Description:

The fourth novel in Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter’s internationally bestselling “Long Earth” series, hailed as “a brilliant science fiction collaboration . . . a love letter to all Pratchett fans, readers, and lovers of wonder everywhere” (*Io9*). 2045-2059. Human society continues to evolve on Datum Earth, its battered and weary origin planet, as the spread of humanity progresses throughout the many Earths beyond. Lobsang, now an elderly and complex AI, suffers a breakdown, and disguised as a human attempts to live a “normal” life on one of the millions of Long Earth worlds. His old friend, Joshua, now in his fifties, searches for his father and discovers a heretofore unknown family history. And the super-intelligent post-humans known as “the Next” continue to adapt to life among “lesser” humans. But an alarming new challenge looms. An alien planet has somehow become “entangled” with one of the Long Earth worlds and, as Lobsang and Joshua learn, its voracious denizens intend to capture, conquer, and colonize the new universe—the Long Earth—they have inadvertently discovered. World-building, the intersection of universes, the coexistence of diverse species, and the cosmic meaning of the Long Earth itself are among the mind-expanding themes explored in this exciting new installment of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's extraordinary Long Earth series. ** ### Review "There's plenty of fun to be had from this ... a hymn to the joys of unfettered world-building ... but if the pace of plotting is gentle, the restless inventiveness more than compensates." -- Adam Roberts GUARDIAN "Rich in an awe-inspiring sense of wonder, with mind-boggling concepts thrown out like sparks from a Catherine wheel." -- Barry Forshaw INDEPENDENT "A triumph ... brings fresh and exciting concepts to an SF staple (paralell worlds) while keeping credible human characters at their heart ... as testament both to the diversity of Sir Terry Pratchett's writing, and the skill of Stephen Baxter's, The Long Earth series deserves a place on the bookshelves of hardcore SF fans and general readers alike." -- David Barnett INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY "The Long Earth novels are beautifully visual and wittily imagined ... The Long Utopia ... serves to remind us just how bewitching and rich this series is, how beautiful is its writing, and vivid its imagination." FOR WINTER NIGHTS "There's the sense of two enviably talented writers having fun as they play in an infinite fictional universe." -- Jonathan Wright SFX ### From the Back Cover It is the middle of the 21st century After the cataclysmic upheavals of Step Day and the Yellowstone eruption, humanity is spreading further into the Long Earth. Society, on a battered Datum Earth and beyond, continues to evolve. And new challenges emerge. Now an elderly and cantankerous AI, Lobsang is living with Agnes in an exotic, far-distant world. He’s determined to lead a normal life in New Springfield—they even adopt a child. But there are rumors, strange sightings in the sky. On this world, something isn’t right . . . Millions of steps away—learning about a hidden family history and the father he never knew—Joshua receives an urgent summons from New Springfield. Lobsang has come to understand that what has blighted his Earth is a threat to all the worlds of the Long Earth. To counter this threat will require the combined efforts of humankind, machine, and the superintelligent Next. And some must make the ultimate sacrifice . . .