The Long Utopia: A Novel (Long Earth Series, Book 4)

Stephen Baxter; Terry Pratchett

ISBN 10: 150461206X ISBN 13: 9781504612067

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio, 2015

Synopsis

The fourth novel in Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's internationally bestselling Long Earth series.

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.

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's The Time Machine, a Doctor Who novel, The Wheel of Ice, and most recently the epic, far-future novels Proxima and Ultima. He lives in Northumberland.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 150461206X
• ISBN 13: 9781504612067
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 1