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science fiction
Series · science fiction
The Long Earth
The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett has 5 known books (5 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with The Long Earth (2012). The Long Cosmos is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 5 known books (5 novels)
- Published
- 5
- First published
- 2012
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
Start here: The Long Earth (2012)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Long Earth
The Long Earth (2012) follows Joshua Valiente, a natural stepper who never needs the Stepper device, as an AI calling itself Lobsang recruits him to explore an infinite chain of parallel, uninhabited Earths -- Terry Pratchett's first major collaboration outside Discworld, co-written with hard-SF novelist Stephen Baxter. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Long Earth - Book 2:
The Long War
The Long War followed The Long Earth a year later, continuing the series as its second entry and expanding the premise into wars over stepping rights as humanity floods into the Long Earth's endless frontier. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Long War - Book 3:
The Long Mars
The Long Mars is the third book in The Long Earth, published in June 2014 at 424 pages, following the political and ecological consequences of infinite frontier further as Pratchett and Baxter's saga continues. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Long Mars - Book 4:
The Long Utopia
The Long Earth continues with The Long Utopia, the fourth entry, released in June 2015, tracking generational change as children grow up never having known a non-Long Earth. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Long Utopia - Book 5:
The Long Cosmos
At 400 pages, The Long Cosmos is the shortest book in The Long Earth to date, published in 2016 as the fifth and final entry -- completed by Baxter after Pratchett's death from Alzheimer's the previous year. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Long Cosmos
Key facts about The Long Earth series
Our list has 5 books in The Long Earth series. Since all 5 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with The Long Earth, since it opens the publication order in 2012. The Long War is book 2, from 2013. The Long Mars is book 3, from 2014.
The Long Utopia is book 4, from 2015. The Long Cosmos is book 5, from 2016.
The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
The Long Cosmos is the latest book with a full release date, out on 30 June 2016. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.
The books came out between 2012 and 2016, while their length runs from 400 to 448 pages. That is a run of 4 years.
Terry Pratchett has 58 books on our list. Additionally, they write Discworld, The Bromeliad Trilogy and The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy. We shelve the books under science fiction.
About The Long Earth
When a simple homemade device called a Stepper lets ordinary people 'step' sideways into a parallel, uninhabited version of Earth -- and then another, and another, in a chain of infinite Earths stretching in both directions -- human civilization is transformed overnight. The Long Earth (2012) follows Joshua Valiente, a natural stepper who never needs the device at all, as he's recruited by an artificial intelligence calling itself Lobsang to explore the Long Earth's outer reaches, encountering the strange non-human intelligences already living there and the mass migration of humanity fleeing an overcrowded 'Datum' Earth for endless new frontiers. It's Terry Pratchett's first major sustained collaboration outside Discworld, pairing his character-driven wit with hard-SF novelist Stephen Baxter's love of big, rigorous speculative concepts.
The four sequels -- The Long War, The Long Mars, The Long Utopia, and The Long Cosmos -- expand the premise across decades, following the political, ecological, and existential consequences of infinite frontier: wars over stepping rights, the discovery of other stepping species, generational change as children grow up never having known a non-Long Earth, and a first-contact story that spans far more than one Earth. Pratchett, in the late stages of the Alzheimer's disease that eventually took his life in 2015, worked on the series until shortly before his death, with the final volume published posthumously.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in The Long Earth series?
Five: The Long Earth (2012), The Long War (2013), The Long Mars (2014), The Long Utopia (2015), and The Long Cosmos (2016).
What order should I read The Long Earth books in?
Publication order: The Long Earth, The Long War, The Long Mars, The Long Utopia, The Long Cosmos. It's a continuous story across all five.
Did Terry Pratchett write all of The Long Earth himself?
No -- all five books are co-written with hard-SF author Stephen Baxter, Pratchett's first sustained collaborator outside his Discworld work with Neil Gaiman.
Is The Long Earth connected to Discworld?
No -- it's an entirely separate contemporary/near-future science fiction setting with no shared characters or continuity.
Was The Long Cosmos published before or after Terry Pratchett's death?
The Long Cosmos (2016) was published just over a year after Pratchett died in March 2015; he worked on the series with Baxter until shortly before his death.
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