1916: The Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone? 2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive - some say mad, others alleged dangerous - scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson find a curious gadget: a box containing some rudimentary wiring, a three-way switch, and a potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way humankind views the world forever. The "stepper" enables a person using it to step sideways into another America, another wherever that person happened to be, another Earth. And if the person using it keeps on stepping, they keep on entering even more Earths. This is the Long Earth. And the further away a stepper travels, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the Earths become.
The Long Earth Series
Embark on an expansive journey across dimensions as humanity discovers the secret to stepping into parallel worlds. This science fiction saga explores the profound implications of infinite exploration and the vastness of the multiverse. Facing both immense physical challenges and existential questions, characters grapple with their place in an ever-expanding reality. Prepare for an epic adventure that tests the limits of ingenuity and the spirit of discovery.
Recommended Reading Order
The long war
- 422 pages
- 15 hours of reading
A new America called Valhalla grows restless under the controlling long arm of the Datum government, while all of the Long Earth is infused by the song of the trolls who are starting to react to humanity's thoughtless exploitation, bringing humankind to the brink of war.
In 2040, following the Yellowstone eruption, society collapses as people flee to alternate Earths. Joshua Valiente confronts rising tensions with emerging super-bright post-humans, while Navy Commander Maggie Kauffman explores the far Long Earth. Meanwhile, Sally reconnects with her estranged father, who has his own secretive plans.
The long utopia
- 354 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Lobsang now understands the enormity of what's taking place beneath the surface of his earth - a threat to all the worlds of the Long Earth. To counter this threat will require the combined efforts of humankind, machine and the super-intelligent Next.
2070-71. Nearly six decades after Step Day and in the Long Earth, the new Next post-human society continues to evolve. For Joshua Valienté, now in his late sixties, it is time to take one last solo journey into the High Meggers: an adventure that turns into a disaster. Alone and facing death, his only hope of salvation lies with a group of trolls. But as Joshua confronts his mortality, the Long Earth receives a signal from the stars. A signal that is picked up by radio astronomers but also in more abstract ways âe" by the trolls and by the Great Traversers. Its message is simple but ts implications are enormous: JOIN US. The super-smart Next realise that the Message contains instructions on how to develop an immense artificial intelligence but to build it they have to seek help from throughout the industrious worlds of mankind. Bit by bit, byte by byte, they assemble a computer the size of a continent âe" a device that will alter the Long Earthâe(tm)s place within the cosmos and reveal the ultimate, life-affirming goal of those who sent the Message. Its impact will be felt by and resonate with all âe" mankind and other species, young and old, communities and individuals âe" who inhabit the Long Earthsâe¦