The Long Earth

A Novel

By: Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter

Narrated by: Michael Fenton-Stevens

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The possibilities are endless. Just be careful what you wish for....

The Western Front, 1916. 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?

Madison, Wisconsin, 2015. 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 first novel in an exciting new collaboration between Discworld creator Terry Pratchett and the acclaimed SF writer Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth transports readers to the ends of the earth - and far beyond. All it takes is a single step. . . .

©2012 Terry Pratchett, Lyn Pratchett, and Stephen Baxter (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

Cool concept, incomplete story.

The overall world built in this book is fascinating but the author never bothered to get me invested in the “quest” the characters were on. The “ending” is just a vehicle to sell another book. Not cool.

The Long (and Boring) Earth

I am not sure exactly what I expected from this book. I suppose I expected the dry British humor of Terry Pratchett and the hard science of Stephen Baxter, but what I got was more like the humor of Stephen Baxter and the hard science of Terry Pratchett. While not a total loss this book was a great disappointment.

The story, of course, concerns the sudden appearance of multiple copies of Earth easily accessible through the process of "stepping" across the boundary, either with our without a mechanical aid. This concept provided an extraordinary basis for stories - the "first contact" of people from our Earth with those of alternate Earths - and seemed to allow for a series of future books, each based on the same concept but each very different in nature from the others. The book does have the feel of the first book in a series, but none of these other Earths have any human populations so there is nowhere to go with that general concept. Instead the alternate Earths are full of wildlife but no humans. There goes a whole series of "first contacts" and "clash of technologies" stories as concerns other humans. There still is, of course, the possibility of future stories involving contact between human and non-human intelligences, but there is precious little of that in this book and, I suspect, in future books. Instead we have the main characters "stepping" through the alternatives with little purpose other than to see what is there.

Of course the writing is quite good but I could not but hope for more interesting characters and events. Instead of Stanley searching for Dr Livingston through a dangerous African jungle I have more of the feeling of Stanley searching for the exit from a tame arboretum. Even the "danger" that they find does not seem terribly dangerous and I have no particular interest in reading the second book in the series in spite of the excellent narration by Michael Fenton-Stevens. I should have saved my credit for something more interesting. You might want to also.

A Return To Foundation Concepts.

It's probably best to remember two of Pratchett's first novels, which had a rocky reception; The Dark Side Of The Sun, and Strata. Reviews complained they were way too busy with information.

This book feels like a return to that 'what if' of probability theory with forty years publishing experience and the co-authoring of Stephen Baxter, a famous Science Fiction writer. It is a very enjoyable read, slower paced, and not as chock-full of puns as the Disc-World series. There is humor there, and an absence of abhorrent horror, which I find standard with a lot of Pratchett's work. Pratchett has been inventively spoon-feeding a lot of the theories laid out in this novel throughout his Disc-World series, often with hilarious repercussions (i.e. the Trousers of Time), and this audible is a science fiction heavy read. It was fun hearing about the creative changes developed by the different earths, and the main characters are well rounded and interesting. I will never look at nuns the same way, or probably trust to turn my back on one.

This book is certainly a collaboration, and the writing styles of both Stephen Baxter, and Terry Pratchett merge through Michael Fenton-Stevens masterful narration to tell us a story of the human condition, evolution, many worlds interpretation, cultural disparity, and it's reflection on personal integrity.

Fair Warning: M. Stevens shouts for a while mid-way through part 2, be ready to turn your ear buds down.

A great listen

Would you listen to The Long Earth again? Why?

I would, it was a good story and the performance was fantastic.

What other book might you compare The Long Earth to and why?

None really come to mind. Though the changing worlds and craft remind me of Number of the Beast by Heinlein.

Which character – as performed by Michael Fenton-Stevens – was your favorite?

Really all were good.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Intriguing

The premise is sound but the actualization is a little too juvenile. Not amusing like Pratchett's other works and not captivating enough to make me want to read more. The narrator did an excellent job, but the material just couldn't hold my attention.

interesting philosophical topic

enjoyed the human behavior assessment. plot was heavy on character introspection. hooked enough for book two.

Why did I wait so long??

This was an amazing story for SciFi fans! Michael Fenton-Stevens has a captivating voice. He wouldn't even have to say who was speaking I knew!

It made me want book #2

I enjoyed the story and concept of the world, but I was expecting more to happen. Especially as it got down to only a few hours left. Great cliffhanger, but I felt like the whole book was used to describe and explain. Still worth the few chapters of excitement! AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Solidly disappointing

This has a great premise and really had me hooked at the first two chapters. But, somewhere around the middle of the book it lost it's edge and became tedious. Instead of continuing to reveal interesting and suspenseful plotlines and stories, this book gets bogged down in details that ultimately lead to nothing.

If you like to listen to evolutionary theory and think about all the different ways it would play out on millions of earths than this is the book for you. There is very little action and not much in the way of conflict. This story turns something like I would expect from an Audubon society enthusiast as he journals his quest to chronicle rare birds. If you enjoy a book that builds to something and that keeps you engaged throughout, you'll need to look elsewhere.

I actually was able to turn the book off with just 8 minutes left when I drove into my driveway. Normally, I would sit in the driveway until it was finished, but I really didn't care. That says it all for me.

The narration was good except for when the narrator had to do female voices. They usually sounded like the male voices and I often got confused as to who was supposed to be speaking. Like the book, it was decent but not anything great.

Straight SD from Terry Pratchett

Most listeners to modern fantasy know British author Terry Pratchett for his huge "Siskworld" series, which combined strong plotting and character development and the creation of a complex, deeply conceived world with a British sense of humor. Just one sample -- Siskworld is a flat world that sits on the backs of four huge elephants who stand on the. caraprice of Atuin, the cosmic sea turtle, who swims through the Universe. if you have not listened to the 30-odd books of Siskworld, and especially if you liked "The Hitchhikers Guide" books, definitely read them, in order if possible. They are all available on Audible.

this book, which Pratchett coauthored with Stephen Baxter, is a straight SD adventure novel, based on the idea is multiple Universes. At the start of the book, a scientist published the plans for an electronic "black box" that allows anybody to move between the alternative Earths in these universes, using a set of basic, inexpensive electrical psrts. The book explores the implications of this as huge numbers of people worldwide start "stepping" from one world to the next. As do it for the adventure, many others build vacation homes on unspoiled Earths, and increasing numbers move permanently to small new settlements in the various wildernesses of these alternative worlds.

the result is a compelling novel, but sadly without the humor that characterizes Pratchett st his best. This is really a young adult book, suitable for junior high and high school children, although adults may also enjoy it as light reading. If you like traditional mainstream SF, authors like Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, you will like this. How's we, if you are looking for something that matches Diskworld, you are likely to be disappointed.