The dazzling new science fiction adventure from the extraordinary imaginations of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter - the fourth novel in a collaborative series that has been hailed as 'sense-of-wonder SF at its best' (Independent on Sunday).
2045-2059. After the cataclysmic upheavals of Step Day and the Yellowstone eruption humanity is spreading further into The Long Earth, and society, on a battered Datum Earth and beyond, continues to evolve.
Now an elderly and cantankerous AI, Lobsang lives in disguise with Agnes in an exotic, far-distant world. He's convinced they're leading a normal life in New Springfield – they even adopt a child – but it seems they have been guided there for a reason. As rumours of strange sightings and hauntings proliferate, it becomes clear that something is very awry with this particular world.
Millions of steps away, Joshua is on a personal journey of discovery: learning about the father he never knew and a secret family history. But then he receives a summons from New Springfield. Lobsang now understands the enormity of what's taking place beneath the surface of his earth – a threat to all the worlds of the Long Earth.
To counter this threat will require the combined efforts of humankind, machine and the super-intelligent Next. And some must make the ultimate sacrifice . . .
About the Author
Terry Pratchett (Author) Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. His fortieth Discworld novel, Raising Steam, was published in 2013. His books have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. He died in March 2015.
Stephen Baxter (Author) Stephen Baxter is one of the UK's most acclaimed writers of science fiction and a multi-award winner. His many books include the classic Xeelee sequence, the Time's Odyssey novels (written with Arthur C. Clarke) and Time Ships, a sequel to H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, a Doctor Who novel, The Wheel of Ice, and most recently the epic, far-future novels Proxima and Ultima. He lives in Northumberland.
Industry Reviews
There's plenty of fun to be had from this . . . a hymn to the joys of unfettered world-building . . . but if the pace of plotting is gentle, the restless inventiveness more than compensates. -- Adam Roberts * GUARDIAN *
Rich in an awe-inspiring sense of wonder, with mind-boggling concepts thrown out like sparks from a Catherine wheel. -- Barry Forshaw * INDEPENDENT *
A triumph . . . brings fresh and exciting concepts to an SF staple (paralell worlds) while keeping credible human characters at their heart . . . as testament both to the diversity of Sir Terry Pratchett's writing, and the skill of Stephen Baxter's, The Long Earth series deserves a place on the bookshelves of hardcore SF fans and general readers alike. -- David Barnett * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *
The Long Earth novels are beautifully visual and wittily imagined . . . The Long Utopia . . . serves to remind us just how bewitching and rich this series is, how beautiful is its writing, and vivid its imagination. * FOR WINTER NIGHTS *
There's the sense of two enviably talented writers having fun as they play in an infinite fictional universe. -- Jonathan Wright * SFX *
