Sunday, January 05, 2014
Dodger and The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
A big cheer for Dodger! This is a satisfying read. A different way of looking at Dodger, Charles Dickens, and Sweeney Todd with real personalities for some characters who are usually as uninteresting as boards. The sewers are still mucky in this setting but the views are twisted in that Disc World way that Terry Pratchett has. I read it through almost without stopping and enjoyed every bit. I was kept wondering what would happen next and how Terry Pratchett would get Dodger through the current twist. I really appreciated this fun read after finishing The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.
I know that readers have different reactions to books and there will be many people who enjoy The Long Earth but I found it depressing. The Long Earth features a new universe or series of universes that open up what seems to be unlimited possibilities for humans. Some, most?, people can step though using technology from one world to another each slightly different and most unpopulated. For me, the story was bleak and the characters were depressing. I found it hard to keep reading when I felt that while there were many good people who were looking for personal or cultural betterment that the actions of the greedy and bigoted would negate their actions. It felt like a hopeless world to me. A string of hopeless worlds streaked by hate and violence and not redeemed by love or charity. Self-centered, a portrait of the flaws of humans.
I know that readers have different reactions to books and there will be many people who enjoy The Long Earth but I found it depressing. The Long Earth features a new universe or series of universes that open up what seems to be unlimited possibilities for humans. Some, most?, people can step though using technology from one world to another each slightly different and most unpopulated. For me, the story was bleak and the characters were depressing. I found it hard to keep reading when I felt that while there were many good people who were looking for personal or cultural betterment that the actions of the greedy and bigoted would negate their actions. It felt like a hopeless world to me. A string of hopeless worlds streaked by hate and violence and not redeemed by love or charity. Self-centered, a portrait of the flaws of humans.
