As good if not better than the first...

The second instalment of the Long Earth series. This is I think, slightly better than the first book, delving deeper into the politics of the Long Earth and the relationships between indigenous sapient species. It is set a few years after the dramatic conclusion to the first book, and things in The Long Earth have settled to an uneasy stability. Main and background characters return in this book to paint a broader picture of what's going on in the worlds, and I think this is going to be a theme until the final conclusion of the series. Again ended with a dramatic conclusion, the equivalent of a "To Be Continued..." before the final credits roll... I immediately started listening to the next book in the series "The Long Mars".

Would definitely recommend.

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent but not as good as the Long Earth

This was very enjoyable but as the concept of the Long Earth is no longer New it was not as good as the first book in the series.

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Great!

Can't wait another. Great story very good written with characters that are very good created not 'paper'. Enjoyed every minute of this book.

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First book better.

Enjoyed it, but found the first book more interesting and I missed the relationship between Joshua and Lobsang.

Like the first book, there is a big problem in the Long Earth that is built the whole way through the book that ends up being resolved very quickly in the end, without very much fuss, which let's the story down a bit.

Michael Fenton Stephens reads well although I found his Oirish accent to be a wee bit fiddledy-dee. But then again he was given a stereotypical Irish character to portray so he can't be held accountable I guess.

Thanks for the listen though.

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2 people found this helpful

Good

Would you listen to The Long War again? Why?

Ok story - alittle slow to start with but good universe

Who was your favorite character and why?

Helen

Which character – as performed by Michael Fenton Stevens – was your favourite?

Joseph Valiantly

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, no emotional reaction to the story

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A sequel that doesn't live up to its predecessor.

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

The Long War picks up with the same mostly likeable characters as The Long Earth, however the story itself is a little rambling and doesn't really deliver the level of drama that the title suggests.
This book focuses more on issues of race (regarding the trolls in particular) and generally succeeds at this. But it can get a little didactic and some events seem very obviously, and a little clumsily, intended to make the reader think.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending itself is a little anticlimactic and seems to be designed more to lead handily to a sequel than anything else.

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

The narration is good and the characters are brought alive more than would happen in just reading it.

Could you see The Long War being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

I could see it quite easily being made into a TV series. One might cynically suggest that this was the intention all along. The pace and action of both books in the series would suit the mini-series format.

Any additional comments?

Negative comments aside, I would still listen to or read any further sequels as I like the general tone and style of both books so far.

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A longer world

enjoyed this and cant wait to get the next... moving on to book 3

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Very Bland

I listened to the first book in the series (the long earth) on the recommendation of a friend and really enjoyed it so i decided to complete the series.

Unfortunately I found this book lacking in any real narrative, and unlike the first book, the novelty of the long earth was not enough to keep me entertained.

I found myself thinking "whats the point of this particular side story" on many occasions. It appears as though the author created numerous tangential stories and characters and tried to force them to intertwine all so they could explore different concepts of the long earth. While this was interesting in the first book, it now just seems repetitive and you find yourself getting bored.

towards the last few hours of this book I was just waiting for it to finish so that I could start something else.

Overall the book is ok, but not fantastic and i definitly think there are better books out there.

The naration for the most part is very good, with a decent attempt at unique voices for each of the somewhat pointless characters.

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Great continuation of the story

Maybe lacked a little of the original flare but still a great story. Looking forward to seeing how it develops beyond the long earth.

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engaging

I love the detail in the story telling. I feels like it could be real.

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