By Sir Terry Pratchett

Now we get on to the second of my self-made trio.

“The denizens of Ankh-Morpork fancy they’ve seen just about everything. But then comes the Ankh-Morpork Times, struggling scribe William de Worde’s upper-crust newsletter turned Discworld’s first paper of record.

An ethical journalist, de Worde has a proclivity for investigating stories— a nasty habit that soon creates powerful enemies eager to stop his press. And what better way than to start the Inquirer, a titillating (well, what else would it be?) tabloid that conveniently interchanges what’s real for what sells.

But de Worde’s got an inside line on the hot story concerning Ankh-Morpork’s leading patrician, Lord Vetinari. The facts say Vetinari is guilty. But as William de Worde learns, facts don’t always tell the whole story. There’s that pesky little thing called…. The Truth.”

This is an interesting look at what happens when newspapers come to the Discworld. And what counts as the truth.

For this story, I have 4 thoughts.

Firstly, I would like to talk about the Watch. Here is a promise. Next year we are going to look at the Watch series, and you can see what this is like from Sam Vimes’ point of view. But it is interesting to see the Sam Vimes of this book as almost an antagonist because he’s getting in de Worde’s way. After all, before the press showed up, there was nothing like it, so, from Vimes’ point of view, the wrong information getting out could do a lot of damage.

Secondly, Otto Chriek and the whole idea of Black Ribboners. Black Ribboners, or the Ankh-Morpork League of Temperance, try to show blood as an addiction. And as you can see, there are connections to the temperance league. When Otto starts to falter, he sings a Discworld version of a certain temperance song. But what adds an extra level to vampire addiction is the fact that the plan is not just resisting one thing but moving the fixation onto something else.

Thirdly, a lie can run around the world before the truth can get its boots on. This is a line that passes throughout the book. But this is an example of something that feels too real in the modern day. Between The Times that makes everything the print I true as it name vs The Inquirer, which seems to prefer interesting and racist why else would all the weirdest stuff happen in foreign parts. You can pick which modern news company fits best.

Fourthly, Lord de Worde. Now I have yet to read all the Discworld books, but I can say that this guy is the worst. This can be seen by the imprint he left on his son. Both in the way that William is pathologically incapable of telling a lie, to the way that same son goes out of his way to be nice to the races that his father hates. But now we get on to the plot to get rid of Lord Vetinari in an attempt to Make Anhk-Morpork Great Again. The thing that hits hardest is the fact that he gets away with it. Then again when did rich people have to face the consequences of anything.

Thank you for joining me and until next week in Borogravia.

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.