September's selection takes us to Terry Pratchett's imaginative DiscWorld series with "The Truth." While not the first in this long-runnng series, the story is a stand-alone (well, as much as a Pratchett novel can be) that hopefully will give us a good idea of what Pratchett's writing and universe are like.
Here's a description from
Good Reads....
The Truth, Pratchett's 25th Discworld novel, skewers the newspaper business. When printing comes to Ankh-Morpork, it "drag(s) the city kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat." Well, actually, out of the Century of the Fruitbat. As the Bursar remarks, if the era's almost over, it's high time they embraced its challenges.
William de Worde, well-meaning younger son of reactionary nobility, has been providing a monthly newsletter to the elite using engraving. Then he is struck (and seriously bruised) by the power of the press. The dwarves responsible convince William to expand his letter and the Ankh-Morpork Times is born. Soon William has a staff, including Sacharissa Cripslock, a genteel young lady with a knack for headline writing, and photographer Otto Chriek. Otto's vampirism causes difficulties: flash pictures cause him to crumble to dust and need reconstitution, and he must battle his desire for blood, particularly Sacharissa's. When Lord Vetinari is accused of attempted murder, the City Watch investigates the peculiar circumstances, but William wants to know what really happened. The odds for his survival drop as his questions multiply.
The Obscure References Sci-Fi & Fantasy Discussion group will meet on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 to discuss this novel. Meetings take place at the Linebaugh Library in Murfreesboro, Tennessee starting at 6:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room.
