Making Money by Terry Pratchett

The plot
Moist von Lipwig has sorted out the Ankh Morpork Post Office and now he is bored. The Patrician insists that the bank needs taking in hand, and Moist is the man to do it. But Moist is not enthralled by this -- it sounds like the sort of job that could get a man killed.

But he is moved into place when the chairman, Mrs Topsy Lavish, leaves her 50 per cent share to her lap dog (who already has one share) and leaves the dog to Moist.

Moist is right about it being a dangerous job: The chief cashier is not happy; nor are the men of the mint, particularly when Moist suggests paper money; and nor are the hateful Lavish family, who own the other 49 per cent of the bank.

And what is Moist's girlfriend Adora Belle Dearheart, representing the Golem Trust, excavating in the Dwarfs' desert?

What I liked
It's Terry Pratchett, for a start.

I like Moist as a character -- he has a certain 3Dness to him. It's sweet seeing him trying to come to terms with loving the spikey, chain-smoking Adora Belle.

Cribbins is a superb villain. His false teeth make his speech... characteristic.

I liked the Glooper -- this is a water powered computer model of the city's money.

I'm always glad to see Igors -- interesting strand of racial tension there, as both Igors and Moist come for Uberwald.

What I learnt
Terry Pratchett usually starts out with a very mysterious opening -- that I promptly forget about because it doesn't make sense. If I remembered it, it would probably enhance my reading experience. Perhaps it should be printed on a bookmark given away free with every book.

I spotted that a big deal was made of Miss Lavish's ginger hair, and of Hubert's hair, too -- I felt very smug when Moist (as a clever character) asked about this.