The Truth (2000)

The Discworld discovers movable type and develops a newspaper industry in very short order. This is complete with someone who starts writing for a select group nd ends writing in the public interest, a vampire photographer and a man who grows rather curious vegetables. Alongside this is the "other" side of the press, the gutter press, which is every bit as flamboyant as you might expect.



And while this is evolving by the day, there is a plot to unseat the patrician, and replace him with a stooge. As is usual, this fails, but does so in a convelouted way that keeps the watch and the press guessing until the very end. ( )

Pratchett's enduring style is his sense of fun, relying on wordplay, popular culture, myth and folklore, all of which skewered on the end of sharp metaphors. His descriptive writing, skilfully and humorously giving life to stories that have a firm basis in reality uses inventive and witty similes, produces a flawless and effortless humour.

The Truth is probably the 9th book I've read of the Discworld series, of a possible 39 (at time of writing) I really do have a long way to go. I was introduced to the author by a then mistress, who thought our involvement was becoming pointless (married women, I've noticed often think like this, after the initial sparkle of a relationship has tarnished) and gave me The Colour of Magic with the inscription “Serious it isn't” being a reflection on how she thought our relationship was developing. Happily, my relationship with her introduction, lasted longer than my relationship with her.

Actually, of all except The Colour of Magic, The Truth probably IS one of my favourite Pratchette stories and this, coincidentally given by my current amante who has an even greater collection of Terry Pratchett than the former. (I have been very blessed with the literacy inclinations of my paramours)

Despite having only read a few, I am knowledgeable in the mores of Discworld and know full well, amongst other things, that camels are ruminating over algebraical formulae, that Death SPEAKS INSIDE YOUR HEAD and that even rats have their own Grim Reaper, I found the torturous birth of the of the press and the concept of the birth of a newspaper so typically Pratchett I was laughing aloud on almost every other page.

The story builds up slowly but true to most of Pratchett's work, the conflicts of the book reach a certain boiling point and then the story gets really good. The conclusion of the book was appropriate and I got just about everything I wanted, although justice wasn't served, Lord de Worde was allowed escape.

The plot also satirized elements of the Watergate scandal. The dog "Deep Bone" played the role of "Deep Throat" the dog even meets William in a parking garage, except it was for horses in this story. "The Committee to Un-elect the Patrician" was also amusing, as it was a play on Nixon's "The Committee to Re-elect the President" during that same scandal

The villains of the piece Mr Pin and Mr Tulip, were suitably villainous and received their just desserts, despite the potato thing (that whole potato thing was classic) The on going ...ing joke, did pall after a while with it's constant repetition. And the antiques appreciation by Mr Tulip was really funny. One of my favourite Mr Tulip moments was when two bodyguards come in to defend the Mr. Slant, a cunning lawyer zombie, at which point, we are treated with a single, introductory line, in its own paragraph:

"It was horrible what Mr Tulip did to those men."

Some of the quotable's from the story are equally memorable, “A lie will be halfway round the world before truth has it's boots on” used often and by many characters in the story, is a slightly paraphrased Churchillism, which itself was first used by C. H. Spurgeon (1834 - 1892

"There are heroes, and there are those who take notes...and sometimes, they're the same person." Sacharissa Cripslock. Sacharissa was the love interest for William who, shy in the extreme barely manages to stop digging holes for himself when in her company. She was very sweet in a Lois Lane sort of way, but for reasons I can't think, I'm imagining her flat chested – or at least very small.

One of my favourite quotes and I've used paraphrases of it myself since, "There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: “..this glass is half full.” And then there are those who say: “..this glass is half empty.” The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: “What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!” '

"It was a puzzle why things were always dragged kicking and screaming. No one ever seemed to want to, for example, lead them gently by the hand."

"He's going to go totally Librarian-poo" Gaspode about Vimes, had me in fits, but to get the joke you need to know that the Librarian is an Orang-outang.
A very enjoyable read, that endears she who lent it me even more so than she was before. ( )

So again, very readable, very pageturning, good things to say about isn't multiculturalism good, arn't rich traditionalists bad. But still, I think revisiting these 'forgettable Pratchetts' I think there is just a big run of more-of-the-same.

Also, I found the Evil Bad Guys a bit tedious in this one, which given they make up half the book doesn't endere it to me.

After all the recent media enquiries and scandles, I think it is interesting how much the plot of this book is 'a free press is a great thing, and it will work to Uncover Truth and Save the Day', and yet there is already that silver line of cynicism, that 'just as much of the Truth as we can before it actually starts to hurt our family'

However, one of the things I loved was the opportunity to see the Watch from the outside. When it is the Hero, rather than the Bad Guys, wanting to avoid Vimes is a very different slant... ( )

Pratchett takes on the media and its ability to reflect/influence the general public and course of political events. Expertly done as you would expect this is full of humour and the usual great characters such as Vetinari, Vimes, Gaspode etc mixed with a handful of new ones. Pratchett works best when his musings on the world hang around a plot of interest and here we have the possible framing of Vetinari as the central mystery. One of his best. ( )

Pratchett has a way of writing about occupations that makes me actually think certain jobs might actually be more fun than I would otherwise think. While I'm not as eager to go out and be a journalist after this book (like I was seriously considering being a mailman after reading Going Postal), this has more to do with the crap of mainstream news that this book actually kinda sorta rails against.

This was written in November of 2000 - before 9/11 and well before Occupy Wall Street. Nevertheless, one of the themes of this book - about the uber-rich having all the power and thinking they're above the law - couldn't escape my notice. As is usually the case with Pratchett, I am forced to think while laughing out loud.

I'd have to say that Otto was my favorite character in this story. The first three times of the iconographer's (photographer) problem when taking a picture... I thought the joke would get old fast. Yet, every time poor Otto says, "Vun, two, thr- arrgharrgharrgh!" I ended up giggling louder and louder.

Oh, and the idea of Otto not being defined by his nature, and William choosing a new path and other values for himself than what he was raised with was just more of Pratchett's awesomeness in making me think and making the story personal.

Just my $0.02... ( )