I've read Going Postal approximately a zillion times because its my favorite Discworld novel, and by extension I've read Making Money a fair few times because it is What Is Done after reading GP. But I've never liked it as much.
Making Money is lacking the drive that Moist gets from a foil as fantastic as Reacher Gilt. He was a perfect antagonist because he was Moist writ large. Reacher is the logical endpoint of the road that Moist was walking down when his angel came for him.
I just don't get what Cosmo Lavish and Cribbins are supposed to say about Moist. Like, the difference between Moist and Cribbins is that Cribbins has no respect for people, no style, and is willing to get violent. But I don't think this really reveals any truths about Moist as a character. We already know that Moist has style, that he cares about people in his way, that he is sickened by violence. Revealing Cribbins as his mentor is interesting, but he doesn't really push Moist to grow or change.
Ditto Cosmo. He's a cunning adversary to be sure. But the only real point of contention he has with Moist is that Cosmo wants to be the Patrician, whereas Moist gets uncomfortable thinking Vetinari's way. Otherwise, Cosmo is a very self-deluded Quixotic egotist, while Moist is much more of a realist with a huge ego and a small self-esteem.
Reacher showed us all of the talents and skills Moist valued, raised to excellence, but it revealed Moist's morality. He saw the absolute apex of what he wanted to be and was horrified. Reacher made Moist into a better person just as much as Adora or Vetinari by showing him everything he didn't want to be. To not be a hammer.
I dunno. The story just lacks that strong character glue that makes Going Postal such an effective read.
