Discworld - Moist von Lipwig - Review
Link to the author's (T. Pratchett) personal website
Book 1: Going Postal
Book 2: Making Money
Blurb: (From Book 1) Arch-swindler Moist Van Lipwig never believed his confidence crimes were hanging offenses - until he found himself with a noose tightly around his neck, dropping through a trapdoor, and falling into...a government job?
By all rights, Moist should have met his maker. Instead, it's Lord Vetinari, supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork, who promptly offers him a job as Postmaster. Since his only other option is a nonliving one, Moist accepts the position - and the hulking golem watchdog who comes along with it, just in case Moist was considering abandoning his responsibilities prematurely.
Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may be a near-impossible task, what with literally mountains of decades-old undelivered mail clogging every nook and cranny of the broken-down post office building; and with only a few creaky old postmen and one rather unstable, pin-obsessed youth available to deliver it. Worse still, Moist could swear the mail is talking to him. Worst of all, it means taking on the gargantuan, money-hungry Grand Trunk clacks communication monopoly and its bloodthirsty piratical head, Mr. Reacher Gilt.
But it says on the building Neither Rain Nor Snow Nor Glom of Nit...Inspiring words (admittedly, some of the bronze letters have been stolen), and for once in his wretched life Moist is going to fight. And if the bold and impossible are what's called for, he'll do it - in order to move the mail, continue breathing, get the girl, and specially deliver that invaluable commodity that every human being (not to mention troll, dwarf, and, yes, even golem) requires: hope.
Review: Maybe the funniest series I have ever read. If you've already read a Discworld novel, then I can only say that this series will be better and you'll love it. If you haven't entered Discworld yet, then I think this series serves as only a slightly worse starting point than Guards! Guards!. Don't be turned off by the large amount of books, don't be turned off by the weird maze that the series ordering makes, all books can be read as stand-alones, it's just better if you follow a loose ordering. So there's a-lot to love in this series. The characters, the writing, the city........ The way Pratchett writes conversations is actually beautiful. The most mundane talks can become funny, it keeps you engaged, and it makes the characters more interesting. This extends into the ludicrousness of some characters actions, and especially of the city (Ankh-Morpork).
So for this series strap yourself in to get hooked into the idea of the clacks and how "a man is not dead as long as his name is still spoken". Wait until you've observed the power of stamps, and become invested in the safety of Mr. Fusspot and the location of Drumknott's pen. Following Von Lipwig is a treat, I adored this sub-series, and I cannot recommend it enough.