Review of GOING POSTAL

GOING POSTAL:
This is another story about Terry Pratchett's discworld (see the review on HOGFATHER below). MOIST VON LIPWIG is a genial confidence man who is caught by the police and offered an alternative--death or revitalizing the post office.  Since the development of an invention called 'clacks'--a system like a telegraph but using long metal rods and light flashes instead of electricity--people no longer send letters, and the postoffice is desolate, dusty, and filled to overflowing with undelivered letters.  Moist tries to escape this job several times, but is always captured and brought back by an amiable golem called PUMP. Moist accepts the inevitable, returns to the post office, and does a good job of restoring it, in the process inventing stamps and perforations, express mail and other niceties. However, the owner of the clacks, REACHER GILT, is determined not to allow competitors, and is not above such tricks as arson and assassination to maintain his monopoly on messages. In addition to renovating the post office and avoiding both the hangman and Gilt's murderous antics, Moist falls in love with the owner of the Golem Trust, ADORA BELLE DEARHEART. He learns that the deeds in his former life as a conman were not the harmless pranks he had thought, and discovers that Adora's father was one of the people hurt by his schemes.  In addition to everything else, he must convince Adora of a noble character in spite of his tawdry past.

This is typical Pratchett insanity and is a lot of fun. The plot in this one is mostly coherent and the characters are interesting. The music is light and fits well with the mood. It didn't get my pulse up as much as HOGFATHER, but is still exciting enough to get +++ - it will get your pulse up as much as a jog. If you see it, let me know what you think.