Going Postal
by Terry Pratchett
★ Top 25 book of 2004 · #21 on Best Books of 2004
Condemned swindler Moist von Lipwig escapes the gallows only to be handed the job of reviving Ankh-Morpork's broken Postal Service. Buried mail, a rival communications monopoly and his own scheming nature make this a comic race to deliver hope.
Best for: Readers who enjoy comic fantasy about reluctant rogues taking on impossible jobs
Going Postal is #21 on BookWard's Best Books of 2004, out of 48 2004 books that cleared our data bar.
What Going Postal is about
Moist von Lipwig is a skilled con artist, and he is about to be hanged in the city of Ankh-Morpork. At the last moment, Lord Vetinari fakes his death and offers him a new job: Postmaster of the city's rundown Post Office, which has not worked for decades and is stuffed with undelivered mail. Moist takes the post once he learns the alternative is a fatal drop. His parole officer is a golem, Mr Pump, and his staff amounts to two people, Tolliver Groat and Stanley Howler.
Moist sets about reviving the service with postage stamps and golem carriers, while competing against the Grand Trunk Company and its clacks towers, run by Reacher Gilt. Along the way he meets Adora Belle Dearheart, a chain-smoking golem-rights activist. Satirical and witty, the 33rd Discworld novel looks at redemption, corporate greed, public service and the way new technology changes communication. It was on the shortlist for both the Nebula and Locus Awards for Best (Fantasy) Novel.
Going Postal on the Best Books of 2004
Going Postal came out in 2004. Of the 48 books first published in 2004 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #21 on our Best Books of 2004 list.
Why it made the list: 217 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.6 out of 5 (64 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite.
Nearby on the 2004 list
- Collapse Jared Diamond, #19
- Knuffle Bunny Mo Willems, #20
- The Gruffalo's Child Julia Donaldson, #22
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Perkins, John, #23
See all Best Books of 2004 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2003 Best Books of 2005.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 114 want to read it, 1 are reading it now and 102 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 from 64 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 50 | 55% |
| Reader love | 100 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 2 | 20% |
Questions about Going Postal
When was Going Postal published?
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett was first published in 2004.
Was Going Postal one of the best books of 2004?
Going Postal is #21 on BookWard's Best Books of 2004, out of 48 2004 books that cleared our data bar. 217 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.6 out of 5 (64 ratings).
Why is Going Postal on the Best Books of 2004 list?
217 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.6 out of 5 (64 ratings).
More of the best books of 2004
- Darkly Dreaming Dexter Jeffry P. Lindsay, #1
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens Robert T. Kiyosaki, #2
- The Ruins of Gorlan John Flanagan, #3
- Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow, #4
- Blink Malcolm Gladwell, #5
- She Comes First Ian Kerner, #6
See the full Best Books of 2004, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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