Reviews
A unique premise that is fleshed out well enough to immerse you within the world. The book then begins to go in directions that I truly didn't think it would. Some great unanswered questions make you want to read the whole series.
Maybe 2.5. I don't know. What I do know is that this photo sums it up perfectly. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2017/comm...
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2016...
http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/...
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter is the first book in a new science fiction (speculative fiction) that explores (quite literally) the multiverse — one Earth at a time. In 2015, the plans for a stepper are posted to the internet. It's basically a box, some wires, a switch (don't forget that!) and a potato (a Portal 2 reference?). As people (mostly teenagers) build the steppers and hit the switch (if they have one, most don't), they blip out of this Earth and go one step either East or West to another (but unpopulated) Earth. In trying to save the other kids from the orphanage who stepped with shoddily built steppers, Joshua (who built his to spec because that's what he does), learns that he prefers the near silence of these other Earths and more importantly, he's a natural stepper (no box needed). Like the disaster books of the 1970s, this novel has an ensemble cast, though the main ones are an orphan and natural stepper, Joshua, a former Tibetan motorcycle repairman (now computer consciousness) — Lobsang, a Madison police officer, and the daughter of the man who invented the stepper. Roughly two-thirds of the novel cover Joshua and Lobsang's journey west. The other third is divided up between the mechanics of stepping, the ramifications back on the Datum (original Earth), and some other accounts of people stepping (presented as blog entries, for example). Joshua, in his late twenties, is hired to go in search of the end the Long Earth. He will be traveling with Lobsang in a carefully built airship set up record anything unusual that is found along the way. It also serves as a back-up drive (one of many) for Lobsang (just in case). Should something happen (which means something invariably will), Joshua is in charge of brining Lobsang (meaning the airship's datacenter) home to the Datum. I listened to the book on audio CDs (ten discs), performed by Michael Fenton-Stevens. My favorite character (due in large part to Fenton-Stevens's work), was Lobsang. If I ever have a self-driven car — I'm naming it Lobsang. Realistically, I should name computer part Lobsang, and the vehicle the Mark Twain — but you get the idea. While I can clearly say I enjoyed the book. And while I can easily recommend the book, I do have some quibbles with it. The first is the authors' choice of Madison Wisconsin (and other parts of the United States) for their setting. The problem is that these American characters were so clearly being strained through a British filter twice (one in the text, and again in the audio performance). Most of the time it didn't matter but sometimes an American character would say something that no American would say ("disorientated" instead of "disoriented"). Or the narrator would mispronounce something and I'd be once again taken out of the moment ("fehma" instead of "f-ee-mah" for FEMA). My second quibble is the big threat which comes down to what Joshua calls a "migraine monster." Frankly, with Terry Pratchett as one of the co-authors, I wasn't all that surprised that there was a huge ecosystem bearing creature lurking on the Long Earth. So while I was half expecting a giant terrapin / pachyderm combo, I got instead, something that brought to mind one of the water monsters from Pikmin 2 (though large enough to carry an elephant). But it was still a fun read and I'm planning to revisit the Long Earth when The Long War is released later in 2013.
http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/...
I love Terry Pratchett almost better than life itself. I've read a little Stephen Baxter, but nothing recently. I was a little apprehensive when I read that they were collaborating. I was afraid I'd be disappointed. I wasn't. The book is science fiction. It's obviously the beginning of a series, and there are lots of threads left dangling. But I really liked the idea of the multiple Earths that people suddenly learned how to "step" into. I'd've loved to have a little more actual STORY rather than just foundation-laying, but I still enjoyed the book.
The multiple alternate earths (The Long Earth) moves out into the universe. The story is ok, more Joshua Valiente (sp - I've only listened to audio, so may have spelling wrong), more trolls, more Next, more Lobsang. It's another vehicle for speculation about other worlds and their flora and fauna. Our heroes are getting old, but still continuing. And it's fine. I love it for the hints of Pratchett that still show up, though again, I think it's mostly Baxter. I love Pratchett enough to be happy with what I can get, since there won't be any more. :( Read for completeness, and love of Pterry.
Listened to this pretty much straight through. I think it's a good ending (?) to the series. The book is pretty much all Stephen Baxter, I think -- no surprise there. And it has some plot digressions I could have done without. But it also has a big pyrotechnic finish. I think I mostly love the IDEA of the Long Earth. Being able to step from one version of earth to another is just ridiculously appealing to me. That's mostly why I keep reading them.
This book was recommended to me by my Aunt, who is an avid fan of Terry Pratchett. I have only ever read one more of his works, that being Good Omens, which I enjoyed but didn't fall in love with as many have. The concept behind The Long Earth is certainly interesting and original. The idea that individuals can 'step' East or West to parallel worlds is brilliant and isn't something I come across very often. But I didn't feel that Pratchett really told a story, it was more of an experiment. Our two main characters are Joshua, who was born on one of the parallel worlds and is a natural stepper, and Lobsang, who is essentially a computer. Together they travel through the worlds on a dirigible called Mark Twain, to explore and discover new worlds. I found Joshua quite a weak character with not much personality. He was brought up by several nuns and all of them appear funny and quirky but none of this has rubbed off on him. Lobsang on the other hand is great. He can be irritating, but is interesting and unlike any other character I've read before. There are quite a few smaller characters whose stories run alongside, like a police officer in Madison, Wisconsin, a family who leave their son behind to start a better like and Private Percy, who accidentally 'steps' during the First World War. In fact, I would have liked to read more about Private Percy, but we're given a snippet and then it's forgotten about. All the ideas on their own are brilliant, but it just seems quite aimless and I was surprised to find that not only is there a sequel out, a third is due out next year and both authors have signed a contract to write three more. I don't think I'll give up on Terry Pratchett, but I think I'll head towards his Discworld series.
The only bit of Pratchett here is his name on the cover - none of his famous energy or wit is here. The entire book is just the author setting up the scene and marveling at it. Not a single worthwhile thing actually happens. A frustrating experience that felt like a waste of time - like reading a lazy amateur riffing on Simak's Ring Around the Sun. (Although I'm sure there are many, many more examples of the same theme done better).
Of course I wanted to love this.. It's got Terry Pratchett written on the cover. But love it I did not. I kept hoping it would grip me at some point but it never happened; not every book needs to be a gripping page turner, but in the absence of that there should be some things that make you think, or imagine, or at least want to read on. In short, to me it feels like Pratchett had this awesome concept for a novel, but wasn't able to write it. Given I don't know who Stephen Baxter is, I guess it's quite feasible this is what happened. The idea behind the plot is great: The Long Earth is a story of stepping - if you have a Stepper Box and a potato to power it, you can move into a parallel Earth by taking a step to the east or west. Stepping opens an infinite number of alternate and virgin worlds for humans to colonise. For most people the act of stepping has consequences; but the main part of the story follows Joshua, who can step for free. His dialogue with his co lead (a vending machine named Lobsang) is one of the book's highlights. Some of the sub plots are pretty dull, they hint at politics and racism but just don't really go anywhere. The next book is on the shelf. I reckon it'll be waiting there a while.
This was my first Pratchett, and it was really disappointing. The idea was neat, but the prose was meh at best (very much in the "Joe did X and then Mary did Y and then Z happened" vein that moves the events of the story forward but is stylistically just very blah and utilitarian), and though I liked some of the interactions between some of the characters, they felt very flat and poorly characterized. This is apparently a series, but I'll just have to content myself with the cliffhanger, as I won't be reading more of it. Based on my reception of this book, it'd take a concerted effort on the part of a respected and convincing friend to compel me to read more Pratchett.
Solid book. Quite enjoyed. Far from perfect, but really smart and a great continuation from the first book.
Really love this series. Very smart, well written, original. Can't say enough positive things. Book 4 is so near :)
I don't know if I can explain how much I love this series. It is so smart that it just makes me smile. Right now, I'm sad that I only have one more book of it to read. This was a great installment. I enjoy the way that they built this particular multi-verse as it just grows in ways I didn't foresee. This book went in a totally different direction than I thought it would when I first started, then when I was a third of the way through, then at the halfway point, then around three quarters done. I was regularly surprised. Happy times. Anyway, I'm really excited to see how it all ends.
Very satisfying ending to the series. I loved the expansion of the Long universe. Big fan of how it all came together. A bit abrupt with the ending is the thing that kept it from being 5 stars
Did not finish. Not because I'd expected a Discworld novel, but because I didn't like this one enough to continue.
