Political Satire is one of the most difficult to write of about anything that you could decide to write. I belive that Terry Pratchett has definitely got the satire part well in hand for his writing. It bit with enough substance to be a slap to those he wished to slap, yet just gentle enough that they could laugh at themselves as they read the book.

Beyond the satircal element of the book, the storyline feels weak, the characters' third dimension feels rather thin and flimsy. The love interest is forced. The golems... I'm still undecided on the golems. Perhaps when I read the second book of this set I will be better suited to make a comment. Perhaps it will offer more insite into what I find wrong here and allow a rewrite of this review.
I'm glad this wasn't a science fiction book. Fantasy made of plausible science is good enough for this series.

Still a decent book for wasting time and lose yourself away from the world. ( )

Moist Von Lipwig is a con man with the gift of being almost totally undistinguishable who is at the end of his rope, literally. However, he doesn't hang long enough to kill him, just long enough for his various aliases to die. He is then whisked to the office of the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Vetinari. Vetinari is his "guardian angel," giving him two choices: get the long-abandoned Ankh-Morpork Post Office up and running, or walk out the door behind him. Since Moist knows what awaits him outside that door (or, better yet, what doesn't await him, like a floor), he chooses the first option. Of course, he doesn't do it completely willingly. He has a golem guarding him, willing to track him down however far he runs if he should do so. Moist shows up at the Post Office to find it almost buried in old letters, some as old as a hundred years. However, letters speak, and letters that are put together into sentences and put onto paper speak even more. They speak to Moist of their desire to get to where they are supposed to have gone. As Moist begins to make the Post Office more and more of a success, the conglomerate running the Clacks system into the ground becomes very interested. The Clacks are a series of towers stretching from one city to another so that messages can be sent quickly. Can the power of the Post ever beat the power of the clacks? ( )

The best Discworld book to come in a long time. Introduces a fresh new character in form of the fast talking Moist. ( )

This book was an excellent surprise; I love the Discworld series but was getting tired of seeing the same characters again and again in every book. Going Postal introduces an entirely new and refreshing cast; I particularly liked the main character and felt he was very well-developed.

Pratchett's books are funny precisely because he has a very firm grasp of human nature. His best work feels surprisingly profound even though you're also laughing so hard you're afraid you might break a rib. In some of the later novels I was getting more of a reused-joke feeling, and while it was still pretty funny, all the depth was gone. In this novel it's back, and I would rank Going Postal pretty high among the Discworld novels.

Highly recommended, especially to Pratchett fans who think Discworld has gotten a little stale. ( )

Moist von Lipwig, con man extraordinaire who unfortunately got caught, narrowly avoids dying...only to be practically forced into becoming Postmaster at the long-defunct Post Office of Anhk-Morpork. The task is, well, impossible - he has only two employees and a golem for a parole officer to make sure he stays in line. Maybe it's a perfect job for a con man, after all.

Though the 30th in the Discworld series, you don't need to have read any of the others to enjoy the story. I enjoyed the humor and liked the characters, and Stephen Briggs did an excellent job narrating. ( )