Raising Steam by Sir Terry Pratchett

Raising Steam: A Discworld® Novel, Sir Terry Pratchett. New York: Doubleday, 2013. e-book, 306 pps.

     If you've never read any of Sir Terry Pratchett's work, you've been missing out. His is the stuff of legend, both entertaining and thought-provoking. The Discworld® novels can be read in any order that you please. I tend to read them in the order that they are published in myself.

     The title Raising Steam excited me. I am an aficionado of all things train and have traveled long-distance on them. When I am older, I shall perhaps join the ranks of train-spotters. There is something about waiting at the station and then hearing the conductor shout "All aboard!" that speaks to every cell in my body.
Frequent long-distance travelers on trains tend to act very much like their counterparts on cruises: They sit down during dinner and compare which trains they have been on. They are also full of train history and a plethora of factoids. And you haven't really lived until you've seen the great train yard in Chicago. Well, perhaps you have managed to live but-- like Raising Steam-- that particular bit ought not to be missed.

     
sapphoq reviews says: Raising Steam does not disappoint. A railroad is introduced at Ankh-Morpork and becomes a worldwide sensation rather quickly. There are goblins and their fanciful names, engineers, assorted real characters, and gnomes. They are all melted into the type of story that only Sir Terry Pratchett can tell. Highly recommended.