The Long Earth is a collaborative novel by Terry Pratchett and
Stephen Baxter, two authors whose previous works would not have
indicated an affinity for each other. Nevertheless, this novel
about the exploration of multiple earths works quite well, allowing the
strengths of each author to show through and allowing them to write
things outside their normal range.
The novel postulates that
there are several earths parallel to our own, although our version seems
to be the only one populated, at least by humans with any sort of
advanced technology. The
discovery of other earths is broadcast over the internet by Willis
Linsay and in the resulting chaos as people step from one world to
another, Joshua Valienté, an orphan in Madison, Wisconsin, discovers
that he has the ability to step between worlds without using the device
Linsay gave to the world.
Although the book tends to
follow Joshua and his desire to just explore the world alone, there are
other subplots running through the book, few of which provide any
resolution, but all of which offer greater depth to the world(s)
Pratchett and Baxter are describing.
Eventually, Joshua is recruited by Lobsang, a Tibetan who has
possibly managed to be reincarnated as a machine, but has definitely
been able to get his humanity recognized.
The two set off in Lobsang’s airship, stepping through worlds
faster than Joshua had thought possible.
Throughout the novel,
Joshua proclaims himself a loner. He
loves the emptiness that the long earth provides, the silence (or
perhaps Silence) which he can find there. Nevertheless, he isn’t
antisocial, striking up a relationship with Monica Jansson, a Madison
police officer with an interest in the other worlds, the various nuns at
the Home where he was raised, Lobsang, and, eventually, a mysterious
woman named Sally.
In some ways, The Long
Earth is reminiscent of Philip José Farmer's To Your Scattered
Bodies Go. Once Joshua and Lobsang begin their voyage of
exploration on the dirigible Mark Twain, the journey, as they
move through the various versions of the long earth, is similar to the
journey down the River that Farmer's characters experience. They
are separate from the lands through which they pass, although they are
still affected by those lands and, occasionally are strongly impacted by
the landscape.
There are times during The
Long Earth when one of the authors' voices seems to jump out at the
reader. A turn of phrase will seem as if Baxter is writing a segment, or
a comment is made that appears to indicate Pratchett's sense of humor
has escaped. On a similar note, there are a few places where the
phrasing clearly demonstrates that the book was written by two
Englishmen rather than by Americans, which is only disconcerted since
the main characters in the book are American. These
"glitches," however, are few although they do have a tendency
to drop the reader from the narrative for a few moments as awareness
that it is a narrative sets in.
The book doesn't end with a
cliffhanger, but it does present the set-up for a subsequent volume.
Perhaps more importantly, for the sequel, Joshua now seems to have a
purpose beyond simply exploring the worlds of the long earth.
Although the book should feel like a prologue to another work, it
doesn’t, and Joshua’s exploration of the long earth and his strange
relationships draw the reader in to care about him.
