The Truth (novel)

Last updated

The Truth
The-truth-1.jpg
First edition
Author Terry Pratchett
Cover artist Josh Kirby
LanguageEnglish
Series
  • Discworld
  • 25th novel – 4th individual story
Subject
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date
2000
AwardsCame 193rd in The Big Read.
ISBN 0-385-60102-6
Preceded by The Fifth Elephant  
Followed by Thief of Time  

The Truth is a fantasy novel by the British writer Terry Pratchett, the 25th book in his Discworld series, published in 2000.

Contents

The book features the coming of movable type to Ankh-Morpork, and the founding of the Discworld's first newspaper by William de Worde, as he invents investigative journalism with the help of his reporter Sacharissa Cripslock. The two investigate the charges of embezzlement and attempted murder against Havelock Vetinari, and help to vindicate him.

The Ankh-Morpork City Watch characters also appear in this novel, but have limited roles and are seen mainly from de Worde's perspective. C.M.O.T. Dibbler also makes an appearance.

Plot

William de Worde is the black sheep of an influential Ankh-Morpork family, scraping out a humble lifestyle as a common scribe producing stock letters-to-home and a gossipy newsletter for foreign notables. After a team of dwarves arrive in Ankh-Morpork to start a printing business using moveable type (a technology hitherto outlawed in the city in favour of engraving due to the entreaties of the Unseen University and the city's religious establishment), De Worde and the dwarves establish The Ankh-Morpork Times, later employing Sacharissa Cripslock and Otto, a black-ribbon vampire and iconographer. The Guild of Engravers aim to halt the 'non-guild' activities of the Times by cutting off their paper supplies and establishing The Ankh-Morpork Inquirer, a loss-making tabloid filled with popular fabricated stories, often about unlikely events in far-off countries.

Meanwhile, a conspiracy is afoot in the city to depose the Patrician, Lord Vetinari. The wealthy and powerful (but anonymous) Committee to Unelect the Patrician hire Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip, a pair of villainous out-of-town mercenaries known as the New Firm, to frame Vetinari with a staged embezzlement and replace him with a puppet. Pin and Tulip manage to catch off-guard the normally impassible Patrician with Charlie, a witless Pseudopolitan Vetinari look-alike coerced into helping them. The plan starts going awry, though, when Drumknott, Vetinari's clerk returns in the middle of the scene and the New Firm is forced to stab him and render Vetinari unconscious, hoping to also frame him for murder; their efforts are hampered by Lord Vetinari's prized terrier, Wuffles, who bites Mr. Pin and escapes, becoming the sole witness to the crime.

After William ill-advisedly advertises a reward for information leading to Wuffles' recovery, the New Firm, disguised as Omnian clergy, attempt to gather information about Wuffles from the Times but are frightened off by Otto's experimental dark-light 'obscurograph' technology (which unpredictably produces images of the past, the future or what is "really there"). Realising that the job is much harder than their employers had initially suggested, the New Firm decides to skip town. Although the job is unfinished they extort from their employers' zombie lawyer and representative Mr. Slant their promised payment and a big "bonus" in jewels, using compromising voice recordings captured with a dis-organiser Mk II.

An anonymous tipster named "Deep Bone", helps William track down Wuffles and "translate" his testimony, giving William the last pieces of the puzzle. In the meantime, Sacharissa accidentally discovers the New Firm's hideout in the de Worde family townhouse and is captured. The New Firm head back to the Times offices hoping to exchange her for Wuffles and silence all witnesses. In the ensuing struggle the Times offices catch fire. William and the others manage to escape outside while Pin and Tulip hide in the cellar. Pin, driven insane due to the dark-light giving him visions of the New Firm's deceased victims, kills Tulip to steal his potato (which he believed would allow him to reincarnate after death) and to use him as a raft against molten lead; escaping from the cellars, he attacks William but is impaled on William's memo spike. William retrieves the jewels and the dis-organiser, and discovers Wuffles's bitemark on Tulip's leg. With the liberal application of a crossbow wielded by a daring Saccharisa, dwarven axes, bribery in jewels, and Otto's sense of dramatic atmosphere helps the crew borrow one of the Inquirer's presses for the evening to get the story out in time. After discovering that "Cut Me Own Throat" Dibbler was hired by the Inquirer as its editor, William and Sacharissa hire him to sell Times advertising space.

The big story breaks the next day and Lord Vetinari's name is cleared just before the new, Guild-controlled Patrician can seize power, but ordinary citizens are seemingly nonplussed by this revelation. From the recordings on the dis-organiser, William discovers that his father Lord de Worde, an ardent speciesist opposed to Vetinari's tolerance of non-human species resident in the city, is the mastermind behind the Committee. He decides to confront him. A tense argument, blackmail with the threat of exposure, a fortune in jewels, and threats from Otto fail to intimidate Lord de Worde into returning to his self-imposed exile as William demands. However, after learning that his machinations nearly killed his own son, Lord de Worde admits defeat and walks away. William manages to blackmail Slant into providing his services pro bono to get him released from Watch custody and to resolve his dispute with the Engravers' Guild.

William is ambivalent about the new and unexpected role of the free press in his life and in the world but resolves that someone must tell the public the truth about what goes on in the city, even if the public is disinterested. The Times comes to be recognized, if not exactly welcomed, by the powers that be in the city, and William and Sacharissa make plans to expand even further. An attempt to bunk off work for a lunch date leads them to witness and report a news-worthy cart crash. Tulip and Pin, with the former feeling sorry for his past crimes and having strong faith in a misunderstanding from his childhood, and the latter being relieved not to suffer vengeance after death, are reincarnated as a woodworm and a chipping potato, respectively.

Characters

Reception

At the SF Site , Steven H Silver judged that Pratchett's decision to present the novel from William's viewpoint "infused (it) with a freshness that has been lacking from many of Pratchett's (then-)recent books". [1] CNN called it "technically a fantasy novel, but an unconventional one. And a funny one — the laugh-out-loud kind of funny that comes along all too infrequently," saying that Pratchett was a "master at wordplay" and that the novel was full of "striking example(s) of linguistic gymnastics". [2]

Infinity plus described it as an "excellently plotted tale of mystery and murder" and "an hilarious take on the newspaper business", its only fault being that the book's title was "descriptive" but insufficiently "fun". [3]

Publishers Weekly considered it "Pratchett's best one yet", and noted parodic similarities to Pulp Fiction and His Girl Friday . [4] MIT Technology Review observed that it "combines humor and political satire to great effect" and compared it to the work of Oscar Wilde, but felt that it relied too strongly on coincidence, that there was insufficient closure to some of the plot threads, and that "some of the dialogue tries too hard to be witty", ultimately concluding that although it may be "quite unfair to set [Pratchett] to higher standards than other [authors]", the quality of work he produced would naturally lead readers to have heightened expectations. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jingo</i> (novel) 1997 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Jingo is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, part of his Discworld series. It was published in 1997.

<i>Feet of Clay</i> (novel) 1996 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Feet of Clay is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the nineteenth book in the Discworld series, published in 1996. The story follows the members of the City Watch, as they attempt to solve murders apparently committed by a golem, as well as the unusual poisoning of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Vimes</span> Fictional character of the Discworld novels

His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and a film noir-esque grizzled detective. His appearances throughout the Discworld sequence show him slowly and grudgingly rising through the ranks of both police force and society. As of his latest promotion, his full name and title is stated as being "His Grace, His Excellency, The 1st Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes". When serving as Ambassador for Ankh-Morpork, he is also referred to simply as "His Excellency", and is also nicknamed "Blackboard Monitor Vimes", "Vimes the Butcher" and "Vetinari's Terrier". According to his wife, Sybil, Vimes is recognised by many as Lord Vetinari's right-hand man.

<i>Guards! Guards!</i> 1989 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards! is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighth in the Discworld series, first published in 1989. It is the first novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The first Discworld point-and-click adventure game borrowed heavily from the plot of Guards! Guards!

<i>Moving Pictures</i> (novel) 1990 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Moving Pictures is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published in 1990, the tenth book in his Discworld series. The book takes place in Discworld's most famous city, Ankh-Morpork and a hill called "Holy Wood".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Vetinari</span> Character in Terry Pratchetts Discworld novels

Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lord Patrician of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Vetinari has written an unpublished manuscript known as The Servant, the Discworld version of The Prince by the Italian statesman and diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli.

<i>Men at Arms</i> 1993 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Men at Arms is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 15th book in the Discworld series, first published in 1993. It is the second novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch on the Discworld. Lance-constable Angua von Überwald, later in the series promoted to the rank of Sergeant, is introduced in this book. Lance-constable Detritus is introduced as a new member of the watch as well, though he had already appeared in other Discworld novels, most notably in Moving Pictures. Also notable is the only appearance of Lance-constable Cuddy.

<i>Night Watch</i> (<i>Discworld</i>) 2002 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Night Watch is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 29th book in his Discworld series, and the sixth starring the City Watch, published in 2002. The protagonist of the novel is Sir Samuel Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. A five-part radio adaptation of the novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Night Watch placed second in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel.

<i>Going Postal</i> 2004 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Going Postal is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 33rd book in his Discworld series, released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, Going Postal is divided into chapters, a feature previously seen only in Pratchett's children's books and the Science of Discworld series. These chapters begin with a synopsis of philosophical themes, in a similar manner to some Victorian novels and, notably, to Jules Verne stories. The title refers to both the contents of the novel, as well as to the term 'going postal'.

The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is the police force of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork in the Discworld series by the English writer Terry Pratchett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moist von Lipwig</span> Fictional character of the Discworld novels

Moist von Lipwig is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. A "reformed con-man" who is one of the major characters of the series, von Lipwig is the protagonist of the novels Going Postal, Making Money, and Raising Steam.

<i>Thud!</i> 2005 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Thud! is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 34th book in the Discworld series, first released in the United States on 13 September 2005, then the United Kingdom on 1 October 2005. It was released in the U.S. three weeks before Pratchett's native UK in order to coincide with a signing tour. It was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2006.

<i>Making Money</i> 2007 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Making Money is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, part of his Discworld series, first published in the UK on 20 September 2007. It is the second novel featuring Moist von Lipwig, and involves the Ankh-Morpork mint and specifically the introduction of paper money to the city. The novel won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2008, and was nominated for the Nebula Award the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discworld Diary</span> Themed diaries by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld Diaries are a series of themed diaries based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Each one is based on an Ankh-Morpork institution, and has an opening section containing information about that institution written by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs.

<i>Terry Pratchetts Going Postal</i> 2010 British television series

Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is a two-part television film adaptation of Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle and produced by The Mob, which was first broadcast on Sky1, and in high definition on Sky1 HD, at the end of May 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ankh-Morpork</span> Fictional city from the Discworld series

Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state the setting for many Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.

<i>Snuff</i> (Pratchett novel) 2011 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Snuff is the 39th novel in the Discworld series, written by Terry Pratchett. It was published on 11 October 2011 in the United States, and 13 October 2011 in the United Kingdom. The book is the third-fastest-selling novel in the United Kingdom since records began, having sold over 55,000 copies in the first three days.

<i>Discworld: Ankh-Morpork</i> Board game

Discworld: Ankh Morpork is a board game set in the largest city-state in Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Designed by Martin Wallace and Treefrog Games, the game revolves around the playing of cards and placing minions onto the board. Each player attempts to meet the win condition for the personality that they randomly and secretly selected at the start of the game. The game features many characters from the Discworld series, but players do not need to have any knowledge about the books.

<i>Raising Steam</i> 2013 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

Raising Steam is the 40th Discworld novel, written by Terry Pratchett. It was the penultimate one, published before his death in 2015. Originally due to be published on 24 October 2013, it was pushed back to 7 November 2013. It stars Moist von Lipwig, and features the introduction of locomotives to the Discworld, and an entirely new character.

References

  1. ↑ Steven H Silver (2000). "The Truth". SF Site . Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. ↑ L. D. Meagher (22 November 2000). "Review: Pratchett's 'The Truth' will set you free -- and laughing". CNN . Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  3. ↑ John D. Owen (4 November 2000). "The Truth, by Terry Pratchett]". Infinity plus. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "The Truth". Publishers Weekly . 30 October 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Jane Maduram (28 November 2000). "The Truth: IN THE SPIRIT OF OSCAR WILDE". MIT Technology Review . Retrieved 5 July 2017.
Reading order guide
Preceded by 25th Discworld Novel Succeeded by
Preceded by 5th Individual Story
Published in 2000		Succeeded by


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.