About 9 h 30 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 20 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
In Ankh-Morpork, former con artist Moist von Lipwig has restored the postal service when he finds himself responsible for the Royal Bank and its chairman, a dog he has inherited. The neighboring Royal Mint loses money, and his attempts to overhaul the business threaten powerful people with a stake in keeping things as they are. Persuading strangers to trust him is familiar work, but now the city’s finances depend on it.
Reader notes
The comic fantasy treats banking as an absurd workplace and a serious exercise in public confidence, with arguments about money woven through the jokes. It follows Moist’s earlier adventure in Going Postal, though the publisher says the Discworld novels can be read in any order.
No, the publisher says the Discworld novels can be read in any order. Going Postal does come before this adventure, however, and follows Moist’s earlier work restoring the postal service.
Is it hard to read?
Not really, the conversational prose, witty dialogue and brisk, linear story keep it accessible. The arguments about money and public confidence give the comedy some conceptual weight.
Who would enjoy the banking side of the story?
It suits someone who enjoys comic fantasy with an interest in how institutions work. Banking becomes both an absurd workplace and a serious question of trust, as Moist’s reforms threaten people invested in keeping things as they are.
How long is it?
480 pages in the Harper 2014 mass market paperback edition.
Which edition is shown here?
Harper · 2014 · mass market paperback. ISBN 9780062334992.
How long does it take to read Making Money?
About 9 hours 30 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 480-page Harper edition. Dense books can take longer.
About the author
Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett was an English fantasy novelist whose career began with The Carpet People and became centered on the long-running Discworld series. Starting with The Colour of Magic, Discworld developed from a broad parody of sword-and-sorcery conventions into a more flexible form of comic satire. Pratchett built stories around familiar fantasy machinery such as wizards, dragons, gods, and Death, then used it to examine institutions and ordinary social behavior. His method combines brisk plots, conversational wit, absurd premises, and characters whose practical weaknesses often prove more revealing than heroic competence. Guards! Guards! turns a dragon story into an inquiry into civic authority and policing, while Small Gods brings organized religion and sincere belief into conflict through a god trapped in the body of a tortoise. Mort similarly makes Death’s apprentice confront rules that appear fixed by fate. The result is fantasy distinguished by its alertness to power, faith, bureaucracy, and human folly, while remaining accessible as comedy.
