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    Going Postal
    Going Postal
    Going Postal
    Audiobook11 hours

    Going Postal

    Written by Terry Pratchett

    Narrated by Stephen Briggs

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “[Pratchett’s] books are almost always better than they have to be, and Going Postal is no exception, full of nimble wordplay, devious plotting and outrageous situations, but always grounded in an astute understanding of human nature.” — San Francisco Chronicle

    The 33rd installment in acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a splendid send-up of government, the postal system, and everything that lies in between.

    Suddenly, condemned arch-swindler Moist von Lipwig found himself with a noose around his neck and dropping through a trapdoor into . . . a government job?

    By all rights, Moist should be meeting his maker rather than being offered a position as Postmaster by Lord Vetinari, supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork. Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may prove an impossible task, what with literally mountains of decades-old undelivered mail clogging every nook and cranny of the broken-down post office. Worse still, Moist could swear the mail is talking to him. Worst of all, it means taking on the gargantuan, greedy Grand Trunk clacks communication monopoly and its bloodthirsty piratical headman. But if the bold and undoable are what's called for, Moist's the man for the job—to move the mail, continue breathing, get the girl, and specially deliver that invaluable commodity that every being, human or otherwise requires: hope.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 25, 2005
    ISBN9780060824693
    Author

    Terry Pratchett

    Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

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    Reviews for Going Postal

    4.5/5

    381 ratings112 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Fun, playful fantasy with great characters, fantastic narration and a satisfying arc
    • 3/5
      The weakest Pratchett I've read – colourless, one-dimensional characters treading by rote through a limp, recycled plot. The Patrician's scenes add some life, but the two lead characters are so instantly forgettable that … what was I saying?
    • 4/5
      Sixty reviews? I don't think I have much to add. A good read, the main character is perky and fun. Technology on the Discworld continues to improve at an outrageous pace. Once again, some really fascinating characters get bumped off before we even get to know them. Cameos by all of our old friends. Yeah, just read it. Go read the other 28 that come before it in the series though, just for background. You won't be sorry.
    • 4/5
      Very funny book. I had herd good things about this one and thats why i wanted to read it as my 2nd Discworld book. I totally need to read Making Money now and I eagerly await the Taxes book which will be the third in the Moist series. Moist is a con artist that gets caught at the beginning of the book. And the Patrician of the city decides to give him a second chance and run the defunct post office. It takes Moist a while but he realizes that he can apply alot of his con techniques with running the Post Office. And he does is with style and hilarity. By this book Prachett had definatly hit his stride and knew the setting of his books and characters. Also his humor totally shows through. Time to read some more of his books. Earlier ones and latter ones.
    • 4/5
      The modernisation of the post office may not be the most obvious topic for a humorous fantasy novel but Terry Pratchett turns in his usual bravura performance. It was good to meet a new main character, a con artist outconned by Vetinari the tyrant into taking on the job. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and Pratchett's ever-present delight in language keeps up the momentum.
    • 5/5
      To begin with, Sir Terry is brilliant. And secondly, this reader is perfect for the job.
    • 4/5
      Very funny book featuring Moist Van Lipwig, a conman sentenced to death by hanging who is given a second chance when he is appointed Postmaster of Ankh-Morpork. Using all the (considerable) cons at his disposal, Moist succeeds in getting the dilapidated post office up and running, inspiring the odd cast of employees, and even starts a new type of collecting when he invents postal stamps. But Reacher Gilt, evil head of the Board of Directors for the clacks company, isn’t so happy and determines to bring down Moist and the entire postal service. This is one of Pratchett’s best, which is saying a lot.
    • 4/5
      Very amusing and very clever, as with most Discworld books. The lead character (a conman who is reprieved from a death sentence if he agrees to take over and reactivate the moribund post office) is very engaging. Other interesting and somehow charming characters include Lord Vetinari and the golems, although I'm always sorry to find a book that doesn't have the luggage in it.
    • 4/5
      Moist Lipwig is a conman. After being caught, he is assigned a golem parole officer, and put in charge of the derelict, completely non-functioning Ankh Morpork post office. Using his considerable people skills, he reanimates the post office and attempts to make a variety of wrongs right.
    • 5/5
      If I could give this six stars, I would. Ties together many of the strands of previous books, introduces a classic new character, has a fascinating, original plot, and just a dash of magic where it's needed. My personal favorite Pratchett. 
    • 3/5
      This was a weird book, a friend gave it to me and I didn't know what to expect. I chuckled a few times and in the end it wasn't too bad.
    • 4/5
      It took a bit to get into but great characters!
    • 3/5
      After reading The BFG and being told that Terry Pratchett was a similar writer, I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, for me, it just didn't hold my interest. The first 12 (of 14) chapters just dragged on and on and on. Yes, he developed the characters and expanded upon the story/setting, but for way too long.
    • 5/5
      Moist von Lipwig is given the chance of a life time to get the Ankh-Morpork post office functioning again. Since saving his life requires saving the post office we get to see a con man reinvent himself and the institution in which he has been embedded, all with that delightful Discworld slant.
    • 3/5
      Terry Pratchett can write well on auto pilot and I suspect he did. There some nice vignettes on telegraph operators as computer/internet nerds.Maybe next time he will not settle for merely writing well and put some effort into it.
    • 5/5
      Great caracters, a wonderfull story full of jokes and good ideas.
    • 5/5
      More twists and turns than the ever-changing city of Ank-Morpork itself.
    • 4/5
      My favourite Terry Pratchet Book. Much as I like the books around the Ankh Morkporks police, or Maskerade (starring the witches), this is by far the funniest, most well plotted book by Pratchett that I have read so far.In his immense wisdom, Lord Vetenary appoint a known criminal (con man) as head of Ankh Morkporks decrepit postal service, with the mission of restoring it to its former glory. Lots of fun.Also worth reading is "Making money" with the same protagonist, but I liked this one best.
    • 4/5
      I love a good smart-ass, and Moist Von Lipvwig is the genuine article. Goddess bless Terry Practchett. You know with an opening sentence like "They say that the prospect of being hanged in the morning concentrates a man's mind wonderfully; unfortunately, what the mind inevitably concentrates on is that, in the morning, it will be in a body that is going to be hanged" the reader is in for one hell of a ride. This is a sinful indulgence of a read...and considering the troubles of the USPS these days, a very prescient read.
    • 3/5
      fiction - standalone story in the Discworld seriesenjoyable adventure in which a former criminal is forced to take over a long-neglected, somewhat magical post office and finds that he enjoys turning it into a success. Plus: pinheads turn into stamp collectors, several kisses with an ashtray, and beating the real villains at their own game.
    • 4/5
      A confidence trickster (Moist von Lipwig) runs out of luck and is faced with the hangman's noose when the Patrician makes him an offer he can't refuse - the job of Postmaster to a post office system in complete disarray. He finds stacks of letters, mountains of letters, that were never delivered, and they're not happy about it (the letters, that is). There's also the clacks system, run by corrupt businessmen who are essentially killing their workers with their slipshod approach to running and maintaining the towers. Moist's job is to get the post office up and running again, and he decides to take on the big corporate bullies, too, and beat them at their own game.A solid entry in the Discworld series; I love the new character of Moist (I'm a sucker for the rascally, too-clever-for-his-own-good types) and I hope he shows up again soon.
    • 5/5
      even for being a disc-world novel which are all billiant. this one with all its twists, turns, intelligence and hidden refferences is a total gem. I keep coming back to it. each time finding something new.
    • 4/5
      Moist von Lipvig was a conman, and for his sins he’s being forced by Lord Vetinari to reopen the derelict Post Office in opposition to the Clacks. Great new characters and the usual high jinks and derring-do in Ankh-Morpork. Golems, the Night Watch and The Times in supporting roles.
    • 5/5
      The best Pratchett of them all. Probably works so well because it's a stand-alone, not heavily dependant on previous books.I particularly loved the custom of 'sending home' the way that the clacks operators remember the dead.In his earlier books, Pratchett relied on parodying other genres. Now, he's writing entirely on his own strengths and the humour comes from within and is all the more effective for this. You can also see the benefit of the research that went into this novel.
    • 5/5
      Great book and great narrator! Enjoyed every minute of it
    • 5/5
      Great book. It is hilarious, written well, and read just about as well. It took some time before I finished it, but it was more than worth the wait!
    • 5/5
      Funny and entertaining.
    • 4/5
      SO much truth wrapped within SO much sarcasm! "Peel away the lies and the truth would emerge." Tihs one is worth a second read.
    • 5/5
      Adored this. Funny and moving and pointful--great satire and social commentary, but the story's much, much more than that. Moist von Lipwig, what a character!
    • 5/5
      While Good Omens is still my favorite Terry Pratchett book, this one has a lot of the same charm and flavor as Good Omens. In Going Postal, a career criminal gets a second chance after he is rescued from the gallows just after his death. He is sent to work as postmaster for the post office, where he must find a way to revive the struggling postal system. He is given a winged hat, a golden suit, and the assistance of a golem and two postal workers who have been going through the motions of tending an increasingly impossible mountain of mail for many years.