Going Postal is one of those Discworld novels where Terry Pratchett takes something that appears completely ordinary, in this case the humble postal service, and asks what would happen if you introduced it into a city where capitalism, competition and common sense are already having a rather serious disagreement.

The answer is, naturally, chaos.

Moist von Lipwig is not the sort of man you would normally expect to be put in charge of anything. In fact, his principal qualification for running the Ankh-Morpork Post Office is that he has spent much of his life being extremely good at running away from the consequences of his actions. Unfortunately for Moist, Lord Vetinari has a rather different idea about what he should be doing with his talents.

Having been sentenced to death, Moist is given a choice. He can die, or he can become Postmaster of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office.

Obviously, there is only one sensible option.

And so begins one of my favourite Discworld stories about business, technology, bureaucracy, competition, monopolies and the peculiar human tendency to become extremely attached to things that have been around for a long time.

Going Postal is funny almost from the outset, but there is quite a lot going on beneath the jokes. Pratchett uses the battle between the Post Office and the wonderfully named Grand Trunk Clacks to explore the changing nature of technology and the impact it has on established institutions. The Clacks are faster and more modern, while the Post Office is practically a museum piece.

The obvious lesson would be that newer is better.

Except, of course, this is Terry Pratchett.

The novel is much more interested in asking what happens when technological progress is controlled by people who are primarily interested in making money from it. The Grand Trunk has become a monopoly, and the consequences of that are remarkably familiar. Competition is not necessarily about providing a better service. Sometimes it is about making sure nobody else gets the opportunity to provide one at all.

There is some particularly good commentary here on monopolies and the idea that the market will naturally sort everything out. Pratchett understands that markets are made up of people, and people have an annoying habit of doing things that benefit themselves rather than society as a whole.

Then there is Moist himself, who provides an interesting counterpoint to all of this.

He is a conman. A very good one, admittedly, but still a conman. What makes him such an enjoyable character is watching him discover that the skills he used to manipulate people can also be used to motivate them. Moist has always understood what people want to hear. Now he has to learn how to give them something worth believing in.

That makes Going Postal surprisingly warm-hearted.

For all the satire about business and commerce, this is ultimately a story about people finding purpose. The Post Office is full of employees who have been forgotten, ignored or simply left behind, and Moist gradually turns them into something resembling a team. The organisation itself becomes almost a character, stubbornly refusing to die simply because somebody has decided it is obsolete.

And there is a wonderful running theme about progress here. Sometimes progress means replacing something old with something new. Sometimes it means taking something old, understanding why it worked and finding a way to make it work again.

Pratchett also has enormous fun with advertising, branding and corporate language. The book understands that once something becomes successful, somebody will immediately try to package it, monetise it and put a slogan on it. The result is an Ankh-Morpork where everything can apparently be turned into a business opportunity, including sending a letter from one side of the city to the other.

It is capitalism viewed through a telescope made from sausage.

Somehow, it makes perfect sense.

The characters are another major strength. Moist is charismatic without being entirely trustworthy, and watching his relationship with Adora Belle Dearheart develop gives the story an emotional centre without ever turning it into a conventional romance. Adora is an excellent match for him, largely because she is one of the few people who seems entirely capable of seeing through his carefully constructed persona.

Then there is Mr Tiddles, the golems, the postal workers and the assorted inhabitants of Ankh-Morpork who all contribute to the sense that this is a city undergoing a rather significant transformation.

The Audible narration by Richard Coyle is excellent. He has exactly the right personality for this sort of Discworld story, managing to capture Moist’s charm, self-confidence and occasional desperation without making him too slick. There is also a particularly enjoyable bit of trivia attached to Coyle’s performance for me, as he had previously played Moist von Lipwig in the television mini-series. It feels like a remarkably appropriate piece of casting, given how naturally he fits the character here.

And once again, the additional voices make the audiobook even more enjoyable. Peter Serafinowicz brings his wonderfully measured presence to Death, making those appearances instantly recognisable without needing to overplay the character. Bill Nighy is equally entertaining as the voice of the footnotes. His trademark nonchalance works brilliantly because he delivers the increasingly ridiculous asides with the air of somebody who has just mentioned something mildly interesting while waiting for the kettle to boil.

Going Postal is broadly everything I want from a Discworld novel. It is funny, inventive and packed with memorable characters, but it also has plenty to say about technology, monopolies, capitalism, progress, bureaucracy and the value of giving people something worth believing in.

Most importantly, it never forgets to be entertaining.

Because sometimes the best way to explain the dangers of unchecked capitalism is to put a pathological liar in charge of the Post Office and see what happens.

And, frankly, I would buy a stamp commemorating the experience.

Buy your copy here