Complete Discworld Reread “An’ then…then I’m gonna get medieval on his arse.” There were more pressing problems but this one intrigued Mr. Pin. “How, exactly?” he said. “I thought maybe a maypole,” said Mr. Tulip reflectively. “An’ then a display of country dancing, land tillage under the three-field system, several plagues, and if my –ing hand ain’t too tired the invention of the –ing horse collar”You can always tell when my favorite author is on his ‘A’ Game and when he is off. When the plot for a book is a bit weaker than the norm the easy jokes start coming through. The obvious ones, more likely to come from the fun guy at a party or a start up standup comic. I think of all the bad jokes that permeated through Soul Music and Moving Pictures and I cringe. So it is with great pleasure that I will point out that nowhere in The Truth did a character shout out some paraphrasing of ‘you can’t handle the truth.’Finally breaking from his ongoing sub-series for the first time in quite a while The Truth is the first to feel like a success to me since Small Gods. While the last book in the series set the stage for the world to start changing The Truth finally picks and aspect of Anhk-Morpork’s society to change in the major way. And true to life what better way is there to shake everything up than by have the people learn what is going on around them; or at least the free presses’ version of events?One of Pratchett’s funnier openings starts it off, people speculating that the Dwarves have found a way to turn lead to gold. Just another example of Pratchett getting more out of a page and a half than any one should be able to. Quickly we meet the protagonist of the novel when he runs right into this gold making machine (or more accurately, it runs into him); a movable type press a dwarven couple has brought into town against the wizard’s long standing order against it. But money moves all, and as long as the Patrician sees no issue then it is time to proceed with this new venture.William de Worde has long told important people what is happening in the city and made enough to survive on by doing so (plus all the figs he can eat). Making copies was a time consuming process though, this new movable type makes it so easy. On a whim he tries selling these items to non-important people and quickly find the news waits for no one. Of course timing is everything and when the Patrician is suddenly accused of attempted murder de Worde finds himself working hand in hand with the watch to solve this case (without the watch wanting him around at all).As a look at the impact of free press the book is hit or miss. This little venture becomes a full force in incredible time; a must read after two or three issues. de Worde and his cohorts, quickly joined by a reporter by nature named Sacharissa, fall into the game so fast there is no real transition of learning what power they have quickly found (most of their struggles are against the norm and involve supplies and competition rather than acceptance of this new idea). And of course de Worde is only interested in the truth, in no way influenced by money or political situations; a picture of what we hope free press could be rather than any reality we live in. The cash driven yellow journalism is presented as the outlier, the deviation, rather than any sort of norm.But despite getting up and going so quickly the way they start interacting with the world around them is a highlight. A pen in the hand changes everything; the knowledge that things could be made public proves to be as effective as old threats. The City Watch finds itself in the position of being watched (whereas before when asked Who Watches the Watchman before Vimes was always able to ME). The public has to learn what role these papers actually play, and what role they play with the truth (sometimes in an over the top manner but this is a short book).I would suspect that this book is most memorable for most folk because of the pair of villains, The New Firm, Pin and Tulip. They are not nice people at all. In some ways they are nothing new; the obvious comparison is Croup and Vandamer from Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Old James Bond fans would recognize their style in the villainous pair form Diamonds are Forever. Hell they remind me of a diabolical Abbott and Costello as much as anything. Pin is the thinker, Tulip is the muscle. They play to each other’s strengths and finish each other’s sentences. But Tulip makes them something special. Maybe it is a gimmick, giving the supposedly dumb muscle a reverence for things of beauty (another nod to Gaiman’s characters?). But listening to Tulip wax poetically about various works of art, even choosing to use a balled fist to knock someone out so as to save an antique, is a complete gem.As an addition to this series The Truth is a welcome one, one of my favorites truth be told (feel the pun people). I am not sure it says what it wants to in the way it wants; it tackles little issues with an ease that its handling of journalism never grasps. But it is real damn funny, a kick to read, and basically a standalone outside of knowing a bit about the Watch in the background (something that was common early in the series but getting rarer by this point). Right now I am going to call it a top five Pratchett book, let’s see where I stand with that when I have reread them all.4 Stars
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.
What do You think about The Truth (2002)?
I read this about 15 years ago and quite enjoyed the satire and parody about "the truth" that's printed in newspapers (if it's published, it's ink-validated). It's about time for a re-read. Or maybe I'll buy the digital audiobook and listen to it, if the sound quality is good. This book comes after The Fifth Elephant in sequence, but could be read as a stand-alone.This book includes some of my favorite characters — "people" I first met in Guards! Guards! —Lord Vetinari, Samuel Vimes, and several other members of the City Watch, including Gaspode the talking dog. New characters (some return in future sequels) include the innocent newspaper editor William de Worde, the self-disciplined photographer Otto (a vampire-on-the-wagon) and the fairly bland Sacharissa Cripslock (caps lock), female reporter.Apparently, this book is not classified as part of the City Watch sub-series because the City Watch characters have limited roles and are seen mainly from de Worde's perspective. Personally, I do classify it as City Watch. Where else would it go?PLOT (no spoilers): The printing press with movable type comes suddenly into the flat world — on the heels of the invention of photographs and the film industry in Moving Pictures. With wild enthusiasm The Ankh-Morpork Times is embraced by eager citizens as the newspaper transforms the worlds of society, politics, and thief-taking. Overnight, it mesmerizes and captivates Ankh-Morpork, with everyone wanting to see their name (and age) in print. Soon we have a "serious" newspaper like The Times competing with a scandal rag, The Inquirer. Funny stuff. And William de Worde gets to know the City Watch, with the Times office's located near the coppers' favorite pub — The Bucket on Gleam Street, just across the Pon's Bridge from the Pseudopolis Yard Watch House. But more importantly, there's also a mystery. A who-dun-it that reaches all the way into the oblong office. That's why the City Watch and Gaspode the dog gets involved, helping William de Worde and Sacharissa investigate the charges of embezzlement and attempted murder against Havelock Vetinari.Plot, Many Big Spoilers Ahoy!! (view spoiler)[ The New Firm comes to Ankh-Morpork, entering the city through the Water Gate (setting up multiple allusions to the Nixon Watergate Scandal, Deep Throat (Deep Bone / Wuffles the dog) and taped recordings (the Dis-Organizer files). The New Firm is comprised of Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, a duo of criminals hired by the 'Committee to Unelect the Patrician'. Pin and Tulip kidnap a Vetinari-doppelgänger named Charlie, planning to use him to frame Vetinari. However, their original plan goes awry and they are forced to improvise. Soon, Vetinari is arrested, an investigation opens, and new revelations are revealed through the talking dog Wuffles /Deep Bone (we first met Wuffle's translator, Gaspode, in Men at Arms). With the City Watch, Gaspode, and The Times following the leads, the New Firm and The Committee is found out out eventually (especially by the heroic efforts of William the editor and Otto the vampire with "dark light" iconography). (hide spoiler)]
—Kathleen
I believe this has been one of the most incisive Terry Pratchett books to date for me. Great social commentary, great echoes of our own world translated into Ankh Morpork and, now, more than ever, Terry Pratchett creating a loudspeaker for himself in the character of William de Worde. I can't help but notice that most of Terry Pratchett's books from this period of his writing are quite excellent and it's been a while since I ran into a stinker. Not much to say that I haven't said in other reviews.If you're a fan, I assume you've already read this.If you're not, this isn't the point to start at, but it's a good point to get at.
—Claudiu
Terry Pratchett takes us through the murky politics of Ankh-Morpork with his particular brand of humor and witticism. Trolls, vampires, dwarfs, humans, imps, golems, gargoyles, werewolves come together in a story about politics, justice, society and the truth. The old Ankh-Morporkian favorites are back, Mister Vimes, Lord Vetinari, Captain Carrot, Corporal Nobbs...along with some new endearing characters...most notably Otto the recovering vampire, a photographer by trade, who vapourises every time he takes a picture (Vampires cannot stand sudden flashes of light. But the reduction of Otto to dust is not permanent, as long as he is swept up and a drop of blood is added to the mix)Otto's life(?) is interesting, to say the least. Native of Uberwald, he is tired of mobs with pitchforks chasing him down at every opportune moment. Frustrated, he joins a group of other similarly vampires, who have decided that the only way to stop the pitchfork wielding masses was to stop being vampires. These vampires take the pledge of sobriety, sign a black ribbon, sing sober songs, go "cold bat", feast on animal blood or hot cocoa. They do not sparkle. ;)However, society doesn't believe in change. The pitchfork-ers ignore the black ribbon. In a bid to escape, Otto moves to Ankh-Morpork...in a city as big as this, there would be no prejudice, he reasoned.People tend to judge others on the basis of the conventions on which they have been brought up. Prejudice is instinctive, it is how we deal with prejudice that shows us for what we are. Do we succumb to it, and forever view the other kind of people like an enemy, keep them as an "other"? Chase them with pitchforks? Or do we learn about them, educate ourselves and learn to accept that maybe our prejudice was unfounded?I discovered Terry Pratchett slightly late in life...well...it was a folly which I have been striving to rectify. However, now I am face an interesting problem...you see, I have lost count of the books that I have read so, I end up reading the same book twice or even more. This happens with a select few authors...Wodehouse and Agatha Christie immediately come to mind. If Wodehouse ever wrote about trolls and dwarfs and goblins, he would have been Pratchett.
—Subhalakshmi Roy
