Another appearance by Moist Von Lipwig as the quintessential Ankh-Morpork driver of modernisation. That is, a confidence trickster given a second chance by a tyrant that knows how to use him, driven towards progress by self-interest and the manipulation of the self-interest of those around him.
The topic this time is the modernisation of banking and the world of finance, from a gold standard towards a golem standard (a more concrete (or clay) version of the abstract concept of productive value), from coinage to paper money and the emerging alchemical art of economic prediction.
It should be no surprise that I loved this book, but there are hints here that so much more was planned in this sub-series for Discworld. It appears like Vetinari is intentionally setting up Moist as a political actor and I came away with the sense that Pratchett planned to have a future book be about the emergence of democracy in Ankh-Morpork, with Moist running against Vetinari. Vetinari hints at the end of the book that the next adventure for Moist would have been the modernisation of the cities tax systems, and I wish that book would have happened. But I see that there are 5 books left, and I've already read, quite a few years ago now, the only remaining entry in to the industrial revolution sub-series. Moist is in it, but it isn't about the tax system. I look forward to reading it again because all I remember right now is that its about trains.
Finished reading - 11/06/26