This is the third volume in the Moist Von Lipwig trilogy and it is the weakest of all three. This is the only volume that didn't receive or get nominated for any awards. It is obvious why. The writing is tedious, long winded and absent the usual wit and satire that made the early Terry Pratchett books so entertaining. This volume is the penultimate written before his death, so that might have overshadowed the qualitative dimension of the writing.
It is the longest volume of the three Moist books, and also the most disorganized in terms of plot, story development and general flow. Moist is a subject of about 50% of the book, the other half being filled with new characters, like the inventor of the locomotive, with old characters but further developed like Mr. King and with lots of dwarfs, most of which are very uninteresting.
The steam machine and locomotive get invented. The inventor asks for a loan from Mr. King who generously gives it, but keeps the largest chunk of the company for himself. Railway gets built and Lord Vetinari sends Moist to "help", but also to keep Ank-Morpork ahead of the curve with scientific inventions. Adora Belle, Moist's wife, is barely mentioned or developed, which is a pity as she is a very interesting character which should have had much more screen time.
The parallel plot is that the "traditionalist" faction of Dwarfs starts killing people, burning clack towers and attacking the railway. We find out that the final goal of the "traditionalists" is to overthrow the Dwarf King, whom they deem a "modernizer" which is a cardinal sin in the Dwarf Society. Oh, yes, also goblins play a big part in the book, operating clacks and also maintaining the railway, which raised their social status to "people".
Eventually Moist succeeds to establish railway all the way to the city of the Dwarf King (who is actually a Queen) and brings the king on time to overthrow the "traditionalist" leader and retake power. All is well that ends well, but we are left wanting for some real conflict (like in "Going Postal"), which would cause some real excitement. Overall, one of the weakest Pratchett books, and only worth reading if you want o have a closure on Moist Von Lipwig (who doesn't do all that much).
