The Truth (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Truth is the twenty-fifth Discworld
novel by Terry Pratchett
, published in 2000.
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 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 puts in an appearance.
of an influential Ankh-Morpork family, scraping out a humble lifestyle as a common scribe and making extra pocket money by producing a gossip
y newsletter for foreign notables.
When William falls in with a group of dwarves who have come to Ankh-Morpork to set up shop with their printing press, he inadvertently founds AM’s first newspaper. Realizing that with their press the dwarves can help him put out a newsletter every day, William begins scrambling to find enough interesting events to fill up the space. Arguing that it isn’t worth the effort just to make a few copies for William’s wealthy foreign subscribers, the dwarves print hundreds of copies of the “Ankh-Morpork Times” and hire a group of oddball beggars to pitch them on the street. William is shocked when the newsheets sell like hot cakes, bringing in more money than he wants or knows what to do with.
Before he knows it William has assembled a newsroom staff, including Sacharissa Cripslock, a prim young woman who attracts news items from talkative, flirtatious city guards, Otto, a vampire
photographer from Uberwald who has sworn off drinking blood and often disintegrates in his own camera flash, and Rocky, a quasi-literate troll who deals with the more irate members of the public.
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 mercenaries known as the New Firm, to frame Vetinari for attempted murder and embezzlement. The plan goes off without a hitch, except that Pin and Tulip allow a witness to escape from the scene; Lord Vetinari’s prized terrier
, Wuffles.
William and the Times staff investigate the strange charges against the Patrician and set out to find the missing Wuffles, all while trying to cope with threats from the local Guilds, the sudden appearance of a competing paper (the scandalous and largely fiction-filled “Ankh-Morpork Inquirer”), pressure from the City Watch, and the chance that Otto may fall off the wagon at any moment.
William makes the mistake of advertising a reward for information leading to Wuffles' recovery. Hundreds of Ankh-Morpork citizens mob the offices with dogs of every shape and variety (including many that are actually cats, birds, or cows) hoping to cash in. The New Firm arrive too, capturing every terrier in the crowd hoping that one of them will be Wuffles, and trying to intimidate the Times staff. Otto drives them off using his magical “Dark Light” photography method, which has the inadvertent effect of showing Mr. Pin the angry ghosts of his victims who follow him around and triggering a moral crisis for the normally remorseless thug.
An anonymous tipster named “Deep Bone” (actually Gaspode, the talking dog who operates as the brains of the beggar crew who sell the Times) helps William track down Wuffles, and when Sacharissa discovers the New Firm’s hideout in William’s own family manor he has enough evidence gathered to break the story wide open. Just as he is preparing to go to press, the New Firm return to take revenge. In the ensuing struggle a lamp explodes and the Times offices catch fire.
William and the others take refuge outside while Pin and Tulip hide in the cellar. Hot melted lead from the destroyed printing press leaks down on them through the roof, and Pin resorts to murdering his partner so that he can save himself by standing on the much larger man’s corpse. Pin, now only partially sane, emerges from the cellars and attacks William once the fire is out, only to be killed when he is impaled on the memo spike from William’s desk.
With the press and office destroyed, it looks like the Times is out of business, but with the application of a crossbow, dwarven axes, and Otto’s sense of dramatic atmosphere, the crew manage to “borrow” one of the Inquirer’s presses for the evening. The big story breaks the next day and Lord Vetinari’s name is cleared just before a new, Guild-controlled Patrician would have seized power.
The New Firm, meanwhile, discuss the finer points of reincarnation
, and who does and does not merit it, with Death
.
William goes to confront the man behind the Committee to Unelect: his own estranged father, Lord de Worde. After a tense argument, William blackmails his father with the information about his criminal doings, forcing him to flee the city or be exposed.
In the end 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 doesn't want to hear it. 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, hiring new staff, establishing offices in other cities, and hopefully one day squeezing in time for a lunch date in between deadlines.
! colspan="3" | Reading order guide
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novel by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, published in 2000.
The book features the coming of movable type
Movable type
Movable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document ....
to Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which prominently features in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. As cities go, it is on the far side of corrupt and polluted, and is subject to outbreaks of comedic violence and brouhaha on a fairly regular basis...
, and the founding of the Discworld
Discworld (world)
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin as it slowly swims...
'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
Havelock Vetinari
Havelock Vetinari, Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is the fictional ruler of the city state of Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a series of over thirty books describing a parallel universe whose main world has reflections of - even more or less subtle jokes about - our...
, and help vindicate him.
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is a fictional police force within the Discworld series of books by Terry Pratchett. It is based in the city-state of Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld. The Watch was originally two units, the Day Watch and the Night Watch which were combined after the events of Men at Arms...
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 puts in an appearance.
Plot summary
William de Worde is the black sheepBlack sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
of an influential Ankh-Morpork family, scraping out a humble lifestyle as a common scribe and making extra pocket money by producing a gossip
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
y newsletter for foreign notables.
When William falls in with a group of dwarves who have come to Ankh-Morpork to set up shop with their printing press, he inadvertently founds AM’s first newspaper. Realizing that with their press the dwarves can help him put out a newsletter every day, William begins scrambling to find enough interesting events to fill up the space. Arguing that it isn’t worth the effort just to make a few copies for William’s wealthy foreign subscribers, the dwarves print hundreds of copies of the “Ankh-Morpork Times” and hire a group of oddball beggars to pitch them on the street. William is shocked when the newsheets sell like hot cakes, bringing in more money than he wants or knows what to do with.
Before he knows it William has assembled a newsroom staff, including Sacharissa Cripslock, a prim young woman who attracts news items from talkative, flirtatious city guards, Otto, a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
photographer from Uberwald who has sworn off drinking blood and often disintegrates in his own camera flash, and Rocky, a quasi-literate troll who deals with the more irate members of the public.
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 mercenaries known as the New Firm, to frame Vetinari for attempted murder and embezzlement. The plan goes off without a hitch, except that Pin and Tulip allow a witness to escape from the scene; Lord Vetinari’s prized terrier
Terrier
A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...
, Wuffles.
William and the Times staff investigate the strange charges against the Patrician and set out to find the missing Wuffles, all while trying to cope with threats from the local Guilds, the sudden appearance of a competing paper (the scandalous and largely fiction-filled “Ankh-Morpork Inquirer”), pressure from the City Watch, and the chance that Otto may fall off the wagon at any moment.
William makes the mistake of advertising a reward for information leading to Wuffles' recovery. Hundreds of Ankh-Morpork citizens mob the offices with dogs of every shape and variety (including many that are actually cats, birds, or cows) hoping to cash in. The New Firm arrive too, capturing every terrier in the crowd hoping that one of them will be Wuffles, and trying to intimidate the Times staff. Otto drives them off using his magical “Dark Light” photography method, which has the inadvertent effect of showing Mr. Pin the angry ghosts of his victims who follow him around and triggering a moral crisis for the normally remorseless thug.
An anonymous tipster named “Deep Bone” (actually Gaspode, the talking dog who operates as the brains of the beggar crew who sell the Times) helps William track down Wuffles, and when Sacharissa discovers the New Firm’s hideout in William’s own family manor he has enough evidence gathered to break the story wide open. Just as he is preparing to go to press, the New Firm return to take revenge. In the ensuing struggle a lamp explodes and the Times offices catch fire.
William and the others take refuge outside while Pin and Tulip hide in the cellar. Hot melted lead from the destroyed printing press leaks down on them through the roof, and Pin resorts to murdering his partner so that he can save himself by standing on the much larger man’s corpse. Pin, now only partially sane, emerges from the cellars and attacks William once the fire is out, only to be killed when he is impaled on the memo spike from William’s desk.
With the press and office destroyed, it looks like the Times is out of business, but with the application of a crossbow, dwarven axes, and Otto’s sense of dramatic atmosphere, the crew manage to “borrow” one of the Inquirer’s presses for the evening. The big story breaks the next day and Lord Vetinari’s name is cleared just before a new, Guild-controlled Patrician would have seized power.
The New Firm, meanwhile, discuss the finer points of reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
, and who does and does not merit it, with Death
Death (Discworld)
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe...
.
William goes to confront the man behind the Committee to Unelect: his own estranged father, Lord de Worde. After a tense argument, William blackmails his father with the information about his criminal doings, forcing him to flee the city or be exposed.
In the end 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 doesn't want to hear it. 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, hiring new staff, establishing offices in other cities, and hopefully one day squeezing in time for a lunch date in between deadlines.
External links
! colspan="3" | Reading order guide