The Truth

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Malletts Adult A/V 4-week checkout	Adult BOCD / Fiction / Fantasy / Pratchett, Terry	4-week checkout	Due 05-14-2024

Unabridged.
Compact disc.
Read by Stephen Briggs.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A humerous fictional look at newspapers submitted by Jen Chapin-Smith on August 17, 2012, 12:42pm As a former journalist, I particularly loved "The Truth" about two people who establish Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper. The 25th of 39 books Sir Terry Pratchett has set on the Discworld, "The Truth" includes some characters whom readers have met in other Discworld novels, which is why I recommend first reading "Nightwatch" and "The Fifth Elephant" to know the necessary background. Readers will continue to follow the newspaper staff in other Discworld books because once you read one, you'll want to read them all.

discoworld submitted by unknown on August 10, 2013, 11:32pm "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!