World and not Character Building

I own all of Terry Pratchett's books and this book was a huge disappointment. The Long Earth is obviously meant to be part of a series, and this novel was full of pointless information that did not add to the story, and there was very little character development or humor. The first half of the book should have been edited down to an introductory chapter. This book in no way resembles a book written by Terry Prachett but science fiction fans who enjoy books such as Larry Niven’s, The Ringworld will enjoy it.

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10 people found this helpful

Bits of Pratchett like chocolate chip on cardboard

I adore the prose of Pratchett, which is the only thing keeping the review from being 'one star'. It's sprinkled through this mess like curls of dark chocolate throughout a tall stack of cardboard.
It's almost painful to hear Sir Terry's voice in this dreadful book; he does have a dark side, and I much prefer his Discworld series to his juvenilia, but this simply can't have had much of his input.
An amazing concept of endless parallel worlds in which some humans can just step somehow devolved into this depressing mess, and concur completely with previous reviewers that the entire first half is redundant.
One of the many wonderful things about Sir T is his basic love of humanity, that no matter how far down we dig ourselves, there is always a hero, a Vimes or Sybil or Librarian with a handy ladder, but there is little such joy in this book; although there are glimpses with the cannonball bird and the frisbee octopus which alas are catalogued and listed instead of joyfully embraced and described, and instead of the possibility of freedom, we have female victims, HAL and 2001, weed addicts, and terra-ism.
In my hope for a happy ending, I could hardly wait for it to be over; how sad, and in so many senses and worlds.
If you're looking for a truly Pratchettesque take on evolution, buy 'The Lost Continent'.
Looking forward to Dodger, and won't read the sequel to The Long Earth.

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You cannot believe how disappointed I was.....

When you see the name Terry Pratchett on a book it defines a quality of the writing, a plot that while left of field is enjoyable and captivating and characters that you end up being really interested in. This book had none of that. The only reason why I finished the story was that I was hopeing that something was going to happen. What a huge disappointment.

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delivered to a deadline?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have made it longer and given it a stronger and more definite ending.

What does Michael Fenton Stevens bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The Narrator took the central character from a late blooming child to a confident young man using only his voice. That added a dimension that would have been harder to evoke from the printed page alone.

Any additional comments?

I was left with the feeling this book was delivered to a deadline rather than remaining in the creative oven long enough to be well baked. It is possible a sequel may have been planned but I'm afraid "the long lead-up" just didn't have a strong enough conclusion to satisfy this listener. I really do wonder if the authors became carried away with a good story and were told it was due at the printers on Thursday.

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Amazing!

Loved it, even better than I expected. The narration is also superb. Can't recommend it enough.

I've read many of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, which were amazing.
This book is completely different, but still very good.
Very solid sci-fi.
I definitely need to read or listen to the rest.

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Good concept, lousy story

The concept is really interesting, but unfortunately the story isn't. It's actually tedious to sit thorugh this. And that's not because the writing, or the narration, are bad - it's just that the story is INCREDIBLY boring and the characters downright annoying. It also doesn't know whether it wants to be serious or not and that rarely works out. Either go nuts and make it a comedy, or make it realistic ("plausible", whatever). But The Long Earth doesn't quite do either, and so we are left with cringy re-incarnated Tibetan monks and potato-powered miracle gadgets in what appears to be a "gritty" world. And of course it has the now really tedious not-quite-human-species-that-are-the-basis-for-our-elves-but-they-are-really-nasty-fellas trope. It's a real shame. Could have been an awesome adventure romp, but ended up being a waste of paper (or in the case of a digital audiobook, a waste of perfectly good bits and bytes). It gets one bonus star for being high concept, but I was reluctant to award even that.

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Interesting, but does it deliver?

This is a book with an interesting concept, but ultimately I think that this collaboration was less successful than either author's individual works.

The reason this left me wanting something more is difficult to pin down, but I'll try. Pratchett shines in not only comedy but his depiction of rich, and very human characters. In this story, the most interesting character that showed Pratchett's handiwork was sister Agnes, and she only made an appearance in the recollections and thoughts, and occasional conversation, of the main character. For a Pratchett book, there was a paucity of characters, I felt.

Baxter brings in his works some far-reaching concepts, and the "long earth" certainly qualifies. Yet I find his forays into biology and evolution, while interesting, often stretching plausibility beyond a breaking point - here too it seems to be the case that some of the biological entities, especially the singular one revealed near the end, don't really have a plausible evolutionary path to get to where they are. As somewhat of a biology-geek, this tends to nag me.

There is little in the way of Pratchett's usual humor - which is not automatically a negative, since this story is not in the same genre as Pratchett's other works. Yet what confuses the reader is that there clearly are hints that the story might go in a humorous direction, especially early on, and then that expectation is let down by nothing very funny happening.

With all these negatives, you might think I didn't like the book, which isn't quite true. I think it is a flawed book, but it did maintain my interest enough for me to have just bought the sequel - I do want to learn how the story ends. Ultimately, that's why the four stars.

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Disappointing and Boring Mishmash

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Less vomit,fewer characters,tighter editing-there was too much repetition involving the air ship's journey through the various earths.It was boring

What could Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

A decent ending would have helped.Less negativity and a more comprehensible plot.Terry Pratchett always ties together any loose ends leaving the reader feeling satisfied,this novel failed to do that in fact it did the reverse.

What does Michael Fenton Stevens bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michael's rendition was excellent and was the one satifying element.

What character would you cut from The Long Earth?

Too many to mention-many did not add anything to the story.

Any additional comments?

A very unsatisfying experience.I would not read another co-authored book by these two again.

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Not enough Pratchett-isms

What did you like best about The Long Earth? What did you like least?

It's a good way to preview a new storyline, and if you don't like it you can return it.

I didn't like how it ended so abruptly, with so many loose ends.

Would you recommend The Long Earth to your friends? Why or why not?

I don't recommend it to Pratchett fans, but Sci-Fi fans may find the premise interesting, if they can get past some of the oddities of the presentation.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration set the pace of the story. A bit monotonous in places.

Did The Long Earth inspire you to do anything?

Only to consider re-gifting the hardcover book that was given to me for Xmas.

Any additional comments?

This book definitely suggests to me that it is an opening story for a whole new storyline/multiverse in which Terry Pratchett can participate in without needing him to carry that much of the load. Some of his humor shone through, but the story was not compelling or that memorable to me. I was disappointed with it.

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Not your usual Pratchett

I had a difficult time giving this book five stars. It deserves them. Probably one of the best sc-fi books I've read this year.
It is just with the name Terry Pratchett on the cover one expects someting. Leaving Pratchette out of it for now..
I can say this book is interesting, funny, charming, suspensful. It has an unusual theme and the writing is brilliant. Full of original ideas. The story-line weaves itself forward with a few enjoyable side paths and rambles to increase the excitement.

Then why aren't I happy? I'm sorry to say, Terry Pratchett, it is you who have upset me. I have read everything you've written and you are my favorite author. Every other Terry Pratchett novel ends. Never before have I been left with more questions that I started with, I know this is usual in Sc-Fi to get the readers to want to buy the next in the series, but Terry, that isn't your style.

A good read, but Pratchett fans be warned, it isn't his usual style and we'll probably have to buy the next book in the series when it comes out to find the answers we want.

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