Status
Available
Series
Collection
Publication
Harper (2013), Edition: Illustrated, 418 pages
Description
1916: The Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone? 2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive--some say mad, others allege dangerous--scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson find a curious gadget: a box containing some rudimentary wiring, a three-way switch, and a potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way humankind views the world forever. The "stepper" enables a person using it to step sideways into another America, another wherever that person happened to be, another Earth. And if the person using it keeps on stepping, they keep on entering even more Earths. This is the Long Earth. And the further away a stepper travels, the stranger -- and sometimes more dangerous -- the Earths become.… (more)
Media reviews
The Long Earth is a short read: the pages riffle past and there's much to enjoy. The dialogue is a bit Hollywood 101, and much of it is characters explaining things to other characters, sometimes at great length ("Why are you telling me all this?" Joshua asks at one point, with apparent
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ingenuousness). But it's a charming, absorbing and somehow spacious piece of imagineering for all that. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member TheLostEntwife
As a rule, I'm not a fan of co-authored books. I mean, I enjoyed Good Omens because I knew I love Neil Gaiman and had heard good things about Terry Pratchett. So, following in that vein, I enjoyed Good Omens and Pratchett's writing, so I was willing to give The Long Earth a shot.
While this wasn't
The humor was okay most of the time, sometimes I laughed out loud, sometimes I barely cracked a smile. The robot-man and ship (you will have to learn about them when you read it - including names because my book is in the other room and their names escape me) were okay and frankly, reminded me more of Douglas Adams than anything else.
When all is said and done, I don't feel as if I wasted my time reading this one, but I don't want to jump all around and push it on all my friends either. It was an amusing past time and when I put it down I was ready to move on to the next book on my pile.
While this wasn't
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the best book I've read, I will say it was pretty amusing and interesting. Gee, that's glowing praise isn't it? I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like the book, because I did. I found myself wanting to pick it up and read more and I loved the world building (LOVED the world building). I felt like I was back in my childhood days, exploring those new worlds via Star Trek. In fact, that's what this book really reminds me of - if you liked Star Trek, Stargate or any sci-fi show that involves world exploring then I think this book will really appeal to you.The humor was okay most of the time, sometimes I laughed out loud, sometimes I barely cracked a smile. The robot-man and ship (you will have to learn about them when you read it - including names because my book is in the other room and their names escape me) were okay and frankly, reminded me more of Douglas Adams than anything else.
When all is said and done, I don't feel as if I wasted my time reading this one, but I don't want to jump all around and push it on all my friends either. It was an amusing past time and when I put it down I was ready to move on to the next book on my pile.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Unlike Good Omens where the work was equally shared and blended, this is definitely more Baxter than pTerry - almost I'd think predominately Baxter, with Pratchett perhaps contributing little more than the character of Lobsang. It is a slow story - again far more in the mould of Baxter, exploring a
The basic principle is that suddenly the theorised multi-verse earth is accessible to humanity. It is possible, either natively or with he aid of a gadget to cross from Earth to neighbouring earths, geographically the same but having experience a different solar history. For no explained reason iron cannot make this transition. "Obviously" there are no humans in these other worlds, or often any kind of life at all, but enough life does exist for a settler mentality to develop, and society of Earth changes drastically as a result. We follow one Joshua a naturally gifted 'Stepper' (one of a few) who teams up with a corporate AI to explore the distant worlds millions of Steps away. They don't quite find what they are expecting.
I think it was the no-iron rule that bugged me the most. The lack of internal consistency over this was shocking. I understand that they were looking to keep the pioneer societies primitive, but then to have "laser cut" timber, and an entire AI within the stepped worlds is beyond belief. The other annoying issue is that very little actually happens as such. Joshua Steps across a lot of worlds and eventually meets some creatures that were fortunate enough to survive evolution long enough to exist. Then he goes home. Although there are plenty of opportunities he doesn't have a relationship with anyone, barely speaks a lot of the time, an is happy just studying the Silence. Although believable as a character this is very boring tor read about. The worlds themselves are remarkably earth-like, consisting mostly of forest. Again probably true, but boring to read about. I'd happily take a little less verisimilitude and a bit more imagination.
Different - slow - Although pTerry's name will help it sell a lot of copies, I'd only advise reading this if you're fan of Baxter's writing. I'm not.
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philosophical idea rather than any hard science concept, nor even having pTerry's touch at sociology.The basic principle is that suddenly the theorised multi-verse earth is accessible to humanity. It is possible, either natively or with he aid of a gadget to cross from Earth to neighbouring earths, geographically the same but having experience a different solar history. For no explained reason iron cannot make this transition. "Obviously" there are no humans in these other worlds, or often any kind of life at all, but enough life does exist for a settler mentality to develop, and society of Earth changes drastically as a result. We follow one Joshua a naturally gifted 'Stepper' (one of a few) who teams up with a corporate AI to explore the distant worlds millions of Steps away. They don't quite find what they are expecting.
I think it was the no-iron rule that bugged me the most. The lack of internal consistency over this was shocking. I understand that they were looking to keep the pioneer societies primitive, but then to have "laser cut" timber, and an entire AI within the stepped worlds is beyond belief. The other annoying issue is that very little actually happens as such. Joshua Steps across a lot of worlds and eventually meets some creatures that were fortunate enough to survive evolution long enough to exist. Then he goes home. Although there are plenty of opportunities he doesn't have a relationship with anyone, barely speaks a lot of the time, an is happy just studying the Silence. Although believable as a character this is very boring tor read about. The worlds themselves are remarkably earth-like, consisting mostly of forest. Again probably true, but boring to read about. I'd happily take a little less verisimilitude and a bit more imagination.
Different - slow - Although pTerry's name will help it sell a lot of copies, I'd only advise reading this if you're fan of Baxter's writing. I'm not.
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LibraryThing member joannasephine
A strange one. As a long-time Pratchett fan, I felt quite ambivalent about the idea of Pterry using what precious time he has left writing anything but Discworld. I got the book as soon as it came out, but it has sat for quite a few months on my bookcase, waiting for me to take the plunge, whereas
This isn't a Discworld-esque book. For those who have read Pratchett's "Strata" and "Dark Side of the Sun", there are certainly plenty of echoes. There is humour in this book, but less sophisticated than Discworld books, and more ... general. Nothing especially black or satirical (although there's certainly plenty of reason to despair. Or at least roll your eyes at the inevitable folly of humanity.) Not having read Stephen Baxter's work before I can't really comment on how this fits into his ouvre.
I got frustrated by the movement through the book. Pratchett is normally a master of pacing, but I felt that it lagged and then sped up oddly, without seeming to match what was going on in the text. Too much time spent on bits of mild interest, and not enough exploration of the bits that seemed to deserve a deeper contemplation. And the book does have a definite "stay tuned for the next installment!!!" feel to it, which irked. Yes, it does stand alone in the sense that you have all the information you need to be able to follow the plot. It's just so obviously set up for more books in the series, and that makes me feel a bit cheated. The last few chapters are a good example of this -- rather than tying up loose threads, they pulled a whole lot more out of the story and dangled them just out of reach the way you might tease a kitten with a ball of wool. Yes, ok, you want me to buy the next one. Can I actually have something from this one first please?
Plotwise there's the makings of some very interesting storytelling. But the characters are less developed than I had expected from two writers of this calibre, and anyone who's read Tad Williams's "Otherland" series will have a strong feeling of deja vu when they hit the denoument.
I imagine lots of people will enjoy this, because it's not badly written, and has scope for a lot of future exploration. But if you were hoping for a synergy between the two writers (which Pratchett and Neil Gaiman managed in "Good Omens") and some sort of glorious imaginative romp, will probably be dissatisfied. Verdict? Well, hmm, good, but ...
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I would normally have devoured a new Pratchett and been on to the second read-through before sunrise next morning.This isn't a Discworld-esque book. For those who have read Pratchett's "Strata" and "Dark Side of the Sun", there are certainly plenty of echoes. There is humour in this book, but less sophisticated than Discworld books, and more ... general. Nothing especially black or satirical (although there's certainly plenty of reason to despair. Or at least roll your eyes at the inevitable folly of humanity.) Not having read Stephen Baxter's work before I can't really comment on how this fits into his ouvre.
I got frustrated by the movement through the book. Pratchett is normally a master of pacing, but I felt that it lagged and then sped up oddly, without seeming to match what was going on in the text. Too much time spent on bits of mild interest, and not enough exploration of the bits that seemed to deserve a deeper contemplation. And the book does have a definite "stay tuned for the next installment!!!" feel to it, which irked. Yes, it does stand alone in the sense that you have all the information you need to be able to follow the plot. It's just so obviously set up for more books in the series, and that makes me feel a bit cheated. The last few chapters are a good example of this -- rather than tying up loose threads, they pulled a whole lot more out of the story and dangled them just out of reach the way you might tease a kitten with a ball of wool. Yes, ok, you want me to buy the next one. Can I actually have something from this one first please?
Plotwise there's the makings of some very interesting storytelling. But the characters are less developed than I had expected from two writers of this calibre, and anyone who's read Tad Williams's "Otherland" series will have a strong feeling of deja vu when they hit the denoument.
I imagine lots of people will enjoy this, because it's not badly written, and has scope for a lot of future exploration. But if you were hoping for a synergy between the two writers (which Pratchett and Neil Gaiman managed in "Good Omens") and some sort of glorious imaginative romp, will probably be dissatisfied. Verdict? Well, hmm, good, but ...
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LibraryThing member bragan
There are, it turns out, many Earths besides this one: a long, perhaps infinite chain of them stretching out in two directions through some dimension we can't perceive. They vary a lot, but they all have one thing in common: there are no other human beings on any of them. And all it takes to get
Stephen Baxter is an imaginative writer and one with a good head for scientific detail, but he's not great with characters, and he's really not much of a storyteller. Pratchett, on the other hand, is a storyteller extraordinaire, but one who is sadly no longer at the peak of his cognitive abilities. I had some real hope that these two writers would complement each well and produce something that showcases the best strengths of both of them, but, alas, that's not quite what happened. The result of their collaboration instead feels a bit... schizoid. There'll be lots of rather flat, exposition-laden Baxterian prose, and then suddenly there will be a passage that's lively and funny and clever and pretty much pure Pratchett, then it'll fade back into being Baxtery again. And the whole thing is very poorly structured; it feels more like a loose collection of interesting ideas that don't really go much of anywhere than it does like any kind of actual narrative.
On the upside, it is a really great premise, one with lots and lots of fascinating implications that are at least touched on in some thought-provoking ways. In fact, there's enough richness in this concept and this setting to carry a dozen novels, easily. I just wish the one that we got lived up to that promise better.
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there is one little machine so simple that even a child can build it.Stephen Baxter is an imaginative writer and one with a good head for scientific detail, but he's not great with characters, and he's really not much of a storyteller. Pratchett, on the other hand, is a storyteller extraordinaire, but one who is sadly no longer at the peak of his cognitive abilities. I had some real hope that these two writers would complement each well and produce something that showcases the best strengths of both of them, but, alas, that's not quite what happened. The result of their collaboration instead feels a bit... schizoid. There'll be lots of rather flat, exposition-laden Baxterian prose, and then suddenly there will be a passage that's lively and funny and clever and pretty much pure Pratchett, then it'll fade back into being Baxtery again. And the whole thing is very poorly structured; it feels more like a loose collection of interesting ideas that don't really go much of anywhere than it does like any kind of actual narrative.
On the upside, it is a really great premise, one with lots and lots of fascinating implications that are at least touched on in some thought-provoking ways. In fact, there's enough richness in this concept and this setting to carry a dozen novels, easily. I just wish the one that we got lived up to that promise better.
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LibraryThing member PghDragonMan
Unlike the collaboration of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman that produced the brilliant work called Good Omens, I do not think the pairing of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter produced a worthwhile book. Instead of The Long Earth, it really should have been named The Long Read.
The premise of being
Yes, I finished it. I slogged through, as if I were on a Long March, just to see if this was going anywhere. The characters were flat, the technology unimaginative and the tension too erratic. The ending was too contrived and rather than make me want to continue on with what is obviously planned as a series, it just made me want to part company with these characters. A very mediocre three stars, and I may be overly generous at that.
The premise of being
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able to access alternative Earths is not a new idea in the world of Sci-Fi. Having people being able to build a transport device powered by a potato initially seemed to be a stroke of Pratchett’s wry humor, but the joke never developed a punch line. While a potato may serve to transport people to these alternative worlds, it did not transport me any place.Yes, I finished it. I slogged through, as if I were on a Long March, just to see if this was going anywhere. The characters were flat, the technology unimaginative and the tension too erratic. The ending was too contrived and rather than make me want to continue on with what is obviously planned as a series, it just made me want to part company with these characters. A very mediocre three stars, and I may be overly generous at that.
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LibraryThing member Gwendydd
Meh. I adore Terry Pratchett, and this book definitely has his signature humor, but I really couldn't get into it.
This book imagines a world where it is suddenly possible to "step" between multiverses. None of the other multiverses are inhabited by humans, so suddenly there are vast frontiers
There are lots of interesting ideas in here, which is part of the problem: there are too many ideas and implications to explore thoroughly, which leads to too many ideas and not enough plot to sustain them.
Pratchett's characters are normally really likeable, but all the characters in this book felt really flat to me and I just didn't care about any of them. The one character I might have cared about - Sally - suffers from the "Trinity problem": like Trinity in The Matrix, she stands by and watches some mediocre dude save the universe because the circumstances of his birth made him the savior of the universe.
To add insult to injury, the ending is not an ending at all, but a cliffhanger that won't get resolved until the next book, which I have no intention of reading.
This book imagines a world where it is suddenly possible to "step" between multiverses. None of the other multiverses are inhabited by humans, so suddenly there are vast frontiers
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available to anyone who wants to explore and exploit them. There are lots of interesting ideas in here, which is part of the problem: there are too many ideas and implications to explore thoroughly, which leads to too many ideas and not enough plot to sustain them.
Pratchett's characters are normally really likeable, but all the characters in this book felt really flat to me and I just didn't care about any of them. The one character I might have cared about - Sally - suffers from the "Trinity problem": like Trinity in The Matrix, she stands by and watches some mediocre dude save the universe because the circumstances of his birth made him the savior of the universe.
To add insult to injury, the ending is not an ending at all, but a cliffhanger that won't get resolved until the next book, which I have no intention of reading.
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LibraryThing member Kellswitch
I'm not really sure what I make of this book. While I was reading it I was engaged and enjoying it but as soon as I put it down I felt no compulsion to pick it up again and if this hadn't been a 14 day library book I may have never finished it.
It was an easy read, the pages and chapters just seemed
I liked the characters but I wasn't particularity invested in them, none of them really seemed to change or grow but they were pleasant enough to read about. But a character such as Lobsang should have been fascinating to read about and discover, but not really.
Mostly this felt like a long drawn out exploration of the different worlds where they never quite looked at what I found interesting and then just moved on.
I found the politics back on Datum Earth potentially interesting but they never really got into that and the ending, well all I can say is I kept flashing to the last Futurama movie before the series was renewed which made it kind of hard to take to serious.
I'm glad I read it, I enjoyed it for what it was but I won't read it again and this is going to be one of the few Pratchett books I won't buy.
It was an easy read, the pages and chapters just seemed
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to fly by but not a lot happens for the first half. As something would seem to get started in a new chapter I was like, NOW the plot is going to take off...and it didn't until almost exactly 1/2 way through, sadly I counted the pages. I liked the characters but I wasn't particularity invested in them, none of them really seemed to change or grow but they were pleasant enough to read about. But a character such as Lobsang should have been fascinating to read about and discover, but not really.
Mostly this felt like a long drawn out exploration of the different worlds where they never quite looked at what I found interesting and then just moved on.
I found the politics back on Datum Earth potentially interesting but they never really got into that and the ending, well all I can say is I kept flashing to the last Futurama movie before the series was renewed which made it kind of hard to take to serious.
I'm glad I read it, I enjoyed it for what it was but I won't read it again and this is going to be one of the few Pratchett books I won't buy.
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LibraryThing member souloftherose
Terry Pratchett has been one of my favourite authors for years now: if his name's on a book then I buy it. This collaboration with the British science fiction author Stephen Baxter is a departure from his popular Discworld series as well as being a departure from the fantasy genre he's mostly
The Long Earth has a very different feel to Pratchett's Discworld novels. It has a slower narrative with less happening and it's not a humourous novel. On the humour point, I don't think this is as big a departure for Pratchett as a lot of reviewers seem to think; quite a few of the more recent Discworld novels have a decidedly dark tone and one of my favourites, Night Watch, is definitely not a book I would describe as being primarily a humourous book. I haven't read anything by Stephen Baxter before so I can't comment on whether The Long Earth is similar in style to his other books but after finishing it I spent some time browsing my local library catalogues for his books.
I think The Long Earth is primarily an exploration novel - most of the time we only follow a few characters as they travel between the parallel Earths in the book (known as The Long Earth). It is slow moving on the whole but that felt appropriate for this type of story. The end of the book seems to set things up for a sequel which I'm quite excited about.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and it reminded me that it's been ages since I read this sort of science fiction novel. I would recommend it if you enjoy this type of science fiction - the closest example I can think of is Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars although The Long Earth is nowhere near as epic in scope. If you primarily enjoy Pratchett's humour in his writing then you may not like this book as much as his others.
As an aside, if you buy the book in the UK from Waterstones it includes the short story that Pratchett originally wrote in the 1980s which was the basis for The Long Earth and I thought it was a pretty good one
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associated with. It's based on an idea Pratchett had in the 1980s which never got developed into a book, a story about parallel universes and what happens when humans develop the ability to travel between them by 'stepping'.The Long Earth has a very different feel to Pratchett's Discworld novels. It has a slower narrative with less happening and it's not a humourous novel. On the humour point, I don't think this is as big a departure for Pratchett as a lot of reviewers seem to think; quite a few of the more recent Discworld novels have a decidedly dark tone and one of my favourites, Night Watch, is definitely not a book I would describe as being primarily a humourous book. I haven't read anything by Stephen Baxter before so I can't comment on whether The Long Earth is similar in style to his other books but after finishing it I spent some time browsing my local library catalogues for his books.
I think The Long Earth is primarily an exploration novel - most of the time we only follow a few characters as they travel between the parallel Earths in the book (known as The Long Earth). It is slow moving on the whole but that felt appropriate for this type of story. The end of the book seems to set things up for a sequel which I'm quite excited about.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and it reminded me that it's been ages since I read this sort of science fiction novel. I would recommend it if you enjoy this type of science fiction - the closest example I can think of is Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars although The Long Earth is nowhere near as epic in scope. If you primarily enjoy Pratchett's humour in his writing then you may not like this book as much as his others.
As an aside, if you buy the book in the UK from Waterstones it includes the short story that Pratchett originally wrote in the 1980s which was the basis for The Long Earth and I thought it was a pretty good one
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LibraryThing member sturlington
Imagine an infinite number of Earths strung out side-by-side, like beads on a necklace. Countless Earths that are unpopulated, tree-covered paradises, teeming with wildlife, abundant with natural resources, waiting to be explored. One day -- a day that comes to be called Step Day -- someone posts
That's the premise of The Long Earth, a novel that fires the imagination with possibilities. What kinds of Earths might be out there? Will we find intelligent life on any of them? What would you do if you had the power to "step" from Earth to Earth? (Me, I would claim some prime real estate on the Mediterranean and eat seafood to my heart's content.)
There are so many possibilities that one novel cannot possibly hope to explore them all, which may leave readers somewhat frustrated. Most of the plot is about a natural "stepper," Joshua Valiente, who is recruited by the first artificial intelligence, Lobsang, to explore as many alternate Earths as they can. They flit right over many of them in a specially designed zeppelin, but stop at a few "joker" Earths, such as one where the moon was never formed and one where a strange civilization has collapsed into a radioactive ruin. They don't stay nearly long enough, though.
As they travel, Joshua and Lobsang become aware of a threat to all the Earths. Discovering what that threat is and how to stop it then becomes their mission, and the driving force of the book. It's a suspenseful story, and the final Earths they come to are wowsers, but I still hate to miss out on all the neat Earths they left behind.
Meanwhile, other characters introduced early on and their sub-plots are given short shrift. For instance, a small number of people can't "step" at all, leading to unrest back on our Earth (called Datum Earth). This becomes an important part of the story, and I would have liked the authors to have spent more time developing it. In fact, I was really interested in the effects that discovering the "long Earth" had on our society, but The Long Earth doesn't spend a lot of time back home. The end comes abruptly, and is clearly a setup for the sequel (a pet peeve of mine).
No matter. It's still a terrific premise and a fascinating novel, one that I really enjoyed. Ever since I discovered the Narnia series as a child, with its Wood Between the Worlds, I have been tantalized by the idea of multiple worlds out there, waiting to be explored. So far, the only way to get to those worlds, though, has been through books. So I was glad for the chance to travel to Pratchett and Baxter's Long Earth, and I hope to visit there again.
Note: I received an advance reading copy of this book for review from the publisher.
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the plans for a device on the Internet, a device that once built and powered up by a potato can transport its holder to these other Earths as easily as taking a single a step.That's the premise of The Long Earth, a novel that fires the imagination with possibilities. What kinds of Earths might be out there? Will we find intelligent life on any of them? What would you do if you had the power to "step" from Earth to Earth? (Me, I would claim some prime real estate on the Mediterranean and eat seafood to my heart's content.)
There are so many possibilities that one novel cannot possibly hope to explore them all, which may leave readers somewhat frustrated. Most of the plot is about a natural "stepper," Joshua Valiente, who is recruited by the first artificial intelligence, Lobsang, to explore as many alternate Earths as they can. They flit right over many of them in a specially designed zeppelin, but stop at a few "joker" Earths, such as one where the moon was never formed and one where a strange civilization has collapsed into a radioactive ruin. They don't stay nearly long enough, though.
As they travel, Joshua and Lobsang become aware of a threat to all the Earths. Discovering what that threat is and how to stop it then becomes their mission, and the driving force of the book. It's a suspenseful story, and the final Earths they come to are wowsers, but I still hate to miss out on all the neat Earths they left behind.
Meanwhile, other characters introduced early on and their sub-plots are given short shrift. For instance, a small number of people can't "step" at all, leading to unrest back on our Earth (called Datum Earth). This becomes an important part of the story, and I would have liked the authors to have spent more time developing it. In fact, I was really interested in the effects that discovering the "long Earth" had on our society, but The Long Earth doesn't spend a lot of time back home. The end comes abruptly, and is clearly a setup for the sequel (a pet peeve of mine).
No matter. It's still a terrific premise and a fascinating novel, one that I really enjoyed. Ever since I discovered the Narnia series as a child, with its Wood Between the Worlds, I have been tantalized by the idea of multiple worlds out there, waiting to be explored. So far, the only way to get to those worlds, though, has been through books. So I was glad for the chance to travel to Pratchett and Baxter's Long Earth, and I hope to visit there again.
Note: I received an advance reading copy of this book for review from the publisher.
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LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
A very enjoyable read - this book asks the question what if there are multiple earth, empty of people. As a person jumps "east" or "west", they move over one world, which is similar, but the same as the last world. Go through enough worlds, you end up in places where dinosaurs still live (or at
The story jumps through a number of different viewpoints, mainly following Joshua on his trip on an airship, Mark Twain, piloted and inhabited by the artificial intelligence, Lobsang, who's mission is to see world one million.
Along the way, we see how the Original Earth is doing, who is staying, who goes. I think the story captures the mood of the Earth's population perfectly. The only complaint is that at the end, the rules for this world set at the beginning of the book was broken.
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least their descendants) or where the moon didn't split off from the earth... Its a dangerous place, and people are leave Earth Datum (the original Earth) for worlds unknown.The story jumps through a number of different viewpoints, mainly following Joshua on his trip on an airship, Mark Twain, piloted and inhabited by the artificial intelligence, Lobsang, who's mission is to see world one million.
Along the way, we see how the Original Earth is doing, who is staying, who goes. I think the story captures the mood of the Earth's population perfectly. The only complaint is that at the end, the rules for this world set at the beginning of the book was broken.
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LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
I suspect that you'll like this book much more if you're a fan of Stephen Baxter than of Terry Pratchett. There really isn't much of Pratchett's humor, language and flair in the novel, although he is definitely present in some of the character names.
The titular Long Earth is a series of alternative
Humans don't exist on any of the other earths, and the few intelligent species are secretive, mysterious, and play little role except to flee the big scary something in the dimensional distance. There is also some exploration of what a diaspora across dimensions might do to society, especially for those who can't make the trip. In fact, that aspect was the most interesting part of the novel to me, and the part that seemed to be mostly ignored. Instead the focus is on revealing the scary monster and having the disconnected narrator find a connection to the rest of humanity. Neither of which made for a particularly satisfying conclusion.
I think back to the fad for shared-world novels that happened in the late 80s, and I think that this would make a great setting to turn a whole variety of authors loose in, but I doubt it will happen. As it is, The Long Earth is a good idea that didn't really pan out.
The titular Long Earth is a series of alternative
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dimension Earths stretching infinitely to the "east" and "west". Some people can step between these earths unaided, others with the help of a simple device powered by a potato, and a small percentage can't step at all. In any case no iron can move across dimensions, which makes for some interesting challenges.Humans don't exist on any of the other earths, and the few intelligent species are secretive, mysterious, and play little role except to flee the big scary something in the dimensional distance. There is also some exploration of what a diaspora across dimensions might do to society, especially for those who can't make the trip. In fact, that aspect was the most interesting part of the novel to me, and the part that seemed to be mostly ignored. Instead the focus is on revealing the scary monster and having the disconnected narrator find a connection to the rest of humanity. Neither of which made for a particularly satisfying conclusion.
I think back to the fad for shared-world novels that happened in the late 80s, and I think that this would make a great setting to turn a whole variety of authors loose in, but I doubt it will happen. As it is, The Long Earth is a good idea that didn't really pan out.
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LibraryThing member SonicQuack
Great authors can flex their style and this is a fine example. Initially there is more of the Pratchett humour, however it quickly drops off as the novel becomes more concerned with it's science fiction potential. This lack of traditional Pratchett wit is no failing, after all this is not a
The characterisation could be stronger, presenting no real emotional draw, however it is a the central idea of The Long Earth which compels the pages to be turned. There are some really strong insightful moments captured between the authors. Ultimately this is a good story and this particular future of Earth and it's dominant species (us) offers so much hope, yet reminds us of our own flawed nature.
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Discworld novel. Both authors styles can be noted and the multiple storyline threads appease (to some extent) their own strengths, however the only issue The Long Earth presents is a lack of plot direction. There is a lack of drive here, often seen in exploratory science fiction and more frequent in the high brow end of the genre. Pratchett fans will be expecting a strong beginning. middle and end, which is absent here.The characterisation could be stronger, presenting no real emotional draw, however it is a the central idea of The Long Earth which compels the pages to be turned. There are some really strong insightful moments captured between the authors. Ultimately this is a good story and this particular future of Earth and it's dominant species (us) offers so much hope, yet reminds us of our own flawed nature.
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LibraryThing member TerriBooks
There were a lot of things I liked about this book: a Heinlein-esque quality about the idea of unlimited space opened up to humanity, consideration of what it would mean to society to have no scarcity - of anything, wondering about the uniqueness and scarcity of human intelligence and
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self-awareness. The exploration of "The Long Earth" was interesting, and kept me engaged in the book. On the other hand, there was a promise of better things that this great setting could have provided, but never gave us. Not much really happened, the plot was attenuated and barely visible. The characters could have been more developed, more attractive. We could have delved into the meaning of the other sentient beings, and their ability to "step" from world to world, developed more naturally and earlier than human's. Enjoyable, but it could have been better. A missed opportunity. Show Less
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
A random selection for me, because I don't usually read Terry Pratchett (I know!), but half price is half price. Also, the blurb begins with this line - '1916: the Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up' - so this former Scarlet Pimpernel leaguette couldn't resist. However, I wuz robbed -
Cute literary nods aside, the story itself was intriguing but rather a one-trick pony, until the final 'What is this, Star Trek?' chapters (and bonus points for mentioning my other fictional love). On 'Step Day', the population of Earth - and Madison, Wisconsin in particular - discover that there are millions of parallel worlds out there which people can 'step' into. Most need a gadget called a stepper to move into a different plane, but a few, like the book's hero Joshua, are born with this ability. Joshua takes off in an AI-powered airship to investigate these new 'worlds', and meets Sally, the daughter of the man who invented the stepper. That's about the long and short of the plot.
I don't mind Terry Pratchett, though I'm not sure how much he and co-author Stephen Baxter contributed to the novel, but his whimsical, slightly surreal style of humour has never really tickled me (like Lobsang, the artificial intelligence with the soul of a Tibetan motorcycle mechanic, hoho). The concept of 'stepping' is clever, but the new worlds are all prehistoric wastelands of one kind or another, and the pioneer metaphor, with families like the Greens abandoning old Earth for a new start, was sort of abandoned for Joshua and Lobsang's jaunt through evolution, via Flight of the Navigator and the original Star Trek. Entertaining and thoughtful, but hardly earth-shattering, pardon the pun.
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the character is a reference to Baroness Orczy's hero, but doesn't feature above twice.Cute literary nods aside, the story itself was intriguing but rather a one-trick pony, until the final 'What is this, Star Trek?' chapters (and bonus points for mentioning my other fictional love). On 'Step Day', the population of Earth - and Madison, Wisconsin in particular - discover that there are millions of parallel worlds out there which people can 'step' into. Most need a gadget called a stepper to move into a different plane, but a few, like the book's hero Joshua, are born with this ability. Joshua takes off in an AI-powered airship to investigate these new 'worlds', and meets Sally, the daughter of the man who invented the stepper. That's about the long and short of the plot.
I don't mind Terry Pratchett, though I'm not sure how much he and co-author Stephen Baxter contributed to the novel, but his whimsical, slightly surreal style of humour has never really tickled me (like Lobsang, the artificial intelligence with the soul of a Tibetan motorcycle mechanic, hoho). The concept of 'stepping' is clever, but the new worlds are all prehistoric wastelands of one kind or another, and the pioneer metaphor, with families like the Greens abandoning old Earth for a new start, was sort of abandoned for Joshua and Lobsang's jaunt through evolution, via Flight of the Navigator and the original Star Trek. Entertaining and thoughtful, but hardly earth-shattering, pardon the pun.
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LibraryThing member RobertDay
Having recently seen Terry Pratchett being interviewed and talking about this book, I was very pleased to receive it as a birthday gift. Pratchett talked about the process of writing this book, and said that there had been very few instances where either author had "thrown their toys out of the
And so it proved. The original idea was Pratchett's. Certainly, the characters feel like Pratchett's, though their places in the plot, their roles and their actions often feel like Baxter's. (I'm not one of these people who subscribe to the idea that Baxter can't write characters, by the way.) The working out of the science is almost certainly Baxter; the action, and the events, and the general plot development is, I feel, fully collaborative.
The idea is not unlike Robert Reed's "Down the bright way", but I feel this is better done, despite that novel being a stand-alone story and this being touted very much as the first in a series. Above all else, this is a serious book; the implications of the Long Earth and the situations people find themselves in are no laughing matter. There is humour; but the overall theme is that something is Going On and the fact that we don't entirely know what it is, is a bit worrying.
The fact that this is projected as the first in a series makes me wonder how things will develop when Pratchett can't write any more. There were plenty of characters introduced who will certainly crop up later; there are enough worlds to have any sort of story you want. The political situation on "our" Earth ("Datum Earth") would allow for a lot more exploration of that theme alone. There's a colonised settlement called 'Happy Landings' where humans and a non-human race that sings interact; it sounds like a utopia, but there's something definitely Stepfordian about it. And there's a world where a sentient reptilian race discovered low-technology nuclear energy, and it killed them all (perhaps). And that's just the beginning.
Might I suggest that the publishers and authors allow other authors to play in their universe? After all, there's enough room for everyone...
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pram", so this boded well for the finished article.And so it proved. The original idea was Pratchett's. Certainly, the characters feel like Pratchett's, though their places in the plot, their roles and their actions often feel like Baxter's. (I'm not one of these people who subscribe to the idea that Baxter can't write characters, by the way.) The working out of the science is almost certainly Baxter; the action, and the events, and the general plot development is, I feel, fully collaborative.
The idea is not unlike Robert Reed's "Down the bright way", but I feel this is better done, despite that novel being a stand-alone story and this being touted very much as the first in a series. Above all else, this is a serious book; the implications of the Long Earth and the situations people find themselves in are no laughing matter. There is humour; but the overall theme is that something is Going On and the fact that we don't entirely know what it is, is a bit worrying.
The fact that this is projected as the first in a series makes me wonder how things will develop when Pratchett can't write any more. There were plenty of characters introduced who will certainly crop up later; there are enough worlds to have any sort of story you want. The political situation on "our" Earth ("Datum Earth") would allow for a lot more exploration of that theme alone. There's a colonised settlement called 'Happy Landings' where humans and a non-human race that sings interact; it sounds like a utopia, but there's something definitely Stepfordian about it. And there's a world where a sentient reptilian race discovered low-technology nuclear energy, and it killed them all (perhaps). And that's just the beginning.
Might I suggest that the publishers and authors allow other authors to play in their universe? After all, there's enough room for everyone...
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LibraryThing member amanderson
A blueprint for a simple toy, a "stepper", made from simple parts and a potato, is posted online for kids to download and create. It takes off like wildfire. When completed, the stepper takes kids to a parallel unpopulated earth. It's the Long Earth, where there are presumably unlimited versions of
While not perfect - the main plot line was a little unsatisfying - it's quite a fun book that stimulates wanderlust and imagination. Don't expect Pratchett's usual fun Discworld playfulness, though.
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earth - multiverses I guess. What happens to society and governments after most (but not all) residents are able to step-step-step to alternate lush unpopulated earths filled with animals, sometimes strange ones, and resources? We follow the main plot featuring one young character who is level headed and has some special stepper abilities who goes on a long exploration with a self aware android in an airship; several subplots with other interesting characters feature as well. One is a policewoman dealing with the ramifications of stepping as it has to do with crime - she could hold a whole book plot on her own; another is a family of pioneers (except for a young son left behind because he cannot step) in an Oregon Trail style wagon train stepping across thousands of earths to colonize one.While not perfect - the main plot line was a little unsatisfying - it's quite a fun book that stimulates wanderlust and imagination. Don't expect Pratchett's usual fun Discworld playfulness, though.
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LibraryThing member LisCarey
Harper, 1st Edition, ISBN 9780062067753, June 2012
This collaboration between Pratchett and Baxter seems more Pratchett than Baxter, though a bit more serious in tone than most of Pratchett's solo work.
We start with two vignettes of people unexpectedly displaced--a young British soldier in France
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during WWII, and a young, very pregnant woman who lives in a Catholic orphanage in Madison, WI, somewhat closer to the present day. The young soldier finds himself in a place that looks very like France except for the total absence of any evidence of war or, indeed, human habitation. He meets up with some rather odd-looking people whom he concludes must be the Russians he's heard tell of, and finds that they are friendly, helpful, and great singing companions.The young woman delivers her baby, alone, in a strange, lonely place, briefly pops--or, as we shall later learn, Steps, away from him, and then returns to take him back to the orphanage with her. Her son, Joshua Valiente, grows up in the orphanage, developing strong attachments to the Sisters who raise him.
When Joshua is in his teens, he and everyone else wakes up one day to find that a rather eccentric Madison scientist has posted to the internet detailed plans for what he calls a "stepper," and disappeared. There's an immediate flurry to build these startlingly simple devices, and Joshua discovers that he's the only one around who can Step without a Stepper, and without experiencing nausea on arrival in the neighboring Earths.
That's the setup; the rest of the book follows the unfolding effects of easy migration to alternate, mostly uninhabited, Earths. Some have friendlier climates or more fertile land; there are "belts" of Earths in similar stages of development an ice belt, a water belt; most importantly, a Corn Belt.
There are a few people like Joshua, who need no Stepper; there are also people who can't Step at all, Stepper or no. Governments try to assert control of "their" territory in adjoining Earths; non-Steppers develop a resentment against those who can simply Step away into free land and new lives while all around the economies of the "home" countries are collapsing from the effects of the deserting population.
Looming over all of this is the presence that Joshua senses, which he calls the Silence, and the accumulating evidence of other near-human species who are migrating "eastward" through the worlds, fleeing--something.
Pratchett is always excellent, and Baxter is when he's not being self-indulgent, and this book puts their skills on full display, developing the characters and the cultural and practical effects of the discovery of the Long Earth. It's thoroughly enjoyable, but be warned: it ends with a partial resolution, and clear indications that more should be expected, in the way of future books exploring more of the implications. Well, to be perfectly frank, there's one storyline that ends with a full-blown cliffhanger.
Recommended, with the caution that if you hate reading a first book without the next books being available, you may want to wait.
I bought this book.
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LibraryThing member neverstopreading
Imagine that today children around the world went missing on account of their new toy. They are gradually brought back, but they've discovered that there are a seemingly infinity number of parallel earths ("The Long Earth").
The reviews on this book is decidedly mixed. How the world has changed! Thi
The reviews on this book is decidedly mixed. How the world has changed! Thi
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It is slow paced and exploratory. It's an adventure in curiosity, not action. If this sounds boring to you, you'll probably want to pass on the book. If you're fascinated already, like I was, take it, devour it, love it. Show Less
LibraryThing member gbsallery
Having seen Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter at an interesting talk on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics quite recently, I was well prepared for the fundamental plot of this book. What came as more of a surprise is the lightness of touch and playfulness which runs through the
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book, a great affirmation that Pratchett does indeed embody the spirit of P. G. Wodehouse. Good science fiction, and good writing - my only criticism is that it was a little too short. Looking forward to more. Show Less
LibraryThing member sharoncville3579
This was ok. It was an interesting premise, but so much time was spent setting up the the premise and describing the characters that there simply wasn't a lot of plot. Also, I know that it's a convention, particularly in sci-fi, to have trilogies that are one long story, but this book didn't have a
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beginning, middle, and end. The "end" was, essentially, "to be continued..." That drives me nuts. Books should be able to stand on their own. That's one of the thinks I like about Terry Pratchett's books: You don't have to read all of them to understand any one of them. If you do read them all, you will pick up subtleties that are lost on the novice reader, but it's not necessary to enjoy each book as its own creation. Unfortunately, this book doesn't meet that standard. With no ending, it's not complete, and considering how the plot dragged at times, I suspect that with judicious editing this "trilogy" may actually be one good longish book strung out far too thinly. Show Less
LibraryThing member princess-starr
I really want to jump in and absolutely love this book. It’s no secret that I adore Terry Pratchett, and I like it when authors branch out and do something different. And it’s about parallel Earths? I was so ready to go in and love this. But when I got to the halfway point, I felt like I was
The thing that I love about Pratchett’s writing is that he takes a concept/idea, and crafts a story around it with characters who I care about and love and hate and are interesting, while throwing in a few good puns every once in a while. (I’m not really focusing on Stephen Baxter, because this is the first thing I’ve ever read by him. I am interested in picking one of his books up, just to get a good idea on his writing style.) The Long Earth has a great concept, but there’s no great story to go along with it. There are parts of a good story in here—I like the idea of people travelling to alternate, uninhabited Earths to carve out a new life—but it’s tossed away in favor for a rambling travelogue occasionally punctuated with philosophical discussions, random encounters and a bare reminder of a plot development. Nothing really happens for a good chunk of the book. There’s an idea that the creatures on these other worlds are running away from something! Hey, let’s talk about why they’re so humanoid instead. There’s colonists from America making their way across these Earths! And people who can’t step who are starting political movements! Oh, but they’re not on a scientific mission; carry on. There’s all of this interesting development that doesn’t get explored at the novel, and at best, gets explained at the very end, all at once.
Part of the problem is the characters we’re following for the majority of the book. You have Lobsang, an…android-hopping consciousness, and Joshua, a natural stepper who saved a group of kids when he was younger. (I admit to facepalming when people nonironically refer to him as the Chosen One.) And I like these characters in general. What I don’t like is that they’re both very logical characters. Whenever they encounter the creatures on the other worlds, there’s a moment of surprise, and then it turns to logical discussion on how these creatures formed. I would have liked to have seen the colonists’ progressions across the Long Earth, gotten their reactions to some of the creatures mentioned throughout the book. What would a colony unfamiliar with the concept of trolls would have done? There’s so many better ways these ideas could have been explored.
And it’s such a strong concept. I actually like some of the theories surrounding the existence of the Long Earth and creatures that are dubbed trolls and elves. I love that one of the theories posited is that the Long Earth was the basis for the legends of Faerie and human abductions by otherworldly creatures. I also really like the fact that none of these Earths are parallel as we like to think—they’re all largely uninhabited, with no major civilizations spanning the globe. The passage with the colonists and the blog of Helen Green were also really interesting, because it felt like how normal people would react to so many different places and the wildlife living there. I wanted more of that in here.
And it’s not a badly written book. My only problem with the writing itself is that it’s supposed to take place in Wisconsin, but none of the American characters sound like they’re American. (Or in the case of the ‘bad guys,’ they sound like Eddie Izzard’s American impersonation.) There’s some very interesting conceptions that get explored in here. But my issue overall is that it’s so focused on the concept, and doesn’t tell a story to go along with it.
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slogging through and didn’t want to finish. The thing that I love about Pratchett’s writing is that he takes a concept/idea, and crafts a story around it with characters who I care about and love and hate and are interesting, while throwing in a few good puns every once in a while. (I’m not really focusing on Stephen Baxter, because this is the first thing I’ve ever read by him. I am interested in picking one of his books up, just to get a good idea on his writing style.) The Long Earth has a great concept, but there’s no great story to go along with it. There are parts of a good story in here—I like the idea of people travelling to alternate, uninhabited Earths to carve out a new life—but it’s tossed away in favor for a rambling travelogue occasionally punctuated with philosophical discussions, random encounters and a bare reminder of a plot development. Nothing really happens for a good chunk of the book. There’s an idea that the creatures on these other worlds are running away from something! Hey, let’s talk about why they’re so humanoid instead. There’s colonists from America making their way across these Earths! And people who can’t step who are starting political movements! Oh, but they’re not on a scientific mission; carry on. There’s all of this interesting development that doesn’t get explored at the novel, and at best, gets explained at the very end, all at once.
Part of the problem is the characters we’re following for the majority of the book. You have Lobsang, an…android-hopping consciousness, and Joshua, a natural stepper who saved a group of kids when he was younger. (I admit to facepalming when people nonironically refer to him as the Chosen One.) And I like these characters in general. What I don’t like is that they’re both very logical characters. Whenever they encounter the creatures on the other worlds, there’s a moment of surprise, and then it turns to logical discussion on how these creatures formed. I would have liked to have seen the colonists’ progressions across the Long Earth, gotten their reactions to some of the creatures mentioned throughout the book. What would a colony unfamiliar with the concept of trolls would have done? There’s so many better ways these ideas could have been explored.
And it’s such a strong concept. I actually like some of the theories surrounding the existence of the Long Earth and creatures that are dubbed trolls and elves. I love that one of the theories posited is that the Long Earth was the basis for the legends of Faerie and human abductions by otherworldly creatures. I also really like the fact that none of these Earths are parallel as we like to think—they’re all largely uninhabited, with no major civilizations spanning the globe. The passage with the colonists and the blog of Helen Green were also really interesting, because it felt like how normal people would react to so many different places and the wildlife living there. I wanted more of that in here.
And it’s not a badly written book. My only problem with the writing itself is that it’s supposed to take place in Wisconsin, but none of the American characters sound like they’re American. (Or in the case of the ‘bad guys,’ they sound like Eddie Izzard’s American impersonation.) There’s some very interesting conceptions that get explored in here. But my issue overall is that it’s so focused on the concept, and doesn’t tell a story to go along with it.
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LibraryThing member pierthinker
In my youth I was a big scifi fan, but I have not been a big follower of the genre for the last 30 years or so. Recently, I have become more interested in returning to the 'roots' of my reading and the Long Earth series is one place I intent to visit. I did not know much about Stephen Baxter's
A set of seemingly infinite parallel worlds are discovered, each just a 'step' way if you have the natural talent or the simple-to-home-build technology. Each parallel Earth is in the same physical location and time (so 'stepping' from a particular place on a summer's day takes you to the same place on the same summer's day), but each has a different evolutionary and geological history to our world. The one common factor to all these parallel Earths is that humankind, or anything approaching it, has only appeared once, on our Earth. The impact on humanity is profound with many people moving to start new lives in new worlds and reflects the opening of the American West in the 18th and 19th centuries. We follow a motley crew of explorers, scientists and settlers across these worlds.
This is a magnificent book. The science is strong; that is, the similarities and differences between our Earth and the parallel worlds are imaginative, sometimes wild, but always within the bounds of believability. The human response to these discoveries is real and never sugar-coated or exaggerated for effect; we understand why people do what they do and wonder if we would act any different. The main characters are drawn well enough that we want to follow them and are concerned with what happens to them.
The Long Earth series was planned as a 5-book marathon, so this does have the feel of scene-setting and exposition over action, but I liked that expansive approach to the story-telling. The characters and action are firmly based in the trope of the American West, the opening up of frontier lands and the resistance to centralised government. Perhaps the response from other cultures may have been different?
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writing when I started this book, and I have never been a big fan of 'humour' in scifi, especially the eccentric English sort associated with Terry Pratchett (Alan Dean Foster knows how to do it, but not many others).A set of seemingly infinite parallel worlds are discovered, each just a 'step' way if you have the natural talent or the simple-to-home-build technology. Each parallel Earth is in the same physical location and time (so 'stepping' from a particular place on a summer's day takes you to the same place on the same summer's day), but each has a different evolutionary and geological history to our world. The one common factor to all these parallel Earths is that humankind, or anything approaching it, has only appeared once, on our Earth. The impact on humanity is profound with many people moving to start new lives in new worlds and reflects the opening of the American West in the 18th and 19th centuries. We follow a motley crew of explorers, scientists and settlers across these worlds.
This is a magnificent book. The science is strong; that is, the similarities and differences between our Earth and the parallel worlds are imaginative, sometimes wild, but always within the bounds of believability. The human response to these discoveries is real and never sugar-coated or exaggerated for effect; we understand why people do what they do and wonder if we would act any different. The main characters are drawn well enough that we want to follow them and are concerned with what happens to them.
The Long Earth series was planned as a 5-book marathon, so this does have the feel of scene-setting and exposition over action, but I liked that expansive approach to the story-telling. The characters and action are firmly based in the trope of the American West, the opening up of frontier lands and the resistance to centralised government. Perhaps the response from other cultures may have been different?
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LibraryThing member lmcalister
More serious than the Discworld novels but I caught glimpes of Sir Pratchett's humor. Very interesting concept
LibraryThing member tronella
I love this book! Terry Pratchett writing scifi, MORE PLEASE. I don't think I've read any of Stephen Baxter's work before, but I may have to check some out now.
Even if PTerry's name hadn't been on the cover, I'm sure I would have known he was the author of this book just from the writing style and
Even if PTerry's name hadn't been on the cover, I'm sure I would have known he was the author of this book just from the writing style and
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the existence of Lobsang. Show Less
LibraryThing member Zodac13
with all due respect to Sir Pratchet and good bard Baxter, this book has a certain creative genius that is brillant and amazing in its simplicity. The reason I enjoyed this book was not due to flashy prose or vibrant symbolisim--it was due to the idea of the amazing thing they were describing and
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the story thereof. A rich and vibrant play ground of the mind that only the most hardened hearts might not enjoy. So, a few minor spoilers: this is a tale of earth, or rather many earths. a multi-verse of earths. humans have discovered the ability to step from world to world, and not just a few, but many people, as the design is released online. so new frontiers have been opened up. for you see, these worlds are empty of humanity. the probabilities that create the alternate universes are big things, not little things. and human life is but one minor possiblity in the malestorm of wonder that is the multiverse, the worlds of the long earth. so i urge you, if you have a spirit of adventure, to go forth and explore the long earths. i really hope they have a sequel. there is definetly more fertile ground for a sequel than i can imagine. so, bravo to Pratchet and Baxter. p.s. please make a sequel! p.p.s. i wasn't sure about lobsang at first, but he grew on me. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012-06-19
Physical description
7.4 x 1.1 inches