by Perry Cox

Created on: January 06, 2009

William de Worde is a want away member of the aristocracy. He has chosen a low key life away from his high born and relentlessly racist family. He eeks out a modest living writing letters of current events to notable members of society but finds himself forced into the strangely alluring and increasingly dangerous world of the newspaper. In short, William de Worde has been press ganged but is starting to enjoy it.

'A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.'

"The Truth" is one of Terry Pratchett's lesser known Discworld novels. It is a novel that crept in under the radar and rarely appears on any favourite lists. However, it is a very good fantasy novel and the central theme of journalism allows Pratchett free reign to ridicule the media and the ever gullible public. If you don't usually read books about fantasy lands held up by four elephants and a turtle then you may be surprised by how accessible "The Truth" is to you. I am a Pratchett fan in a big way, but this is one of few books in an absolutely massive series that you can approach with no knowledge of the series. Would it help to have read previous books? A little but it does not detract from what is a well-crafted piece of satire.

'The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret'

A lot of the reason this novel is so enjoyable is we have a relatively new cast of characters to play with. Of course, the old gang of Watchmen and anthropomorphic personifications are still all here to please regular readers but they are part of he background. Protagonist William de Worde and friends take centre stage and this allows for a different, relatively fantasy free outing. The emerging newspapers The Ankh Morpork Times and The Inquirer are scarily similar to the broadsheet and trashy titles we see in the newsagents every day and this gives Pratchett opportunity to lampoon at every turn the stereotypical right wing Daily Mail crowd as well as the gullible, hype hungry readers of other trashy tabloids.

'Some people are heroes. And some people jot down notes.'

As you can see Pratchett has a very cynical view of the media and this leads to one of his most cutting and funny novels to date. Characters are generally very self-serving which does make this a novel were you will find it difficult to empathise with their predicaments. Even central character de Worde is annoying as despite his well-meaning fight against his upper-class roots, he is an unwittingly arrogant character full of worthiness and an over-inflated sense of his own importance. Of course, it is most likely Pratchett intends us to find de Worde an irritating hero, something that appears to be the case in subsequent novels. This does however, make "The Truth" a more difficult read than some of the author's more friendly titles but also perhaps his most intelligent.

'We are a bodyguard of lies, gentlemen'

There are some great things in "The Truth" including a great parody of Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky". The plot is intriguing and unpredictable and there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here. It is one of Pratchett's more detached novels and this is probably why so many people seem to miss out on it. However, it is definitely worth a read if you like your fantasy sharp and satirical. Give it a go. After all, would this writer lie to you?

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