''The Long Earth'' is a collaborative

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel series by British authors

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

and Stephen Baxter. At the time of Pratchett's death (12 March 2015), three novels had been released, with a fourth published on 23 June 2015 and the fifth published on 30 June 2016.

Development

The original basis for the series was Pratchett's then-unpublished short story "The High Meggas", which he wrote as a starting point for a potential series while his first

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ...

novel, ''

The Colour of Magic ''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...

'', was undergoing publication. The success of ''The Colour of Magic'' prompted Pratchett to put the story aside in favour of working on ''

The Light Fantastic ''The Light Fantastic'' is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the ''Discworld'' series. It was published on 2 June 1986, the first printing being of 1,034 copies. The title, taken from a poem by John Milton, in which it r ...

''. The idea resurfaced in late 2010 following a dinner conversation with his assistant and American agent, and discussion with Stephen Baxter prompted the development of the first book in the series, '' The Long Earth'', and the collaboration between the two authors.Foreword by Stephen Baxter to PRATCHETT, Terry. BAXTER, Stephen. The Long Cosmos. London: Random House, 2016. (Doubleday) Both authors signed contracts for a total of five books in the series. Pratchett and Baxter primarily write in different fields of literature. Baxter has written in fields of '

hard science Hard science and soft science are colloquial terms used to compare scientific fields on the basis of perceived methodological rigor, exactitude, and objectivity. Roughly speaking, the formal sciences & natural sciences are considered "hard", wher ...

', evolutionary speculation and alternative history. Although Pratchett has written some science fiction, he is primarily known for his fantasy series of

novels. Although both authors spoke publicly about the outline for the novel, no public readings of any material were given (something which Pratchett frequently did at Discworld conventions). In 2010, they planned only two books but following the completion of the first draft of the first volume in December 2011, they split it in two, and presented their publishers with a plan for a pentalogy. Pratchett announced on Twitter the completion of the first draft of ''The Long Earth'' in December 2011. The book was released in the United States on 19 June 2012. A sequel titled '' The Long War'' was released on 20 June 2013, and '' The Long Mars'' was published on 17 June 2014. The third sequel ''

The Long Utopia ''The Long Utopia'' is a science fiction novel by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter published on 23 June 2015. It is the fourth in the five-book series of the sequence ''The Long Earth''. Plot ''The Long Utopia'' further follows the adventu ...

'' was released on 18 June 2015, and the final book in the pentalogy, ''

The Long Cosmos ''The Long Cosmos'' is a science fiction novel by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter published on 30 June 2016. It is the final installment in the award-winning five-book parallel-Earth series ''The Long Earth''. It is the fifth book in the ...

'', was published on 30 June 2016.

Series summary

The Long Earth is a name given to a possibly infinite series of parallel worlds that are similar to Earth, which can be reached using an inexpensive device called a Stepper. The "close" worlds are almost identical to our Earth (referred to as Datum Earth), while others differ radically. Despite this they all share one similarity: on none are there or have there ever been

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

— although some are inhabited by earlier hominid species such as '' Homo habilis''. The books explore the theme of how humanity might develop when freed from resource constraints: one example Pratchett has cited is that wars result from lack of land, and he was curious as to what would happen if there was no shortage of land or other resources.

Reception

The series has been discussed by Lauren J. Lacey as an example of a work dealing with the concept of heterotopia.

Books

# '' The Long Earth'' (June 2012) # '' The Long War'' (June 2013) # '' The Long Mars'' (June 2014) # ''

'' (June 2015) # ''

'' (June 2016)

References

External links