City of Truth

Winner of the prestigious 1992 Nebula Award for Best Novella. Welcome to Veritas, a gleaming dystopian city where every citizen has been systematically brainwashed to speak only the unvarnished, brutal truth. Advertisements proclaim their products' deadly defects, marriage vows acknowledge imminent divorce, and comforting illusions are strictly forbidden by law. Jack Sperry is a loyal Veritasian bureaucrat whose job is 'de-accessioning' mendacious works of classic art and literature—until catastrophe strikes. His beloved son, Toby, contracts a rare, fatal illness with no known medical cure. The only psychological hope of stimulating the boy’s immune system is belief—an absolute lie that he will survive. To save his son’s life, Jack must undertake an agonizing, forbidden journey beyond the city walls to the anarchic settlement of the Dissem’ers, defying the state to master the ancient, forgotten art of lying. A dazzling, satirical masterpiece of philosophical science fiction, City of Truth is a poignant, razor-sharp exploration of honesty, parental devotion, and the saving grace of human imagination.