The genre of this book is fantasy with some aspects of sci-fi. There are some logical and scientific explanations to the “magical” components of the text, but I don’t think there are enough to consider it sci-fi. There is no way you could scientifically explain Earth being balanced on the back of a turtle. This book was created because readers want an outlet for escapism into a fantastical world. Fantasy breaks free from mundaneness and takes the reader on an imaginative adventure.
I have an idea of where this text is going. I believe some of the organizing principles are concerning the importance of money and how it can destroy the good in human nature. This world balanced on a disc is counter balanced by a world comprised 
almost entirely of gold. This is indicative of the value we place on money. The visitor from the Counterweight Continent, Twoflower, is an insurance underwriter. The author alludes to the true nature of the business when the innkeeper says, “[Insurance], it’s called. It’s like a bet that the Broken Drum won’t get burned down” (62). He’s shows us using humor that the whole business is just a gamble that the insurance company usually wins. It’s ironic that the inn does end up burning down and it’s because of Twoflower.
“Instead of characters knowing anything, you must now present the details that allow the reader to know them. Instead of a character wanting something, you must now describe the thing so that the reader wants it.” – Chuck Palahniuk (www.litreactor.com)
The author does this well throughout the book. After having a conversation that didn’t go in his favor, this is said of the lieutenant, “The lieutenant snorted in disgust, and strode off around the room to bully his men” (61). The author showed the lieutenants’ personality through his actions rather than telling us. You can see that this is a man who doesn’t take well to not getting his way. He reacts badly and takes out his frustration on his men. The author didn’t tell us what to think, he allowed us to figure that out on our own by observing this man’s actions. Another example of this is when he gave us an insight into Zlorf’s personality. “People who said this in earshot of Zlorf tended to carry their ears home in their hats” (63). Duly noted; don’t mess with Zlorf. This is a very strong aspect of the author’s style.
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