Raising Steam

First published on 7 November 2013 by Doubleday. It is the fortieth Discworld novel and the third Moist von Lipwig book.

It is broadly considered one of the weaker late-era Discworld novels. Pratchett was already dealing with posterior cortical atrophy, and the novel is less tightly plotted and more sprawling than the earlier Moist books. It is still warmly received as a farewell to the Disc's industrial progress.

The novel parallels the 19th-century railway boom — specifically the way steam railways transformed existing economies, disrupted established interests, and created new political possibilities. The opposition from 'deep dwarfs' parallels conservative resistance to industrialization.

Recommended. Moist's character and his relationship with Vetinari and Adora Belle are much richer with the previous two books. Raising Steam is the least independent of the three Moist novels.

No — The Shepherd's Crown (2015) is the forty-first and final Discworld novel. Raising Steam is the fortieth. However, it is the last Discworld novel featuring Moist von Lipwig.