Going Postal – Terry Pratchett

     Going Postal starts with the hanging of a man who technically doesn’t exist. Moist Von Lipwig is a con artist that hasn’t used his real name since he left home. With a name like Moist, I wouldn’t use it either. He was caught defrauding people and sentenced to hang. Lord Vetinari the ruler of Ankh-Morpork decided his skills would be useful and pretended hang Moist in order to offer him a job. The offer was revamp the post office and make it profitable or go back to the gibbet and hang. Of course being an enterprising con man, Moist took the deal. On being released, he promptly bought a horse and left town. He was overtaken at an inn the next night by his parole golem. Golems don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t breathe, and don’t stop. Giving into the inevitable, Moist joins forces with the motley crew of postal employees and the Golem Trust to transform the Post Office from a haunted, run down building that is stuffed full of old letters into a profitable business and possibly save his own life.

     Going Postal is my favorite book by Terry Pratchett. It isn’t quite as serious as the books about the Night Watch and is far more understandable than the Rincewind books. I enjoy Terry Pratchett’s type of humor. Watching the transformation of Moist from a con man who thinks of no one but himself into a person who legally parts people from their money is eye opening. Even if he does not really become a better person, by the end of the story, he does learn to care about a few people other than himself. I would definitely recommend this book to people who haven’t read any Discworld books. It starts with a new character and introduces a few of the other major background characters.