strange and random happenstance

The dream of any book fanatic is that your favorite author will come to town. That for once you won't have to travel to some far flung location just to catch a glimpse of them. The fact that Madison has a rather large fall book festival now has helped to increase the odds of someone I love paying a visit, but it's still hit or miss. For every Natasha Pulley, Alexander McCall Smith, and Charlaine Harris, there are easily thirty authors I don't care to see speak. In fact this past fall I didn't go to a single event at the Wisconsin Book Festival, which might be a first! Thankfully I have Mystery to Me and they get quite a fair few authors coming through their doors and I am always checking their website and their newsletters to see who will be in town. Imagine my shock when I saw that Tasha Alexander would be coming! Not only is Mystery to Me local, but it is literally the closest bookstore to my house. I do not exaggerate, as I told Tasha, it is a five minute walk at most. Don't believe me? I just checked on Google Maps and it's only 0.3 miles from door to door! I couldn't have asked for a closer venue unless Tasha had been in my living room!

The event was going to be on Friday, November 6th, 2015, but the book Tasha was touring for, The Adventuress, was coming out on Tuesday, October 13th. Because I am a staunch supporter of local bookstores my rule of thumb for signings is that you must buy the book to the event you are going to at the store hosting the event. There is no excuse not to. You need to support the author and you need to support the store. If you do both the author gets to keep writing more books and might stop by the store again which you helped to keep open. Win win people! Anyway, that meant there were twenty-five days between publication and signing and I just couldn't wait that long to get my hands on Tasha's new book, though I had already got an ARC from her publishers through NetGalley I really have a thing about owning the physical book. So on October 13th I walked out my front door and took the grueling 0.3 mile walk to Mystery to Me, searched through all their copies of The Adventuress and picked the perfect one. Paid for it, put the receipt inside for the singing in November and headed home.

November 6th finally came around and my friend Marie and I were ready to have an adventure. At this point there were only two Tasha books I didn't have signed, so I placed my copy of The Counterfeit Heiress next to my copy of The Adventuress in my Mystery to Me bag from October and headed out the door to meet Marie at a restaurant three doors down from the bookstore for some hearty Irish fare. They had surprisingly changed their menu, a move not for the better which I am still bemoaning three years later, so I didn't quite enjoy dinner as much as I could. Though I could never fault the company! If I had only chosen the restaurant seven doors down in the opposite direction I would have seen Tasha earlier than the event, but such is life! After dinner Marie and I settled into the bookstore. I am of the opinion that it is best to arrive extremely early because you get the best seats and you're in a bookstore, so you'll have tons of fun looking at books until the event starts. Our seats staked out I oddly ran into an old schoolmate Jon, who I hadn't seen in person in many years, though we do chat online, and it was nice getting to talk books with him, he's a fan of cozies themed after tropical drinks and locations. I sadly was unable to get him to stay for the event which was getting ready to start.  

Because it was a cold, dark night there wasn't much of a turnout for Tasha's event, but I really don't think that mattered once she saw exactly who was in the audience, and I'm not talking about me and Marie, her devoted fans, I'm talking about a fellow author. Margaret George was in the audience. Margaret George is one of the preeminent writers of historical fiction. The only time I remember meeting her was years previously when her book Elizabeth I: A Novel came out and there was a signing at my local Barnes and Noble. Though my family as a whole has known her for years. This wasn't just because my parents were in the same circles as her, going to many of the same events, though this is true, the main reason is that we shared the same crew of construction workers. So if they weren't at our house they were at hers and vice versa resulting in many phone calls back and forth. So while I was there fangirling over Tasha, Tasha was fangirling over Margaret. To have an author you love show up for your event? I can't think of anything cooler. Plus after Tasha's presentation and Q and A she got to talk to Margaret for a bit and divulged to me she even got her email address. I was so happy for Tasha to get to have such a great and memorable experience in my hometown!

As for the talk itself? Wonderful! The fact that there were less people and it was a cold and dark night gave it this wonderful intimate feel, like we were all comrades drawn round a fire to listen to Tasha's tales. She went into greater detail about an unforgettable experience she mentions in the Author's Note at the end of The Adventuress about seeing a very fashionable lady of a certain age with an Hermes bag that contained a very well cared for live chicken. The two appeared to be window shopping along La Croisette and equally engrossed in the task. She asked her husband Andrew to back her up, and he added details to the tail about just how fascinating this was while also how obviously mundane it was for the lady and the chicken. This must be a regular occurrence for them! I love to live in a world where things like this seem like the stuff of stories but are 100% real. As any author will tell you it's the things that seem the most unbelievable that are based in fact. Tasha also talked a bit about the devotion of her fans. At a recent event she talked a bit about the next book, A Terrible Beauty, and the possible return of Emily's first husband, Philip, and a woman in the audience gasped and exclaimed "but that would make the twins illegitimate!" Tasha assured the lady that they were just characters. As for A Terrible Beauty? Come back next Friday!   

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Terrible Beauty, Alexander Autumn, Andrew Grant, ARCs, Book Signing, Chickens, Elizabeth I, Madison, Margaret George, Mystery to Me, Netgalley, Tasha Alexander, The Adventuress, The Counterfeit Heiress

Bookstore: Barnes and Noble East

Location: East Side of Madison, Wisconsin

Why I Love Them: I'm not quite sure when the Barnes and Noble higher-ups decided that the east side of Madison needed some book love, probably around the same time the Waldenbooks in East Towne Mall closed, but in 2004 a new Barnes and Noble opened in Madison. Much smaller than it's west side counterpart and having the disadvantage of being attached to the food court of East Towne Mall, it has still found a place in my heart over the years. Beyond the parking lot nightmare, the echoing noises and smells from the food court, this Barnes and Noble has a different vibe. While the stock is condensed due to size restrictions, whomever is responsible for the culling has somehow curated sections better than the west side location despite them having more room. In particular the sales section and the science fiction and fantasy section are top notch. They almost always have exactly what you are looking for, and back when I was desperate to fill out my Terry Pratchett paperback collection I turned to this Barnes and Noble and was very successful. At this point my brother would say I am being remiss if I didn't mention their CDs and DVDs. Their selection is spot on, I seriously don't know if this store just has better buyers, but if there's something rare and unique you are looking for you are sure to find it here.    

Best Buy: But what I feel really sets this Barnes and Noble apart from it's west side counterpart is their signed books. I don't know how they get so many in! I know that Barnes and Noble as an organization has been trying to get more customers through signed edition but these are usually only available online so to find them in-store, to just stumble across them, it makes my book loving heart pitter-patter with glee. They always have a plethora of Patrick Rothfuss, seeing as he lives up in Stevens Point and this Barnes and Noble is right off the interstate north it makes sense. But he isn't my best buy, that would be Blood and Beauty: A Novel About the Borgias signed by the author, Sarah Dunant. While I will wax lyrical later on about my love of Sarah Dunant and another Barnes and Noble in New York City, I still must provide a little context as to why this is my best buy. Back in 2005 I read Sarah Dunant's The Birth of Venus and something inside me clicked. I had always liked the concept of historical fiction, but I had never found a book that I instantly loved, until The Birth of Venus. If not for this book I would have probably given up on the genre and never found my favorite authors, from Lauren Willig to Tasha Alexander. I had been needing to buy Dunant's newest book, Blood and Beauty for awhile, and months after it's release I felt really bad about not supporting a favorite author, and then, there in Barnes and Noble was a signed copy. The reasons for dragging my feet were clear, I was meant to find this signed edition and add it to my library! Thank you Barnes and Noble! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barnes and Noble, Blood and Beauty, East Towne Mall, Historical Fiction, Madison, Patrick Rothfuss, Sarah Dunant, Stevens Point, Support Your Brick and Mortar, Terry Pratchett, The Birth of Venus, Waldenbooks

Bookstore: Barnes and Noble West

Location: West Side of Madison, Wisconsin

Why I Love Them: While Borders had opened in Madison four years earlier, RIP Borders, the opening of Barnes and Noble seemed like a far bigger deal. Or maybe because 1996 was when I officially came out of my cocoon emerging as the a book worm I was destined to be and therefore I greeted this store's opening with outstretched arms waiting to be filled with all they had to offer. There were literally weeks of events leading up to the official opening and because my mother was a school librarian I was lucky enough to tag along with her before the store actually opened to the public. The size of the store was mind-boggling to me. I'd never been in a bookstore before with TWO levels. There was so much my mind couldn't take it all in, I didn't know where to even start. But over the years since then I have spent so many delightful hours in the company of friends in this store, both real and those found between the pages of a book. As for all the Harry Potter midnight releases? Cherished memories! I still have my original and battered Barnes and Noble membership from the very first month they started the program in 2001. While you might think that supporting a chain is not as noble as supporting an independent store, keep in mind, these stores are in just as much jeopardy and in my mind, there's plenty of book buying I need to do in my life so I'm happy to spread it around.  

Best Buy: And as for my best buy... now this is a VERY unique one. For as long as I can remember EVERYONE in my family has been a fan of Edward Gorey. Whether it was because of his intricately detailed sets from Mystery! to his darkly humorous books we have always loved his work. Even to the point that I was personally willing to wear white t-shirts because they had his work on it, and it takes a lot for a girl to be willing to wear white, let me tell you! When Barnes and Noble had their big opening they had some unique limited edition items for sale. While I was initially drawn to everything Michael Crichton, from hardcovers to a very fetching omnibus, my gaze finally landed on this rather large box that claimed to be Dracula: The Definitive Edition Signed by Edward Gorey. As it turns out Barnes and Noble had partnered with Gorey to take his designs from the 1977 stage adaptation of Dracula starring Frank Langella as the Count and made a very nice edition of the book. Though of these editions 750 were signed by Gorey. This was one of them! This was signed by EDWARD GOREY! Yes, at $100 it was rather pricey, but to me it was and is priceless. All I knew was that I would have something he had touched and that filled me with glee. I didn't notice until I got it home that the gorgeous black tray that could be tied shut with an equally black ribbon didn't include just the book. There was also a signed lithograph! Mina looking like she'd just stepped out of the opening credits of Mystery! One day I will have to get that lithograph framed, until then I will covet it with the tenacity of a dragon with her treasure.  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Barnes and Noble, Borders, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Edward Gorey, Frank Langella, Harry Potter, Limited Edition, Lithograph, Madison, Michael Crichton, Mystery, Signed, Support Your Brick and Mortar

Bookstore: Half Price Books East

Location: East Side of Madison, Wisconsin

Why I Love Them: The Half Price Books on the East side of Madison has an entirely different vibe from the West side location. Yes, it has the same brown shelving and the plethora of odd British editions that occasionally filter into these stores, but it has something that the West location doesn't have, proximity to Maple Bluff. If you're a local you are probably nodding your head sagely and realizing that I speak the truth, but if you aren't you're asking yourself what is Maple Bluff and why would that impact a bookstore? Maple Bluff is a tiny little village on the shores of Lake Mendota that is a suburb of Madison. But it is a tony suburb. All the houses on the lakefront are millions of dollars. It's where the Govenor's mansion is, where Chris Farley grew up, and the chichi country club is located. In other words, it's the place where when you're little your parents drive you around to show you the really big houses you will probably never set foot in. These houses are peopled with individuals who subscribe to Easton Press and The Folio Society, and then, when they don't need or want these beautiful editions, they sell them, to the nearest Half Price Books. Oh, the limited editions you can find there. The times I've drooled over books so special they are behind glass. In fact most books that would be behind glass at other stores are just out in the open here, because that's the inventory they stock. Writing this is making me realize I haven't been there since January and who knows what might have come in! In fact, I think I might go there today!

Best Buy: But there will always be one day I will forever hold in my memory as magical. A day on which I had thankfully just been paid because I literally spent my entire paycheck. I was on the east side with my friend Matt. We'd often hit the restaurants on that side of town for dinner because the franchises are different than on the west side due to interstate traffic. It was an unwritten rule that no matter where we ate we ALWAYS went to the bookstore afterward. A few years earlier The New York Public Library had issued these beautiful hardcover collector's editions that I coveted. I remember seeing them at Borders and being jealous when my friend Huyen bought their copy of Mansfield Park. Eventually I noticed that you didn't see them anywhere anymore and I worried that I had missed my chance. But that only meant my hunt moved onto used bookstores. I remember the thrill as I spotted Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre that evening after dinner. My eyes quickly scanned to the left and there was Mansfield Park! I couldn't believe my luck. But then my mind started reeling... if they had two might they have more? By this point I had memorized all the books in the set and I scrambled through the fiction section. They had Alcott, Cather, Chekhov, Conrad, Dickens, Dickinson, Drieser, Hardy, de Laclos, Lawrence, and Wharton! As I jumped from C to D to H, all within sight of each other my arms became more and more burdened. But it was a burden of joy. Matt came over and saw me and rolled his eyes. He knew me too well to try to interrupt such a book buying experience. The ONLY downside is that they didn't have Frankenstein... but I still look and one day I WILL find. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Borders, Chris Farley, East Side, Easton Press, Folio Society, Frankenstein, Half Price Books, Jane Eyre, Madison, Mansfield Park, Maple Bluff, New York Public Library, Support Your Brick and Mortar

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Everything changed on "Step Day." One day there was one Earth. Overcrowded and dying slowly. Then innumerable Earths opened up just a step away. Pure, untouched, Earth as it once was or could have been, yet completely uninhabited, save for animals and insects. Each Earth different and another step away. All because of a simple device whose instructions where placed online. A machine powered by a potato, that could lead you to these infinite worlds, only one after the other in sequence though. Yet there was Joshua. Joshua didn't need a stepper. He was a natural. Unbeknownst to him, so was his mother. At the time of his birth, Joshua's mother accidentally stepped and Joshua was born and left for a moment on an Earth all his own. That was when he first became aware of the silence.

On Step Day Joshua inadvertently became a hero because due to his natural stepping ability, he was able to go from one Earth to the next without having the debilitating nausea that most people experienced. That night he rescued countless children from Earth 1 and brought them back to Datum Earth, or so they would come to be known as. Joshua became something of a folk hero then, because he was more comfortable out exploring the Long Earth as it came to be called, than back in the Home on Allied Drive.

Yet in a world that was changing so fast, taxes and policing having new definitions, with people abandoning their lives, with precious metals becoming worthless, with iron becoming precious because of it's inability to be taken on a step, one corporation stands tall. The Black Corporation. They summon Joshua to their headquarters for a special mission. Lobsang is a reincarnated Tibetan motorcycle repairman who now resides as an AI in a computer. Yet he is definitely human, in that he proved it in a court of law. Lobsang wants Joshua to take him to the end of the Long Earth. They will journey to worlds end in a flying dirigible.

Lobsang has theories about what he will find and Joshua is his fail safe. Joshua can bring him back if anything where to go wrong. Also, Joshua won't get sick on the journey. The two of them set forth, jumping from world to world in the blink of an eye. The way they travel, watching movies at night and eating fine cuisine, makes Joshua a little jaded, and even wish for the way he used to travel. Yet, in all his travels he has never seen the mysterious creatures that are known as Trolls and Elves till now. Soon he realizes that there is more to the Long Earth than anyone could have ever imagined. And that's what scares people the most back on Datum Earth.

This book had two very good reasons for going straight to the top of my "to be read" pile, well, actually three, in that I've been waiting for it to come out for a year... The first reason is my undying love of Terry Pratchett. He is just the most amazing writer out there able to combine hard truths with laugh out loud humor. The second reason is that a fair amount of this book takes place in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin! Ok, so, it's not really a weird coincidence that it takes place in Madison, seeing as Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter used last years North American Discworld Convention that was here in Madison as a research trip and therefore thought setting a good chunk of the book in Madison was handy. At the convention they had a panel where the two of them discussed basically the structure of how the "Long Earth" works, so I had some foreknowledge as to how stepping worked. The idea fascinated me. It's not really an original hypothesis, versions of this theory have existed, even in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials books, we have worlds upon worlds stacked on top of each other only a slim knife's cut away. But here the lack of humanity is intriguing. Also the idea that all the Earths are what could have been possible had something happened differently is fascinating.

At times though, the book does get bogged down in the science of the hows, whys and wherefores. As the authors said, this first book in the series, is more just an introduction to the concept of the Long Earth. A travelogue wherein we familiarize ourselves with how things work. This of course brought to mind the writing style of Douglas Adams, with his Hitchhiker's Trilogy. If you think about those books, nothing much happens, yet you are travelling with these people through space. I think this book owes a lot to Adams, Doctor Who, and Mark Twain. The airship after all is named the Mark Twain, and it very much reminded me of a movie I watched once which I believe was a dramatization of Tom Sawyer Abroad,  a novel by Mark Twain featuring Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in a parody of a Jules Verne-esque adventure story. I distinctly remember the hot air balloon knocking the nose off of the sphinx. So, I can see the validity of people who claimed that this book was thin on plot. Though everything else made up for that loose, and, really, it's the first book, we have to see where it's going.

What really intrigued me though was all the things that would fall under the category of "that's so Pratchett." How the "other" creatures they encounter would account for an actual basis in mythology of Trolls and Elves. The "iron" that the fae feared being the only metal unable to step. His love of the word susurrus. His humor, dear lord, his dead on humor. It was subtler than in some of his other books, but still, to have the AI Lobsang, who I kept picturing as Jude Law from AI, constantly being unclear in his loyalties yet encouraging movie night wherein they would watch 2001. Or where he would say how he had originally created his appearance and demeanor based on the replicants from Bladerunner. To have Lobsang not just have these overtones, but then have Lobsang himself with a nudge and a wink then reference them himself was priceless. I particularly liked when he started to take on his "British Butler" persona, seeing as if there is a true flaw in the book, it's that the authors being British using turns of phrase that Americans would never use, so therefore the Butler kind of made up the language gap. I really think that David from Prometheus has a thing or three to learn from Lobsang.

In the end, I will say that this is yet another series of Terry Pratchett's that I will eagerly await the next book. Even if my heart will forever remain in Discworld, I was happy to say that I really enjoyed this book, far far more than his other stand alone, Nation, but that is another story all together, not just the "book" by my dislike of that book... he should have so stopped before the afterword... ok, I said I wasn't going to get into it, so I won't. Pratchett is wonderful, Baxter worked well with him, but again, like Gaiman and Good Omens, I think it's Pratchett's voice that comes out the clearest.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bladerunner, Datum Earth, Doctor Who, Douglas Adams, Elves, Joshua, Madison, Mark Twain, Philip Pullman, Prometheus, Step Day, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Trolls

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The possibilities are endless. (Just be careful what you wish for. . . .)

1916: The Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive—some say mad, others allege dangerous—scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson find a curious gadget: a box containing some rudimentary wiring, a three-way switch, and . . . a potato. It is the prototype of an invention that will change the way humankind views the world forever.

The first novel in an exciting new collaboration between Discworld creator Terry Pratchett and the acclaimed SF writer Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth transports readers to the ends of the earth—and far beyond. All it takes is a single step. . . . "

Well, I've been impatienly waiting for this book for over a year, mainly because I adore Terry Pratchett, but also because it's set in my home town! Also, now that I read the discription... Percy Blakeney? Is there some Scarlet Pimpernel in this too!?!

The Girl Below by Bianca Zander
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 19th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Suki Piper is a stranger in her hometown. . . .

After ten years in New Zealand, Suki returns to London, to a city that won't let her in. However, a chance visit with Peggy—an old family friend who still lives in the building where she grew up—convinces Suki that there is a way to reconnect with the life she left behind a decade earlier. But the more involved she becomes with Peggy's dysfunctional family, including Peggy's wayward sixteen-year-old grandson, the more Suki finds herself mysteriously slipping back in time—to the night of a party her parents threw in their garden more than twenty years ago, when something happened in an old, long-unused air-raid shelter. . . .

A breathtaking whirlwind of mystery, transgression, and self-discovery, Bianca Zander's The Girl Below is a haunting tale of secrets, human frailty, and dark memory that heralds the arrival of an extraordinary new literary talent. "

Something just draws me to this book... past secrets maybe? Also, I do love books that take place in the past and present, without being time travel.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bianca Zander, Madison, Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett, The Girl Below, The Long Earth

Morning came all too soon and I thought, was I crazy signing up to do crafts first thing in the morning? Again, yes to the crazy, no to the wrong. It was actually quite relaxing and calm. At first my friend Jess and I where thinking, oh, this looks lame, just pieces of paper to color. But no! It was vinyl! So cool and colored really well. My Igor (seen above) is a very dandy Igor. A fop if you would. The gentleman's gentleman of the undead. After our Igor session, which being our first craft session made us realize that the sessions needed to be far longer to get anything done. I didn't even finish my Igor! But Jess and I had a lot of fun switching and trading body parts.

After this I went to a book signing with Stephen Player. Stephen Player is the artist who did the art for the Discworld and Ankh-Morpork maps as well as all the art for the illustrated Wee Free Men. Stephen was incredibly nice and I got to share a little story with him, because his poster he did for the con had the Wisconsin State Capital on it, I said that he probably doesn't know that it's the second largest in the US, it was the first, but it had to be rebuilt because there can not be a capital building taller than the one in Washington D.C. Take that history classes! Make me tour that Capital repeatedly, I will retain something.

After a long lunch and a little shopping we got there nice and early for Terry's panel on his new book series, The Long Earth, being written with Stephen Baxter. Some of the book is even set in Madison! The basic idea is that there are any number of earths, but say you want to go to earth 50, you have to go through earth 1-49 to get to it. In essence, chain parallel worlds. Could be an interesting concept. Stephen works with the sciencey bits and Terry works with the storytelling bits. Should be out in 2012, and I'll be sure to pick up a copy.

After this we had an hour till the "Talk with Terry." Aka, Rob and Terry just chatting. In that time Jess bravely kept the seats, which where multiply attacked by invading forces, including a cameraman! I went to see Patrick Rothfuss, which was something that caused a bit of a to-do. The problem was, the website stated all "Kaffee Klatches" (of which this was one) where going to be lottery to determine the 15 people to attend. This was not the case, it was first come first serve. I, being older, wiser, and more willing to make people stick to what they say, raised a bit of a kerfuffle. I was going and that was that. In the end I won. I thank the people at the con for working with me and admitting there was a mistake and letting me participate and not giving me something to look back on and be pissed about. The Klatch ran long so I was a few minutes late to the talk... oops.

Rob and Terry just sat and talked about their normal kind of day while Rob fought to keep Terry talking into the microphone. They reminisced about this little town they found in New Zealand that was straight out of another time, which ironically was on the same day they went to visit Hobbiton, which is out of a different world. Rob said that he never wanted to leave Hobbiton and he was sad he couldn't post or share any of the pictures he took, but he said it was still worth it. They also discussed that Terry has never let Rob be employee of the month, that honor always being bestowed on the cat, because she never talks about her grandma. For picture of said employee click here. It was also rumored that Terry is planing on writing his autobiography and that most days he feels like a cat with a really long tail in a room full of rocking chairs.

Instead of staying for the Masque, we went out for Chinese food, some book browsing and a game of skittles, which is a wicked awesome British pub game that everyone should play and which I shouldn't have taught to Matt because he got way too good too fast.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Discworld, Hobbiton, Igor, Kaffee Klatch, Madison, NADWCon, Patrick Rothfuss, Rob Wilkins, Stephen Baxter, Stephen Player, Terry Pratchett, The Long Earth