The Long Haul

I hadn't planned on reading The Long Mars on launch day, given that I was relatively underwhelmed by its predecessor, The Long War, but I happened to finish the incredible Dune on that day, and knew The Long Mars would be a quick and diverting read.

The Long Mars doesn't really depart from what Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's co-written series has offered thus far. Some decades ago now, humanity experienced 'Step Day', giving them access to a technology that allowed them to simply and easily 'step' into an adjacent world, slightly divergent from our own 'Datum Earth' in some minor or major way, a rough exploration of a multiverse theory, in a kind of frontiersman way. This concept has so much potential for telling interesting stories, and that continues to be the huge strength of the series. There has been a steady progression of scope, as the title indicates, but the core concept remains the same.

The Long Mars still feels like a Sci-Fi 'travel novel' on a big scale. It remains very much a vehicle (more 'Twains', in this case) to explore these ideas, rather than being a great narrative in its own right, and, despite the genuine excitement I have for all that it's showing, this is where things rather come apart.

As a novel, it pretty much sucks. As with The Long Earth and The Long War, there never seem to be any notable stakes. Nothing is on the line, at least nothing over which the characters have any control. Where there is tension, it is short term, situational, and with generally little payoff. It wasn't until the last 20% of the book where any real threat or risk is truly felt, and then, it doesn't extend all that far.

In any one of these books, I would respect that, as a willing departure from narrative conventions. But across all three, it feels almost dull, which is precisely what this shouldn't be, given the promise carried by the setting. For the third time now, I've felt like we're perhaps building to some greater payoff in a later book, but so far, it's more like being strung along with not much to go on in the interim.

Aside from these general problems, I found some of the writing fairly clunky. Heavy exposition in the early pages seems to be the norm for books partway through a series, and here, I found it quite clumsy, almost distractedly so, with the characters seeming wooden, or excessively stating the obvious to bring the reader up to speed. I question how much 'real estate' of an already pretty short book should be devoted to this. Equally, I don't feel like anyone skipping the first two books would be hindered all that much from enjoying this one.

The gentlemen themselves

The characters themselves also fall short, feeling very distant from the reader. In some cases, I'm sure that's intentional but as much as many choose to push people away and not let them get too close, it's awkward when that extends to the reader. I still don't feel that much for most of the characters, even the ones that have stuck around since The Long Earth. Maybe it's a byproduct of my own frame of mind when reading this series, but so far it's three for three on this - combined with the general lack of stakes, it means I struggle to care about these people and what happens to them.

Ultimately, that's what The Long Mars is - another good offering on precisely the same lines as the rest of the series. If you enjoyed either of the first two books, like as not, you'll enjoy this. If you're not familiar with the series, but you love reading something that explores a fundamentally compelling idea, it's worth checking out the series, with the above caveats in mind. I know that Pratchett and Baxter are planning more books, and I still plan on reading them, despite all the issues I've acknowledge, because, at the end of the day, they continue to deliver something that is a quick and highly thought-provoking read, which is, for me, worth enduring the shortcomings.

What about you? Are you already familiar with the series? What have been your thoughts thus far? Should books like this be more focussed on delivering a solid narrative, or is the exploration of an idea sometimes enough to speak for itself? Share your thoughts in the comments. If you haven't already, you can also find me on Twitter, @mastergeorge