Hardcover, 336 pages
English language
Published June 21, 2012 by HarperCollins Harper.
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 in the trees. Where have the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No Man's Land gone?
2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive - some said mad, others dangerous - scientist when she finds a curious gadget - a box containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a... potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way Mankind views his world forever.
And that is an understatement if ever there was one...
Well told story of exploring a multiverse on earth.
There's very little Pratchett in this book, unfortunately. It's based on his 30-year old short story, but it feels like Terry had practically no input in growing it into a book. It's really underdeveloped.
If you're looking for an interesting read on parallel worlds, go check out [b:The Family Trade|17861|The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes, #1)|Charles Stross|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408262924l/17861.SY75.jpg|930587] by [a:Charles Stross|8794|Charles Stross|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1355510574p2/8794.jpg] (and frankly, Long Earth reads like a fanfic rewrite of parts of this one).
I think this series has the best travel through the multiverse world I've ever read, it somehow is exotic and plausible at the same time. I really enjoyed this, and you should just read the whole series - there is good stuff here.
Mostly entertaining characters in a thoroughly begun-to-be-explored world laid next to our own, I'm both drawn in and worried by how many more books they wrote in this series.
It's not a discworld novel, and it seems this is obvious but essential knowledge for appreciating this book.
Still it's a cool idea for an alternative world - and mainly it feels like that's what it is. An exploration of an idea much more than a fully plotted tale. It's a writing style which leaves much to the own imagination - what would you do, were you able to step? What stories could be happening on stepwise worlds?
I understand this sort of book isn't for everyone and also not for every reading mood. Sometimes a properly bound and finished story is what you need, sometimes a more or less loose collection of stories around a certain topic is more to your liking.
If you feel open for adventure, here you should certainly take a step or a million.
This was fun to read and mysterious enough to hold my interest but ultimately I didn’t find the characters themselves all that interesting. I’ve already started the next book in the series so maybe they’ll grow on me. Or maybe the mystery of Long Planets unraveling will have to suffice.
Romaani, jossa whatiffaillaan kvanttifysiikan suhteen tai jotain. Joka tapauksessa ihmiset oppivat äkkiä kulkemaan maan rinnakkaistodellisuuksien välillä, ja alkaa valjeta ajatus, että ihmisistä tyhjiä maailmoja on loputtomasti. Sitten seikkaillaan jotenkin loputtoman itseääntoistavasti ja mielikuvituksettomasti ja kolonisoidaan uusia lännen rajaseutuja tavalla, joka muistuttaa Pohjois-Amerikan alkuperäisen kolonisoinnin ihannointia. Koska tosiaan, vaikka ihmiset kaikkialla maailmassa oppivatkin kulkemaan rinnakkaistodellisuuksien välissä, näkökulma on hyvin yhdysvaltalainen ja valkoisen uudisraivaajamainen. Välillä vilkaistaan muihinkin maihin, jotta luotaisiin vähän mielikuvaa ilmiön maailmanlaajuisuudesta, mutta ne valitut muut maat ovat Britannia, Australia ja Ranska... Tämä on sarjan avausosa, ja ilmeisesti tästä on joku tv-sarjakin tehty (kirjoitustyylikin oli sellainen että filmatisointi oli varmasti mielessä jo alusta asti), mutta plääh plööh enpä taida vaivata itseäni jatko-osilla.
3.5 stars. This one would be better with more of a plot, it was mostly world building. It is a good world though, I want to read the next one.
I last read a book by Terry Pratchett some years ago. It was a Discworld novel, but I can't remember which one. As I read The Long Earth, though, I found myself smiling on many occasions as I thought, "Ah, Terry Pratchett, how I've missed you!"
Although it has its moments, this one's not nearly as funny as Discworld. But then, it's not meant to be. It's meant to be a somewhat serious look into the possibilities of Infinite Worlds. And it could happen.
I don't want to give too much away, but there are plenty of "What would I do?" moments as our intrepid adventures travel through The Long Earth to parallel dimensions, and discover things about themselves, the world, and the meaning of life.
And even though it's meant to be serious, Sir Terry just can't help put his humorous stamp on pretty much everything. I mean, the …
I last read a book by Terry Pratchett some years ago. It was a Discworld novel, but I can't remember which one. As I read The Long Earth, though, I found myself smiling on many occasions as I thought, "Ah, Terry Pratchett, how I've missed you!"
Although it has its moments, this one's not nearly as funny as Discworld. But then, it's not meant to be. It's meant to be a somewhat serious look into the possibilities of Infinite Worlds. And it could happen.
I don't want to give too much away, but there are plenty of "What would I do?" moments as our intrepid adventures travel through The Long Earth to parallel dimensions, and discover things about themselves, the world, and the meaning of life.
And even though it's meant to be serious, Sir Terry just can't help put his humorous stamp on pretty much everything. I mean, the means to "Step" (which is what the book calls travelling between dimensions) is powered by a potato, for Pete's sake. I'm sure that wasn't Mr Baxter's idea!
Great world building, and the beginning of an intriguing plot.
Really enjoyed Pratchett and Baxter's joint efforts. The Infinite Long Earth was a really interesting concept which drove a pretty interesting travelogue adventure.
A fantasy novel in which people discover there are other Earths alongside ours and with a homemade device, people can travel from one to another. Strange story, vivid and full of potential. It's the first in a series, but to be honest I didn't find it so intriguing that I wanted to get the next volume.
I was hoping for a Terry Pratchett book, but got a mediocre Baxter novel with a cliffhanger. I don't think I will bother with the sequel.
The Long Earth promises much but sadly doesn't deliver, and is ultimately an average and unsatisfying read.
The central premise is certainly clever and intriguing; the basic idea and starting point in the novel being that there are a huge number of parallel Earths linked in a chain, easily accessible by making steps in two "directions" either east or west. All the other Earths appear devoid of human life, with subtle differences that increase the further you travel, and there is no way of taking iron (and so most technology) across into a parallel world. The book deals with mankind's response to this sudden availability of infinite space and resources but with limitations to development, and the subsequent exploration of this new reality.
Unfortunately the story and uneven writing do not live up to this interesting premise. The book is a collaboration between two well know authors; Terry Pratchett and …
The Long Earth promises much but sadly doesn't deliver, and is ultimately an average and unsatisfying read.
The central premise is certainly clever and intriguing; the basic idea and starting point in the novel being that there are a huge number of parallel Earths linked in a chain, easily accessible by making steps in two "directions" either east or west. All the other Earths appear devoid of human life, with subtle differences that increase the further you travel, and there is no way of taking iron (and so most technology) across into a parallel world. The book deals with mankind's response to this sudden availability of infinite space and resources but with limitations to development, and the subsequent exploration of this new reality.
Unfortunately the story and uneven writing do not live up to this interesting premise. The book is a collaboration between two well know authors; Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, but rather than collaborating to produce a symphony they have produced a disappointing cacophony.
I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett but for me, sadly, he is the novel's weakest link - in particular his humour (usually one of his great strengths). What starts as a serious and promising Sci-Fi story by creating an interesting world that begins to draw you in, is quickly destroyed by sudden and abrupt sojourns into bizarrely out of place humour and totally unbelievable or unnecessary characters. For example: a computer that was a Tibetan monk in a past life, a religious community based around the idea that the universe is a big joke, an android cat and so on. All totally unnecessary, feeling like they would be right at home in a Douglas Adams novel but here are out of place and jarring, and manage to instantly destroy any illusion that this world could be a "reality". It may have been successful if the whole book held this humorous narrative, but the constant and obvious switching between serious sci-fi sections and silly sections does not work at all.
Despite this, the book did manage to hold my interest, and some of the ideas the two authors want to explore are served reasonably well by the central plot and story, although the contrivance is obvious and the plot is not particularly exciting. And even this falls apart in the final chapters with an ending that feels very rushed, and with one of the most important and seminal events of the book dealt with in one paragraph.
There are hints within the story that the authors have further interesting ideas and directions to take the books in the sequels. But I must admit, although the book held my interest enough to reach the end, it is not a journey I intend to continue.
A little slow, but a good concept.
