist von Lipwig would say... Life is what we make it, never forget that. Smile and give them a show. It's all about the show.
++++++ favourite quotes and possible spoiler ahead ++++++
"That's the fashion. Fast as the speed of light, they say. Ha! It's got no soul, sir, no heart," Mr. Groat pg. 58
Smile, say the right ki...more
Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is the thirty-third "Discworld" novel. Here, Pratchett sets about saving Ankh-Morpork's post office. At first glance, Going Postal is clearly the work of a man that has run out of ideas.
You can imagine the creative process. Pratchett is sitting at his desk, brainstorming. "Saving the world -- scratch that, I've done it already. What's this? A letter. I'll read that after I come up with a premise for my next book. Saving the ... post office! Where's my letter opener...more
You can imagine the creative process. Pratchett is sitting at his desk, brainstorming. "Saving the world -- scratch that, I've done it already. What's this? A letter. I'll read that after I come up with a premise for my next book. Saving the ... post office! Where's my letter opener...more
In a strange way, I started by reading Making Money, where Moist von Lipwig. Now, I went back to the beginning by reading Going Postal, the book that introduces us to Moist.
Here, Moist starts off as a condemned criminal who's given a second chance by Lord Vetinari. The only catch is that he has to take over the role of the Postmaster General of a more-or-less dead post office. And he has a golem following him around to make sure he doesn't try to escape.
Of course, escape is the only thing on hi...more
Here, Moist starts off as a condemned criminal who's given a second chance by Lord Vetinari. The only catch is that he has to take over the role of the Postmaster General of a more-or-less dead post office. And he has a golem following him around to make sure he doesn't try to escape.
Of course, escape is the only thing on hi...more
Con-man Moist van Lipwig (yes, really) is "persuaded" by Lord Vetinary to take on the position of Postmaster at the Ankh-Morpork Post Office. Now all he has to do is get it running again. How hard can that be? Of course, this is the Discworld, where things tend to take on a life - or death - of their own.
Going Postal is not one of my favorite Discworld books, I am sad to say. While well-crafted, it just doesn't seem as imaginative as many of the other novels. Some of Pratchett's later novels te...more
Going Postal is not one of my favorite Discworld books, I am sad to say. While well-crafted, it just doesn't seem as imaginative as many of the other novels. Some of Pratchett's later novels te...more
This is a wonderful, funny book, and it's a good starting point for Discworld because it's stand-alone. Most of the major characters make their first appearances here, but you also get to meet a lot of characters who are significant in the series, with only supporting roles in this one.
Vetinari, the Patrician, gets a good part; he's a tyrant, and he's terrifying, but he makes things work. You get to meet a lot of the City Guard, who are my favorite group of characters (they have eight books writ...more
Vetinari, the Patrician, gets a good part; he's a tyrant, and he's terrifying, but he makes things work. You get to meet a lot of the City Guard, who are my favorite group of characters (they have eight books writ...more
So you know you've got a good book coming when the protagonist's name is one of the most hated words in the English language. "Moist." I happen to think of cake, but whatever. The point is how many authors can set up a life's experience with one word? Terry Pratchett. I know this may sound crazy to long-time fans, but I have only just recently stumbled onto his life's work, a satire and fantasy cocktail mix, and I'm completely hooked.
I walked into my local used book store. "You got any Terry Pr...more
Terry Pratchett does for fantasy what Douglas Adams did for science fiction...pure comedic genius.
Going Postal is just one story that features in the Discworld series. If you don't know what the Discworld is, then you must lead a poor shallow inconsolable life and no amount of funny witty puns collected in to an adventure filled story is going to make your day: or will it?
This was the fourth discworld story I read and it only cemented what I thought was great about Pratchett's writing. Which is...more
Going Postal is just one story that features in the Discworld series. If you don't know what the Discworld is, then you must lead a poor shallow inconsolable life and no amount of funny witty puns collected in to an adventure filled story is going to make your day: or will it?
This was the fourth discworld story I read and it only cemented what I thought was great about Pratchett's writing. Which is...more
Who would have thought a book about the postal service would be so entertaining? Well not I of course, but then again, this was my first introduction into the works of Terry Pratchett. The book was flat out hilarious, from the subtle commentary by the brilliant author, to the clever interaction between characters, and even to the well thought out names to each and every individual. From beginning to end the postal jokes got delivered (pun intended) as well as many other jokes of various shapes a...more
This is another Discworld novel, and the first to feature career con man Moist von Lipwig. As it is a later Discworld novel, it focuses on satirically exploring one theme (the post) and on one character (Moist). Unlike many of Pratchett's other novels, there isn't really a mystery character whose true nature is not discovered until the end, though the hired killer Mr. Gryle is not far from one.
The book begins with Moist having been caught and sentenced to death. He's hung until nearly dead, decl...more
The book begins with Moist having been caught and sentenced to death. He's hung until nearly dead, decl...more
Well, now that I've read a Terry Pratchett book, I can say that I have actually read a Terry Pratchett book.
coolness++;
So, with that out of the way, is this book good? I mean, yes, it's discworld, it's by Terry Pratchett. I implore you to quit reading this and look up a picture of the man. Look at that beard. Does that look like the beard of a man who writes mediocre comedy fantasy novels? This IS a comedy novel, by the way, despite my doubts given the fact that the term "going postal" was coine...more
coolness++;
So, with that out of the way, is this book good? I mean, yes, it's discworld, it's by Terry Pratchett. I implore you to quit reading this and look up a picture of the man. Look at that beard. Does that look like the beard of a man who writes mediocre comedy fantasy novels? This IS a comedy novel, by the way, despite my doubts given the fact that the term "going postal" was coine...more
I've probably read this one before. My husband is such a huge Terry Pratchett fan that I sometimes pick one up and give it a shot again. But he got the DVD version for Christmas. I adored it! So I thought I would re-read the book. Unusually, I like the movie version much better. (Be sure and look for the Terry Pratchett's Going Postal--There's evidently another movie of the same name.) I love romance and there's more of it in the movie. And the hero (Richard Coyle) is so charming that you just f...more
Moist Von Lipwig is a con man with the gift of being almost totally undistinguishable who is at the end of his rope, literally. However, he doesn't hang long enough to kill him, just long enough for his various aliases to die. He is then whisked to the office of the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Vetinari. Vetinari is his "guardian angel," giving him two choices: get the long-abandoned Ankh-Morpork Post Office up and running, or walk out the door behind him. Since Moist knows what awaits him outside...more
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| La Stamberga dei ...: Going Postal di Terry Pratchett | 2 | 11 | Jan 16, 2013 12:01pm |
Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel,...more
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And now I want a 'Vetinari for President' sticker!
Sep 30, 2012 08:33pm
And now I want a 'Vetinari for President' sticker!"
oh yes.
Oct 01, 2012 05:43am