You've got to love Terry Pratchett, who has made a career out of taking a simple idea, setting it in an alternate universe full of weird and wonderful characters, and filling his writing with fantastic word plays.

Maybe, with the recent trend for marketing companies to create dreadful hybrid words, Pratchett's genre should be called puntasy instead of the more common comic fantasy. With a massive catalogue of work, it is really surprising that they haven't been adapted for the screen earlier, ignoring some ill-advised animated versions and TV adaptations of his children's books Johnny and the Dead and Johnny and the Bomb..

Being much too busy/lazy to read Pratchett's books, I opted for the audiobook versions and have spent countless hours on the highways and by-ways listening to the tales of Discworld as our generally less chaotic world passes by.

With fantasy stories, it is very hard for films to live up to the expectations and imaginations of the fans, but Vadim John did an admirable job on 2006 Christmas two-part special of HOGFATHER on Sky1, then followed that up in 2008 with THE COLOUR OF MAGIC. With great casting and superb production values they certainly did the stories justice.

And so it is with the latest adaptation, GOING POSTAL. This was originally screened on Sky in May this year, and is now available on DVD.

Moist von Lipwig (Richard Coyle) is an enterprising conman with a penchant for printing dodgy bonds. When one of his schemes goes wrong he is captured and sentenced to be hanged, but he escapes the noose and ends up with a fate worse than death; having to become Postmaster of the run-down Postal Service, under the watchful eye of Lord Vetinari (Charles Dance), the patrician of Ankh-Morpork.

Besides his aversion to work, Moist has to also compete with Reacher Gilt (David Suchet) the head of the corrupt Grand Trunk Clacks communication cartel.

But moist likes a challenge and if utilising his innate skills and experience, along with the help of his willing staff, can earn him money and respect, and the hand of a beautiful woman then so much the better. However, there is foul play afoot.

With his previous experience of creating Discworld, Vadim John has done an excellent job of bringing the books to life with some superb sets and great casting, and all done on a TV budget. There are some great visual gags, such as the invention of stamps, along with the punning, and a spot-the-cameo from Pratchett himself. The only real disappointment were the golems, who look like men in latex foam suits, but they would have required expensive CGI to create realistically.

Even if you are not already a fan of Pratchett this is delightful and whimsical entertainment with a slightly grotesque edge to it that captures the essence of the book if not all its intricacies. It's also free from the ads of the broadcast version, which has to make it worth having.

There are two DVD versions. A vanilla one with an intro from Pratchett, and a two disc version with extras such as commentaries, interviews, deleted scenes and gag reel, all of which are also on the Blu-ray.

GOING POSTAL is released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 23 by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and is available from Play and all good retailers.

We have five copies of the DVD to give away, along with some props from the film including stamps, a "Pin" book and posting memorabilia. To enter the competition, click on the link below. Entries close September 8, 2010.