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librarydoc's review against another edition
4.0
So much better than the second book. This one felt more like The Long Earth. My faith is restored!
keen23's review against another edition
3.0
So I didn't really love the 3 parallel story lines. They really brought down the whole series. And, the titular story line, The Long Mars, was probably the worst of the bunch.
timinbc's review against another edition
1.0
I have nearly all of Terry Pratchett's solo books, and I've enjoyed some of Baxter's work.
Long Earth wasn't bad. Long War was a little disappointing. This one was depressing.
It's boring.
It feels as if it's written for bright 12-year-olds.
And it's sloppy.
(Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?)
There are in fact some scenes where stuff actually happens. But by the time I got to them I was skimming pages, whipping over them in a way disturbingly similar to the twains' flight across millions and millions of timelines. The authors even told us that the crew were bored, as if they were apologizing to the readers for getting lost in a plot theme but the only way out was to keep writing.
Or this: they wrote a pretty good book, but it turned out to be 100 pages short, so the publisher told them to just pad out the twain twip (sorry, couldn't wesist that).
I tip my hat to the exhaustive exploration of the many ways life might have turned out. I suspect in some places they are playing fast and loose with science, but in others they were careful so I'll let it pass. But exhaustive turned into exhausting and I lost interest.
As others have noted, the authors stretch artistic licence in many places. Far too often, characters conveniently spot something during their millisecond over a world. The Mars guy guesses that something must be there somewhere, and luckily finds it, and then explains how hard it is to see! Pratchett would say that narrativium made it happen.
Sally's dad is just too much of a jerk to have lived this long. Cutler is ridiculous, and after setting him up as Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove, the authors turn him into a pussycat at the crucial moment. The authors seem to have decided that Lobsang is a bit of a dick too, so he's relegated.
There is a decent story in here, but it doesn't work as published. This turkey needs a massive rewrite, and should end up about 80-100 pages shorter. Then it would have a chance to be good.
I won't read book 4.
Long Earth wasn't bad. Long War was a little disappointing. This one was depressing.
It's boring.
It feels as if it's written for bright 12-year-olds.
And it's sloppy.
(Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?)
There are in fact some scenes where stuff actually happens. But by the time I got to them I was skimming pages, whipping over them in a way disturbingly similar to the twains' flight across millions and millions of timelines. The authors even told us that the crew were bored, as if they were apologizing to the readers for getting lost in a plot theme but the only way out was to keep writing.
Or this: they wrote a pretty good book, but it turned out to be 100 pages short, so the publisher told them to just pad out the twain twip (sorry, couldn't wesist that).
I tip my hat to the exhaustive exploration of the many ways life might have turned out. I suspect in some places they are playing fast and loose with science, but in others they were careful so I'll let it pass. But exhaustive turned into exhausting and I lost interest.
As others have noted, the authors stretch artistic licence in many places. Far too often, characters conveniently spot something during their millisecond over a world. The Mars guy guesses that something must be there somewhere, and luckily finds it, and then explains how hard it is to see! Pratchett would say that narrativium made it happen.
Sally's dad is just too much of a jerk to have lived this long. Cutler is ridiculous, and after setting him up as Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove, the authors turn him into a pussycat at the crucial moment. The authors seem to have decided that Lobsang is a bit of a dick too, so he's relegated.
There is a decent story in here, but it doesn't work as published. This turkey needs a massive rewrite, and should end up about 80-100 pages shorter. Then it would have a chance to be good.
I won't read book 4.
canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
Really 3.5 stars but I round up out of fondness for the late Terry Pratchett.
By now you're either on board with the series or you're not. The premise in interesting and the people most aware of that are the authors themselves. The books really take time to explore the central conceit and sometimes those though experiments take precedence over telling a compelling story. If you're someone willing to read along then that means the book is a great exploration of what a multiverse could look like. If not, then what would be thoughtful for some becomes tedium instead. But if you thought that from the beginning then you wouldnt have made it to this third book.
By now you're either on board with the series or you're not. The premise in interesting and the people most aware of that are the authors themselves. The books really take time to explore the central conceit and sometimes those though experiments take precedence over telling a compelling story. If you're someone willing to read along then that means the book is a great exploration of what a multiverse could look like. If not, then what would be thoughtful for some becomes tedium instead. But if you thought that from the beginning then you wouldnt have made it to this third book.
socialamoebaemily's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very good overall but not quite as good as the first two. Still worth a read and I would recommend this one and the whole series.
fsantoriello's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
athryn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Another book where the plot is kind of all over the place and doesn't feel that unified - seems a common problem for these authors, who didn't quite gel together fully. Still, I'm enjoying them enough.
olityr's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
More fun ideas.
runningdowndelaney's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
After the events of the Long War, we pick up with different narratives once more. We join Captain Kauffman on her journey to West Quarter Billion; Sally Lindsay as she joins her father on a trip to Mars to explore more parallel worlds, and Joshua Valienté exploring the evolution of the Next, a new species with high intellect and low empathy. Again, it has a feeling of cacophony, the elements not quite gelling nearly together. The only consistency is Lobsang, playing with the characters almost like dolls. But there is some creative earth's out there (including Crab Earth), and you come to understand Sally more from her interactions with her father. The book is stronger than it's immediate predecessor, but it feels like a rather piecemeal work.
rjea's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25