Rating: 
Summary: A superb book
Review: "The Truth" is up there with Pratchett's best. I don't know if it is because I enjoy the Guards series most or because Pratchett did something special for the 25th Discworld novel (can you believe it?!) but this book just rocked ... (it was a book with rocks in, even)."The Truth" is another social semi-satire, like "Moving Pictures" or "Soul Music" but one which does not set out to preach a social message as much as just create plain good fun. All of the favorite Ankh-Morpork characters are in there but there are some great new ones, particularly Otto von Chriek, a reformed vampire hired as an iconographer for the Discworld's first newspaper, the book's namesake. Once you recall Pratchett's favoured method of creating flash photography and the effect this may have on said vampire, (not to mention the general nature of vampires) you should start to glimpse the boundless humorous possibilities. As always, Pratchett's knowledge of the human psyche (headology) is superb and his characters are a joy to watch (er, read?). The dialogue and behaviour of the Patrician, in particular, is a study in mastery of human psychology and behaviour. Many of this book's passages made me laugh out loud, (as always, embarrassing on an aeroplane), and this is always a good yardstick -- I laughed more than I could remember than for any other book in the last 2 or 3 years. If you are a Discworld reader, grab this book and dive in. If not, read a few of the Guards series and those with a similar theme ("Guards, Guards", "Moving Pictures", "Soul Music" should do it) in order to best appreciate this one.
Rating: 
Summary: What just happened?
Review: ...I just finished The Truth; when does it get good? I'll agree with previous reviewers on one point only: the Discworld series has been in need of new blood. The established groups of characters have all had many books devoted to them, have grown in complexity and humanity, and have become quite beloved among the fans, but at the same time they may have begun to run out of stories. Pratchett himself seems to be sensing this; both Carpe Jugulum (the most recent Witches book) and The Fifth Elephant (the last Watchmen book) had a strong feeling of finality about them, as if he was determined to put his all into one last brilliant work featuring Granny Weatherwax or Sam Vimes. And of course, with the seeming passing of former casts, new blood is being introduced. That's the first trouble with The Truth. Most of Pratchett's Ankh-Morpork stories (and all of his best ones) have featured Sam Vimes as the (anti-) hero. Now Vimes has been replaced by idealistic newspaper editor William de Worde, and Lady Sybil by William's lady friend, Sarcharissa. I realize I'm going to sound like a Crochety Old Discworld Fan here, but William and Sarcharissa are no substitutes. William is appealing and likable, but he's just not very interesting. Pratchett paid surprisingly little attention to him for a main character; if he had then he might have come to life, but as is, the author's done this sort of thing better before. Sarcharissa also has more of the stock Pratchett heroine from his very early books in her than anything else. Okay, so now that I've made plenty of enemies by bashing the new characters, let's talk about the plot. Discworld plots usually range from perfect to somewhat hit-or-miss, but this one downright misses. Too many satiric targets are being aimed at. The Truth tries to make fun of both the press in general and of Nixon and Watergate in specific, thus making it both a book in the vein of Soul Music, which goes after a pop-culture phenomenon, and one like Jingo, which shoots for a specific topic. With all of this plus an almost entirely new cast, neither the characters nor either plot is given enough time, and in the end it suffers from a severe lack of development or resolution. You get the sense that you have missed a crucial scene somewhere; you're never quite sure how things got from A to B. So if the characters aren't so good, and the plot isn't so good, what is left but humor? A mediocre Pratchett book in terms of the other two factors usually has the saving grace of being funny, but no such luck here. The style is as amusing as ever, but much of the descriptions of the city- I couldn't tell if they have been actually reused from other books or are so similar that you I couldn't tell the difference. There are a number of cameos from famous characters (the Bursar's scenes being a case in point) that don't have any place in the plot; these only serve to distract instead of adding humor or easing the transition to William's story. As for the villians, Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip...they're funny, all right, but did anyone else think that they read like out-and-out parodies of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere? The resemblence was too similar for me to ever take the New Firm seriously nor laugh at them very much. The Truth, appropriate to its subject, is at least free of the typographic errors that plagued The Fifth Elephant (except on one memorable occasion when a character called Deep Bone has his name written "Deep Throat".) The cover, rendered in not two but three nasty colors, is not pretty, but it does the job and doesn't hurt like the last one. The real reason that I had such a problem with The Truth is its author. We are now so used to Pratchetts' churning out brilliant book after brilliant book that our standards may have become too high. If anyone else had written this book I would have liked it far more, but compared to Jingo or The Fifth Elephant, it doesn't stand a chance. Is The Truth an excellent novel? Of course. Is it an excellent Pratchett novel? Not really. And you can quote me.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth as It Should Be Told
Review: A newspaper on the Disc World, it had to happen sooner or later. William de Worde the editor will never be short of something interesting to print or photograph even if it's only the man who bombards him with humourously shaped potatoes. However he still has to cope with the perils of journalistic life, people who would like to see HIM on the front page as part of a nasty accident. A vampire who has a fascination with flash photography.
Think of the copy you could write about the disc world characters. I was a newspaper man for 40 years and believe me it's all there (not the vampire), though I had my suspicions.
Pratchett is at is very best. The man is genius. There are many top line comedians who would die for a script writer of his calibre. There are not many authors who can make me laugh out loud while reading, but Pratchett's one liners are priceless. Don't just buy this one, buy them all.
Rating:
Summary: A lie travels around the world . . .
Review: As always in his later novels about Disworld, Pratchett mixes wit and word-play with often very pointed commentary on some aspect of our own world. This time, he takes on the Fourth Estate in the person of young William de Worde, idealistic younger son of Lord De Worde, a very unpleasant and rather fascist leader of a cabal attempting to overthrow Lord Vetinari, the Patrician who runs Ankh-Morpork with an astute and even hand. William, who has been sending out occasional newsletters to foreign decision-makers of local events of interest, manages to invent not only the newspaper but journalism itself, discovering along the way that what people need to know generally isn't what they want to know and that tabloidism outsells News any day. Pratchett is more sympathetic to newspaper people than to those who read their work. Of course, William uncovers the facts about the plot -- gets personally caught up in it, in fact -- and must decide just how much of his father's son he really is. And Commander Vimes of the Watch (one of my two favorite recurring characters, the other being Lord Vetinari) must deal with the discovery that freedom of the press impinges on his own occasional urges. The practical Mr. Goodmountain, dwarf typesetter and owner of the actual press, is a nice balance to William's zeal, as is Sacharissa, natural newswriter. And Otto, the vampire iconographer. Most unsettling, perhaps, are Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin, the former a combination of enraged thug and art connoisseur, the latter a cold-blooded "arranger" for hire. I hope Pratchett lives another few decades and keeps this stuff coming.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun
Review: I enjoyed this book. While i have become somewhat less enthusiastic now when i hear another disc world book is due out, this one was a cut above some of the more recent ones. Dont get me wrong, i like most of the titles... but i almost get the impression he's writting out of habit rather than swept with the urge to tell a story. Not so with this one. Enjoyable throughout.
Rating:
Summary: In the presence of genius...
Review: Many years ago in my early youth, I came across The Colour of Magic. As a (then) slightly po-faced devourer of fantasy novels, I was unimpressed by Pratchett's writing and vaguely offended at the spoofery. My prejudice continued until a few days ago when I was enticed by the blurb on the back of The Truth. As a journalist/editor (until recently) I felt I'd be in line for sufficient entertainment/insight to keep me interested even if the mock-fantasy stuff got up my nose a little.
Within the first few pages, much as I wanted to demur, I felt myself being seduced. The novel turned out to be a hugely exhilarating ride and, on turning the last page and with metaphoric cigarette in hand, I began the process of kicking myself. Hard. How on earth could I let this wondrous Discworld universe pass me by for so long?! Pratchett's creation is lovingly, lovingly detailed. Even if some of the humour is a bit obvious and old hat; even if Pin and Tulip are occasionally tiresome; even if the story is unnecessarily strung-out and bloated; even if there are banalities and idiocies in some of the characters and plotlines... you're still left with a rollicklingly good read, an effortless page-turner and the intoxicating knowledge that you will seek out (as I am currently, obsessively doing) every last story that Pratchett has committed to paper. The only problem I have now is in taking 99.9% of `serious' fantasy seriously again. How could I? Why would I? When Pratchett provides such a complete, intricate, hilarious and poignant set of portraits incorporating such multifarious and sympathetic and unique characters as are to be found in Discworld. The Truth is, by no means, a perfect (or even classic) (or even must-read) book - hence only three stars. But I already know that the Discworld sequence is perfect, classic and must-read taken as a whole. In fact, I am so entranced by Discworld after finishing The Truth, getting half-way through Mort and having just seen a very amateurish stage version of Carpe Jugulum, that I am beginning to feel that Pratchett's genius rivals that of P.G. Wodehouse. And that is high praise indeed!
Rating:
Summary: The Truth and Droll Vegetables
Review: Pratchett is a former journalist himself, so I suppose it was just a matter of time before journalism was held up to the fun-house mirror that is the Discworld. Perhaps it is his experience in the trade that makes this such a wonderful story. William de Worde is the estranged younger son of a noble family. He earns a living providing private reports on the news of Ankh Morpork to foreign rulers. On his way to deliver his latest report to his engraver, William is struck by the power of the press; in this case, a runaway wagon carrying a moveable type press that dwarves are smuggling into the city. One thing leads to another, and, this being the Century of the Fruitbat, before long "The Ankh Morpork Times" is on the streets, and William is launched on a career as an editor, publisher and investigative journalist. The economy of Ankh Morpork is built on institutionalized corruption. There's no shortage of work for a budding investigative journalist, including the latest plot against the Lord Vetinari, the city's ruler. Soon William and his newspaper are pitted against conspiring nobility, a competing tabloid, assassins and the City Watch, to name just a few. From the subtle - watch the typos in the newspaper's masthead - to the slapstick - a vampire photographer who cannot survive the bright light of his camera flash - there are a lot of laughs in this book. Some of the humor clearly traces to Practhett's journalism experience; Mr. Windling and his amusing vegetables, for example. But as has been the case in the last 10 - 12 Discworld stories, the humor is a means to an end and not the end itself. Pratchett makes important points as he entertains, and raises difficult questions. What is the Truth, anyway? And does anyone care? In Lord Vetinari's apt phrase, don't readers want the Olds, rather than the News? And why does printing something make it more true? And Pratchett addresses larger issues, too. Among the fascinating new characters is Harry King, the King of the Golden River, who will recycle absolutely anything. He is wealthy, has a certain economic power, but absolutely no prestige. William's father, a member of the Old School Nobility, regards his privileges as a right. He has prestige, but what power he had is slipping away. And Gunilla Goldmountain, a dwarf who can turn lead into gold, but would really like to be married instead. Tulip, otherwise an illiterate stock villain, has a deep, informed appreciation of all things art. People are complex, and the relationships between people and society are still more complex. Pratchett reminds us of that reality by holding our life up to the funhouse mirror he has created. There are echoes of Watergate - William's informant is "Deep Bone" - and echoes of all those old newspaper movies like "His Girl Friday" and "The Front Page" in the relationship between William and his reporter, Sacharissa. Pratchett is particularly good at making use of our cultural references in his jokes and his points. Allusion-spotters will have a field day. Like all Pratchett's books, "The Truth" is great fun to read and still rewards a thoughtful reader. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Pratchett Digs Deep
Review: The Truth stands out to me as one of the better examples of Pratchett's ability. It harkens back to the earlier books giving the reader a delightfully mix of real-world and fantastical parody. From cover to cover images of Perry White, J. Jonah Jameson, Richard Nixon, The Sun, and conspiracy theorists flash through the readers brain giving us a new look at Ankh-Morpork and new characters who I hope will make appearances in future books. If you are a fan of the Disc's dwarven community, this book also gives the reader a closer scrutiny of that noble and industrious race, and you will also see the effects of iconography on a vampire iconographer. Underneath all the humor runs a storyline about truth, duty, and family. The first two are quite obvious considering the title of the book, but the third is what touched me. A man really doesn't have to follow in the footsteps of his family, and a person's character can really change if it is truly desired.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Discworld Standalone So Far
Review: This book is somewhat tied to the City Watch sequence which starts with _Guards! Guards!_, but can easily stand alone; I recommend it highly, and it would be an excellent introduction to the Discworld books. This is the story of the founding of a tabloid newspaper in Ankh-Morpork, and its inevitable rivals. There are very engaging characters and funny sidekicks including a vampire named Otto, who joins the crew as a photographer but has an unfortunate tendency to crumble into dust when exposed to bright flashes of light, and some really inept bad guys. Gaspode the dog shows up, as do members of the City Watch. The satire of tabloid journalism is wonderful, as is the clash between William de Worde's idealism and his need to make money.
Rating:
Summary: The truth, the whole truth, only if the dwarf can print it
Review: This is supposed to be the 25th Discworld novel, I don't know exactly how many I have read but it has been quite a few. You need to buy the whole Discworld concept with the elephants and the giant turtle floating through space. If you are still on board, then prepare yourself for what I feel is an enjoyable ride. If you are new to the Discworld series, this is not the book to start with. The beauty of the way this and other of Pratchett's Discworld stories work is that the reader needs to be at least slightly familiar with some of the characters. The Guilds, Lord Vetinari, Ministry of Magic, Wyrd Sisters, and now William de Worde. I enjoyed this book the most next to Mort and Soul Music. The descriptions the author gives everything such as the city of Ankh-Morpork are hilarious, I find myself laughing out loud. I did that a lot reading this book. The joy in reading Terry Pratchett is not the story itself but in the actual page by page commentary he gives and his funny wit. Each page contains enough sarcasm that you want to remember some of this to sound a little clever yourself when discussing things with your friends and co-workers. So much that it just becomes fun to read just 4 to 8 pages at a time and let it soak in. Welcome to the Discworld.
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