The Long Utopia: The Long Earth 4 - Softcover

Pratchett, Terry; Baxter, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552172812 ISBN 13: 9780552172813

Publisher: Corgi, 2016

Synopsis

The dazzling new science fiction adventure from the extraordinary imaginations of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter -- the fourth novel in a collaborative series that has been hailed as 'sense-of-wonder SF at its best.' (Independent on Sunday).
     2045-2059. In spite of the world-changing upheavals of Step Day and the Yellowstone eruption -- humanity is spreading further into the Long Earth, and society, both on a battered Datum Earth and beyond, continues to evolve.
     Lobsang, now an elderly and somewhat over-complex AI, seems to have suffered a breakdown of sorts. With Agnes, he now lives, in disguise, in an exotic High-Meggers world -- 'New Springfield' --- determined to lead a 'normal' life as a human colonist. They even adopt a child, a son. But it seems that Sally Linsay guided them there for a reason.
     For it's at New Springfield that the Long Earth chain of worlds has become 'entangled' with another Long world -- an alien planet. Strange haunted-house sightings in a cellar reveal this alien world to be inhabited by voracious colonising cyborgs --- 'silver beetles' -- who seem to be modifying this world for their own terrifying purposes.
     Elsewhere Joshua, now in his fifties, tries to track down the father he's never known. In so doing, he unravels a deeper history -- of natural steppers who banded together in Victorian London. At first they offered their services to the crown, but were eventually hunted down and their secret covered up. But their story didn't end there, and it would seem that an ancestor of Joshua's became embroiled in a clandestine 'Darwinian' programme involving these 19th century steppers.
     Free from human control, the super-intelligent Next are growing up. As they debate how to 'manage' the vast herd of humans they live amongst, one of the brightest of them all begins to preach about the unity of all human kinds and in so doing stirs up both human and Next communities -- but then, still only young, he faces a new duty.
     Meanwhile, on New Springfield, Lobsang has been joined by Joshua and they've discovered the ominous ultimate goal of the cyborg silver beetles and the vast machines they have created. The threat they pose to the Long Earth -- and other Long worlds -- convinces Lobsang and the others that the beetles' world has to be 'cauterised', taken out of the Long Earth chain, to prevent the spread of their kind. To achieve this will require super-stepping abilities -- and for some it will mean making the ultimate sacrifice.

About this title

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 . . .

About the Author

TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. Raising Steam is his fortieth Discworld novel. His books have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. After falling out with his keyboard he now talks to his computer. Occasionally, these days, it answers back.

STEPHEN BAXTER is one of the UK's most acclaimed writers of science fiction and a multi-award winner. His many books include the classic Xeelee sequence, the Time's Odyssey novels (written with Arthur C. Clarke) and Time Ships, a sequel to H G Wells' The Time Machine. He lives in Northumberland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Corgi
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0552172812
• ISBN 13: 9780552172813
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 354