Raising Steam: A Discworld Novel

Terry Pratchett

Mar 2014 · Discworld Book 40 · Sold by Anchor

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The international bestselling author of the hilarious Discworld series—a writer who’s been compared to Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut—introduces the first steam engine into his complex, zany fantasy world. 

“Everything that makes Pratchett one of the world’s most delightful writers.” —Cory Doctorow, author of Boing Boing
 
Mister Simnel has produced a great clanging monster of a machine that harnesses the power of all the elements—earth, air, fire, and water—and it’s soon drawing astonished crowds. To the consternation of Ankh-Morpork’s formidable Patrician, Lord Vetinari, no one is in charge of this new invention. Who better to take the lead than the man he has already appointed master of the Post Office, the Mint and the Royal Bank?
 
Moist von Lipwig is not a man who enjoys hard work—unless it is dependent on words, which are not very heavy and don’t always need greasing. He does enjoy being alive, however, which makes a new job offer from Vetinari hard to refuse. Moist will have to grapple with gallons of grease, goblins, a controller with a history of throwing employees down the stairs, and some very angry dwarfs if he’s going to stop it all from going off the rails.

Ratings and reviews

I loved the story, but I have to admit that it felt kind of like a goodbye to a long running series. Almost every character we've ever met showed up in one form or another. I read this book after the marvelous author had passed on, so I am sad to know that there will not be another adventure from our friends living on A'tuin's back.

Dialogue has lost much if the wit and personalisation which made other books so enjoyable. Characters are flat and almost unrecognisable. Exposition is heavy-handed and preachy. Couldn't even get through the book, let alone in one sitting as is usually the case with a Pratchett page-turner.

Not only was this an absolutely wonderful story, but as a stationary engineer for almost 37 years, I found this book extremely well researched in all aspects of railroad building! Kudos to Mr Pratchett for not only writing a wonderful story but making it educational as well.

About the author

TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the globally bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Color of Magic, was published in 1983. Raising Steam is his fortieth Discworld novel. His books have been widely adapted for stage and screen; he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, and was awarded a knighthood for services to literature. After falling out with his keyboard, he now talks to his computer. Occasionally, these days, it answers back.