The Long Mars

The Long Earth, Book 3

By: Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter

Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens

The years 2040 - 2045: After the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption, there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But Sally soon learns that Willis has ulterior motives....

Meanwhile U.S. Navy Commander Maggie Kauffman has embarked on an incredible journey of her own, leading an expedition to the outer limits of the far Long Earth. For Joshua, the crisis he faces is much closer to home. He becomes embroiled in the plight of the Next: the super-bright post-humans who are beginning to emerge from their 'long childhood' in the community called Happy Landings, located deep in the Long Earth. Ignorance and fear are causing 'normal' human society to turn against the Next - and a dramatic showdown seems inevitable....

©2014 Terry and Lyn Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (P)2014 Random House Audiobooks

The Long Disappointment

I loved the concept of the long earth and all its possibilities-- it's an idea that invokes wonder! The Long War and The Long Mars systematically destroyed that sense of wonder. Beyond every horizon is a perverse or disappointing discovery. Why does the crab king have sex slaves? Why are the hyper intelligent teen girls swimming naked and having loud sex in public? Every character is unpleasant and/or dull. A complete fumbling of a sci-fi concept full of potential.