The Forever War

The Forever War
Joe Haldeman | 1991-05-01 00:00:00 | Eos | 272 | War

Private William Mandella is a hero in spite of himself -- a reluctant conscript drafted into an elite military unit, and propelled through space and time to fight in a distant thousand-year conflict. He never wanted to go to war, but the leaders on Earth have drawn a line in the interstellar sand -- despite the fact that their fierce alien enemy is unknowable, unconquerable, and very far away. So Mandella will perform his duties without rancor and even rise up through the military's ranks . . . if he survives. But the true test of his mettle will come when he returns to Earth. Because of the time dilation caused by space travel the loyal soldier is aging months, while his home planet is aging centuries -- and the difference will prove the saying: you never can go home. . .

In the 1970s Joe Haldeman approached more than a dozen different publishers before he finally found one interested in The Forever War. The book went on to win both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, although a large chunk of the story had been cut out before it saw publication. Now Haldeman and Avon Books have released the definitive version of The Forever War, published for the first time as Haldeman originally intended. The book tells the timeless story of war, in this case a conflict between humanity and the alien Taurans. Humans first bumped heads with the Taurans when we began using collapsars to travel the stars. Although the collapsars provide nearly instantaneous travel across vast distances, the relativistic speeds associated with the process means that time passes slower for those aboard ship. For William Mandella, a physics student drafted as a soldier, that means more than 27 years will have passed between his first encounter with the Taurans and his homecoming, though he himself will have aged only a year. When Mandella finds that he can't adjust to Earth after being gone so long from home, he reenlists, only to find himself shuttled endlessly from battle to battle as the centuries pass. --Craig E. Engler
Reviews
Politically relevant, well written (and I usually am not a fan of first-person writing), and even genuinely funny at times. Also a great book for anyone who watches Star Wars or any other sci-fi fare and says "Oh come on, physics wouldn't allow for that."
Reviews
The Forever War is about a soldier, drafted to fight in a war against an alien enemy. Since the war is being fought light years from earth, and since he is shipped out and returned to earth or other bases repeatedly and at relativistic speeds, his subjective time becomes seriously compressed relative to the passage of time on earth. With each return to earth or to a base, he is growingly out of touch with earth culture.



The metaphor is the VietNam War experience for US soldiers in the 60s and 70s, and the author, Joe Haldeman, was a VietNam Vet.



So far, so good, and interesting. And I did get into the book -- it was a fast, engaging read. But I don't think, beyond the mere fact of the VietNam metaphor, I am going to be thinking about this book a month from now. Haldeman's character is thin -- I don't feel like I knew him that well -- and, I suspect as a consequence, the disorientations he experiences just weren't that deep or detailed for me.



I understand there is a movie in the making. I'd see the movie, now that I've read the book. A good director might make something more of the book than my experience in reading it (the movie, for me at least, could actually be better than the book!).



The book won numerous awards for science fiction, so maybe others saw something I didn't.
Reviews
Amazing book. Couldn't put it down! I got it on a Thursday and it was finished by Sunday. As you read it you'll think it's a fairly basic story, but after it's over and you sit and think about it you'll realize the depth and ingenious of the story. It's simply brilliant, I don't want to spoil any of the story but believe me it's worth a read. It's not terribly long so even if you're on the fence just get it, it's not going to kill you to read it.



I'd recommend it to anyone who likes war/sci-fi/good stories.
Reviews
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.



Life's too short to read this book. I am puzzled by it's winning awards and garnering great reviews. I admit, I'm not usually fond of dystopias in the first place but I am very interested in sci fi, millitary fiction and I even appreciate a bit of sexiness in books. All of which The Forever War has.



It's just that the author doesn't write any of it all that well or compelling. There's a war theme. Even a rather interesting idea of space travel warping time such that a soldier engaged in interstellar war suffers such time dilation that every time he returns "home" to earth, it's a different and alien place. Yes, that's a cool idea and plot device. However, the war story sections fall flat. The battle scenes are not compelling. The camaraderie scenes do not bond you with the main character. He's nothing like the story teller of Orson Scott Card, Eric Flint or David Weber.



The different dystopias of earth are interesting ideas -- but not told in very compelling ways.



The aliens -- they were not brought to life in any meaningful way.



The horror of war was there -- but not told in any way that would move you.



Sex -- plenty of talk about sex -- none of it actually sexy. He goes from complete sexual promiscuity where the female soldiers are required to have sex with any and every male soldier....to complete homosexuality where everyone is gay but the archaic "from the past" main character. Kind of an interesting idea...perhaps people in the 70's found it shocking...but it's not compellingly told from my current vantage point.



There's a love story theme throughout -- but again, it's simply not told well. You don't fall in love with the main character's love of each other.



I'd love to see what a David Weber or John Ringo could have done with Halderman's ideas. He had some truly interesting ideas and plot lines. But I had to force myself to finish the book. I had read half of it before starting on the five book Alvin Maker series by OSC. I read the first of those with my youngest daughter and was simply compelled to devour the next and the next. Not so with The Forever War. There are just so many other really great books that take up the themes and plot devices of this book to bother reading it.



It wasn't the worst book I've ever read. It isn't even a BAD book. There are definitely interesting thoughts and points. It's just not a very well told story.



Lee


Reviews
It's already been said, so I'll keep it short. This is a classic sci-fi war story with a totally different perspective than most war novels. It is an absolute must read!

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