{"id":5142,"date":"2020-03-11T05:00:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=5142"},"modified":"2020-03-08T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-08T21:42:55","slug":"mark-reads-raising-steam-part-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2020\/03\/mark-reads-raising-steam-part-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Raising Steam’: Part 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth part of Raising Steam<\/i>, the railway opens. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I do find it intriguing that the passage of time in this book feels unusual relative to the rest of the series. At most, a few days might pass in the main narrative, but since the beginning of Raising Steam<\/i>, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already been months. In that time, so much has happened, which leads me to believe that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something else laying in wait. Things really ARE moving \u00e2\u20ac\u0153as quickly as possible,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I still maintain that it is giving this novel an energy that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so damn exciting.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also fun because we get so many scenes of Vetinari and Moist working closely together. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, they are so much more comfortable than they used to be. The fact that they can crack jokes TO EACH OTHER\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S FACE without any actual repercussion aside from the occasional death threat is astounding to me. But I think it speaks to the tow of them understanding one another. Vetinari knows<\/i> that Moist is going to toe the line. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his whole thing! He even admits it to Vetinari himself. And Moist knows that Vetinari has specific tastes; he knows that Vetinari is also a political genius. And upon trusting the other to be who they truly are, I see them letting down their guard\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just a bit. Not a whole lot! But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a twisted camaraderie unfolding here, one borne of two people accomplishing something that most people would balk at. Seriously, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to control the advent of the steam engine, and Vetinari knows how challenging it is to try to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153control\u00e2\u20ac\u009d progress. Yes, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good at it (see: every book he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ever been in), but one thing Pratchett does with Raising Steam<\/i> is make it very clear that the change that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to overcome the Disc is completely paradigm-shattering. This is not the addition of the clacks, or the return of the post office, or the renovation of the bank, all of which were massive undertakings.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole world is about to change, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

Which is why I am retaining like 5% of my brain for being worried about Lu-Tze\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance. As I said on video, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that the conversation he has with Ridcully is the conclusion of this detour. The History Monks are potentially worried that the steam engine has arrived at the wrong time\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the History Monks generally not wrong about this sort of thing? It made me think that maybe this is the meaning of the opening scene. What if the idea<\/i> came too early to the Disc and ended up in Stimnel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head? But then I think that perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the whole point. The world is never technically \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ready\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for a change to be hoisted upon it. It just happens<\/i>, and we have to accept what has swept over us. I feel like this is exactly what the dwarfs are dealing with, albeit much more poorly than with the railway. (I still think the two plot lines will intersect.) One group wants order; the other has given themselves over to chaos. (Which will become a new order at some point.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ANYWAY LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST RAILWAY LINE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not terribly far, but in terms of what it means\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s huge<\/i>. It actually worked. Simnel delivered on what he promised, and he did so without a single hitch. I love that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what he did to improve the locomotive; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just better<\/i>. And while I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to discount the technological feat here, I also appreciated that Pratchett devoted time to some social implications of the train. I was, of course, very<\/i> nervous that something would go wrong, that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be an accident or something would break, or even worse: WHAT IF SOMEONE DELIBERATELY SABOTAGED THE TRAIN.<\/p>\n

I did not anticipate Hardwick of the Pseudopolis Daily Press<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I know Pratchett likes to poke fun at journalism through Vetinari, but in the scene with Hardwick, he tackles something far more insidious and damaging: outlets that publish stories specifically to stoke the very worst fears of humanity. And the Daily Press<\/i> doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just do that; they have a longstanding grudge against Ankh-Morpork, which means that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely possible that any<\/i> angle they can find is one they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll spin to make the railway and<\/i> the city look bad. As Pratchett drops us into the confrontation between Hardwick and Simnel, we understandably are worried. Since we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing it all through Moist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s POV, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to feel the same anxiety he did. Simnel is not<\/i> media trained, and Hardwick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s questions aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t honest inquiries; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re bait<\/i>. Seriously, the fact that he starts off a question with, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You must admit\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a sign of manipulative phrasing. (I also wonder if Pratchett borrowed from history in coming up with the possible \u00e2\u20ac\u0153concerns\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with the trains, like faces melting above a certain speed, or sheep miscarrying from a train passing by.) He wants Simnel to say something embarrassing, and he was definitely<\/i> going to take it all out of context to create a sensationalized story.<\/p>\n

So yes, I deeply loved that Simnel surprised everyone, including Moist. And his point rings so beautifully true: Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t everything<\/i> inherently dangerous? Simnel knows trains are dangerous; that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why he has devoted so much time to building one that is safe<\/i>. Seriously, Simnel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father DIED trying to construct a working steam engine. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think anyone<\/i> needs to condescend to Simnel about the dangers of his line of work. If Simnel had said it wasn’t<\/i> dangerous at all, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be concerned. His answer is pitch-perfect, and Hardwick has nothing to use against them.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ALL THIS BEING SAID: Something is coming down the pipeline. And I will remain worried about whatever that is. I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll most likely come into play with the Ankh-Morpork to Uberwald line, since that has the highest possibility of contention. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about all I feel comfortable predicting, because I genuinely don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know where this book is going.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/UH1aCDSpvtM<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– You can now pre-order my second YA novel, Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>
\n– If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"