User:RLKnights/The Long Earth (novel)

The Long Earth is the first novel and series title of a collaborative science fiction work by British authors Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. For more information on the development of the book and series, see the series overview.

Plot Summary
The 'Long Earth' is a (possibly infinite) series of parallel worlds that are similar to Earth, which can be reached by using an inexpensive device called a "Stepper". The "close" worlds are almost identical to 'our' Earth (referred to as "Datum Earth"), others differ in greater and greater details, but all share one similarity: on none are there, or have there ever been, Homo sapiens - although the same cannot be said for earlier hominid species, especially Homo habilis.

The book deals primarily with the journey of Joshua Valienté (a natural 'Stepper') and Lobsang, who claims to be a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated as an artificial intelligence. The two chart a course to learn as much as possible about the parallel worlds, travelling millions of steps away from the original Earth. They encounter evidence of other humanoid species (referred to as trolls and elves); of human settlers who learned their gifts early, and of an extinct race of bipedal dinosaur descendants. They also encounter warning signs of a great danger, millions of worlds away from 'our' Earth, causing catastrophe as it moves. The book also deals with the effects of the explosion of available space on the people of Datum Earth and the new colonies and political movements that are spreading in the wake of Step Day.

Helen Green and her family (with the exception of her brother, Rod, who is unable to step) trek across the long earth to form a new community, Reboot, on Earth West 101,754.

After stepping across 'The Gap' - a universe around two million steps from the Datum where the earth no longer exists - Joshua and Lobsang encounter the threat that has caused the slow migration of Trolls away from the gap. First Person Singular is a being that absorbs other sentient life forms, eventually taking over everything on earth before stepping to the next. It currently cannot pass The Gap.

During Joshua and Lobsangs travels they uncover a plot by a group of anti-steppers, named 'Humanity First', to detonate a nuclear bomb in Madison, USA. Joshua and Lobsang are unable to return in time and the bomb is detonated. Fortunately, the majority of the population is able to flee by stepping into other worlds before the explosion. Joshua holds Lobsang accountable for the detonation, stating a being as omnipotent as he must have known about the plot and could have stopped it if he wished.

Characters

 * Joshua Valienté: an orphan, born on another world when his mother stepped during childbirth. A natural stepper.
 * Lobsang: an artificial intelligence who claims to be Tibetan motorcycle repairman.
 * Sally Linsay: daughter of the inventor of the 'Stepper' box, a device that allows the majority of humans to step between parallel universes. A natural stepper and later romantic interest to Joshua Valienté.
 * Monica Jensson: A Madison Police Office who helps the disappearing children on 'Step Day' - the day when the Stepper Box is released on the internet.
 * Helen Green: young girl who sets off across the long earth with most of her family to start a new community. Keeps a diary of her travels.
 * Rod Green: brother to Helen Green, a boy who cannot step and is left on Datum Earth by his family as they travel across the long earth. Later helps in the bombing of Madison where he is captured and imprisoned.
 * Sister Agnes: a nun who looks after Joshua during his younger years at the orphanage.
 * Douglas Black: founder of the Black Corporation, a high profile research based weapons and technology company and manufacturer. Creator of Lobsang.
 * First Person Singular: a being found on the far side of 'The Gap', more than two million steps from earth, that absorbs all sentient life.
 * Mark Twain: an Airship possessed with a certain level of artificial intelligence granted by the Black Corporation and Lobsang, allowing it, and those within it, to step. The Mark Twain, named after the author who penned the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, carries Joshua and Lobsang on their journey across the long earth.

Reception
Reviewing the book in The Guardian, Adam Roberts found it to be "much more like a Baxter novel than a Pratchett one." It was also said to be "a charming, absorbing and somehow spacious piece of imagineering."

The book reached 13th on the New York Times hardback best-sellers list on the 8th of July 2012.

Won the Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 for Science Fiction.

Sequel
A sequel titled "The Long War" was released on 20 June 2013.