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kinnykin 's review for:
The Long Earth
by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter
There are worlds waiting. All it takes is one small step.
In the year 2015 (ooh next year!) instructions are published on how to create a contraption that, when built correctly, allows people to step between alternative versions of Earth.
Initially this creates chaos and confusion but eventually people started to explore the other earths and colonize them or harvest the resources to sell on the Datum Earth.
Joshua Valiente is an orphan. He lives in a children's home with some eccentric nuns. Unlike most of the people around him, he is a natural stepper. He can step between worlds without suffering the same nausea and disorientation that others do. This attracts the attention of Lobsang - a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated as a kind of supercomputer. Lobsang employs Joshua to travel deep into the iterations of Earth and investigate the native wildlife and the activities of the humans and other closely related species that now inhabit the various worlds.
I am a big Terry Pratchett fan and his humorous writing style is evident here, albeit tempered by a whack of sci-fi-ness. The idea is intriguing and carried out well. The world building is good and the motivations of various characters are explored realistically - particularly the tension between steppers, non-steppers and natural steppers.
I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure how the two writing styles would combine but my fears were unfounded. I will definitely be picking up the next two books - The Long War and The Long Mars.
In the year 2015 (ooh next year!) instructions are published on how to create a contraption that, when built correctly, allows people to step between alternative versions of Earth.
Initially this creates chaos and confusion but eventually people started to explore the other earths and colonize them or harvest the resources to sell on the Datum Earth.
Joshua Valiente is an orphan. He lives in a children's home with some eccentric nuns. Unlike most of the people around him, he is a natural stepper. He can step between worlds without suffering the same nausea and disorientation that others do. This attracts the attention of Lobsang - a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated as a kind of supercomputer. Lobsang employs Joshua to travel deep into the iterations of Earth and investigate the native wildlife and the activities of the humans and other closely related species that now inhabit the various worlds.
I am a big Terry Pratchett fan and his humorous writing style is evident here, albeit tempered by a whack of sci-fi-ness. The idea is intriguing and carried out well. The world building is good and the motivations of various characters are explored realistically - particularly the tension between steppers, non-steppers and natural steppers.
I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure how the two writing styles would combine but my fears were unfounded. I will definitely be picking up the next two books - The Long War and The Long Mars.