Son of Man vs The long earth: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Fiction
Son of Man
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1972 Locus Poll Award nominee, best SF novel IN THE BEGINNING... there was no Brooklyn, no St. Louis, no Shakespeare, no moon, no hunger, no death... IN THE BEGINNING... there were no real men, no real women, nothing…
The long earth
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Terry Pratchett, other than lending his name to this book, wasn't a part of it. No humor and dark reading. Mr. Baxter should have published it under his own name, he can write, just not to my liking. gmb 3/15/20
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The long earth highest: The long earth 3.8 · Son of Man 3.4.
- Son of Man is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for The long earth.
- The long earth has the widest readership — 63255 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Son of Man | The long earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.4 (599) | 3.8 (63255) |
| Hardcover | 2.6 (5) | 5.0 (1) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (4) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (401) |
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Reception
| Son of Man | The long earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 599 | 63255 |
| Editions | 14 | 14 |
| Citations | 2 | — |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 55284 |
| Reading it now | — | 2955 |
| Written reviews | — | 5729 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2815 | 2235 |
| Pages | 212 | 400 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Son of Man or The long earth?
The long earth has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The long earth 3.8/5, Son of Man 3.4/5).
Which is shorter to read: Son of Man or The long earth?
Son of Man is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Son of Man (212 pages, ≈ 3 h 56 m); The long earth (400 pages, ≈ 7 h 24 m).
Which is harder to read: Son of Man or The long earth?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Son of Man: Moderate; The long earth: Moderate.