Books › The Long Mars
The Long Mars
547 pages
A sprawling, idea-dense journey across infinite parallel worlds that balances hard science fiction with a wry, humanist soul.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping through a portal into an endlessly expanding frontier, where the sheer scale of the multiverse is grounded by deeply human flaws and dry wit. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, weaving together multiple threads of exploration, survival, and societal tension. It is a deeply inquisitive experience, balancing the awe of discovering alien landscapes with the melancholic reality of a displaced humanity struggling to adapt. The prose marries rigorous, hard-science concepts with a gentle, philosophical humor that keeps the massive scope feeling intimate. It will thoroughly delight readers who crave idea-driven science fiction that asks big questions about evolution, prejudice, and what it means to survive in a boundless universe.
- Mood
- expansive
- awe-inspiring
- melancholic
- adventurous
- Tone
- wry
- philosophical
- inquisitive
- pragmatic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- evolution of humanity · fear of the unknown · the boundless frontier · burden of survival · parental estrangement
- The writing
- A seamless blend of hard science fiction exposition and dry, humanist wit, resulting in clear, idea-dense, and gently satirical sentences.
- The arc
- Moves from the chaotic grief of a displaced humanity into a sprawling, contemplative awe of the unknown, culminating in a tense but hopeful confrontation with our evolutionary future.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love grand-scale, idea-driven science fiction that balances rigorous world-building with philosophical humor and sprawling, multi-threaded exploration.
Content notes
- mass displacement
- natural disasters
- societal prejudice
About the book
"2040-2045: In the years after the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous rescue work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But Sally soon learns that Willis has an ulterior motive for his request.... Meanwhile U.S. Navy Commander Maggie Kauffman has embarked on an incredible journey of her own, leading an expedition to the outer limits of the far Long Earth. For Joshua, the crisis he faces is much closer to home. He becomes embroiled in the plight of the Next: the super-bright post-humans who are beginning to emerge from their 'long childhood' in the community called Happy Landings, located deep in the Long Earth. Ignorance and fear have caused 'normal' human society to turn against the Next. A dramatic showdown seems inevitable"--
Description from Open Library.
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