The Long War

The Long War is the sequelt to Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's probability-hopping The Long Earth, a tale of human expansion into a frontier of infinite possibility.

In this second novel, Joshua Valliente is trying - and failing - to settle down, while his old partner Sally is stirring things up to protect the trolls and other humanoids who inhabit the Long Earth but, never having experienced the pressure of being restrained to a single reality, lack humankind's technological edge and his father in law is heading a drive for US colonies in the stepwise Earths to declare independence from the Datum (original) Earth.

The Long Earth was an interesting work of speculative fiction, and The Long War continues that. It's political aspects are perhaps more successful than some of the more dramatic episodes detailing Joshua and Sally's adventures among the hyper-aggressive 'Beagles', and the heart of the novel is actually their friend and ally, critically ill former cop Monica Jansson, who stands out from the ensemble in coming across as a real person. As with many harder SF titles, The Long War's ideas are better than the characters who surround them.

While it has its flaws, The Long War is still a good book, if radically different from anything else Pratchett has published. If Baxter's touch is more visible in the broad strokes, however, Pratchett is there in the details, and especially in many of the character moments. It's worth the read, but I will definitely be waiting for the paperback price on The Long Mars.