Raising Steam

Discworld, Book 40

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Richard Coyle, Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The audiobook of Raising Steam is narrated by Richard Coyle, who starred as Moist von Lipwig in the television adaptation of Going Postal. BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actor Bill Nighy (Love Actually; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) reads the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace; Shaun of the Dead) stars as the voice of Death. Featuring a new theme tune composed by James Hannigan.

'THE WORLD LIVES BETWEEN THOSE WHO SAY IT CANNOT BE DONE AND THOSE WHO SAY THAT IT CAN...IT'S JUST A MATTER OF THINKING CREATIVELY.'

Moist von Lipwig is a con man turned civil servant. As head of the Royal Bank and Post Office of Ankh-Morpork, he doesn't really want or need another job. But when the Patrician Lord Vetinari gives you a task, you do it or suffer the consequences. In Moist's case, death.

A brand-new invention has come to the city: a steam locomotive named Iron Girder, to be precise. With the railway's introduction and rapid expansion, Vetinari enlists Moist to represent the government and keep things on track.

But as with all new technology, some people have objections, and Moist will have to use every trick in his arsenal to keep the trains running....

The first book in the Discworld series-The Colour of Magic-was published in 1983. Some elements of the Discworld universe may reflect this.

©2011 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"I could tell which of my fellow tube passengers had downloaded it to their e-readers by the bouts of spontaneous laughter." (Ben Aaronovitch, Guardian)

"The most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies." (Independent)

Whit, humour and imagination

Brilliant story with characters that have become friends during the industrial revolution plot twists. Truly enjoyable listening

Great book, awesome narration

Another great book by Sir Pratchett, extremely well narrated bij "Moist von Lipwig" Mister Coyle is pleasant to listen to and does a good job of giving each character it's own voice.

Lovely to listen to this book again

Unlike some, i personally find the new narrations better than the old ones. I don't see why Pratchett shouldn't benefit from multiple voices and little sounds. Sure, they're in no way necessary, but they don't ruin the books in any way, as some "purists" seem to think. Audiobooks are for audio enjoyment, so i don't mind the little music at the beginning and small sound effects here and there. They're not distracting like in other books. I always imagined the characters having different voices, and the little footnotes beeing spoken in Terry's voice, so for me at least it's nice to have the distinction. I guess for some it clashes with their own imagined narration, but you still have the old narrations so I don't see why you feel like you need to put down the work of these voice actors. It's a bit petty. Just read the books in paper if that's what works best for you.
I found that in the new recordings i can enjoy Terry's amazing writing style and humor just as well as before, and i find all the voice actors put in wonderful performances for this series. Unfortunately i found the old narrations were a bit tired by the end. Steven Briggs did a great job narrating all the books but to be honest on some books it was obvious he wasn't interested. I haven't had this feeling with these recordings. I believe a varied cast makes more sense. Reading 40 books on different story lines can be pretty much for one person, even between fans there are some who don't like some books etc. Anyway, i am loving having a second edition of my favorite book series of all time.

Almost ruined by Penguin's (mis)treatment

For crying out loud it’s Terry Pratchett! There is no need for the heavy-handed orchestration, distracting musical interrupts, and excessive production values. The narration by Richard Coyle is good and Bill Nighy’s talents are wasted. They have to wade through all the muck the production puts in their way. The earlier recordings by Stephen Briggs' on the Terry Pratchett series is much better. Admittedly Coyle and Nighy were saddled with the ridiculous, unnecessary, and distracting production practices. Seriously, it’s a Terry Pratchett story, there is no need for tassels, pom-poms, musical segues or other cheap glitter. This book sounded like what might result from high school students discovering the tools and capability of a recording studio for the first time, there is no subtlety. This is the first Pratchett audiobook that I’ve struggled to finish. I will certainly cherish the books by Stephen Briggs and avoid purchasing any of these ridiculous Penguin Audio productions. If I can only find Penguin to fill the gaps in my audio collection I will content myself with the old school printed books rather than subject myself to this nonsense again.