The Truth

     "The Truth is the 25th Discworld Novel and tells the tale of Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper. William de Worde makes a living by writing short monthly letters about noteworthy events in Ankh-Morpork. He gets these printed, by having them manually engraved and then delivered to several interested, and wealthy, parties. Only, one day he gets involved in Dwarves and moving type. In typical Pratchett style there is a second major story-line, but unlike many of the previous books the two story-lines are more closely entwined.

     It's difficult to give an objective review of this book. After two dozen books you get the impression Pratchett could rattle off this kind of thing in his sleep, but someone new to his style might find the Truth as new and refreshing as I found TCOM and TLF.

     Seasoned Discworld fans will love the various cameos from the usual Ankh-Morpork crowd - e.g. the Wizards & CMOT Dibbler. Though someone new to Discworld probably wont understand the significance of an Igor working as a surgeon losing his lisp. The Watch is encountered during the reporter's investigation, and it's interesting to read about them in the third person rather than as the main characters of the book.

     The most significant thing is that all these walk on parts give way to - hold the press - some new main characters! William de Worde the editor, Sacharissa Cripslock and a b-total Vampire Otto Chriek amongst others. Two new villains - Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin - bear more than a passing resemblance to certain Pulp Fiction characters (but knowing his book will be read by children as well as adults Pratchett has -ing moderated his -ing language a bit). Oh yes, I know William de Worde isn't new, but I'd forgotten about him.

     Pratchett includes his usual selection of philosophies on life. Principally how stupid people are in that they'll believe anything in print. Though I found de Worde's opinion on the injustice of the class system within the great city more than a little reminiscent of Vimes's beliefs - even to the point where he gets really angry towards the end of the book.

     Some non UK readers may not appreciate de Worde's use of the homeless people of Ankh-Morpork to sell the paper. This is a reference to Britain's 'The Big Issue', a weekly publication sold by the homeless in this country's larger cities.

     In a rare burst of self-reference, there is a conversation between William de Worde and the Patrician about Holy Wood and Music with Rocks in, with the Patrician voicing his concerns that the printing press might be, for example, built at a place of occult significance." - Quoted from The Discworld Monthly

The Truth is due for release in the UK in November. You can

pre-order The Truth from Amazon.co.uk by clicking here