Timbré (2004)

Pratchett shows up several times on the NPR Sci-Fi/Fantasy list that I'm still slogging through; this is not at all something I would pick up on my own, but after having it highly recommended several times (by the same person, but still), I finally checked it out, and I'm glad I did.

The premise of this book is pretty funny in light of the US Postal Service's present decline in favor; in this story, a convicted swindler gets a second chance at life (albeit post-execution) -- as Postmaster of the long defunct Postal Service, including a staff of one junior postman, a pin collector, and a cat. Our hero, with the unforgettable name of Moist Van Lipwig, also finds himself trailed by a clay, fire-filled golum who goes by the name "Pump," who turns out to be quite handy in cleaning up the piles of letters (several decades worth, in fact). There is also the rival service, a complex mechanical messaging technology known as the Grand Trunk, run by a bullying businessman named Reacher Gilt.

All that said, I probably would have skipped over this novel if it weren't for the urging of the recommender. And it took me a while to get into the flow of Pratchett's writing, especially the peculiar humor which permeates his work. However, having now worked in some pretty odd places and with some odd people myself, I definitely get this book more than I would have, say, ten years ago. I'll be adding more Pratchett to my "to-read" list because of this book, although I think these are a kind of book that I have to be in a certain mood to read. It's a little difficult to go from dystopian fiction and suspense to this. ( )

This, up there with "The Truth," "Night Watch," and "Guards! Guards!" is the best Discworld book. It's oddly inspiring, that all people really want is a show, and are willing to look the other way on most everything if you give it to them. ( )

Absurd 'humor' books aren't entertaining to me. (1 Star)

-Dropped Ch 1 page 1 so I won't officially rate it

You know you're in for a treat when you main character's name is Moist von Lipwig. With a name like that he could only be a con man. Moist thinks the end is near when he is sentenced to be hung only to wake up and find himself getting a job offer from the tyrant of the city Lord Ventinti. Now Moist finds himself coning the entire city into believing again in the post office, taking down the corrupt Reacher Gilt, and, suprisingly, coming down on the side of right. Total fun! ( )

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 that door (or, better yet, what doesn't await him, like a floor), he chooses the first option. Of course, he doesn't do it completely willingly. He has a golem guarding him, willing to track him down however far he runs if he should do so. Moist shows up at the Post Office to find it almost buried in old letters, some as old as a hundred years. However, letters speak, and letters that are put together into sentences and put onto paper speak even more. They speak to Moist of their desire to get to where they are supposed to have gone. As Moist begins to make the Post Office more and more of a success, the conglomerate running the Clacks system into the ground becomes very interested. The Clacks are a series of towers stretching from one city to another so that messages can be sent quickly. Can the power of the Post ever beat the power of the clacks? ( )