The Long Cosmos: A Novel (Long Earth Series, Book 5)

Stephen Baxter; Terry Pratchett

ISBN 10: 1504735927 ISBN 13: 9781504735926

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio, 2016

Synopsis

The thrilling conclusion to the internationally bestselling Long Earth series explores the greatest question of all: What is the meaning of life?

2070-71. Nearly six decades after Step Day, a new society continues to evolve in the Long Earth. Now, a message has been received: ''Join us.''

The Next -- the hyper-intelligent post-humans -- realize that the missive contains instructions for kick-starting the development of an immense artificial intelligence known as The Machine. But to build this computer the size of an Earth continent, they must obtain help from the more populous and still industrious worlds of mankind.

Meanwhile, on a trek in the High Meggers, Joshua Valiente, now nearing seventy, is saved from death when a troll band discovers him. Living among the trolls as he recovers, Joshua develops a deeper understanding of this collective-intelligence species and its society. He discovers that some older trolls, with capacious memories, act as communal libraries, and live on a very strange Long Earth world, in caverns under the root systems of trees as tall as mountains.

Valiente also learns something much more profound about life and its purpose in the Long Earth: we cultivate the cosmos to maximize the opportunities for life and joy in this universe, and to prepare for new universes to come.

About this title

From the Back Cover

2070-71. Nearly six decades after Step Day, a new society continues to evolve on the Long Earth.

The Next—the hyper-intelligent post-humans—realize that the missive contains instructions for kick-starting the development of an immense artificial intelligence known as The Machine. But to build this computer the size of an Earth continent, they must obtain help from the more populous and still industrious worlds of mankind.

Meanwhile, on a trek in the High Meggers, Joshua Valienté is saved from death when a troll band discovers him. Living among the trolls as he recovers, Joshua learns something profound about life and its purpose in the Long Earth . . .

About the Author

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) was an English novelist known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series. His first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971, and after publishing his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983, he wrote two books a year on average. He was the United Kingdom's bestselling author of the 1990s and has sold more than 55 million books worldwide. In 2001 he won the Carnegie Medal for his children's novel The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature in 1998 and was knighted in 2009.

Stephen Baxter is a trained engineer with degrees from Cambridge and the University of Southampton. He is the acclaimed author of the Manifold novels and Evolution and has won the British Science Fiction Award, the Locus Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the John W. Campbell Award and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1504735927
• ISBN 13: 9781504735926
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 1