The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by Corgi Books/ Random House.
Published June 2013 (Originally in hardback June 2012)

ISBN: 978 0 552 16408 5
432 pages

Review by Mark Yon

Here’s a collaboration that I approached with caution, despite me liking the writing of both writers as separate authors.

The Long Earth is a stridently SF tale, envisioning a near future that, through the use of a simply made science invention, the stepper, allows people to travel (or step) onto a seemingly endless series of multiple Earths.

The story is about what happens as a result of this discovery, the mass-migration from our Earth (Datum Earth) as a consequence and the many life-changing experiences of people who travel ‘East’ or ‘West’ between the thousands of Earths now attainable. We are introduced to a range of people affected by this, from US policewoman Monica Jansson to Joshua Valiente, one of the minority who seem able to step quickly onto the many different worlds without being temporarily ill.

It’s not a particularly new tale, and I’m sure regular readers of SF can find similar tales without too much difficulty. (My immediate thought was Clifford D Simak’s Ring Around the Sun.) But the way that The Long Earth is written, that effectively merges the strengths of both writers into one novel, makes this, to my mind, a success.

Much of the actual bones of the tale appear to be themes of Baxter’s, as there are resonances of his writing style, so reminiscent of Arthur C Clarke, throughout. There is an imaginative extrapolation of the‘what-if’ here. The consequences of people migrating to these new worlds, the changes in society, trade, commerce and even religious belief are all examined here, and have that overarching tone of some of Baxter’s other books, such as Evolution. The characters also seem to fit the Baxter/Clarke template, in that they are not particularly deep or complex, but they are understandable and accessible. In terms of worlds, the writers clearly had a lot of fun explaining extinct animals and sapient civilisations. There’s a definite Arthur C Clarke/Olaf Stapledon feel of epic-ness to that aspect of the plot, which I am assuming comes mainly from Stephen Baxter.

If Stephen brings the imagination usually demanded by SF readers, what we seem to get, with added Pratchett, is a warmth and a less clinical, more human dimension that will appeal to those readers less SF-inclined. Readers should not be misled, however – this does not make a laugh-out-loud, comfortableDiscworld-kind of novel – but there is, in places, a wry grin, and even at times a little acidic statement (something Terry can do very well.) In tone, this is more like Nation than Discworld. It is clear from the start, though, that when the power for the stepper is a potato, it’s obvious that there’s going to be a certain amount of humour involved. How a potato can change the world…

As the book progresses we have a rich variety of landscapes and societies shown. Joshua travels across thousands of Earths with AI and allegedly resurrected Tibetan Lobsang, who hires Joshua to explore the realms of the Long Earth and determine its origin. They discover species who can step naturally without a Stepper, nicknamed ‘trolls’ and ‘elves’, who may Shave an intriguing role to play in these other worlds. There’s also an evil corporation involved in the colonisation and development of the other Earths, as well as a disgruntled anti-stepper group threatening to cause trouble for the new colonists.

If I have any complaints, it is the common one – that the ending is less of ‘an ending’ and more of a setup for the next book in the series. There are major revelations at the end, yet little is actually resolved.

But this is a minor quibble. Most importantly, despite my concerns beforehand that the joins between the two writer’s styles would be mismatched, I must say that, in reality, the balance between the often-opposing elements worked well for me. This is a proper collaboration, and all the better for it, something that is identifiable to the writers yet is something neither could do as well singly.

I’m not quite sure what readers only used to Terry’s fantasy will make of this one, but I enjoyed it a great deal once it got going, and much more than I thought I would overall. I look forward to its sequel, The Long War, due to be published soon.

Mark Yon, June/July 2013.