Making Money

[Nienna]

But...after several more attempts I realise it's another class act. I like the interplay between Vetinari and Moist and the relevation of a more cerebral side to Vetinari was a joy to read.

Yes! Loved that! I always thought Moist and Vimes were quite similar, in a way, except that Moist is a bit more... jovial. And when you consider that one is a self-proclaimed criminal and the other is the head of the city watch it really makes you think. Great minds, maybe?

As well, I love the idea of the gold being so useless and the paper bills becoming the worth themselves - its a theme that popped up in Nation, too: the question of why humans value gold? Because it is shiny? But the fact is it's useless! It's just lumps of metal, and not even a very good metal - one of the worst metallic conductors and very soft. All it's good for is looking pretty. Now I look at the notes in my purse and think: the worth of gold in a piece of paper, and neither are really worth anything. Out of context, of course...

 

[Catch-up]

I recently re-read this one for a discussion. It was my second time through and I enjoyed more than the first time through. One of the things I found frustrating was how much was going on in the book. I could see how it all related to the plot, but there were things I would have loved to know more about. Like the Cabinet of Curiosity. And what was the significance of the golem pieces that were made so finely? I'm really hoping Tony is right and it's the second in a trilogy. Hopefully some of these things will get filled out in a third book?

 

[Tonyblack]

I got the same feeling from Making Money as I did with Pirates of the Caribbean 2. I came out feeling that I'd just watched a lenthy trailer for part 3.

 

[Tiffany]

I couldn't get into Making Money either, I must reread it & see if I like it any better.
I loved Monsterous Regiment, any book where females do well over the blokes is fine by me.

 

[Dotsie]

I loved Monsterous Regiment

I really liked it too, I'm surprised to hear so many people didn't.

One bit I thought was wrong was Vimes giggling like a teenager at the posmposity of others, in front of Polly (can't remember the scene exactly). Seemed out of character to me, Vimes tends to be more dry than silly.

 

[Tonyblack]

I think Vimes was laughing at the stupidity of the military types and their inability to do something without a huge palaver. And in that way it's quite Vimes-like in that he's probably sneering at them rather than giggling.

And I loved Monstrous Regiment as well.

 

[Dotsie]

it's quite Vimes-like in that he's probably sneering at them rather than giggling.

I agree - but he never does it publicly - he's more of a private sneerer!

 

[Kade]

I had a bit of a time getting into Monstrous Regiment but I did enjoy the book immensely overall, now that you point it out Dotsie, Vimes did come across somewhat out of character and maybe that was what threw me! I take it hard when a character behaves differently than I have come to know and love them, and because I read all the other Witches books and then only read Equal Rites I had the most awful time dealing with how totally different Granny started out!

I have only read Making Money once so far, I just can’t read the same book twice in a row I prefer to have a gap between, but I did enjoy Cosmo Lavishes wild, crazy maniac behavior – my hand ached for him at several points!

 

[Tonyblack]

One thing you have to remember with Monstrous Regiment is that we actually see Vimes through someone else's eyes. Polly has only heard of Vimes up until in a negative way. Vimes the Butcher, if I remember correctly. When she sees him he stands out from everyone else because he looks different. What might really be an amused grin might look to Polly like something else.

 

[Kade]

Very true Tonyblack, all this enlightenment settles it I am going to start on Monstrous Regiment again today now that I have a fresh perspective on it I am keen to give it another read!

I absolutely love the fact that a forum titled Making Money made me want to read Monstrous Regiment again

 

[Tonyblack]

What us digress from a topic? Never!

Actually, I found that a subsequent reading of MR was well worth it. The first time you read it there's the whole 'is she or isn't she?' bit which is somewhat distracting to what is otherwise a great story.

And the whole thing about women fighting dressed as men is really not all that far fetched. I have a list somewhere of a whole bunch of them that did it for various reasons in our own history.

If you get the chance, Google 'magdalene laundries' and you'll see the relevance of the workhouse for wayward girls mentioned in MR. The fact that one of the girls is named 'Magda' really shows, I think, that this was on Terry's mind when he wrote the book.

 

[Dotsie]

One thing you have to remember with Monstrous Regiment is that we actually see Vimes through someone else's eyes. Polly has only heard of Vimes up until in a negative way. Vimes the Butcher, if I remember correctly. When she sees him he stands out from everyone else because he looks different. What might really be an amused grin might look to Polly like something else.

But the first time she sees this giggling moron she doesn't know who he is

I agree about Magda by the way. It was nice to see the home for wayward girls get its comeuppance as well.

 

[NetBuggy]

where's the gold??

Hi All! I just finished reading Making Money and I find myself having a “Detritus” moment. Is it just me or is there something funky going on with the gold? I mean, in chap. 2 Moist sees it in the vault. Then it is stolen and we later find out that it was sold years before... What?!?!

 

[Tonyblack]

Hi there NetBuggy and welcome.

If I remember correctly, what Moist sees are lumps of lead painted gold. No one had inspected them closely and it appeared that the finacial system worked (sort of) whether the gold was really there or not.

 

[chris.ph]

welcome netbuggy

 

[NetBuggy]

If I remember correctly, what Moist sees are lumps of lead painted gold. No one had inspected them closely and it appeared that the finacial system worked (sort of) whether the gold was really there or not.

I completely forgot about that!!! The ingots were made of lead and painted gold!!! That was the AM$5 he was talking about.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Tonyblack]

No worries - I read it recently. It was quite apt considering the current economic disaster.

 

[Lady Vetinari]

A friend of mine read Monstrous Regiment to me but I didn't like it, I found it rather dry, boring and not the best one.

I personally love Making Money, I thought it is very vital to the times we live in at the moment, can you imagine Vet - sorry, Gordon Brown, has a glooper in the bank of England?

I also loved the lecherous dead Wizard and the Necromancers *only doing it for the cool black robes, and nice jewellery, and the girls!* made me laugh, considering my favourite characters always were black!

I also loved the first female Golem. And the fact that she was trying to flirt with Moist ... poor chap!

I thought it was better that some. Personally I couldn't get on with Theif of Time, I had to put it down after two hundred pages. I am going to try again though because everyone else seems to love it.

I also LOVED The Truth, and I would say it is my third favourite and would love a signed copy of that one as it is about journalism ... it kind of parodied His Girl Friday, a brilliant Cary Grant film also about journalism.

I think I would love to play Sachrissa Cripslock. She's cool.

 

[Tonyblack]

Monstous Regiment needs to be read more than once in my opinion. I didn't much care for it when I first read it and that has been the experience of a lot of people I know. Subsequent readings reveal it to be a wonderfully crafted book about the idiocy of war where a country will bankrupt itself to prove a point that is pointless in the first place.

It goes to show howe diffeerent readers of Pratchett are. I didn't like Making Money on the first read and I liked it even less on subsequent readings. That's pretty much a first for me with Terry's writing. I've often not liked a book much on the first reading but have grown to love them later - including my all time favourite, Small Gods. But Making Money just didn't do it for me at all.

 

[Lady Vetinari]

Ah well, we'd all be boring if we were all the same, but I just found Monstrous Regiment so boring I could sleep through it. I didn't find any of the characters likable... whereas with Making Money I felt I was reading a modern classic very close to Charles Dickens. I loved the characterization and I especially loved the chairman, I want to take that cute ickle doggy for walkies!!!!

I also loved the ward full of the fake Vetinaries!