Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
London : Doubleday, 2013
Description
A new America called Valhalla grows restless under the controlling long arm of the Datum government, while all of the Long Earth is infused by the song of the trolls who are starting to react to humanity's thoughtless exploitation, bringing humankind to the brink of war.
User reviews
LibraryThing member RobertDay
Second in the Pratchett/Baxter 'Long Earth' sequence, this one is named for a war that actually - slight spoiler here - gets averted. The (potential) war is between a reactionary US administration that oddly looks not unlike the Trump administration (though this book federates that by three years)
There are a good number of characters carried over from the first book; only a few of them get well-drawn, though there is another oddly prescient character, a Greta Thunberg lookalike; and I found myself surprisingly affected by the fate of one of the many pov characters. We also meet a race of sapient canines; we're not supposed to think of them as dogs, just as we aren't supposed to think of ourselves as monkeys; but once one of the writers has put the word 'beagles' in the mind of the Joshua Valenté character, it becomes impossible not to think of these sapients as - well, as beagles. On their hind legs. The description of their society is well thought through; but the damage has already been done, and many readers will not take this segment of the novel seriously.
I suspect that a lot of people wrote this novel off for a number of reasons (potboilery, too many hands, Pratchett's illness are three that it could be accused of), but once I got used to the pace - short chapters and quite a few pov characters - I warmed to it (though the fact that I'd come to this book straight from one that was densely plotted and fairly slow-moving might have helped). I did find that I hit an expository lump about halfway through (Baxter's, I presume) and thought "At last! Something I can get my teeth into!" There's a lot of ideas in there that are only hinted at, some of which I suspect are picked up in later volumes; and ideas are thrown off in all directions.
I shall persevere with this series as I have a lot of time for both writers, and the titles of the next three novels hint at more inventiveness.
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and distant human colonies more than a million alternate Earths away but which America considers that it has some claim to sovereignty over. The echoes of both the War of Independence ('no taxation without representation') and the War between the States (the issue here being over the treatment and status of the sentient 'trolls', native to another alternate Earth) are fairly clear.There are a good number of characters carried over from the first book; only a few of them get well-drawn, though there is another oddly prescient character, a Greta Thunberg lookalike; and I found myself surprisingly affected by the fate of one of the many pov characters. We also meet a race of sapient canines; we're not supposed to think of them as dogs, just as we aren't supposed to think of ourselves as monkeys; but once one of the writers has put the word 'beagles' in the mind of the Joshua Valenté character, it becomes impossible not to think of these sapients as - well, as beagles. On their hind legs. The description of their society is well thought through; but the damage has already been done, and many readers will not take this segment of the novel seriously.
I suspect that a lot of people wrote this novel off for a number of reasons (potboilery, too many hands, Pratchett's illness are three that it could be accused of), but once I got used to the pace - short chapters and quite a few pov characters - I warmed to it (though the fact that I'd come to this book straight from one that was densely plotted and fairly slow-moving might have helped). I did find that I hit an expository lump about halfway through (Baxter's, I presume) and thought "At last! Something I can get my teeth into!" There's a lot of ideas in there that are only hinted at, some of which I suspect are picked up in later volumes; and ideas are thrown off in all directions.
I shall persevere with this series as I have a lot of time for both writers, and the titles of the next three novels hint at more inventiveness.
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LibraryThing member Kaethe
Okay, mostly it's just a mind-tour through infinite possible worlds. And that's fine. There's also a bit of Star Trek: The Next Generation-like advising in a supremely wise manner. And I like that, too. There isn't a war, which I probably prefer to skip, although it does make the title misleading.
Some interesting ideas, but the most disappointing book I've ever read with Pratchett's name on it.
Library copy
*And really, the ease of moving between worlds in this scenario creates a nightmare for anyone thinking about sexual or domestic violence. The bad people have a literal infinity to hide in, or keep victims in. You really don't want to get your reader's minds set on that horrific track.
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There is also stuff that was just plain wrong, specifically about drug abuse. (Drug use and abuse isn't more common among poor people, it's just more visible, and more frequently and harshly punished; rape is a bad plot device, but really especially bad if it's just a lazy-ass way to justify a male character's vigilante "justice"*). And while there are several very interesting and nuanced characters, there are also quite a few who are pure stereotype. Although I appreciate the effort to include a major character of color, it's probably best not to play that game if you aren't going to commit, and pretending that a great big dark-skinned man from South Africa is going to be automatically deferred to, rather than targeted as a thug, is a whole new kind of fantasy.Some interesting ideas, but the most disappointing book I've ever read with Pratchett's name on it.
Library copy
*And really, the ease of moving between worlds in this scenario creates a nightmare for anyone thinking about sexual or domestic violence. The bad people have a literal infinity to hide in, or keep victims in. You really don't want to get your reader's minds set on that horrific track.
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LibraryThing member shabacus
Much like the first volume, The Long Earth, this is a book about a concept, not about the players involved. The reader is expected to remember the faces from the previous book, as well as the concept, and the result is a book that gets much quicker off the mark. And although it never quite lives up
The strengths of this book are in the possibilities it introduces--fitting, since the whole point of it is the notion of infinite potential Earths. There are two main threads, one to the West and one to the East. In the first, we revisit the scenes from the first book, and much of its promise begins to pay off. To the East, we get several new characters, who I believe will gain greater focus in the inevitable sequel, and we first discover that infinite and extensive may not be the same thing.
The climax of the novel is followed by a quick denouement, and then a massive finale, with much further-reaching implications than that of the previous volume. It is almost a teaser for the next book, and the reader is left to imagine what sociological implications might be forthcoming for this strange new society.
Recommended for those who enjoy a high concept science fiction story in which the premise is more highly developed than the characters. A fun read, but ultimately unsatisfying as anything other than the next chapter in (what I hope is) a much longer tale.
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to its title, there is much of interest within its pages.The strengths of this book are in the possibilities it introduces--fitting, since the whole point of it is the notion of infinite potential Earths. There are two main threads, one to the West and one to the East. In the first, we revisit the scenes from the first book, and much of its promise begins to pay off. To the East, we get several new characters, who I believe will gain greater focus in the inevitable sequel, and we first discover that infinite and extensive may not be the same thing.
The climax of the novel is followed by a quick denouement, and then a massive finale, with much further-reaching implications than that of the previous volume. It is almost a teaser for the next book, and the reader is left to imagine what sociological implications might be forthcoming for this strange new society.
Recommended for those who enjoy a high concept science fiction story in which the premise is more highly developed than the characters. A fun read, but ultimately unsatisfying as anything other than the next chapter in (what I hope is) a much longer tale.
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LibraryThing member bilabialboxing
This may seem like a minor thing, but I was continually annoyed by the Britishisms in this book. Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter are both British, fine, but the main characters are largely from Madison, WI. I can tell you with great certainty that no one there says "bollocks". Not anyone who you
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want to take seriously, anyway. Show Less
LibraryThing member IAmAndyPieters
Joshua embarks on another adventure after word got out of Troll mistreatment and abuse. Meanwhile a war threatens when many worlds join forces and declare their independence from the datum. Another brilliant marriage of Terry Pratchett's and Stephen Baxter's creative minds. I look forward to the
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next Long Earth adventure Show Less
LibraryThing member SunnySD
Humanity's doing to the Long Earth pretty much what it did to the Datum - fighting over it. Or at least preparing to.
After a so-so reaction to the Long Earth, I probably wouldn't have picked this one up, but it was on the new books shelf at the library, so... Lacking Pratchett's trademark humor,
After a so-so reaction to the Long Earth, I probably wouldn't have picked this one up, but it was on the new books shelf at the library, so... Lacking Pratchett's trademark humor,
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the story also lacks much character development, and although it ended on a slightly more positive note than I expected - sort of - it isn't a book I'm ever going to want to read again. Show Less
LibraryThing member wifilibrarian
If you pick up this book based on the title you'd be disappointed. It carries on the story set-up in [The long earth] but set 10 years later. Many worlds have now been populated by humans, who use trolls for free labour, and the trolls don't seem to mind, of course if they did they could just step
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(teleport to another duplicate earth) away. Unfortunately for humanity's expansion of the long earth, the trolls are beginning to drop tools and escape after some bad treatment of trolls by a few unethical humans. The trolls are able to communicate across the long earth by the "long call" a song that can spread news and information surprisingly quickly. What the book didn't show was the alleged humans who were missing the trolls, or demanding their return or asking for help for their return. The main protagonists' regularly said how important the trolls were for the ecology of every long earth they had been established in, which makes sense as they hunt and gather and thus would have shaped the evolution of any animals and plants they ate, or competed with. This troll migration leads to a "war" between the colonists of the long earth, original earth's military who travel in Air balloons across the earth's. I wasn't that invested in what happened, and the climax was so anti-climatic to be laughable. I did enjoy the fact New Zealand had a significant part towards the end of the book, but I did see it coming, and if you know any Maori (aboriginal people's of New Zealand) mythology you may guess it too. Overall, it was an okay read and I won't be actively hunting out the sequel, but may read it to be a completest. Show Less
LibraryThing member exfed
Alas, the uniqueness of The Long Earth has faded with its follow-up novel -- The Long War. There are some enjoyable moments in the book, but overall, I found it to wander and meander with no real purpose or plot line. I'm also getting tired of the characters from the original novel. When Pratchett
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and Baxter write the next installment, I hope they introduce new people (and creatures) and stick with a more focused plot. Show Less
LibraryThing member charlottebabb
I so wanted to love this book, but the scale is so large and epic that the individual players get lost in it. Thre are funny moments ("There is no such thing as a free launch" p.190) and bits that maade me laugh aloud.
There is so much more that I want to know, but each story is like a rock that
I so wanted to love this book, but I feel like I haven't gotten it yet: all forest and not enough trees, much less kobolds, trolls and beagles, oh my.
There is so much more that I want to know, but each story is like a rock that
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skips over the depths so that we can see the big picture. Maybe they are hurrying through to record it while Terry Pratchett can contribute, with the idea that sometime someone else will delve deeper. The concepts are wonderful, the characters well-drawn, to the extent that we can keep one in sight, and the conflicts abound. If you loved the first book, you'll love this ione, but if you felt step-nausea from that one, you won't get over it here. I so wanted to love this book, but I feel like I haven't gotten it yet: all forest and not enough trees, much less kobolds, trolls and beagles, oh my.
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LibraryThing member MikeRhode
Ends w/ another cliffhanger!
LibraryThing member kristen_nicoson
This is a well done sequel to Pratchett's The Long Earth and brings back Joshua, Sally, and the ubiquitous Lobsang some years after the end of the first book. It is an interesting commentary on war, independence, empire, and manifest destiny which also makes one think about tricky subjects such as
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the balance between technology and privacy and the meaning of sapience. Show Less
LibraryThing member pussreboots
The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter is the sequel to The Long Earth. The book opens fifteen years after the bombing of Madison, Wisconsin. Joshua and Lobsang have parted ways, Joshua to get married and start a family. Lobsang to do continue his quest to map all of the Long Earth and
At the gap in the Long Earths, space exploration has begun again in earnest. But it's taking a steep price on the Trolls. Lobsang and Joshua reunite not to work together, but to recruit his wife, who can step better than he can and knows the Trolls better than anyone. They need calm things down before the Trolls, or something worse, decides to wage war on humanity across the Long Earth.
The Long War is more than just a story about learning to live with Trolls. It is also an exploration of what it is to explore and to conquer. The United Kingdom, burned out from its Empire days on Datum Earth refuses to do much of anything with its alternate footprints.
China, not to be out explored by the United States, begins exploring the Eastern direction, laying claim to all interesting or potentially useful alternate Chinas. The United States, meanwhile, is trying to assert its authority on all the United States settlements across the Western direction (as the cultural psyche still urges one to go West).
The Long War is a speculative fiction exploration of Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis, taken with the modern day political scene (for good and bad). I recommend the series for anyone interested in history, social studies, or politics.
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to somewhere along the way prove his humanity.At the gap in the Long Earths, space exploration has begun again in earnest. But it's taking a steep price on the Trolls. Lobsang and Joshua reunite not to work together, but to recruit his wife, who can step better than he can and knows the Trolls better than anyone. They need calm things down before the Trolls, or something worse, decides to wage war on humanity across the Long Earth.
The Long War is more than just a story about learning to live with Trolls. It is also an exploration of what it is to explore and to conquer. The United Kingdom, burned out from its Empire days on Datum Earth refuses to do much of anything with its alternate footprints.
China, not to be out explored by the United States, begins exploring the Eastern direction, laying claim to all interesting or potentially useful alternate Chinas. The United States, meanwhile, is trying to assert its authority on all the United States settlements across the Western direction (as the cultural psyche still urges one to go West).
The Long War is a speculative fiction exploration of Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis, taken with the modern day political scene (for good and bad). I recommend the series for anyone interested in history, social studies, or politics.
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LibraryThing member brakketh
Further exploration of what humanity might do with infinite resources and worlds.
LibraryThing member craso
All is not well on the Long Earth. The trolls, gentle Bigfoot like creatures, are not happy. The trolls are being abused by humans who don’t understand that they are more than just animals; they are sentient beings that are part of the natural balance of the Earths. The human colonists are
With all this contention you would think that there is a war brewing. No, not really, in fact there is no war in this story. Instead you have chapter after chapter about the nature and structure of the Long Earth. I already know about the Long Earth, I read the first novel titled "The Long Earth", but the authors are afraid you forgot about the alternate Earths so they explain it to you over and over again.
The characters in this novel are all two dimensional and a few drop-out and then reappear at the end. The main focus of the book is that a multi-verse with many alternate Earths is such a neat idea. It is a neat idea, but a novel is also about storyline and character development. I was very disappointed with this book and will not be continuing the series.
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unhappy as well. The President of Datum Earth America has decided that the steppers, colonists of the Long Earth, need to pay taxes. To prove that the colonist’s still need Datum Earth a twain, a stepping dirigible, named the Benjamin Franklin steps out into the alternate worlds with a contingent of marines on a “peace keeping” mission. In response the colonists write their own declaration of independents. With all this contention you would think that there is a war brewing. No, not really, in fact there is no war in this story. Instead you have chapter after chapter about the nature and structure of the Long Earth. I already know about the Long Earth, I read the first novel titled "The Long Earth", but the authors are afraid you forgot about the alternate Earths so they explain it to you over and over again.
The characters in this novel are all two dimensional and a few drop-out and then reappear at the end. The main focus of the book is that a multi-verse with many alternate Earths is such a neat idea. It is a neat idea, but a novel is also about storyline and character development. I was very disappointed with this book and will not be continuing the series.
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LibraryThing member elizabeth.b.bevins
This is one you MUST read if you are a fan of Pratchett and/or Baxter's work.
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
I really really wanted to like this book - the world that is created is awesome.... but the characters are just so .... boring .... I couldn't find myself caring about any of it.
So, I read a bit, than I gave up. The End.
So, I read a bit, than I gave up. The End.
LibraryThing member Ben_Harnwell
Coming back to the world if Pratchett and Baxter was one I looked forward to. The long Earth, the first in the series, was a great read A really good premise on a different kind of science fiction, a new way to explore the earth and humanity.
Mixing the fable and the modern world, it threw humanity
In this sequel the Earths have been populated and humanity spread out amongst them. Datum or the Earth humanity originated on, seeks to control these other Earths.
The war in The Long War is a potential something that almost happens through fear and a quest for control.
Frankly this isn't as good as the Long Earth. The additional creatures and interactions in these alternate Earths are not explored enough. Characters are not as deep and I think we were cheated on some great potential on the war.
I enjoyed the book and will loll forward to the third, the redeemer, if that happens!
Mixing the fable and the modern world, it threw humanity
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into a spin with the concept of multiple Earths all divergent - same but different. In this sequel the Earths have been populated and humanity spread out amongst them. Datum or the Earth humanity originated on, seeks to control these other Earths.
The war in The Long War is a potential something that almost happens through fear and a quest for control.
Frankly this isn't as good as the Long Earth. The additional creatures and interactions in these alternate Earths are not explored enough. Characters are not as deep and I think we were cheated on some great potential on the war.
I enjoyed the book and will loll forward to the third, the redeemer, if that happens!
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LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
You know, I put off reading this one for a long time, because one of the things I liked about the first one so much was that it didn't have much of a plot, and definitely not a military one. I should have known Terry Pratchett wouldn't let me down.
LibraryThing member Vinbert
Actually, quite disappointed in this. I tore through the first one in the series, and was very much looking forward to this. However, it seems they have changed gears in midstream on me. Instead of picking up where the last book left off, this hops forward a decade or so, and then makes reference
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to the stuff that wasn't covered. Talk about annoying. Again, there was a ton of descriptions of things on the other earths, and frankly, I don't know that it was needed or wanted. There were several points where it just seemed to slow down the story line, or distract from it. When I got to the end, I was like, this is it? This is the end? I don't know that I'm going to sign on for any more of these, if there are any. Show Less
LibraryThing member Vinbert
Actually, quite disappointed in this. I tore through the first one in the series, and was very much looking forward to this. However, it seems they have changed gears in midstream on me. Instead of picking up where the last book left off, this hops forward a decade or so, and then makes reference
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to the stuff that wasn't covered. Talk about annoying. Again, there was a ton of descriptions of things on the other earths, and frankly, I don't know that it was needed or wanted. There were several points where it just seemed to slow down the story line, or distract from it. When I got to the end, I was like, this is it? This is the end? I don't know that I'm going to sign on for any more of these, if there are any. Show Less
LibraryThing member kristen_nicoson
This is a well done sequel to Pratchett's The Long Earth and brings back Joshua, Sally, and the ubiquitous Lobsang some years after the end of the first book. It is an interesting commentary on war, independence, empire, and manifest destiny which also makes one think about tricky subjects such as
Show More
the balance between technology and privacy and the meaning of sapience. Show Less
LibraryThing member bohannon
A good extension to the series, and very much picks up where the first left off. The series is very much trying to understand how people and conflict happen, and how that relates to ideas of scarcity (and what exactly does that mean). Despite those heavy concepts, still a fun, light read.
Very fun
NOTE: Borrowed from the Anne Arundel County Library
(2016 Review #4)
Very fun
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concept, and interesting take. Reminds me a lot of Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky. That said, its an interesting NOTE: Borrowed from the Anne Arundel County Library
(2016 Review #4)
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Second in a series about what happens when humans discover how to “step,” or move between alternate versions of Earth, and encounter other evolutionary possibilities—from “trolls” to “elves” to, in this book, “beagles.” There’s a smarmy AI and various adventurers, along with
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largely futile attempts from “Datum Earth” to control the people who’ve stepped away. The basic theory seems to be that scarcity is what makes people awful (except when it comes to mistreating trolls, because many people don’t see them as worthy of moral respect—not that subgroups of humanity have ever seen other subgroups that way, of course!), so it’s largely a bloodless “war” even as different colonies declare independence and our heroes try to get everybody to treat the trolls with dignity. I dunno, the worldbuilding just seems shaky—barter/owing people favors is supposed to be the basic way trade is done, but the authors recognize that once you get a real division of labor, including specialties like surgeons, that doesn’t work very well, then they just sort of drop the issue. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
The Long War is the second in the Long Earth pentalogy. Within just a few years, people from Datum (as in "starting point') Earth have settled in 100s or 1000s of parallel Earth's, East and West (with just a hint that there might be another direction). Explorers hve traversed through millions of
Most of the characters from the first book return, along with several new story arcs. Unfortunately, the new characters don't make a dent. Who they are is never well defined, there's no emotional substance to their quests. Several chapters at a time are spent with each arc, just long enough to make me forget the other arcs. At the end, when the characters converge (but not their storylines), I couldn't remember where things left off for anyone except the main character from the first book.
Recommended only for BIG fans of the first book.
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Earths. In so doing, we've encountered a few other intelligent species, evolved either from a different branch of the family tree, or other sources entirely, e.g., dogs and reptiles. We've pissed off all of them, and that, children, is why we can't have nice things. Most of the characters from the first book return, along with several new story arcs. Unfortunately, the new characters don't make a dent. Who they are is never well defined, there's no emotional substance to their quests. Several chapters at a time are spent with each arc, just long enough to make me forget the other arcs. At the end, when the characters converge (but not their storylines), I couldn't remember where things left off for anyone except the main character from the first book.
Recommended only for BIG fans of the first book.
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LibraryThing member jerhogan
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first one but it was enjoyable enough. It fleshed out the humanoid inhabitants of the multiple earths a bit more. Undemanding but interesting.
Awards
Prometheus Award (Nominee — Novel — 2014)
Language
Original publication date
2013-06-18
Physical description
422 p.; 23.5 cm
ISBN
0857520121 / 9780857520128