Truth, The

Inhoud

William de Worde is the accidental editor of the Discworld'd first newspaper. Now he must cope with the traditional perils of a journalist's life - people who want him dead, a recovering vampire with a suicidal fascination for flash photography, some more people who want him dead in a different way and, worst of all, the man who keeps begging him to publish pictures of his humorously shaped potatoes.
William just wants to get at The Trurh. Unfortunately, everyone else wants to get at William. And it's only the third edition...

Bespreking

Satire at its best

William de Worde can hardly imagine what he unleashes when he gives birth to his latest idea: let's publish a paper that actually tells everyone what is happening in Ankh-Morpork and abroad, certainly when it concerns vegetables that grow in a shape that is similar to the reproductive system of humans. Until now only the rich people got informed about things that might or might not have occurred last month. That is all about to change. For the better. Or the worse. When William and his reporter Sacharissa Cripslock unveil a murder attempt on Havelock Vetinari, not everyone is happy to read this in movable type. On top of that, the stone carvers cannot accept to lose their job because people simply start to recycle letters. Some measures need to be taken. Immediately.

When Terry Pratchett makes fun of something as influential as moveable type, it cannot be anything but hilarious. And indeed, The Truth proves to be one of the better episodes of the whole Discworld saga. In one go he guides us through a complete history of the printed press. From the early problems with the printing process, the struggle for independence of news gathering till the trend of printing what the people want even if it has not that much similarity with the truth. It is really funny to see the similarities with cases like Watergate. As an extra plus, also the city guard, under supervision of Commander Vimes, gets to play an important role. The Truth is a great example of great satire. It can even be fully enjoyed without knowing anything about the previous novels. Highly recommended.