Raising Steam

A Discworld Novel

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Stephen Briggs

The new Discworld novel, the 40th in the series, sees the Disc's first train come steaming into town.

Change is afoot in Ankh-Morpork. Discworld's first steam engine has arrived, and once again Moist von Lipwig finds himself with a new and challenging job.

Good but...

This ought to have been a wonderful read: the fortieth Discworld novel, featuring Moist von Lipwig and Commander Grimes coming to grips with the invention of the steam train and revisionist Dwarf terrorists, challenging the Koom Valley Accord.

Big themes are brought to the table: how subversion whispers in the dark, spreading fear and denying truth; how there is something magical and dangerous about a new technology; how the men who tinker endlessly and obsessively can become a bigger threat to the status quo than any terrorist and how, in the end, love is a greater driving force than steam.

And yet, this wasn’t a great Terry Pratchett book. Something was missing.

Perhaps is was the righteous anger of “Thud” where the only sane way to win the war was to cancel the battle

“What kind of creature defines itself by hatred?”

Or the irrepressible, maniacal optimism of “Going Postal” where a tyrant puts a criminal in charge of the Post Office because of the criminal sees the world differently

“If you kept changing the way people saw the world, you ended up changing the way you saw yourself.”

Or perhaps it was the mysterious absence from the Watch of Captain Carrot, the world’s tallest dwarf.

Or maybe it was just that this is first time I’ve listened to a Discworld book rather than reading it for myself and the flat narration detracted from the experience.

Whatever it was, it left me disappointed.

It also left me determined to go back an re-read the Discworld books that filled me with joy and tears and a practical human politics: “Guards, Guards, Guards,” “Witches Abroad”, “The Night Watch”, “Small Gods”, “Thud”, “Going Postal”, “The Truth”.

Entertaining as always, fun for most ages.

This was a fun and sometimes silly read. I enjoyed it and would recommend it for grade schoolers and up

Real Engineers Can Laugh

Who was your favorite character and why?

Moist is great again. But the lead for me are the Engineers!
Love the way Steam engines are invented on DIsc World. Anyone married to an engineer will better understand and enjoy their ways all the more. Delightful!

Excellent

Excellent, as usual Mr. Pratchett. Fun plot and interesting characters. The train theme added a new variant. We will miss you.

loved it

always love these books. Terry Pratchett was the best story teller. There are very few authors I will re-read he is one of them.