The Truth: A Novel of Discworld

Sir Terry Pratchett's entire Disc World series is worth a read. By the time he wrote "The Truth," the tone had been shifting from straight-up comic (often snort-out-loud) fantasy to include political and social commentary. I read through the entire series in order of publication and plan to start all over again some time soon.

In Ankh-Morpork, the city thrives on rumors. Of course, no one really knows what's going on, but that's okay. But William de Worde doesn't think so. He has renounced his wealthy family and must scratch out his own living. He does so by sending letters to various men of influence telling them what is going on.

William's life changes when he meets Gunilla Goodmountain and his fellow dwarfs. They have come to Ankh-Morpork to make their living and have brought their printing press with them. William is entranced with the rapidity that news can be distributed and before you know it, he has created the first newspaper, the Ankh-Morpork Times. He hires Sacharissa Cripslock, a beautiful girl who is determined to make her way as a writer and who seems perfect for the business. He also hires Otto as the photographer. Otto is a vampire and every time he takes a flash picture, he crumbles into ashes and must be reconstituted. Together, the group soon has a thriving business.

But all is not well. Another newspaper, The Inquirer, starts up and it has a different business plan. It's so hard to figure out what is going on so they just make up stories. Not the truth but very popular with the readers. One of their stories is about the top administrator, Lord Vetinari. He has disappeared and the rumor is that he stole money before his disappearance. William is sure Lord Vetinari is innocent and in fact, in danger, but few believe him. The appearance of two of the most murderous villains, Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, tends to back up William, but can he survive long enough to bring the truth to his readers?

This is the twenty-fifth novel in Terry Pratchett's enormously successful series, Discworld. It was published in 2009, but is prescient of the 'truth' or 'false news' controversies swirling around in today's world. The humor is sly and omnipresent. Fans of Pratchett's world will rejoice in this title, and those, like me, for whom this is an introduction, will wonder what took them so long to discover Pratchett's genius. This book is recommended for fantasy fans.

The city of Ankh-Morpork is a vast multicultural and multispecies metropolis with a strong economy and police force, so what happens when Discworld’s biggest city gets a newspaper? The twenty-fifth installment of Terry Pratchett’s fantasy-humor series, The Truth once more finds the flat world taking another step into an Industrial Revolution while a conspiracy looks led Ankh-Morpork into the future by looking back.

William de Worde, scion of one of Ankh-Morpork’s oldest families, is a scribe making his way in life by writing a newsletter for foreign consumption between regular scribe duties. Then suddenly William’s life gets changed forever when he runs into dwarves looking to make gold out of lead, well in fairness he actually gets run over by a moveable type printing press. Within a day, William finds himself running a newspaper and while still figuring out how it all happened, Lord Vetinari appears to have committed serious crimes that could result in a change of city leadership. But as the staff of the Ankh-Morpork Times looks into the political controversy, they find themselves being looked over by the Watch, two new criminals in town, and a sinister cabal (is there any other kind).

Unlike Moving Pictures, the previous “Industrial” story, The Truth doesn’t need the crutch of clichés to bring a laugh while also having a fantastic plot and numerous new characters that keep the book a great read. While focusing on new characters, several members of the City Watch come into the plot and interact with the main character but don’t take the focus on the primary protagonists and the major antagonists. Also Pratchett fills this book with a nice little mystery and the always entertaining Gaspode and his band of human beggars.

For the second straight book, Pratchett invests in plot that he builds jokes around and not the other way around. As a result, The Truth is a wonderful read for both longtime fans and first time readers.

The world of Ankh-Morpork may not be ready for the newsletter, Ankh-Morport Times. This publication was created by William de Worde, a journalist who has a gift for investigating. This skill has created enemies who now want to stop his presses. Soon they create The Inquirer, a tabloid which deals in items that are not the truth.

DeWorde found out Lord Vetinari, the city's patrician, has a story which could cause big trouble. DeWorde, discovers that the truth is something that is needed to reveal the entire story.

I love the works of Terry Pratchett and his stories in DiscWorld. He was such a genius when it came to crafting words in subtle ways so they make you smile just looking at the page and anticipating what is coming up.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys these books or to those that enjoy fun fantasy.

In the city of Ankh-Morpork, rumour has it that the dwarfs have found a way to turn lead into gold...
William de Worde is an out-of-favour son of a wealthy family, and to earn a few dollars he regularly compiles a letter of city news and sends it off to customers in other lands. But the dwarfs trundle a heavy cart into a shed and reveal a printing press with movable lead type, and William is fascinated. He starts writing a news-sheet for cheap sale around the city and a few beggars are hired to sell it, with a bosomy young lady keen to make her mark as a reporter. The pennies roll in fast.

William needs images on the page so he hires a vampire photographer, or iconographer, who totes a boxed imp instead of a box brownie and has taken the pledge not to drink blood. There's a man with funny-shaped vegetables who keeps coming around, there's rumours of a rain of dogs after a puppy fell out of a window, lots of interesting items. Then Lord Vetinari the Patrician allegedly confesses to stabbing an aide and trying to make off with a fortune of city money. William investigates and some of the Watch talk to him but others are more suspicious. Commander Sam Vimes of the Watch notes the little notebook taking down everything he says, and sets gargoyles and a werewolf to keep an eye on William, because if someone is framing Lord Vetinari, there has to be a reason, and anyone uncovering a plot might not come out of it alive.

Pratchett in this his 25th Discworld book has incorporated most of his popular characters and introduces us to the personal history of the rubbish collector king who has done quite well for himself, through hard work and vision, but is looked down on by nobility. We as always get a visit from Death, the trolls and dwarfs are only too keen to sharpen weapons at the sight of each other and the Guilds are well managed, with a holdup or mugging by a licensed thief granting immunity from thievery for six months. There are no appearances by witches or wizards, just your average city folks.

While I enjoyed this book and it was fun to see Pratchett's take on journalism I did not find it as funny as some other books by him, and I preferred the later Night Watch. But it's better than some of Pratchett's and there's lots of action.

William de Worde didn't WANT to become a journalist. However he was good at writing and he found that people would PAY him to print up the details of day to day life in Ankh-Morpork. The reason basically being that Morporkians are basically voyeurs and love keeping abreast of other people's business.

Thus William De Worde made an alliance with some dwarves who owned a printing press and THE TIMES was born.

The story progresses and rapidly becomes more than simply a way of making money. When the Patrician is arrested for attempted murder, William thinks the whole thing looks funny. Certain details don't add up. Why attack his own secretary? And if Vetinari (a graduate of the assassin's guild) wanted to kill somebody, why would they end up merely wounded and not dead? And why would an assassin be stupid enough to call out, "I've killed him!", after dealing a merely wounding blow?

With no training whatsoever, William still thinks like an investigative journalist and asks all the right questions and gradually uncovers the truth.

I'm something of a fan of investigative journalism, so this book that takes Ankh-Morpork's first journalist and turns him into a hero really appeals to me.

Commander Vimes, Sergeant Angua, Sergeant Detritus and Corporal Nobbs also make cameo appearances in this story. I only mention them as the City Watch is traditionally my favorite part of Ankh-Morpork. Also William manages to outsmart Angua as she's she's tailing him in werewolf form. And anybody who can outsmart a werewolf that's picked up their scent and get away free and clear is a very cunning and admirable opponant and the sort of person who is not to be underestimated.

I'll say this now: I adore Otto Chriek.
Yes, I know he's a vampire. And yes, I do know he's a secondary character, but I can't help but love the iconograph-taking non-blood-drinking vampire who turns to dust every time he takes a photo. How could you not?
Anyhow, this novel is all about the Press. Or, rather, the Times and moving with it (before it runs you over and leaves its mark on you). A lot of this is about William de Worde (a fitting name, don't you think?) and how he first struggles to bring AnkhMorepork's first printing press into being, then keeping it running when a lot of people would much rather he stopped.
But it also follows two rather sinister fellows Mr Tulip and Mr Pin as they get tangled in the mess that always seems to be going on in what has to be my most favourite storybook city. I quite liked Tulip, even if he goes "--ing" a lot (no actual swearing, just "--ing", trust me).
All in all, it was good read where the more common characters take a bit of a back seat to a more humdrum side of the city that's anything but boring.
And come on, you can't resist Otto and his dark light eels.

Pratchett's done it again. This time, he uses the City Watch storyline to introduce the news media and printing press to Ankh-Morpork. The last few books preceeding The Truth were slow and uninteresting for me, but this has turned that all around.

The Truth centers around William de Worde, who with the help of some ingenious dwarves, introduces newspapers to Ankh-Morpork. The story that ensues is a mixture of mystery, action, thriller and the classic Pratchett humor and charm.

Here's the bottom line--stop reading my review and go read this book! It's one of Pratchett's best books (in fact, anything in his Watch series is brilliant). Read this if you're into journalism, satire, humor, action or an all-around Pratchett fan. That's all there is to say. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

Reviewing Pratchett is always hard, I absolutely adore most of his books, and his literary cannon is huge. I have been reading all of the Discworld books in chronological order and have finally arrived at "The Truth," the twenty-fifth book in the series. "The Truth" introduces the character of William de Worde, a young son of a noble who chooses not to follow in his father's footsteps, rather attempting to make his own way in the world. Late one night the local rumor that Dwarves have found a way to turn lead into gold comes to light right in front of de Worde. Lead can be turned into gold if you use the lead to make a printing press, and manage to find an excellent writer like de Worde to start Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper.

As with all of Pratchett's books, we have the evolution of the newspaper over a matter of a week rather than the hundred or so years that it took in our world. Soon there is competition across the street with headlines like "Woman gives birth to snakes" and "Man abducted by Demons." William de Worde however, is obsessed with truth, stories come flooding in, and soon he has hired Sacharissa as a story writer, and Otto the vampire as a photographer. I have to admit that the first time Otto takes a picture for the paper literally cause me to snort my drink out through my nose, and tears to come to my eyes from laughing so hard. I think that scene is one of the funniest moments I have ever read in a book. Sacharissa is the daughter of an engraver who becomes quite the excellent reporter, and ends up being key to the discovery of the truth at the end of the book. Otto, a vampire from Uberwald has joined the temperance group and given up the red stuff, not that he doesn't have his moments, but he tries so hard to keep himself under control.

William's struggle as the head of the newspaper suddenly is flung into high gear when the Patrician is accused of murder. At this point the book begins satirizing the Watergate scandal complete with the anonymous tipster who is never seen (though readers of other discworld books will figure out who the tipster is fairly quickly). The guards, specifically Vimes, figure heavily into this book as they go about trying to discern what actually occurred with the Patrician. This book has one of the stronger plots in a Discworld book, rather than the humor coming from the plot, the plot is rather serious and the characters involved are the source of the humor. I personally find this to be a much better book than some of his earlier works because it feels as though it has more control over itself and doesn't sacrifice for a joke except in some minor areas involving the bad guys.

Speaking of the bad guys, we have Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip... the bad guys from the Looney Toons, you know the ones... the big dumb guy and the little wise a__. They have been hired by a group of "concerned citizens" to set up the Patrician... these concerned citizens are of course, from the upper crust of society with a very defined idea of who should actually be in charge (preferably someone very dumb who will do what they tell him). I personally did not enjoy the bits with Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip (who has a cursing problem and an obsession with trying to get high, even though it's never stated outright). I found them to be rather tedious though I know others would find them to be the most humorous part of the book. For those of you who either read these with your children or let your little ones read discworld books (we listen to many of them on audio CD while on road trips, our children think they are hysterical). I don't know that I would hand this to a child under 12... possibly under 14. The main reason being that Mr. Tulip snorts anything he can get his hands on, though most of the time he's completely unsuccessful, having snorted mothballs, flour, flea powder etc, I'm not sure that I'd want my kids hearing that (my kids are 7 and 10).

As a whole this book is brilliantly funny and the satire is genius. This will be funnier to people who are familiar with the press, particularly writing for papers and those with a pretty good idea of how Watergate played out. Although I considered making this a four star book because of my dislike for Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip... the fact that the scene with Otto made my drink exit my nose bumped it back up to a five star book. I highly recommend it to Discworld fans and those who are considering becoming Discworld fans.

Terry Pratchett is one of the rare few authors who can progress a series without tiring his subject matter or his invented universe. This is outing twenty-five, and Discworld is as fun as ever -- maybe even more so. It's a world of werewolves, hard-nosed cops, incredibly cynical politicians,
William de Worde, a member of the elite (read: snotty) classes, wants to start a newspaper, the Ankh-Morpork Times, using printing presses with movable type and employing dwarves. Soon he has also gained a skilfull but very ladylike reporter named Sacharissa, and a photographer vampire named Otto. Their news remains fairly dull (except for "funny" vegetables) until the Patrician is accused of murder.
The problem is that William wants to tell the people the Truth -- which gets him some enemies, fast. The Times soon has competition from a tabloid; William and his staff are being targeted by a pair of hit men, including Mr. Tulip, who is a strong-arm psychopath with very fine sensibilities and a very dirty vocabulary (I still giggle when I read "---ing"). With the help of the Watch, and the Truth on their side, William and his friends unravel the mystery to find out who committed the murder, and who wants the presses stopped for good.
Terry Pratchett's satires are never heavy-handed, and he's in fine form here. He subtlely brings up questions into the reader's mind about journalism, truth, free press, and the impact of all three on justice and society.
The heads of old friends pop up: Death (of course), Foul Ole Ron, Gaspode, the ever-astonishing Vimes, Detritus the thick-skulled troll, the inexplicably entertaining Patrician. We also have some new favorites: Ladylike reporter Sacharissa, in the tradition of Pratchett's lead women, is competant and thoroughly realistic, filling in the gaps where William can be a little clueless. William himself is a pleasantly earnest and humble hero. The dwarves, especially Goodmountain, are great as supporting cast.
But the real star of this book is Otto, the abstaining vampire who has transferred his bloodlust to iconography and the study of light and shadow -- the only problem being that, as a vampire, sudden bursts of light turn him into dust. Not only does he get all the best lines, but he has memorable scenes where he will stagger around shrieking, "Aarggghharrggghharrgghh", or turning into dust ("Oohhhhhbbugggerrr"). Occasionally his vampiric nature takes over ("Zer bosoms!") and the scenes where he frantically sings along with the dwarves is too funny to miss.
This is also very well-written; Pratchett is expert at giving us visions of what's going on, with a minimum of words used. There is no smut, no graphic violence, a little weird humor regarding the vampiric liking for women, and a bit of profanity, but kids can read this without fear.
This is not just a fun read for Discworld fans, but for fans of insightful satire and mystery in general. Great ----ing read.

The title of this review notwithstanding, I'm not *quite* a blind fan of Mr. Pratchett. I have a particular fondness for his bits with Nanny Ogg in, "Pyramids" is one of my favorites, and there are some of his books I can take or leave.
This one, I'm honored to inform you, is the former. I'll take it. Pratchett himself is a former newspaperman, and one gets the impression that most of his pokes at the press industry are dead-on, if couched in fiction. We're back in Ankh-Morpork, in which his knack for the surreal and head-scratchingly amusing always seems to be let loosest. Several honored characters return: Death, the Bursar (whose cameo prompted hysterical mirth on my part) the Patrician, the City Guard, Gaspode the Talking Dog, and Foul Ole Ron, among others. New folks who one really feels ought to join the regular cast are introduced: Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, most notably. Chances are they won't be back, but I look forward to again encountering Otto.
Diversified Pratchett fans may notice a faint resemblance of these two to another pair of black-suited, unscrupulous gentlemen in "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman, with whom Pratchett has collaborated in the past. The resemblance is largely superficial, however, and Mr. Tulip particularly is a cleverly made and vastly amusing character, given to the peculiar mode of cursing permitted by Discworld's Universal Censors: "-ing!" Otto, the reformed vampire and Anhk-Morpork Times staff photographer, is a further joy to read. The complications with his salamander-flash camera made me laugh until I got a cramp.
If there is one failing in this book, it is that the 'side' characters are so fantastically interesting compared to our protagonist, a comparatively normal human citizen. He *is* a disenfranchised noble with family strife, and it is he who, in traditional Pratchett style, conveys the true and even serious 'lesson' of the book. He's a good character, and serves his purpose well, and pushes the story along. But it's the other characters who steal the show.
This is really one of his better offerings. Not just in recent years: I'd rate it as one of his ten best out of his bajillion-some in print. Its obvious and pointed grounding in experience leaves one feeling sager about the business of journalism, as well as delicate about the ribs and damp about the cheeks. Good, good stuff.

William de Worde can hardly imagine what he unleashes when he gives birth to his latest idea: let's publish a paper that actually tells everyone what is happening in Ankh-Morpork and abroad, certainly when it concerns vegetables that grow in a shape that is similar to the reproductive system of humans. Until now only the rich people got informed about things that might or might not have occurred last month. That is all about to change. For the better. Or the worse. When William and his reporter Sacharissa Cripslock unveil a murder attempt on Havelock Vetinari, not everyone is happy to read this in movable type. On top of that, the stone carvers cannot accept to lose their job because people simply start to recycle letters. Some measures need to be taken. Immediately.

When Terry Pratchett makes fun of something as influential as moveable type, it cannot be anything but hilarious. And indeed, The Truth proves to be one of the better episodes of the whole Discworld saga. In one go he guides us through a complete history of the printed press. From the early problems with the printing process, the struggle for independence of news gathering till the trend of printing what the people want even if it has not that much similarity with the truth. It is really funny to see the similarities with cases like Watergate. As an extra plus, also the city guard, under supervision of Commander Vimes, gets to play an important role. The Truth is a great example of great satire. It can even be fully enjoyed without knowing anything about the previous novels. Highly recommended.

Terry Pratchett's 'mirror of worlds' is staring us right in the face. He wants us to take him and ourselves more seriously. Fantasy is on the decline on the Discworld, humour becoming more cynical and real-life issues reaching out to claim our attention. The origins of this trend aren't easy to pinpoint. Certainly all of the Sam Vimes series demonstrate it, with FEET OF CLAY and JINGO prominent in presenting us with the round world Discworld mirrors. This latest product of one of our world's more penetrating writers challenges us to look at ourselves closely. Which values do we truly subscribe to today?
Many who use Pratchett to escape from the realities of life will grizzle about this trend. This book is easily the least 'escapist' of any he's written. We are given a dedicated newsman who's challenged by business 'ethics'. A tabloid competitor emerges, offering readers glaring sensationalism, but false "news". Supplies of paper dry up, the press is demolished and survival of both the Ankh-Morpork Times and its publisher comes into question. This book isn't fantasy, it's history. It just happens to be Discworld's reflection of Round world's chronicle of business ethics. The only thing missing in this account is the "market survey" to assess what will sell to the population. Indeed, the most telling line in the book is Vetanari's comment that "people don't want news, they want olds" - the confirmation of what they already believe. "News" will simply cause people to think, and we all know how dangerous that is.
William de Worde's choice of "newsboys" an interesting touch. Foul Ol' Ron, the Duckman, and, in particular, Gaspode, purveying the A-M Times on the city's streets, would have been a memorable sight, but Pratchett pushes them into the background. Foul Ol' Ron as a reporter might have led the Times down an interesting path. The biggest news, however, is an almost murder. Vetanari is again placed in an unusual position for a City Manager, and the twists of that tale are Pratchett at his finest.
One thing missing in this book is the progeny expected by Sam Vimes and Sibyl at the end of FIFTH ELEPHANT. It's too soon for that in the Discworld timeframe, of course. Since Sam appears in this book, the image of Ol' Stoneface as a parent would have been priceless. Printing and spreading the news immediately called up anticpation of The Librarian making an appearance, but we have to do with Foul Ol' Ron instead - not a bad trade, just a small disappointment. Foul Ol' Ron might have been puffed a bit. After all, the only coherent expression he's uttered 'Queen Mary says to watch your back, mister' might well have been enlarged on here. Leaving all communication to Gaspode, who has his own agenda to follow.
Long-term fans of Pratchett shouldn't be disappointed that the light-hearted days of Rincewind and the Wyrd Sisters seem to be fading into the background. We should be glad he's still producing. Years ago in the US, a similar voice in the person of Tom Lehrer used humour to awaken Americans to some of their dearly-held follies. The election of Ronald Reagan drove Lehrer into retirement, a sad loss. That Pratchett is able to keep reminding us of who we are, and do it in such entertaining fashion, is a tribute to him and encouraging for us. He's telling us that he believes there's hope yet.

Terry Pratchett is one of the rare few authors who can progress a series without tiring his subject matter or his invented universe. This is outing twenty-five, and Discworld is as fun as ever -- maybe even more so. It's a world of werewolves, hard-nosed cops, incredibly cynical politicians,
William de Worde, a member of the elite (read: snotty) classes, wants to start a newspaper, the Ankh-Morpork Times, using printing presses with movable type and employing dwarves. Soon he has also gained a skilfull but very ladylike reporter named Sacharissa, and a photographer vampire named Otto. Their news remains fairly dull (except for "funny" vegetables) until the Patrician is accused of murder.
The problem is that William wants to tell the people the Truth -- which gets him some enemies, fast. The Times soon has competition from a tabloid; William and his staff are being targeted by a pair of hit men, including Mr. Tulip, who is a strong-arm psychopath with very fine sensibilities and a very dirty vocabulary (I still giggle when I read "---ing"). With the help of the Watch, and the Truth on their side, William and his friends unravel the mystery to find out who committed the murder, and who wants the presses stopped for good.
Terry Pratchett's satires are never heavy-handed, and he's in fine form here. He subtlely brings up questions into the reader's mind about journalism, truth, free press, and the impact of all three on justice and society.
The heads of old friends pop up: Death (of course), Foul Ole Ron, Gaspode, the ever-astonishing Vimes, Detritus the thick-skulled troll, the inexplicably entertaining Patrician. We also have some new favorites: Ladylike reporter Sacharissa, in the tradition of Pratchett's lead women, is competant and thoroughly realistic, filling in the gaps where William can be a little clueless. William himself is a pleasantly earnest and humble hero. The dwarves, especially Goodmountain, are great as supporting cast.
But the real star of this book is Otto, the abstaining vampire who has transferred his bloodlust to iconography and the study of light and shadow -- the only problem being that, as a vampire, sudden bursts of light turn him into dust. Not only does he get all the best lines, but he has memorable scenes where he will stagger around shrieking, "Aarggghharrggghharrgghh", or turning into dust ("Oohhhhhbbugggerrr"). Occasionally his vampiric nature takes over ("Zer bosoms!") and the scenes where he frantically sings along with the dwarves is too funny to miss.
This is also very well-written; Pratchett is expert at giving us visions of what's going on, with a minimum of words used. There is no smut, no graphic violence, a little weird humor regarding the vampiric liking for women, and a bit of profanity, but kids can read this without fear.
This is not just a fun read for Discworld fans, but for fans of insightful satire and mystery in general. Great ----ing read.

...and stayed and gave several answers.
Movable type comes to Ankh-Morpork, and all of the cliches and tropes of the "crusading reporter" and "cynical Administration vs. the Press" story and film play themselves out with typical confusing Discworld speed before the reader's slightly bemused and somewhat bewildered gaze.
William de Worde, scapegrace younger son of a noble family, is making part of his living as a public writer-down of things for people who are a bit lacking in penmanship, but most of it comes from the fact that various nobles in various parts of the Discworld REALLY want to know what's going on in Ankh-Morpork and pay him well to write them monthly letters of such. He has already tumbled to the fact that he can get an engraver to make him a plate with all the info and spaces to fill in each client's name, thus collecting several fees for, essentially, one job.
And then someone* yells "Stop the press..."
That is, the cart that has Ankh-Morpork's first moveable-type printing press gets away on a hilly street on a cold ciy/foggy night.
William is struck by the idea -- struck so hard that he's unconscious for some time.
And soon he's involved with the dwarfs who own the press, and instead of a monthly letter to four or five clients for a large price each, he is printing a daily newsletter -- well, newsPAPER -- that sells lots of copies for a small amount.
And here's where the real trouble and the questions as to Just What Is Truth begin.
The wizards are afraid that moveable type, if used to print something magickal, may REMEMBER and pass some of the magick on to other things printed later.
Various Prominent Citizens are rather upset by William's manner of writing things down with intent. Intent to publish, that is.
The Watch are upset partly over the same things as the PromCits, and partly that the paper will stir up trouble.
The Patrician is upset about ALL of those things and at the thought of how FAST things develop in the Big Wahoonie -- he drops by the offices and inquires if the offices are located over any known rifts in reality or spacetime and whether Mr. Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler has anything to do with the enterprise.
Dibbler, meanwhile, always quick to move with the times (or is that "the Times"), is inventing the mendacious handbill.
And the phrase "If it weren't true, they wouldn't let them print it, right?" enters the Ankh-Morpork lexicon.
Add in a sub-rosa "Committee to De-Select the Patrician", using a zombie lawyer to employ a pair of out-of-town all-round Very Bad Men to carry out an obscure (though not really all THAT hard to guess) criminal venture, the Engraver's Guild's upset over the concept of moveable type and its attempts to put the paper out of business, a rival paper (the "Inquirer") that sells for less and specialises in stories of the "Woman in Lancre Gives Birth to Cobra" variety and, last but hardly least, the arrest of the Patrician for attempting to murder his own Secretary and abscond with a major part of the City Treasury, and it's "Welcome to Ankh-Morpork, We Hope You Enjoy Your Stay" for readers.
This book has a fair amount of new cast, though the primary members of the Guards appear here and there, CMOT Dibbler sells sausages and has other ideas, the Patrician is more visible (and developed/developing) than he's been in a while. Gaspode the Wonder Dog becomes important when it's realised that the only witness to the Patrician's apparent attack on his Secretary is an elderly terrier, and Gaspode has attached himself to Foul Ole Ron and his friends. Fans of Granny, Nannie, Magrat and Agnes will be disappointed by a complete state of witchlessness, and the wizards from Unseen University have only what amounts to a cameo appearance**... and Death is allowed only two short but Important appearances.
Here and there are to be seen bits of the inimitable Pratchettian Skewed Vision -- Commander Vimes walks into the paper's office and threatens William with his truncheon and William counter-threatens by pulling a notebook out of HIS pocket. The most vicious and irredeemable thug-for-hire in the entire world is also its greatest, most sensitive and most knowledgeable art expert.
As to What Is Truth? -- if it's in the paper, it must be true.
But it only has to be true 'til tomorrow...
NOTES: *That "somone" would be dwarf Gunilly Goodmountain, owner of Ankh-Morpork's first moveable-type press, or perhaps Caslong or Boddony, his assistants and yes, their names ARE off type cases...
**Fans of the Bursar, however, will be pleased to know that the rest of the Faculty have finally gotten his doseage of dried frog pills right; he now spends most of his days hallucinating that he is a perfectly sane man...***
***Well, a perfectly sane man who can fly. In the average person, not so important. However, given that he's a wizard... But they've mostly convinced him not to soar above the campus walls.

Ankh-Morpork is one of Discworld's greatest gems. A huge city composed of everything unusual and odd. The people are a mixture of all the races and personality types that inhabit Terry Pratchett's rich fantasies. Some are almost normal, but most have quirks of the most extreme nature. Each, from the lowest talking dog to the highest flying university official has a story or two to tell. No wonder, then, that movable type was invented in Ankh-Morpork and that, shortly thereafter, the first newspaper rolled off the presses.
The hero of this tale is William de Worde, errant scion of an influential family. William was already using the engraver's guild to create a small gossip letter that earned him a minimal living. A chance meeting with a flying object introduced him to Gunilla Goodmountain, the printer. In short order, overwhelmed by the lure of technology, his gossip letter has turned into a full fledged daily newspaper, 'The Ankh-Morpork Times.' William's only quibble was that The Times should always report the truth, whether it was a report of a funny looking vegetable or an interview with Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of the city.
As you might imagine a compulsion to tell the truth can have a disastrous effect on one's life expectancy in a city like Ankh-Morpork, where corruption is considered a delicacy. When William discovers that Lord Vetinari's attempt to abscond with a good piece if the treasury was much, much more, serious trouble begins. He find's himself under the scrutiny of the Ankh-Morpork Watch (they may be slow, but they are very dogged) and Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, the Ollie and Stan of the criminal world. William must also stand up to the opposition of the Engraver's Guild. Fearing that movable type will put engravers out of business, the Guild starts up its own newspaper, a fine example of the scandal sheet. Not limited to telling the truth, they quickly become serious competition.
If you love quirky characters, Pratchett's your writer. And Ankh-Morpork is your town. Helping William out at the newspaper is the beautiful Sacharissa Cripslock, who started out Clean and Respectable but rapidly turns into a reporter with a flair for the business. Then we have the twelve people who live under Misbegot Bridge (in only 5 bodies) and the legendary, ever present talking dog. And don't forget the inevitable appearance of DEATH himself.
But the very best character of "The Truth" is Otto Chriek the recovering vampire. Otto is a member of the Uberwald Temperance League and now never drinks human 'b-word.' He hires on to the Times as an iconographer (with a demon powered camera) and quickly proves himself indespensable. Or as indispensable as a vampire can be who keeps vaporizing himself when he takes flash pictures.
As you can tell, "The Truth" is another Pratchett classic. While not quite the equal of "Thief of Time" and "Small Gods," it's still upper echelon. Pratchett manages to make fun of everything he comes upon without ever really offending, and his use of vulgarity is hardly vulgar. Sometimes I suspect that Pratchett would even be funnier if I was familiar with British slang, but I catch enough of the jokes to wince and chortle and to scare the cats. Have fun!!

Following close on the heals of "The Fifth Elephant," Terry Pratchett has again turned in an equally outstanding performance with "The Truth." Parodying and poking fun at everything from the homeless to the patrician rich, enterprise, technology, the law and the fifth estate---the news and the olds---Pratchett is nothing if not an equal opportunity satirist. Many of the series' favorite characters---Commander Vimes and the Watch, the Patrician, Gasparode and Ole Foul Ron---are here, but center stage is occupied by the introduction of three new players to the series, William de Worde, Sacharissa and the vampire iconographer, Otto Chriek, who I hope we will see more of, especially the latter, since as archetypes they possess fecund roles for the future. Additionally, two of the most memorable scoundrels of Pratchett's many pageants arrive in the form of Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin, with the former's unexpected and refined appreciation and criticism of art a particular delight. But in many ways, as in all of Pratchett's novels, the ultimate kudos for performances go to his rich and jaundiced cast of secondary players, from Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler to the multiple personalities of Altogether Andrews. One wonders whether Captain Carrot and Sergeant Angua will ever come out of the kennel...er, closet...and the life of every social occasion, Death, makes a rare if somewhat somber appearance.
There is a serious side hidden beneath all this fun, perhaps best if humorously revealed in the fates awaiting Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin. It is not the instrument of evil that is ultimately held most to account, but the mind that sets it in motion. This theme is echoed in William's confrontation with Lord de Worde, as well as hinted at in oblique references to the Patrician and the pontifical role played by Mr. Mackleduff around the breakfast table. Pratchett here turns a critical eye towards bigotry, as well as the temporal and largely relative nature found in the use of words and their extension as truth. However, if you chuckle it can easily be lost in the laughter.
Another marvelous outing from one of literature's finest satirists. Certainly our modern day Swift or Carroll, and highly, highly recommended to any reader, regardless of their taste in the mirth.

When Terry Pratchett started writing the Discworld series, he intended to skewer fantasy cliches in a straight-up parody. Twenty-five full-length novels later, he somehow ended up producing highly literate satires with virtually nothing in common with fantasy, except that the occassional troll, vampire, and talking dog does wander through. In "The Truth" he turns his eys on the newspaper industry, and the more you know about the curious organization of Britain's print media, the more references you can catch. But while the news media presents a broad target for satire, a novel of this sort could easily have wandered off course, bashing the most obvious jokes into the ground. But "The Truth" doesn't. It is, after all, written by Terry Pratchett.

William deWorde is the outcast younger son of a wealthy family, who suffered greatly and hilariously at boarding school in his youth. Through odd circumstances he teams up with the lovely Sacharissa and a band of dwarves to produce a crude newspaper. In come Lord Vetinari, the Bursar, some trolls, Detrius, and various other friends old and new, and soon hilarious high-jinks are happening all across the city. To try summarizing the plot would be futile, but suffice to say it will satisfy and long-term Pratchett fan.

Pay attention also to little things. Over the last twenty-five books, Pratchett's skill has grown at, well, everything. He now masters such a huge variety of modes of literature that you couldn't even count them all. Among things to notice in "The Truth" are non-verbal communication (particularly when Vetinari is on-screen), discussion of the rising middle class, and oh yes, Death. And I'm sure all find more on my second read. And my third. And my fourth.

I think that perhaps no modern fantasy writer is as likely to have a graduate seminar in the humanities taught about his works in a hundred years than is Terry Pratchett. Pratchett is the only modern fantasy writer I can think of that successfully mixes parody, social commentary, allegory and themes of the humanities into stories that you have to read on multiple levels to fully appreciate. Thankfully, he continues this with "The Truth".
For the first time since "Men at Arms" - or "Soul Music", depending on the chronology you use for the series - we are given an invention of the modern world and shown how the semi-medieval city of Ankh-Morpork copes with it. In this case, it's the printing press. Pratchett is back in full form after a couple of worrying books and in this one he does a good job of mixing the methods that made his Ankh-Morpork City Watch subseries so wonderful with the allegory of books like "Moving Pictures" and "Soul Music" while being far lighter and somewhat more subtle than he has been in the past.
"The Truth" also introduces a new subseries to the Discworld that hopefully we will see a lot more of. The staff of the newspaper works wonderfully together in this book and I hope we see as much plot development from them in future books as we've seen from the subseries that focus on the Ankh-Morpork City Watch or the Witches of Lancre.
All in all, I thought this book was a return to the glory days of Pratchett that I remember reading from "Witches Abroad" to "Interesting Times". If you're a serious Terry Pratchett fan you've probably picked it up already, but in case you haven't - do so. If you're a new fan of his and looking to find a place to get into his works, there are worse books than this to start with.

I have to say, this is my favorite of all of the Discworld novels. Even 'Going Postal' doesn't match it on the list & I loved Postal. I can't put my finger on exactly what it is about this book, although I do have to admit that it's partially because of Otto Chriek.

The plotline of this book surrounds the character of William De Worde & his attempt at forming a newspaper. Meanwhile the Patrician has been framed for a crime & been kidnapped. (Wisely, the people framing him knew that nobody would question the Patrician if he were still around.) With exploding vampire photographers, a room full of printing dwarves & a lovely young reporter, De Worde seems to be the only one who can save the day.

I freaking love this book. Unconditionally. It could eat crackers in bed & I wouldn't throw it out. (OK, so I'm being a little facetious there.) But I do love this book. I love the idea of vampires who are trying to refrain from drinking blood. I like the idea of people cussing by saying --ing. I'm sure that there are some who may not like this book, but I'm not one of them. I actually read this one out of order, having picked it up & mistaken it for one earlier in the series & I really didn't feel that out of place. (The great thing about Discworld novels is that you don't necessarily have to read them in order.)

"The Truth" is up there with Pratchett's best. I don't know if it is because I enjoy the Guards series most or because Pratchett did something special for the 25th Discworld novel (can you believe it?!) but this book just rocked ... (it was a book with rocks in, even).
"The Truth" is another social semi-satire, like "Moving Pictures" or "Soul Music" but one which does not set out to preach a social message as much as just create plain good fun. All of the favorite Ankh-Morpork characters are in there but there are some great new ones, particularly Otto von Chriek, a reformed vampire hired as an iconographer for the Discworld's first newspaper, the book's namesake. Once you recall Pratchett's favoured method of creating flash photography and the effect this may have on said vampire, (not to mention the general nature of vampires) you should start to glimpse the boundless humorous possibilities.
As always, Pratchett's knowledge of the human psyche (headology) is superb and his characters are a joy to watch (er, read?). The dialogue and behaviour of the Patrician, in particular, is a study in mastery of human psychology and behaviour. Many of this book's passages made me laugh out loud, (as always, embarrassing on an aeroplane), and this is always a good yardstick -- I laughed more than I could remember than for any other book in the last 2 or 3 years.
If you are a Discworld reader, grab this book and dive in. If not, read a few of the Guards series and those with a similar theme ("Guards, Guards", "Moving Pictures", "Soul Music" should do it) in order to best appreciate this one.

As always in his later novels about Disworld, Pratchett mixes wit and word-play with often very pointed commentary on some aspect of our own world. This time, he takes on the Fourth Estate in the person of young William de Worde, idealistic younger son of Lord De Worde, a very unpleasant and rather fascist leader of a cabal attempting to overthrow Lord Vetinari, the Patrician who runs Ankh-Morpork with an astute and even hand. William, who has been sending out occasional newsletters to foreign decision-makers of local events of interest, manages to invent not only the newspaper but journalism itself, discovering along the way that what people need to know generally isn't what they want to know and that tabloidism outsells News any day. Pratchett is more sympathetic to newspaper people than to those who read their work. Of course, William uncovers the facts about the plot -- gets personally caught up in it, in fact -- and must decide just how much of his father's son he really is. And Commander Vimes of the Watch (one of my two favorite recurring characters, the other being Lord Vetinari) must deal with the discovery that freedom of the press impinges on his own occasional urges. The practical Mr. Goodmountain, dwarf typesetter and owner of the actual press, is a nice balance to William's zeal, as is Sacharissa, natural newswriter. And Otto, the vampire iconographer. Most unsettling, perhaps, are Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin, the former a combination of enraged thug and art connoisseur, the latter a cold-blooded "arranger" for hire. I hope Pratchett lives another few decades and keeps this stuff coming.

The twenty-fifth Discworld novel tells the story of the first (and second) Ankh-Morpork newspaper(s).
As the youngest son of a well-to-do family, William was destined to a cleric, or a land manager, or maybe a soldier career. But in fact he's always liked reading and writing, and having moved to Ankh-Morpork he's trying to make words his living. Therefore for some time now, and five dollars, he has been writing a monthly news-letter to some select members of the nobility in several corners of the Discworld, in close collaboration with the Guild of Engravers... until one day, when he finds himself knocked down by the dwarf Goodmountain carrying a huge engine: a press.
And so the Ankh-Morpork Times was born. Being able to have many copies much quicker, and to sell them to much more people, he is also faced with the problem of having to find lots of new interesting things to say. And even though he realises that people are ready to take everything for granted as long as it's in the paper, he wants to tell only the TRUTH. And when the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, is arrested for the apparent murder of his clerk and the theft of seventy thousand dollars (in coins), William starts to investigate.
At the same time, competition arrives too. Less fussy about veracity, The Inquirer quickly becomes the people's favourite.
The Truth is a wonderful satire of the world of journalism and the power of media. But aside from that, with great new characters such as Sacharissa and Otto the vampire Iconographer, as well as dear old ones such as Gaspode the Wonder Dog and Vimes, it's also a -ing funny book... well of course it is!

Two random images occur frequently when reading a Terry Pratchett Discworld book. The first is of time lapse photography, the type used in nature or wildlife programs. One can see a seed planted, germinate, sprout, and then blossom into a flower in a manner of seconds even though it might take weeks to occur in `the real world'. The second is of a frog in a pot of water. It is a time worn cliché that if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water it will leap out immediately. However, if you drop a frog into cool water and gradually bring it to a boil it won't think about jumping out until it is too late.

Terry Pratchett has a marvelous habit of taking devices or institutions that have developed over time in our word and subjecting them to the literary equivalent of time-lapse photography when he imports them into Discworld. Typically, the devices, be they guns (Men at Arms), movies (Moving Pictures), or the modern postal system (Going Postal), are introduced and evolve very quickly., In presenting us with guns, movies, or postal networks formed in such short order Pratchett highlights the perversions these great inventions are subjected to over time that are not so readily apparent when you live through the gradual changes. The reader, like the frog, is presented with a proverbial pot of boiling water and, no doubt, on reflection must ask him or her self, how in the world did we ever let things go this far? This is exactly what Pratchett does with the newspaper business in The Truth. As you witness the time-lapsed development of the institution known to us as the press you cannot help but shake your head and say, how did it ever come to this?

The plot has already been well summarized on the product page. Suffice it to say, Pratchett does his typically splendid job setting up the establishment of Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper by the aptly named William de Worde. The cast of characters includes Otto, the vampire photographer. Otto is fresh from the vampire equivalent of a 12-step program and struggles mightily to avoid a relapse.

Of course the press needs to have a story and Pratchett gives us the Ankh-Morpork version of Watergate. A crime has been committed and the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, is the prime suspect. It appears in fact to be something of an open and shut case. Of course, the truth is not always what it appears to be. De Worde soon comes to suspect that perhaps, just perhaps, the oligarchs that don't suffer Vetinari all that gladly just may have something to do with all this.

Every investigative reporter needs a source and Pratchett gives us the Ankh-Morpork version of Deep Throat, this time in the form of Pratchett's most intelligent creations, Gaspode, the talking dog. Call him "Deep Bark" perhaps. The words Pratchett puts in Gaspode are pure Pratchett and are funny and insightful. Also worthy of note is Pratchett's characterization of the inevitable collision of the press with the police in the form of the dealings between de Worde and Command Sam Vimes.

Events wend their way to their inevitable conclusion. Will Commander Vimes be forced to `round up the usual suspects' or will de Word uncover that elusive thing called the truth? Inquiring minds want to know!

The Truth is up to Pratchett's usually high standards and will be enjoyed by both Pratchett old timers and those new to Discworld. For newcomers, the Truth is an excellent place to start.

I had considered making this review simply be the sentence: "This book was written by Terry Pratchett." After all, there are only three possiblities: a) you like his writing; b) you don't care for it; c) you've never heard of him.
If you like his writing, buy this book. If you don't care for his writing, this review is hardly going to change your mind. If you've never heard of him, then start with The Colour of Magic, run through the whole of the Discworld Series, and come back here when you've caught up. Fair warning: there are over 20 books in the series, and Pratchett is showing no signs of letting up.
I suppose the best way to start off is to compare this book with the others he's written. Is it better? Worse? The same? Well, it's got a bunch of familiar characters in, including Vimes and the Patricitian. Even C.M.O.T. Dibbler makes a cameo.
About the best comparison I can make, though, is that the footnotes are getting fewer and farther-between. I'd rather see more, since it means more jokes, obviously.
But beyond that, there are the old, familiar plot points that Pratchett handles so well. Here it revolves around the invention (or re-invention, apparently) of the moveable-type printing press, and an alleged attempt by Vetinari to kill someone and make off with a fortune.
The ideas it explores are interesting: what is the journalist's role in discovering the truth? How are law enforcement authorities hindered or helped by this? How much of what the journalist learns can be safely disseminated to the general public? Ultimately: where is the line drawn between the truth and what the public needs to know?
It's a difficult undertaking, but Pratchett does a great job pulling it all together. He adds in his his usual roller-coaster ploting, giving the reader just enough information to keep going, but not enough to get all the answers in one go. Atypically however, as the story reaches its climax, we're pulled in multiple directions, cheering on everyone (except for the obvious 'bad guy') all at once.
Pratchett pokes fun at established conventions with his usual aplomb. He hits all the right notes here, and the book is enjoyable throughout. Bravo.

This review is aimed at the handful of people in the English-speaking world who, like me, have had no prior acquaintance with Terry Pratchett and his Discworld novels. The millions of Discophiles who want to know how "The Truth" compares to the twenty-four previous books in the series are advised to consult the reviews of others.
The blurb-writers compare Pratchett to Carroll, Tolkien, Baum, Vonnegut and Douglas Adams. Everyone seems to agree that he is a satirist. Judged only on "The Truth" he is a rather mild-mannered one -- fearlessly exposing the excesses of the media and making the case for ethnic toleration (vampires are people too). Pratchett is most obviously a zany and original humorist. "The Truth" is a very funny book in its own right -- regardless of its literary antecedents.
Ankh-Morpork, locus of "The Truth" is a pre-industrial city on Discworld ruled by Lord Vetinari and dominated by hereditary nobles and guilds. There is a plot afoot to replace Vetinari because he has been too tolerant toward the trolls, werewolves, vampires, and,especially, the dwarves who are migrating to Ankh-Morpork to seek their fortunes. Golems run the fire brigade and a closet werewolf is a sergeant of the Watch. The central character is William deWorde, a disaffected member of the nobility, who has been eking out a meager living selling hand-engraved tablets of gossip to a few wealthy clients. He falls in with some dwarves who have just set up the first printing press in the city and The Ankh-Morpork Times is born ("The news shall make you fret"). The guild of engravers get their own press and begin publishing a sensationalist tabloid ("Woman Gives Birth to Cobra"). Two hit-men imported for the Vetinari plot are ordered by a zombie lawyer to put the Times and its editor out of business permanently.
The book teems with interesting off-center chracters like Otto, the vampire photographer deWorde soon hires. Otto speaks with a Lugosi accent and is in a twelve-step program for vanpires. He is also an inventor. He uses an imp-powered "iconograph" with slamanders for flashbulbs. Unfortunately he is turned to dust by the flash and must be reconstituted with a drop of blood after each shot. DeWorde exposes the plot against Lord Vetinari with the help of "Deep Bone", a talking dog named Gaspode. Death puts in an appearance and proves that he, too, has a sense of humor.
Underneath the humorist, Pratchett proves to be a moralist. Death explains atonement. DeWorde defends journalistic values and freedom of the press, while confronting his own prejudices towards his co-workers. Pratchett's hand is heavier when he gets serious, but fortunately, that never lasts for long.

"The Truth," Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel, is, by definition, better than most other stuff out there. I think it's also one of the better Discworld books, but since people seem to have such idiosyncratic favorites, I can't really predict whether anyone else will agree. Nevertheless, if you like Pratchett at all, you will like "The Truth."
"The Truth" is like "Moving Pictures" or "Soul Music," which take cultural staples from our world and introduce them to Discworld, where they always end up slightly...wrong. However, it appears that, unlike movies and rock and roll, newspapers don't drain the reality from Discworld, and so are here to stay.
Early in "The Truth," William de Worde, the disaffected son of an old noble family, meets a group of dwarves who have introduced the printing press and movable type to Ankh-Morpork. Shortly, William and company are printing the Ankh-Morpork Times, Discworld's first daily newspaper, and competing with Discworld's first tabloid. On a more serious note, Lord Vetinari has apparently attacked his secretary and attempted to flee with embezled city funds. William suspects the Patrician has been framed, and invents investigative journalism, which is likely to get him killed.
"The Truth" offers an outsider's view of the Watch and Vimes -- very interesting -- and continues to modernize Ankh-Morpork, in a sideways, upside-down fashion, of course. Many old characters make cameos, including the Bursar, Gaspode, Carrot, Angua, C.M.O.T. Dibbler, and Nobby. It also introduces Mr. Tulip, a criminal who wants to have a drug habit; Sacharissa, William's partner and chief reporter; and Otto, a vampire who has sworn off blood and taken up flash photography, a dangerous profession for a creature sensitive to light.
There aren't as many footnotes in "The Truth" as in some other Discworld novels, but the satire is dead on, and the humor is still present, just more intertwined with the actual story. "The Truth" will probably also appeal to first-time Pratchett readers more than some other Discworld novels.

The Truth has the honour of being the 25th Discworld book. I haven't read all 25, but I have read a fair number of them, and I'd have to say this one is the best in awhile, even better than The Fifth Elephant.
William de Worde, outcast son of a local rich family in Ankh Morpork, has been regularly supplying (via engraving) a news page to a few select people in the city and the surrounding areas. One day, he is literally run over by the power of the press, in this case allowed to run amok by a group of dwarves. After regaining consciousness, William sees what this press can do and the possibilities it represents to get the news out to people. Imagine, movable type! Thus begins the saga of the Ankh-Morpork Times. William enlists the dwarves, and hires a young lady, Sacharissa Cripslock, to be a reporter. She's got a nose for headlines and is able to use some feminine wiles to get sources to talk to her. He also hires Otto Chriek, a vampire, as a photographer. Poor Otto has a fascination with flash photography, but every time the flash goes off, he becomes a pile of ash and needs help reforming himself.
When Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of the city, is accused of attempted murder, the City Watch is on the case, followed closely by William. Sometimes, too closely, as Commander Vimes has to deal with not only the crime, but also this new person breathing down his neck and asking questions. William thinks the public has a right to know what is going on. As the investigation continues, things get hotter and hotter for William, as he finds out that the search for the Truth isn't always a safe one.
There are so many things that make this book stand out. The first is the character of William. He's a crusader, a second son of a rich family. In Ankh-Morpork, only first sons ever really do anything. Subsequent sons are expected to go to school, graduate, and stay out of the way. William doesn't do that, but instead wants to make a name for himself. He hardly ever lies and has a deep respect for the truth, which is why he's so dedicated in this book. He's a wonderful straight man, reacting to some of the absurd events that are surrounding him as if they're not absurd.
Probably the best character, though, is Otto. He is so earnest in his profession, but he also has the funniest lines and situations. You would think that the repetition of "Flash! Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" would get boring after awhile, but it doesn't. The situations that it happens in are so varied that it never gets old. He's a very dedicated photographer, innovative (he is able to invent colour photography) and very loyal to William. He's also "on the wagon," which means that he doesn't drink human blood anymore. One of the funniest scenes in the book is when he's tempted (completely innocently and in a stressful situation) by Sacharissa.
One of the more interesting aspects of this book, at least for long-time Discworld readers, is the City Watch. This is the first book (or at least the first I've read) where the Watch is featured very heavily, but it's not *about* the Watch. There are only two or three scenes that are from the viewpoint of somebody who's in the Watch. Thus, you get to see them as outsiders see them. You see the strangeness that can happen without seeing the inherent reasoning behind it, and that is refreshing. Vimes is the same as he always has been, but his reactions to William and this new idea of somebody actually trying to tell people what is truly going on are simply hilarious. He doesn't like it and he doesn't react well to it.
The book mirrors the rise of newspapers very well, even down to the creation of tabloids (Mayor Stolen by Aliens!). Of course, the whole thing is condensed into a few weeks (and one investigative story), but it's still a nice parallel. Pratchett goes all out, showing not only the virtues of a free press, but also some of the faults. Most importantly, though, it shows the various reactions to this new medium: some fear it, some welcome it, some will take advantage of it (like the guy with the funny vegetables who wants them in the paper every day). Just like real life, only funnier.
This book is definitely worth a read. It doesn't matter if this is your first Discworld book or your 25th, you'll love it.

I read this book after reading Guards! Guards! but before reading any of the other Watch oriented books such as Men At Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, and The Fifth Elephant. The Watch are not the center of this book but they do make notable appearances.
I found this book relatively easy to follow even without knowing the history of certain characters. It is interesting to see the "future" of the Watch (from my perspective at least) and it makes me look forward to reading their further adventures.
The main focus of this book is William de Worde and his team. My personal favorite touch is having a genius vampire (he's reformed! Really!) as the photographer. He turns to dust whenever he uses too much flash!
Pratchett touches upon the role of journalism in society, the uncaring public who seeks entertainment more than information, the conflicts between government and journalists, and other such weighty issues with a quilled pen. Thus he tickles us while informing. Brilliant!
If you are new to the series, do not be afraid of the history you have missed. Pratchett makes each book (with the exception of The Light Fantastic which MUST be read after The Color of Magic) a good "jumping on" point. If you are familiar with Discworld, prepare for another exciting and entertaining adventure!

This, IS his best book. I have read all the Discworld books, and am now im the glorious process of re-reading them. (Which is actually even better, because you see things you never saw the first time, including the things you did.)
The Truth is a masterpiece of comedy, parody, satire, and just downright good-book-ness.
This probably his funniest book yet. I laughed out loud many times. His characters are good, William de Worde especially, Interesting (I think).
It's good that Pratchett is injecting new blood into the series. (Although i would hate it if he were to stop writing about all the other characters, the witches especially, as they are my absolute favourite. I love 'em.)
The premise for this book is great, and his satire of the modern media is too. Pratchett has a great deal to say, about everything, and he says it very well. His little nuggetts of social observations are always pure gems, and his subtle mockery of almost everything envokes many a laugh. He has the gift of being able to make you laugh at yourself, even if indirectly. You laugh out loud at societies peculairities and people's little nauances. It's all great fun.
This is probably his best book yet. Simply stunning. Loved it. He takes a while to get used to, but by god, when you do you're in for a treat!

The dwarfs have discovered how to turn lead to gold, which is a surprise to everyone, the dwarfs included. What they HAVE done is create a printing press. When William de Worde accidentally stumbles into their business, he lends an unwilling helping hand. Up to that point he had done nothing more than write a monthly genteel news letter for the upper class of Ankh-Morpork and sundry royalty. Of course, with the printing press set in Ankh-Morpork, it's not long before it gains the attention of Lord Vetinari, the Watch and a single young girl.

Then the Patrician is framed for a crime, his dog goes missing and the city is visited by two priests - one of whom uses '----ing' all the time.

I am unreservedly a huge fan of Pratchett, I don't think he is capable of writing a bad book, and he certainly didn't put a foot wrong with this one. I '----ing' love this book!

This is supposed to be the 25th Discworld novel, I don't know exactly how many I have read but it has been quite a few. You need to buy the whole Discworld concept with the elephants and the giant turtle floating through space. If you are still on board, then prepare yourself for what I feel is an enjoyable ride. If you are new to the Discworld series, this is not the book to start with. The beauty of the way this and other of Pratchett's Discworld stories work is that the reader needs to be at least slightly familiar with some of the characters. The Guilds, Lord Vetinari, Ministry of Magic, Wyrd Sisters, and now William de Worde. I enjoyed this book the most next to Mort and Soul Music. The descriptions the author gives everything such as the city of Ankh-Morpork are hilarious, I find myself laughing out loud. I did that a lot reading this book. The joy in reading Terry Pratchett is not the story itself but in the actual page by page commentary he gives and his funny wit. Each page contains enough sarcasm that you want to remember some of this to sound a little clever yourself when discussing things with your friends and co-workers. So much that it just becomes fun to read just 4 to 8 pages at a time and let it soak in. Welcome to the Discworld.

The twenty-fifth discworld novel delves into that quagmire that is freedom of the press - although William de Worde (our protagonist) stumbles into each precept on his way to bringing Ankh-Morpork's first broadsheet to life with its serious news, obituaries and humorous funny vegetable columns.
The usual Ankh cast turn up in supporting roles, from the Watch to Foule Ole Ron in a seamlessly blended parody that makes Pratchett unique.
This installment has a disgruntled shadowy set of powerful men hiring Mr Pin and Mr Tulip through the zombie lawyer (Mr Slant) to effectively disgrace Lord Vetinari.
As is such with these carefully laid plans, they go slightly awry with Lord Vetinari's dog, Wuffles, surviving as a witness. This means William de Worde, ably accompanied by the reformed vampire, Otto de Chriek, Sacharissa and his printing gang searching for the Truth to free Lord Vetinari from disgrace.
A brilliant journalistic parody, Pratchett brings together a lot of previous Discworld novel themes and character types back to Ankh-Morpork and shows us a glimpse of the reality of both the city and its inhabitants away from the usual magic that permeates both.
Whilst nothing has yet beaten Reaper Man or Carpe Jugulum, this must rank in the top 5 Discworld novels.

William de Worde's at loose ends. Scion of a Discworld aristocratic family, he's disdained both their money and their lifestyle. Drifting into the city of Ankh-Morpork, he needs employment. Since he's neither a Thief nor an Assassin, let alone a Seamstress [hem! hem!], he must find employment. Inevitably, it must have to do with words. Not a spy nor a gossip, he generates a newssheet for selected clients - the aristocrats known through his family connections. An encounter with a runaway machine ["Stop the press!"] on the street launches him into a new career. Pratchett's account of de Worde's subsequent history is his finest work. He draws on his own ancient stint as a journalist to provide a story both entertaining and insightful.
There's a rumour about that the dwarfs have learned to turn lead into gold. The printing press is unknown in Ankh-Morpork. The unknown is always fearful, but the dwarfs lust for gold overrides silly superstition. They have a press and only require words to apply their magic transmutation. William, initially reluctant, is there as the catalyst. All he needs is input and it arrives with ferocious intensity.
There has been a crime - always the best news. The Patrician [City Manager], Lord Vetinari, has assaulted his secretary and attempted to abscond with heavy monies. This event brings out the City Watch in the guise of its Commander, Sam Vimes. Most crimes are clear-cut, but this one seems meaningless. We learn a plot's afoot, possibly perpetrated by two strangers in the city. Mr Pim, dedicated and articulate, is accompanied by Mr Tulip, a man of chemical affinities whose language skills are indeterminate. A man whose words are mostly "---" remains difficult to comprehend. As strangers, these two become gradually aware of the forces Ankh-Morpork can unleash.
One of the leashed forces is Gaspode. A scruffy, nondescript canine, Gaspode resides at the end of a piecemeal string borne by Foul Ol' Ron. Ron, whose command of language is more limited than even Mr Tulip's, is a derelict. He and his unsociable companions, however, become the purveyors of Worde's words. That puts them in ideal places to observe. They become almost reporters for The Ankh-Morpork Times. Solving the mystery of Vetinari's assault, plus keeping the Times afloat against competition, plus . . . Well, there's a great deal to this story. No writer matches Pratchett's skill at keeping the reader moving through a book. At the same time, there are necessary pauses for reflection at his revelations. In a word, this book is "priceless"! [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Pratchett is a former journalist himself, so I suppose it was just a matter of time before journalism was held up to the fun-house mirror that is the Discworld. Perhaps it is his experience in the trade that makes this such a wonderful story.
William de Worde is the estranged younger son of a noble family. He earns a living providing private reports on the news of Ankh Morpork to foreign rulers. On his way to deliver his latest report to his engraver, William is struck by the power of the press; in this case, a runaway wagon carrying a moveable type press that dwarves are smuggling into the city. One thing leads to another, and, this being the Century of the Fruitbat, before long "The Ankh Morpork Times" is on the streets, and William is launched on a career as an editor, publisher and investigative journalist.
The economy of Ankh Morpork is built on institutionalized corruption. There's no shortage of work for a budding investigative journalist, including the latest plot against the Lord Vetinari, the city's ruler. Soon William and his newspaper are pitted against conspiring nobility, a competing tabloid, assassins and the City Watch, to name just a few.
From the subtle - watch the typos in the newspaper's masthead - to the slapstick - a vampire photographer who cannot survive the bright light of his camera flash - there are a lot of laughs in this book. Some of the humor clearly traces to Practhett's journalism experience; Mr. Windling and his amusing vegetables, for example. But as has been the case in the last 10 - 12 Discworld stories, the humor is a means to an end and not the end itself. Pratchett makes important points as he entertains, and raises difficult questions. What is the Truth, anyway? And does anyone care? In Lord Vetinari's apt phrase, don't readers want the Olds, rather than the News? And why does printing something make it more true?
And Pratchett addresses larger issues, too. Among the fascinating new characters is Harry King, the King of the Golden River, who will recycle absolutely anything. He is wealthy, has a certain economic power, but absolutely no prestige. William's father, a member of the Old School Nobility, regards his privileges as a right. He has prestige, but what power he had is slipping away. And Gunilla Goldmountain, a dwarf who can turn lead into gold, but would really like to be married instead. Tulip, otherwise an illiterate stock villain, has a deep, informed appreciation of all things art. People are complex, and the relationships between people and society are still more complex. Pratchett reminds us of that reality by holding our life up to the funhouse mirror he has created.
There are echoes of Watergate - William's informant is "Deep Bone" - and echoes of all those old newspaper movies like "His Girl Friday" and "The Front Page" in the relationship between William and his reporter, Sacharissa. Pratchett is particularly good at making use of our cultural references in his jokes and his points. Allusion-spotters will have a field day.
Like all Pratchett's books, "The Truth" is great fun to read and still rewards a thoughtful reader. Highly recommended.

[For context's sake, I have been reading the Discworld books in publication order. The Truth is #25.]

I would give three and a half stars if I could. When the book started I didn't think I was going to like it much. New characters (with less compelling characteristics than other characters), a different (and not too flattering) view of some existing characters, and a plotline that didn't seem terribly interesting. Somehow the end product was greater than the sum of its parts, and I enjoyed myself. I think there are some things that were not adequately explained or wrapped up, and I am not sure whether the characters are intended to be seen ever again, and Death didn't make nearly enough cameos, and I'm still not sure what exactly went on with Dibbler, but overall it was good.

How is it that this is the first Terry Pratchett book I've read? I've long seen his books in stores, heard his name spoken, heard Discworld mentioned in conversations I may have eavesdropped on, and yet, not until The Truth, did I actually read him.
Somewhere in ancient times, back when people put on plays in togas for entertainment, I think there was a general idea about comedy. It went something like... only by poking fun at serious problems do we allow ourselves to examine those problems seriously. I'm paraphrasing, of course.
The Truth is like that. It is hilariously funny. Often ridiculous. But always engaging. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. And I was genuinely concerned when bad things started to happen. In fact, I admit that when Otto Von Chrek, the vampiric photographer, turned to dust after his salamander "flashbulb" went off, I was deeply concerned! Thankfully, William de Worde (the inventor of Anke-Morpork's free press) was able to ressurect him with some carefully sprinkled rat's blood. But I was worried.
Funny, yet serious. I'm not sure how such a line is drawn, but Terry Pratchett draws it carefully. The Truth is one of the most dangerously engaging satires I've read, and expect to read, in quite some time.

It's a while since I've read The Truth, so the specifics of plot, characters, humour and other elements covered by 'A reader' are a bit vague in my memory. However, I can remember that I enjoyed The Truth more than any Terry Pratchett book before or since. Having read nearly every book Pratchett has ever written, including the entire Discworld series, I feel well qualified to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Pratchett's other tales. I am too self-aware not to realise that, as a journalist myself, I could be a little bit biased about The Truth. I can say though, that all of Pratchett's references to the history and development of my profession are accurate and hilarious. His "otherworld" style of writing about our society is perfectly suited to creating a story about the writing style that is most used to describe our own times. Journalists will LOVE The Truth. Anyone who knows a journalist will enjoy it just as much. I have recently read Monstrous Regiment and it seems to me that Pratchett is heading towards a more focussed style. The Truth is a book about journalism. Monstrous Regiment is a book about the armed forces/war. Rather than writing his stories around a character, Pratchett looks like he now prefers to pick a theme and fit characters into it. The new style is fine by me. Although Thief of Time and Monstrous Regiment were not as funny as usual, they were still great books. Keep up the good work Terry... and Pratchett readers, buy The Truth.

"The Truth," the twenty-fifth Diskworld novel by Terry Pratchett, is a great way to celebrate a silver anniversary! Pratchett fans already know that his different novels cover several paths: certain ones follow the witches of Lancre, others Death, the Wizards of Unseen University, or the Watch of Ankh-Morpork. This is an Ankh-Morpork novel, and much in the style of "Moving Pictures," "Soul Music," or "Maskerade," a familiar cultural aspect of our own world becomes public and popular in Diskworld--creating grief and strife for everyone and a lot of fun for the reader!
The usual concoction of magical, political, and sociological troubles are afoot in Ankh-Morpork when dwarves bring movable type to the city and Diskworld's first newspaper, "The Ankh-Morpork Times," (motto: The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret") hits the streets. Many of Pratchett's well-loved and familiar characters are here: Sam Vimes, Carrot and Angua, talking dog Gaspode, the irrepressible C.M.O.T. Dibbler--but the spotlight's fully upon William de Worde, determined to make the written "Truth" public. There's a solid mix of old and new characters: a vampire photographer who crumbles into ash each time his flash goes off, two ruthless assassins vaguely reminiscent of a pair from a recent pop-culture movie (down to a discussion of what they call a sausage-in-a-bun in Quirm: 'le sausage-in-a-bun'). A running subplot featuring a dastardly conspiracy against Lord Vetinari moves the action along, but it's actually the story of the struggle of William's conscience and means to bring the truth to Diskworld's population...whether they can handle it or not.
A good deal of sociological truth is neatly and unobtrusively sandwiched between the witty writing, including allegories on the rise of the Internet and the ways to deal with flood problems in our own society. But it's Pratchett's sharp wit and unparalleled turn of phrase that drive the book and justly attract the fans, and his writing is as golden as ever, from the off-handed mot juste to the groan-out-loud pun (photographs taken with magical 'dark light' are referred to as 'Prints of Darkness'). I'd go as far as to say that Pratchett is the twenty-first century heir to P.G. Wodehouse (and that's the highest praise possible from me). No other contemporary writer can make an elaborate joke or off-handed comment seem so casual, so easy, so natural, that we all think 'I could do that' until we actually try to sit down and dissect what's so funny about the sentence. In the UK Pratchett sells more than Stephen King and John Grisham--he's not quite at that point here in the US, but certainly deserves to be.
Finally, in my review last year of "The Fifth Elephant," I chided American publisher HarperCollins for not publishing that book simultaneous with the UK edition. I'm happy to report that we'll be able to get this one on the same date as the British friends. Thanks, HarperCollins!

The UK/non-American version of The Truth has quite possibly the best Josh Kirby cover drawn yet - and right under Terry Pratchett's name in the title is heralded: "The 25th Discworld Novel". This really ought to be evidence enough of the quality of the work. And "The Truth" shows exactly why Discworld is still going strong. This is another one along the lines of, "Soul Music" or "Moving Pictures" except this time, the press is the target of the allegory. And it's all dead-on. William de Worde, the most normal person present, looks suitably bemused by all the goings-on, until he settles on the traditional newspaper-editor approach of banging his fist on his desk alot. Otto Chriek, vampire iconographer, eventually invents the traditional lensman's attire, even if he has to add a small vial of animal blood on a string to bring him back to life whenever he's disintegrated by the camera flash. And every other facet of the modern press gets similar treatment, from the Ankh-Morpork Inquirer ("Woman Gives Birth To Cobra"), to the traditional not-always-friendly relationship with the police. Even the dwarf printers have names resembling newspaper typefaces (e.g. Boddony vs. the typeface Bodoni). A fantastic read. And it's our first chance to look at my personal favourites, the Watch, from an entirely outside perspective. Go get it.

And William de Worde sets out to become the very finest nuisance that Ankh-Morpork ever knew. You know it's true, because you read it in the newspaper. The paper that he writes.
This whole book is a tangled story of who is in power, and who wants it, and wouldn't touch it with somebody else's stick. There are good guys, bad guys, and misunderstood guys - but people cross lines in a heartbeat. (Well, not all of them actually have heartbeats, and some of the heartbeats get beaten heartily, but you know what I mean.)
This is standard Pratchett goofiness, but that is a very high standard. He builds his story around a few new characters, but builds it within the framework of the established characters. The current book refers to all the previous ones, but welcomes the new reader anyway.
This is high-grade silliness. It's one more very enjoyable chapter in the Discworld's ongoing saga, but also a good story without all the others. For me, another Discworld book is almost a little vacation.
//wiredweird

Pratchett does it yet again with this, the 25th installment in the highly entertaining Discworld series. This time, it's the Times- the Ankh-Morpork Times. Yes, the Discworld's most famous (or perhaps infamous) city now has a newspaper. And of course, it contains nothing but the truth...
This novel features many of the characters that Pratchett fans already know and love- the Watch, the wizards, Foul Ole Ron and Gaspode the Wonder Dog amongst others. Our hero, however, is a newcomer to the pages of the Discworld. William de Worde is a man with a vision (and a shed full of dwarfs) and he's determined to stick to his ideals- even when a cunning political plot to overthrow the Patrician threatens to overturn and trample him along with them.
Filled with merciless parody and wicked satire, Pratchett's work is both a cleverly constructed social commentary on the follies of our time and a rollicking good read. "The Truth" features not only the characteristic Pratchett humour but a tightly woven plot. These two elements combined raise this novel to among the best Discworld adventures so far.

A rare stand-alone piece from Pratchett (albeit one with a fairly large supporting cast of regulars) taking on the press and the human obsession with news. As always, Pratchett's satirical points are dead-on, thoughtful, insightful, and genuinely funny, ranging from "light" news to the dangers of offering a reward for missing objects. But, as usual, it's the rich and wonderful characters that Pratchett creates that make the book such a wondrous joy, and the fact that both Vimes and Vetinari play such major roles is just icing on the cake. If there's a weak point, it's the recurring Pulp Fiction parody; sure, it's funny, but it seems to add little to the book, and ultimately feels a little distracting, especially as those two characters come towards their bizarre fates. Regardless, they're enjoyable characters, and fit nicely into Pratchett's wondrous, magical, hilarious world, and watching him control his marvelous plots so nicely is a joy, as always.

This is one of my favorite Pratchett. Otto, a vampire who endures the pain of bright lights for his love of photography ,is perhaps the most charming and hilarious of the cast. If you've never read Terry Pratchett before, this is a reasonable place to begin. Welcome to a thinly veiled version of London in which social classes and races are represented by various fanatic creatures: gargoyles, humans, trolls, dwarves, etc.-all trying to live together and get along. Uberwald is Germany. Klatch is something like the near east. You'll recognize other places. Disc World is basically earth with London at the center and a few weird twists.
For those who are familier with Pratchett: This is one of a few rare chances to see Vimes from the outside (so to speak). He's in this one, but he's not the mane character. Otherwise, it's a mixed media performance. The Night Watch is around, but they don't star. A newspaper reporter whom we've not met before is the main character. The talking dog puts in an appearance, and we get to see more of the wacky gang that lives under the bridge-the duck man, Foul Old Ron, and Andrews (a multiple personality). The plot has lots of twists, including two exceptionally multidimensional villains. Pratchett's experiment with the nature of swearing, using only "*ing," is brilliant.

And William de Worde sets out to become the very finest nuisance that Ankh-Morpork ever knew. You know it's true, because you read it in the newspaper. The paper that he writes.
This whole book is a tangled story of who is in power, and who wants it, and wouldn't touch it with somebody else's stick. There are good guys, bad guys, and misunderstood guys - but people cross lines in a heartbeat. (Well, not all of them actually have heartbeats, and some of the heartbeats get beaten heartily, but you know what I mean.)
This is standard Pratchett goofiness, but that is a very high standard. He builds his story around a few new characters, but builds it within the framework of the established characters. The current book refers to all the previous ones, but welcomes the new reader anyway.
This is high-grade silliness. It's one more very enjoyable chapter in the Discworld's ongoing saga, but also a good story without all the others. For me, another Discworld book is almost a little vacation.
//wiredweird

I am a bona fide Pratchett fanatic and I loved the latest book. Pratchett, I think, stumbled just a bit with Jingo and Continent... I was not superimpressed with either, though the ONLY "bad" book he ever wrote was, in my opinion, Moving Pictures. The books between have been good... but I have not FLIPPED over a Pratchett novel for a while. I always get excited about them, I always order the hard cover, and I NEVER regret it. Excepting MP, he can't write a bad book. It's a thrill to know, after reading Truth, that he can still write REALLY GOOD ONES! One of the nicest aspects of this novel was seeing our beloved Commander Vimes from the perspective of a new equal. DeWorde, the protagonist, is yet another monkey wrench thrown into the Ankh Morporkian works and I hope to see even more of him. He, with Vimes and the Patrician, has completed a trinity of fascinating and complex men-in-power that mirrors so much of classic tale-telling: The Copper, the City Official, and the Newsman... struggling for the upper hand, enjoying the battle. The laughs are crammed into every page. Social commentary and esoteric questions abound, all delivered in the Ankh Morporkian Mystery style that works so well for Pratchett. I loved this book. Pterry, ya got your groove back!!!

A well known publisher once told students that the purpose of a newspaper is to make money. So what happens when a young crusader starts a newspaper to bring justice, especially when competing with a tabloid that provides entertainment? Young William de Worde's chance encounter with a printing press turns his limited edition newsletter into a major business, but he soon discovers people may be more interested in peculiar shaped vegetables than in national politics.
This is another story set in Ankh-Morpork, a city of werewolves, vampires, trolls, zombies, ghouls, etc., where people can form strange alliances, and ragpickers can rise to wealth and social respectability. Even Foul Ole Ron has a niche in the economy. William's honesty only goes so far, and he is not beyond withholding evidence, a little kidnapping, bribery, etc. The last chapter has some interesting comments about the judgement of Death. Be careful what you ask for.

A newspaper on the Disc World, it had to happen sooner or later. William de Worde the editor will never be short of something interesting to print or photograph even if it's only the man who bombards him with humourously shaped potatoes. However he still has to cope with the perils of journalistic life, people who would like to see HIM on the front page as part of a nasty accident. A vampire who has a fascination with flash photography.

Think of the copy you could write about the disc world characters. I was a newspaper man for 40 years and believe me it's all there (not the vampire), though I had my suspicions.

Pratchett is at is very best. The man is genius. There are many top line comedians who would die for a script writer of his calibre. There are not many authors who can make me laugh out loud while reading, but Pratchett's one liners are priceless. Don't just buy this one, buy them all.

There is always a certain joy in reading any Pratchett book which features familiar places and faces. This book is consistent in style and content with most of his other Discworld novels.
However, at the end of my second reading of this book, there were no particular jokes or paragraphs that I felt like re-reading. Nothing really memorable. As always, there was a large dollop of pop-philosophy, which in some of his books is more amusing/interesting than in this one (c.f. Small Gods, for example).
The introduction of "dark light" to the story seemed to be superficially thought out and unnecessary to the story, adding neither plot nor humour (or "humor" for american readers) nor depth to the reader's understanding of the Discworld.
However, as can always be relied upon, there were some new and unusual characters to enjoy (the vampire who is enthralled with flash iconography) and enough of a plot to retain my interest.
Many of Mr Pratchett's books would get an enthusiastic 5 stars from me; this one barely achieved 4.

The master of Discworld, racing along these days without a drop in quality, offers us a surprisingly upbeat look at journaliism through the eyes of the founder of Ankh-Morprok's first newspaper. Trouble is afoot, and William DeWorde is going to get tot he bottom of it, with or without the help of the Watch, and with the help of a Rosalind Russell-esque Girl Friday and a vampire with an iconograph.
Everything but the plot clikcs perfectly after a fairly slow start. The plot is a bit familiar - perhaps echoing "Feet of Clay" a bit too much - but the characters and naarative make up for it. Willaim DeWorde is a welcome addition to the family of colorful residents of Ankh-Morpork, and Vetinari, Reg Slant, and Sam Vimes are also along for the ride.
This is not quite the book that "Jingo" or "Men at Arms" is, but it's fun, fast-paced, and clever in the ways that things by Pratchett should be. Plus, it has the added bonus of lacking too many silly jokes or silly wizards (I don't like the wizrds much). But it, and read it fast!

When William de Worde of Ankh-Morpork learns that the dwarfs have invented a movable type printing press, he sees a business opportunity. William establishes a daily newspaper, The Ankh-Morpork Times. To even his surprise, his paper succeeds as the city's unwashed sell the daily and some of the undead serve as night reporters and photographers. However, a competitor The Ankh-Morpork Inquirer, provides sleazier innuendoes, half-truths, and outright fabrications that are more popular than William's honest journalism.
When the city's ruler Lord Vetinari is found fleeing with $70,000 after stabbing his clerk, William investigates the crime. He remains naive of the danger that he will soon confront because investigative journalism is a new and unexplored but perilous field since most people want the truth buried along side the reporter.
The twenty-fifth entry in Terry Pratchett's long running satire, Discworld, THE TRUTH, is one of the fresher entries in several years. The author disses journalism for excesses, abuses, and ignoring THE TRUTH that is out there in the quest for revenue. The tale is often humorous as the idealistic William learns that tabloid reporting is more lucrative and safer than honest hard working investigative journalism. As is his want, Mr. Pratchett exposes the power of the media in an amusing novel.

Harriet Klausner

Those who are familiar with Terry Pratchett are bound to give this a high-rating; familiar characters in a new light, a whole new thread along which you can navigate Ankh-Morpork, great, inventive plot ...
For those of you thinking of trying out what appears to be a five-star rated book, why not try out The Fifth Elephant (more action, basically the same characters), or Hogfather (way more jokes, simpler plot) and come back to this one later? You will benefit by reading some of the other Discworld books first to develop a sense of why some of the characters in Pratchett's books do what they do.
I agree with the review that commented on Pratchett's occasional heavy hand with a moral (freedom of press good, aristocratic scheming, bad) fortunately that never occupies too much time or space. The non-stop pun-ishment of the earlier Discworld books has given way to a more precision-crafted and finely tuned type of humor - one that only gets better if you get started from an earlier point.

It's easy to turn lead into gold. Take the lead, cast it into font and start a newspaper with the help of a disgraced scion of a noble family. In this lively tale, Terry Pratchett sends up the newspaper industry and the sometimes noble profession of journalism and the public's fondness for human interest stories about funny vegetables.

There's a plot to overthrow the government, a pair of henchmen with one redeeming feature between them and a little dog. Make that two little dogs, one acting as translator for the other.

Although the Night Watch is involved, and Sam Vimes makes cameo appearances, the protagonist is William de Worde, the accidental editor of the Ankh Morpork Times. We also learn more about dwarf marriage customs. Highly recommended.

I have read all 25 in the series, never patient enough to wait for the paperback...and sometimes I wished that I had. This is not one of those times. There's usually more than one level from the books in this series, and this is no exception. I don't live for these books, but I thoroughly enjoy them and reread them. I read this while on vacation, in small bits so as not to finish it too quickly, and my laughter on the beach and on the plane would make my wife smile and shake her head. If you like comedy, satire, and fantasy you will like this book. If you are a first time reader, you will probably love this book. I agree with some other reviewers WRT character, etc. However, I am writing this for the first or second time reader of this series, since I guess that anyone who has read more than a couple already likes his style and will read the book regardless of what I write.

I can see why some people might think this one was a little weak, but I liked it just fine. I don't think I laughed out loud quite as many times as I have with some of the other books, but that was okay too. It was a good story and the charcters were nicely done. It was interesting to see Vimes from another point of view.
Two thing really puzzled me: since when has Foul Ole Ron's "thinking brain dog" been Gaspode? We've met Ron and his dog before, and we've certainly met Gaspode before, and I have a hard time with suddenly being asked to combine the two. I personally think Pratchett just didn't want to deal with two talking dogs in Ankh-Morpork.
Also: I noticed three different places in the book where we were given number dates (such as Lord Vetinari graduating from the Assassin's Guild in 1968). Dates before have always been given as "the year of the recumbent radish" or "the year of the myopic wombat" or something like that (well, okay, maybe I made that last one up...) Seems like somebody slipped up on this one!

This is one of the more entertaining books I have read in ages! Once again, Pratchett has written a book that satirizes yet consistently pulls off wondeful plot twists.
We meet William de Worde, ambitious paper editor, reporter and defender. He wants the truth, but there is always more to it than meets the eye. He makes friends of many hilarious characters, the best one being Otto Chriek, a vampire who is trying to overcome his blood addiction. This character is by far one of Pratchett's best creations ever.
If you are looking for a light read that nevertheless is satisfying to your intelligence, this is the book for you. And don't stop here! There are almost thirty more Discworld books!

After a few disappointing novels, the twenty-fifth installment in the Discworld series sees Terry Pratchett returning to humor, plain and simple. Still, the previous novel, The fifth elephant, showed that Pratchett is getting a bit more serious, and this novel continues this 'new' style. The story of William de Worde, and of the power of the Word in general, can be quite serious in places. Still, the book abounds with humorous and funny scenes, and some of the best characters from Ankh-Morpork play their roles to great effect (no Rincewind though!). If you have enjoyed any of the other books in the series, you will probably like this one as well. Let's hope Terry continues to produce works of this quality.

I've decided he's too good and too prolific for me to write a brand new review every single time I read one of his books. Discworld currently has 34 titles and every one of them will probably knock your socks off. His mind bubbles and flashes like a boiling pot of electric eels, and I simply can't get enough of his writing.

A reviewer has compared him to Geoffrey Chaucer. He reminds me more of Douglas Adams, or perhaps S Morgenstern. Great company, isn't it? He's an extremely skillful and imaginative writer, damn funny, clever and observant to boot. He's also very easy to read. A master of characterization, and if there's anything else you like about reading that I didn't mention here, assume I simply forgot. He's awesome.

Another reviewer mentioned Jonathan Swift and PG Wodehouse. Why such hallowed company? Because Pratchett belongs there! Truly, I'm enjoying my quest to read every book in the series. You should do the same, and begin your quest at the library because he's got to be there. He's awesome!

Yet another reviewer said Jerome K Jerome meets Lord of the Rings. Yeah, that works too.

Why do we, as reviewers, compare authors to other authors? Because it's easier than thinking. In the case of Terry Pratchett, it's probably because we'd otherwise wind up quoting the guy. He's so unique that we just don't know how else to cope with his greatness. Even this paragraph sounds like foamy drool raving, doesn't it? That's how all readers react to Pratchett. Reviewers simply don't have the good sense to keep it to themselves.

I could call his writing fantasy, but I could likewise call what Douglas Adams wrote science fiction. In both cases, I wouldn't be wrong, but I'd be neglecting so much and just totally missing the point. A rare few authors transcend a genre to such a degree that you know they're shouting out, loud and proud, a big fat "Bite me!"

I love Terry Pratchett's writing, and I completely understand why some folks refer to him as their favorite author. Or favourite, I should say, since we're being British. He's one of those authors that makes you want to grab whoever's in hearing range and start reading passages aloud. I'm simply thrilled that there's such an extremely talented and prolific author who's been working for years without me being aware of him. Now I have much catching up to do, and I will love it.

Most people who've read the majority of the discworld novels agree that the early books were mostly fantasy, with coherant plotlines, with a satisfying amount of humor included. The later books were a bit thinner on plot, but virtually every page had at least one hilarious incident on it. Having just finished reading The Truth, it seemed to me to be more like the earlier books. There were plenty of amusing bits, but more emphasis on plot than humor.
This book is very definitely worth the money (though i'd suggest getting the brittish cover if possible, the american ones are so plain and dull), whether you're a die-hard discworld fan, or just someone looking for good amusing fantasy fiction.

The Truth, a novel in the Discworld series, represents one of Terry Pratchett's better efforts, which is quite the accomplishment given his immense talent. The book is very satirical look at journalism but without bludgeoning the reader. While the book contains a panoply of new and interesting characters, many of the characters are recurring. To those who have read several other Discworld novels, I strongly recommend this book. However, to the new visitor to Discworld I recommend waiting to read this book until you have read several others precisely because of the recurring themes and characters. [...]

Many years ago in my early youth, I came across The Colour of Magic. As a (then) slightly po-faced devourer of fantasy novels, I was unimpressed by Pratchett's writing and vaguely offended at the spoofery. My prejudice continued until a few days ago when I was enticed by the blurb on the back of The Truth. As a journalist/editor (until recently) I felt I'd be in line for sufficient entertainment/insight to keep me interested even if the mock-fantasy stuff got up my nose a little.

Within the first few pages, much as I wanted to demur, I felt myself being seduced. The novel turned out to be a hugely exhilarating ride and, on turning the last page and with metaphoric cigarette in hand, I began the process of kicking myself. Hard. How on earth could I let this wondrous Discworld universe pass me by for so long?! Pratchett's creation is lovingly, lovingly detailed. Even if some of the humour is a bit obvious and old hat; even if Pin and Tulip are occasionally tiresome; even if the story is unnecessarily strung-out and bloated; even if there are banalities and idiocies in some of the characters and plotlines... you're still left with a rollicklingly good read, an effortless page-turner and the intoxicating knowledge that you will seek out (as I am currently, obsessively doing) every last story that Pratchett has committed to paper. The only problem I have now is in taking 99.9% of `serious' fantasy seriously again. How could I? Why would I? When Pratchett provides such a complete, intricate, hilarious and poignant set of portraits incorporating such multifarious and sympathetic and unique characters as are to be found in Discworld. The Truth is, by no means, a perfect (or even classic) (or even must-read) book - hence only three stars. But I already know that the Discworld sequence is perfect, classic and must-read taken as a whole. In fact, I am so entranced by Discworld after finishing The Truth, getting half-way through Mort and having just seen a very amateurish stage version of Carpe Jugulum, that I am beginning to feel that Pratchett's genius rivals that of P.G. Wodehouse. And that is high praise indeed!

As a writer who's dabbled in journalism myself, The Truth was a pleasure to read on several levels. As always, Pratchett is witty and well-written, but if the reader has any exposure or background in journalism--especially indie/freelance--this book will make you grin twice as much.

As with any Discworld novel, this is best enjoyed if you already have a grip on the setting and the vast pantheon of characters that populate the series. Still, it can be picked up and read "cold," though you will correctly suspect you're missing out on a lot of the jokes.

Highly recommended.

There's no denying it, Terry Pratchett is one of the most outstanding authors of our time, combining sly and witty humour with sharp moralism. The Truth, personally speaking, is not as good as some of his other works, but it more than makes up for it with its characters.
Oh, it's funny, and it's still as sharp a satire as Pterry can write. The Truth is a great book on it's own, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Expect the classic wit and good moralistic and philosophical lesson that comes from Pterry. I won't give you a synopsis, that's been done. But since The Truth is a book written in a whole series of wonderfully humourous books, comparison with his other works would surely arise.
While I am a relatively new fan to the Discworld books (The Truth is the 5th Discworld book that I read), I can't help but make a small note of comparison that The Truth did not quite leave me rolling laughing on the floor as Feet of Clay did. Maybe it's because I've started to grow familiar with the quirkiness of Ankh-Morpork (tragic!), or maybe it's some other reason, but The Truth just didn't have me laughing a lot. As for it's mystery, without offering any spoilers, The Truth is no where as good as Pterry's books on The Watch, which The Truth is all too often linked to. Some events still needed a certain leap of faith to digest and lack a solid explanation.
The Truth does have a very distinct and solid moral theme, posing the thought-provoking question: What is the journalistic truth? Is it what people want to hear, or what the newspapers choose to say? Is a half-truth the truth? William claims to be answerable to the truth, but what truth is that? Telling the truth, as Pterry writes, is not the same as being honest.
But what The Truth does have that raises it above the rest is a cast of colourful and deep characters. Expect the same old favourites appearing - Gaspode and Foul Ole Ron, for an example - and some very interesting new characters. William de Worde may be a character you love or hate (I know I love him - anyone who can do what he did to the Patrician is one heckuva guy), but there's no doubt he's one that speaks of much depth. I won't be surprised to see that he would appear again in another book. Fans of Vetinari (I don't know how many there are, but I know I'm one) would be glad to know that in this book, the mysterious but loyal clerk Drumknott plays a bigger role than usual, and so does his adorable(?) dog Wuffles. Even mediocre characters in the book are interesting. Call it a subjective point of view, not everyone likes the characters in The Truth as I do, but hey, I know I did.
And of course, as promised by Pterry, you get to see Vimes and The Watch from an outsider's point of view. That alone is a bonus in itself.
All in all, The Truth is not the funniest or the cleverest Discworld book that I've read, but it has all the marks of Pterry's works - moral, plot, and humour - combined with one of the most colourful assemble of characters I have read. I will be looking forward to any future books that would include William de Worde in it.
Oh, and of course, the absolutely unforgettable - Otto the teetotaling vampire with a suicidal craving for flash photography, absolutely rocks.

and I loved it! I confess, I majored in journalism (a hundred years ago) and am a news and political junkie. I have no prior Pratchett experience - so no comparisions - simply "stand-alone" reaction.
I found it humorous and yet very insightful as to the relationships (media to politicians, media to police) and the challenges (what is "the truth" and what is "news"). The inclusion of the "Inquirier" was classic ... as well as the "everyman's" response around the morning breakfast table.
Must reading for anyone in media or politics.

This book is the best example of why people read Terry Pratchett. Disc World, in Pratchett's hands, becomes a real place that never stops growing, changing, evolving. Pratchett takes our world and everything we know and turns it on it's head with wit and humor. He makes us look at ourselves, our history, our culture and see us for the bizarre beings we really have become.
In this novel, Pratchett introduces some completely new elements: The Printing Press and the gung-ho, tell-the-TRUTH-at-all-costs reporter determined to blow the lid off of seamy underbelly of Ankh Morpork. Of course, nobody wants the truth - the REAL truth - to come out. As in real life, the people involved in the TRUTH don't want their business known - like what actually goes into making the meat pies that Dibbler sells - and the people take a "what I don't know won't hurt me" attitude.
One good thing about this novel is that the main characters are new to the series. The new-comer to reading Pratchett doesn't need to rely on knowledge from previous books to catch on to what's going on here. Plus, you'll enjoy characters, and the city itself is a character, that are fully drawn with motivations, wit, charm ... even the trolls have a certain appeal. It makes for a good introduction to the series for those that don't want to start at the beginning - altho doing so is HIGHLY recommended.

Beautiful! Absolutely the best Pratchett book since Small Gods!
This book is absolutely hilarious. With this book, Pratchett has taken his eye for thigs that could be funnty, and sets it on the press, and investigative journalism.
The mayhem starts when William de Worde gets hit with a press. From there, he starts the "Ankh-Morpork tImes", and hires some of the best characters ever: prim Sarchissa and reformed vampire Otto (a flash iconographer). And he is opposed by the best villans ever: Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip. Both are quite charming: Mr. Pin handles the thinking, while Mr. Tulip goes "-ing" a lot and snorts everything-from flour to drain cleaner.
And it has the best ending yet: it keeps you guessing as much as Feet of Clay did: you read, guessing who's behind it all, and then-bam!-the pieces all fall into place.
This is a must read-they don't give me enough stars to properly rate the book. They only reason I didn't buy it is 'cause it's a hardcover-it's going to be one long year. Thanks, Pratchett.

If you are new to Discworld novels this one is a good one to start with - although Jingo or Feet of Clay might be slightly better. If you like intelligent, funny authors start reading Discworld books right now!
As with all the books Terry manages to weave more subplots than you can shake a stick at into a glorious finale and at the same time every book has a point or a message. Probably the funniest and most well written author of his era.
In The Truth the Dwarfs invent printing presses and William De Worde turns his newsletter into a newspaper with interesting results for the whole city. Meanwhile the Patrician was found trying to flee with a large amount of gold and two unsavoury characters seem to have something to do with it.
Some of Terry's best 'laugh out loud' moments can be found in this novel; Mr Tulip's repeated use of '-ing' is funny enough to rival Deaths speaking in capitals.

After Mr. Practhett's last few installments, I was beginning to think he was resting on his laurels - it seemed he was relying too much on his previous characters and jokes to drive the series forward. How happy I was to read this book and discover that Discworld is as alive and enjoyable as ever!
The main thing I like about this book is that it STANDS ALONE - it's not just another Witches book, or a Rincewind book, or a City Watch book. Albeit, there are a few cameos by the Watch, but altogether it's William De Worde's story.

This is another terrific Discworld book. I loved the new characters and I enjoyed watching Ankh-Morpork assimilate this new cast into the city. The meandering plot about the rise of two competing newspapers and a conspiracy to depose the Patrician was a great set-up for the new characters. And this doesn't even begin to describe the details of the plot - featuring the dangers of a vampire who experiments with dark light, a parody of the Watergate Investigations, the comic team of the killers Mr. Pim and Mr. Tulip, the estranged relationship between William de Worde and his Father, and on and on. I thought William de Worde was a fine protagonist - and Otto Chriek was marvellous. I look forward to them as minor characters in future books - just as the Watch were minor characters in this book. Plus, Pratchett's philosophical musings were hilarious, and The Truth, as usual: "This is a newspaper, isn't it? It just has to be true until tomorrow."

The Truth is Terry Pratchet's 25th Discworld Novel. A concentrated lab test for familiar practices and personalities, Pratchet has used the Discworld to illuminate and amuse loyal readers and amazed newcomers for some time. Unfortunately for the constant readers, this means some of the joy of the experience has palled.
The Truth would have delighted me as a newcomer to Pratchet's work. It's witty, inventive and shrewd, but Pratchet has a difficult job describing the same characters for the 25th time. For the constant reader, it's like being married to someone who tells the same story every Christmas, but keeps changing the facts to suit the audience. No matter how good the performance, no matter how good the original story, we have a problem.
The story involves Ankh Morpork's first newspaper and the ulcerated beginnings of its first editor and fleet of pressmen. The city's eminence gris, Vetinari, has been accused of various dirty deeds and deposed. Someone with a vested interest in politics is taking on Ankh Morpork's criminal underworld. There's daring-do, scheming and barrels full of monkeys (only not really), and b-totaling vampires.
If you're a first-time reader, go for it. Of course, if you're a Pratchet fan, you'll already have a copy, but if you're only mildly interested, this is not a classic. Go back to Hogfather, Feet of Clay and Masquerade for Pratchet's acme.
The Truth deals with a weighty subject, and a morally ambiguous career, but spends too much of its time trying to maintain the reader's interest and not enough developing characters or thinking. It only skims the surface of something that runs bone deep. The book also lacks the emotional depth of some of Pratchet's other work.
Pratchet also resorts to a technique that will be annoyingly familiar to Michael Crichton readers -- artificial suspense. The opening chapter is very deliberately veiled in mystery and it detracts from the action (kind of ooh, look something exciting's going to happen now, but I won't actually tell you what it is until you get to chapter three) It's like watching someone trying to convince a 14 year old there is a Father Christmas.
All said I wouldn't have missed it, just out of interest, but there's something missing here -- real mystery and wonder, a sense of dream and emotional depth.

This book focuses on the world of William DeWorde--the "newsman" who has appeared in many books of the series. It is action-packed and shows how his focus on Truth helped to save the life and career of Havelock Ventinari--"The Patrician".

The last few discworld novels have slipped somewhat. Of course, bad Pratchett is still pretty good, and I have never read a discworld novel without enjoying the experience, but lately I've had the feeling that he was relying too much on the same old characters and was running thin on ideas.
I'm happy to say that this book proves he's far from out of ideas. It's nice to see that 25 books into the series he can still produce a story and a set of characters that easily put this book among the very best of the line.
Though it's not necessary, it might not be bad to read at least one of the books with Vimes and the City Watch before reading this book. Vimes is only a secondary character in this book, but knowing his history and the history of the City Watch helps a little with this book.

Terry Pratchett Discworld novels are always a great and funny read. This one, though very funny at times - Otto the vampire who dies everytime he takes a photo, was great - on the whole I found it a fairly forgettable book. Nothing really new in the plot and some of the more difficult situations that the characters found themselves in seemed to have been gotten out of too easily, with no real suspense.

I really like all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (fantasy) books, including this one. You will best enjoy reading them in the order published, but they're good on their own. They have a unique, fey humor: I expect you will like all or none, so if they're new to you, get just one to begin with.

Any journalist should appreciate this book. So should anyone else! As in all his novels, it's not just the cleverness, the funny, its the TRUTH, the pointed satire that makes Terry Pratchett an international treasure.
This book is about writing, business, racism, love, thuggery, and politics. Or if that's too intimidating, its about lots of sexual innuendo that involves little little men and the size of their...umm...bankrolls, and humorously shaped vegetables.

Any journalist should appreciate this book. So should anyone else! As in all his novels, it's not just the cleverness, the funny, its the TRUTH, the pointed satire that makes Terry Pratchett an international treasure.
This book is about writing, business, racism, love, thuggery, and politics. Or if that's too intimidating, its about lots of sexual innuendo that involves little little men and the size of their...umm...bankrolls, and humorously shaped vegetables.

I enjoyed this book. While i have become somewhat less enthusiastic now when i hear another disc world book is due out, this one was a cut above some of the more recent ones. Dont get me wrong, i like most of the titles... but i almost get the impression he's writting out of habit rather than swept with the urge to tell a story. Not so with this one. Enjoyable throughout.

The last few books by TP have been below par the last classic was Soul music and my personal Favourite was Small gods but now there is competition. In truth as that seems to be the topic of this book William De worde is a fine character with more books certainly to come on the impossibility of Truthful Ankh-Morporkian Journalism ( due mainly to Ankh Morporkian citizeny and there desire for strangely shaped veg :-) but the true stars of the show are the lesser characters including the unforgettable Villians of the piece Mr Pin and Mr Tulip when the latter died i am not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two knowing that I would never see this character again as he and his partner were fittingly new criminals for the end of the Fruitbat Century. All i can say to you reading this is buy the book and have a fun time you will not be disapointed

Always one of my favorites. I enjoyed the extra nuance of reading it within the context of the whole series (working my way back through in order of publication). I've noticed some of that in every book so far, but this one seemed to gain the most from placing it in direct context. Maybe that's appropriate, since it leans so heavily on breaking news and political developments.

You don't have to work in the newspaper industry to enjoy "The Truth," but it helps. Pratchett once again looks at an institution of our world through the skewed lens of the Discworld and creates a masterpiece. In "The Truth," he seems to get the maximum mileage out of previously introduced concepts such as the 'beetotaler' vampires (is Otto a member of the Fresh-Start Club?). William De Worde is a character in the vein of Vimes and Vetinari, and I hope he remains in place to play against them. Prachett deftly mixes humor and gravity and creates a very involving climax (anyone else want to start an Otto fanclub?). Well done, and happy 25th.

Terry Pratchett returns with the 25th Discworld novel and a welcome return it is. A great improvement on the previous novel (The Fifth Elephant) this book introduces an all-new cast, with some old favourites making appearances as well.
Set in Ankh-Morpork, this book tackles the world of newspapers, with the introduction of _The Ankh-Morpork Times_. The motto of the newspaper: The Truth Shall Make Ye Free. But will it? And how on earth will the staff find the truth in Ankh-Morpork?
Pratchett exercises his typical wit and humour in this wonderful return to the city that never sleeps. _The Truth_ is a much smoother read than some of the previous Discworld books, and wanders off on fewer tangents. Highly recommended, but don't start it late at night unless you can sleep in the next morning.

I love Terry Pratchett. I love several of his novels more than others. He gets right at the heart of things. I loved THE TRUTH and still recommend it to people. It is about journalism and what IS the truth? Of course when you read the book you will immediately see that sensationalism is NOT the truth but sells a lot more papers. Newspapers are supposed to tell the truth. So are all the other news media. Read it. Great novel.

Creating a newspaper in a world that previously hadn't had one was a real eye-opener. It certainly put a new spin on how news is done, how pervasive it is, and explains why "if it's written down it must be the truth" is such a truism in our society. The various subplots were interesting enough to keep me reading but the main story of W. De Worde was the most entertaining. I wasn't to keen on the bad guys, they weren't very believable, nor were their deaths. If this is typical of his work I doubt very much that I'd read another.

If you are anything like me, you simply cannot walk past any new Pratchett. I confess to rampant favouritism of the ones set town; and this new one does not disappoint. What more could you ask for? There's Vimes, Vetinari, Nobby, some faceless string pullers, and some brand new characters. It will be a while before I stop grinning at the thought of Otto and flash photography. And William out-Vimesing Vimes.... Oh, everyone should read this book. It's quality.

Honestly, I've been a bit under whelmed by Pratchett's more recent Discworld books. This one changes all that. I loved it. I was absorbed and laughing through the whole thing. Added to the usual coolness, we get to see Pratchett's take on "Pulp Fiction".

I love Pratchett's books and their ability to combine current events, serious social commentary and humor. "Truth" is Pratchett at his best. It is the story of how a changing Ankh Morpork with its influx of immigrants from Uberwald and elsewhere make it a hotbed of innovation. A book that promotes the idea of social mobility and openness. The story is enlivened by newspaper comedy reminiscent of the movie from the '30s "The front page".

Slapstick humour abounds in this book, and the characters are pretty good too. They are not finely developed because they do not need to be, this book relies mostly on its ingenious and original plot and owes nothing to its characters. Despite this, Pratchett still does a very good job at causing the reader to emphasize with both of the characters. Great job all around, and it was lovely to see the death of rats.

The best Discworld book so far? Controversial, but I think so. A Guard book, but not truely so; a Gods book, but not really that either; but entirely the best way to take a series into its twenty-fifth episode and still keep it fresh.
How long can he keep going?
Here's to 'forever'.

I ordered mine from the UK to get the J Kirby cover. Notwithstanding typical Pterry stuff: engaging, funny and well worth picking up. Terry Pratchett writes fantasy comedy novels that would be worthwhile reading if you took out the comedy and made it pure fantasy or took out the fantasy and made it pure comedy.

I love Terry Pratchett. I love several of his novels more than others. He gets right at the heart of things. I loved THE TRUTH and still recommend it to people. It is about journalism and what IS the truth? Of course when you read the book you will immediately see that sensationalism is NOT the truth but sells a lot more papers. Newspapers are supposed to tell the truth. So are all the other news media. Read it. Great novel.