Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter: The Long War

 Hi everyone

This was my second time reading Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxters The Long War; the second book in The Long Earth series. You can find my first review here. 

“A generation after the events of The Long Earth, mankind has spread across the new worlds opened up by Stepping. Where Joshua and Lobsang once pioneered, now fleets of airships link the stepwise Americas with trade and culture. Mankind is shaping the Long Earth - but in turn the Long Earth is shaping mankind... A new 'America', called Valhalla, is emerging more than a million steps from Datum Earth, with core American values restated in the plentiful environment of the Long Earth - and Valhalla is growing restless under the control of the Datum government...
Meanwhile the Long Earth is suffused by the song of the trolls, graceful hive-mind humanoids. But the trolls are beginning to react to humanity's thoughtless exploitation... Joshua, now a married man, is summoned by Lobsang to deal with a gathering multiple crisis that threatens to plunge the Long Earth into a war unlike any mankind has waged before.”

My thoughts haven't changed; I still stand by my previous review. 

The storyline of the Chinese expedition should have been cut entirely. It was uninteresting, the characters were boring, and it didn’t add much to the overall plot of the book.

I really dislike Sally; maybe even more now that I have children of my own. I realize even more how she forces Joshua away from his son and wife and how manipulative she is. There’s no nuance to her character. She’s always harsh, hard, and uncaring toward others.

But I still love the setting; the idea of the Long Earths and I still love Joshua and his family, as well as Lobsang. Those elements keep me coming back to this series.

Have you read The Long War? Did you enjoy it more than I did, or did you feel the same way about Sally and the Chinese expedition? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena