Tildes Book Club - February 2026 - The Truth by Terry Pratchett
This is the second Tildes Book Club Discussion for 2026 and the twentysecond overall. We are discussing The Truth by Terry Pratchett. At the end of March we will discuss The Metamorphosis by Kafka.
I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.
For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.
So this was my first Pratchett book. Somehow, it was everything I hoped it would be.
I don't always jibe with British humor, but this worked for me. Pratchett clearly liked to play with the English language, and I found the novel charming and full of pith. There was so much clever wordplay, yet he never tarried or drew attention to it. He kept the story flowing while maintaining a steady supply of witticisms and quips.
The characters all felt unique and established. While some of them felt story-specific, I can almost guarantee that a few were recurring, such as Mr. Dibbler. He simply felt too fleshed out for a side character to be anything but.
Of the main cast, Otto was my favorites with his torturous love of
photographyiconography. Most folk had a silly air about them, though I was surprised that some of the bad dudes really were bad dudes. To throw a sack full of doggies into a river? Heavens, that's --ing mental.I'm not sure how to take the general commentary on journalism. That it's important, even if people don't care? Or that the position can be misused? Maybe there was no strong commentary at all, and it was more about exploring the role. In any case, it felt like stronger comments were directed at policemen and lawyers, who did not get off so easy.
I had a little trouble sourcing this book. I'd originally requested an audiobook from the library, but noticed too late it was an abridged copy. I found an older unabridged copy read by Stephen Briggs, but the quality was very poor. Thankfully, I was able to clean it up in Audacity using the DeepFilterNet plugin, then set up a macro to process and export all files. That worked a treat, and I was able to get a crisp, unabridged narration, which was excellent.
I've always put off starting Discworld because it's such a massive series, but now I've officially broken in. While I don't think I'll binge them - I might become a sarcastic bastard if I do - they do seem like a great interlude for when I need something lighter.
I am also a fan of Otto.
I listened to the whole series last year, except for *Monster Regiment * because I couldn’t find it. I wasn’t in a hurry, but would occasionally listen for most of the day if I was outside. Took me about 9 months.
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Is this your first Discworld book? If yes, what are your impressions?
If it's not your first, did this book add or change anything to your impression
of Pratchett as an author?
Based on this book, what are your impressions of Ankh MorPork as a city? If you are a Pratchett reader already, did this book add or change anything to your impression of Ankh MorPork?
What did you find noteworthy or interesting about how William and Sacharissa develop their mission and role as journalists in and for Ankh MorPork?
Did you find any of the nonhuman characters particularly noteworthy or interesting? Do you have a favorite or least favorite nonhuman character?
What are your thoughts about Vetinari and the plot to dethrone him?
I read this book last year, so my impressions of him might be a little mixed with other books. Some of his approaches really seem like something college students would come up if they were king of the world. He very much seems like the benevolent dictator that makes things better, but then dies and things become far worse than they were before him.
What do you think about the villains Pin and Tulip?
What do you want to say about the investigation, or about the final confrontation between William and his father?
Did any of Pratchett's word play or philosophical musings or footnotes strike you as particularly funny or clever or memorable?
I wouldn't call it philosophical, but this conversation near the beginning had me cackling:
This bit was narrated perfectly in the audiobook, where the retort came out more like "Wot wot?". The phrasing "raising the stakes" also really tickled me, for some reason.
What surprised you about this story or any of its characters?
What do you think you will remember about this book after a few months have passed?
Is this a book that you would recommend? Why? Would you want to share disclaimers or explainations when recommending this book?