The Long Earth~ Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth has been on my TBR list for so long that I couldn’t remember who originally recommended it to me or when. When I saw The Long Earth on the Kindle Store’s Start A New Series deal list, I didn’t think twice and bought it for 99p.

Despite having two other books on the go, I started this the same day. I am a little bit fascinated with the idea of parallel universes and the idea that in a lot of universes they are only a step away from our universe, in distance and in how different they are. The Long Earth explores this idea.

The chapters jump between different stories from the main protagonist, Joshua Valienté and his journey with human-computer Lobsang and the people they meet, to a policewoman, to those who are going to settle into a different Earth. It can get a little confusing at some points, trying to remember what has happened in these smaller, parallel stories, but most of the time it is a lot easier to follow than expected.

I really liked the character of Joshua, he was a sociable loner, which I thought was an interesting read. Joshua is a character who tries to fit in, but ultimately knows he isn’t going to, so keeps away from people. He shoulders his pain and keeps it to himself so, despite the opportunities, we do not get a clichéd, tragic orphan.

The philosophical debate of what can be classed as sentient is brought up in this book by the character Lobsang. Lobsang is a sentient computer that used to be a Tibetan man. The constant questioning of whether or not he really is human is so fascinating to be a part of as the reader and is written flawlessly by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett.

I couldn’t put this book down and was really disappointed when I reached the end and my questions hadn’t been answered (I know that’s what the rest of the series is for). I give The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter four stars.

C🌙