Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

The steam engine has come to Ankh-Morpork. Clearly, this is an invention that has debuted way before it's time. While the Patrician has an uneasy feeling about it's presence in his city-state, Lord Vetinari is not one to pass up an opportunity. Thus, Vetinari recruits Moist Von Lipwig for another assignment in which not just Ankh-Morpork but perhaps the entire disk will prosper. Discworld is about to have a train!

Raising Steam was the last of many things. It's the last book in what fans call the 'Moist Von Lipwig' trilogy. This book is also the last adult Discworld novel. So, there's quite a few farewells. 

Normally, you do not have to read the Discworld novels in order. Though it very much helps. But in this case, there are at least 3 books you need to read before you crack open Raising Steam. 

Obviously, you must read Going Postal and Making Money. But you also need to read THUD! See in this book, a rogue segments of dwarfs called grags are disgusted with the modern Ankh-Morpork ways adopted by the Low King. The grags want to return to those old dwarfish ways. Things like mining for gold and gems- and then hoarding it. Living in the moist deep dark crevices of the Disc. And not knowing whether a dwarf is in reality male or female. 

I had read THUD! But gee, it must have been 5-10 years ago when I did. That book sets up Raising Steam quite a bit more than the first two Moist books do. And so if you can't remember much about THUD!, like I couldn't, then you are going to have trouble following the first half of this book. And you will not enjoy it as much.

Thankfully, Wikipedia and the Discworld wiki was able to help fill in some gaps. But I think once this quarantine is over, I'm going to have to seek out a copy of THUD! for a quick re-read. 

Being the final book of the Moist trilogy, the pacing is all wrong. Moist really feels more like a second character. At least for that first half. Plus, there's some new (to Discworld) creatures that have taken residence in this book without a true introduction. I don't want to spoil who they are. But unless they popped up in Snuff, the only book immediately prior that I haven't read yet, I do not understand why they are working with Adora Belle with the clacks system.

And why is Adora Belle working the clacks system all of a sudden? In Making Money, she was working with the Golem Trust. That book makes no mention of her love of the clacks industry though in Going Postal, it's her family who created that system of communication. 
What I am saying is that the pacing between the 3 Moist Von Lipwig books is so very uneven and this book seemed rushed at times to tie up a lot of loose plot ends.

Did the late Terry Pratchett know that his time on earth was coming to a close? It does feel that the author was trying to give Discworld a proper sendoff to his fans. But that doesn't quite explain why he then work one more Tiffany Aching book. I guess I will have to read that one to find out.

A good Discworld book. But it's definitely not my favorite either.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.