The Long War

The Long War was an interesting addition to the Long Earth series - because it made it into a series, given there had only been one - and it advanced the story in intersting ways. The logical progression of events in a world that is infinitely long sideways, and in which the authority of The Centre is very far away, are explicated pretty well - unfortunately, some of the political developments and the characters responsible for them seem to be caricatures, and not as well thought as they could be. Mind you, if you consider that in early 2016 an extremist real estate developer with a comb-over seems to be leading one arm of the US presidential race, maybe it's not as much of a caricature as it seems!

In any case, using a US Navy revamped with steampunky airships for the task of patrolling the Long Earth (though how their electronics keep working is a little mysterious) was a good touch; so too was more detail on trolls and other Long Earth hominids, although some potential plot developments seem to have been lost, like the exploration of parallel Australia, for example.

While I class this as a great book - and a pretty good sequel to The Long Earth as it develops the storyline of an infinite series of parallel Earths - sadly, the ongoing deterioration of Terry Pratchett was constantly in my mind as I read it.

Because it's not as good as the first one.

Because some of the writing is sketchy; some of the story development seems arbitrary, a bit deus-ex-machina type of thing.

But it still grips you, and leaves you wanting... more. And fortunately, there IS more. The Long Mars awaits!