Long time ago a person I knew told me about Terry Pratchett and his satirical/comical take on the Sword and Sorcery and Epic Fantasy genres. I didn't bite. I was too much into Tolkien and Moorcock (later I discovered Sapkowski and Martin). I couldn't care less about some satirical take on my favorite heroes that I identified with. Well, I was wrong.
Even though I didn't start with the chronological order with the Rincewind series, neither with the Witches or The Watch, the industrial revolution trilogy is amazing, and Moist Von Lipwig is becoming one my favorite characters in literature. Yes, there is a lot of satire about vampires and trolls and wizards (from the Unseen University and boy do they like to eat!), however the character of Moist and his transformation from a scoundrel to a hero is amazing, and so it the plot development and the resolutions, with Lord Vetinari serving as a Deus Ex Machina of sorts.
After being saved from hanging, Moist von Lipwig is appointed Postmaster General and given the task to make the dilapidated, almost completely destroyed Post Office into a successful institution. Of course, Lipwig's first reflex is to run as fast as possible, but that doesn't pan out thanks to the Golems, which are one of the main characters throughout the Industrial Revolution trilogy. Here we learn about "The Clacks" - a form of visual telegraph (no electricity yet in Ankh-Morpork) and the corrupt fraudster who stole them from the original inventor.
Eventually Moist invents stamps and restores the Post Office to the old glory and more. In the meantime he also makes the daughter of the Clacks inventory (who smokes like a chimney non-stop, but apparently is very fit and sexy otherwise) his fiance. Her name is Adora Belle Dearhart and she runs the Golems in the city and fights for their rights.
Excellent book and absolutely great read for the times when you don't want to get too deep into some difficult and deep reading. I am looking forward to the other two books in the trilogy.
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