The Forever War by Joe Haldeman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Forever War
Book Review: A book you must read
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first read this book, I knew I had found something I would read many more times. This was science fiction with a heart and mind. I think what I love most about this novel is that while it is brutal, it is about how a person can be swept along by terrible events far beyond their control and still remain a human being. There is so much I want to say about this book, but I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't read it yet. Let me just say that though the book is brutal at times, Haldeman is not a cruel man, and he does give us more than just death. In fact I was so intrigued by the book I read everything I could about the author's experience in Vietnam and I think I can safely say he toned the war in the book down for William Mandella (the protagonist). This is great fiction, and the fact that it is science fiction is a nice plus for fans of the genre. However I really believe this a book most anyone would enjoy.Book Review: A brilliant novel that is as relevant now as ever -- perhaps even more so
Summary: 5 Stars
Decades before BATTLESTAR GALACTICA began allegorizing contemporary political issues in a Sci-fi setting, Joe Haldeman wrote THE FOREVER WAR as a polemic against the military mindset that created and sustained the situation in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the novel is more relevant today than it was then, with Neoconservatives and their philosophy of perpetual militarization of foreign policy embedded not merely in government but in the many corporations that are driven by the need to be engaged in perpetual war. Take away war and what would happen to many branches of Halliburton?
THE FOREVER WAR tells the story of the conflict between the Taurans and humans from Earth over the course of several hundred years as told through the eyes of one William Mandella, who starts off as a private and ends as a major. But because of the vagaries of space travel, while Mandella ages only a couple of decades over the course of the novel's narrative, relatively on Earth over a thousand years pass. Some of the more compelling as well as least convincing sections involve his imagining of what life in the military in the future would be like, especially in regards to gender and sexuality. For instance, early on he imagines a completely integrated male and female army, with men and women apparently compelled to partner up each evening for sleep and presumably sexual recreation. As the centuries pass, however, fashions change and homosexuality becomes the dominant (actually, exclusive) sexual preference, before shifting back again at the end to heterosexuality. This is all less progressive than it sounds, homosexuality being treated with a mildly homophobic air. At least the narrative seems to present what the Religious Right would describe as the triumph of the homosexual agenda as a rather shocking affair. More positively, the novel is remarkably progressive for the early seventies in presenting an astonishingly nonpatriarchal view of male-female relations. The women in the novel are not treated with even a hint of condescension. Haldeman also imagines a world in which pot is smoked as readily as tobacco. The novel also reflects the urgency with which the population explosion was treated in the seventies (not that it is a non-issue today, but in the seventies it was perceived as a more insoluble problem than global warming is today).
Interestingly, the least interesting parts of the book are the action sequences. The book is at its best in describing such things as logistics and how the various soldiers get along with one another. Not that the action is poorly done; it is simply that the rest is so brilliantly written. There is even a very nicely done love arc, with a surprisingly happy ending.
Since its initial publication, THE FOREVER WAR has appeared on lists of the best Sci-fi novels ever written. It fully deserves the acclaim and I would strongly urge any Sci-fi fan who hasn't read the book to do so. It is also of considerable interest to students in gender studies for its progressive treatment of women and its peculiar treatment of alternative sexualities. Finally, it is of interest to those interested in anti-war narratives in general and in anti-Vietnam narratives in particular. It is unquestionably one of the more significant Sci-fi texts of the past few decades.
Book Review: A classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Though it has been nearly thirty years since this book was published, "The Forever War" has still managed to do what most science fiction novels cannot: stand the test of time. And even though I am too young to have seen the Vietnam War (of which this book is a metaphor), this novel remains one of my favorite science fiction stories.
The book follows the exploits of William Mandella, an elite conscript in the first interstellar war between humans and aliens. Though the book begins in 1997 (which, at the time of its publication, was about twenty years in the future), it spans a period of almost 1,200 years that Mandella lives through, due to relativity as a result of him traveling at faster-than-light speeds through space. While Mandella and his fellow soldiers only age months, the Earth ages centuries and becomes ultimately more alien than the creatures they are fighting.
This book is great because it goes against the time-honored genre of science fiction that has become so formulaic and cliched. The whole point of this book is that good and evil aren't black and white absolutes, and it shows war for what it is: a hellish slaughter. Haldeman's blunt, cold style of writing paints us a vivid picture of the futility of the war that Mandella is fighting, and it doesn't dramatize or glorify it as Hollywood has been doing for years.
All in all, a great read for any fan of the genre, especially for those who are tired of sci-fi stories with "Star Wars" type romanticism.
Book Review: A easy and enjoyable SF read--with bonus social commentary
Summary: 5 Stars
I finally read the classic 1974 sci-fi novel by Joe Haldeman called The Forever War which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1975 and 1976, respectively. These are pretty significant achievements and it would be difficult for a book to live up to them.
This one does.
The central premise is about a war between humans and aliens that is occurring way out in space so that even though faster-than-light is possible via wormholes, the trips ends up taking decades of Earth-time. The author uses this relativistic effect as a time-machine that allows the characters to experience huge time shifts and allows the author to speculate on Earth's future in exciting, engrossing and particularly amusing ways.
The protagonist of the book is an Everyman: William Mandella, a (presumably) straight white American male who is conscripted to fight the aliens despite a 50% casualty rate and somehow manages to survive multiple missions in what becomes known as "The Forever War."
GRADE: A.
Book Review: A good Sci-Fi read, made me think
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this on the recommendation of a few lists on Amazon. I was trying to get back the the basics of good thought provoking sci-fi with an action/military element. This book delivered!
The aspects of time dilation and how they could be facing an enemy from their future or past and how it took weeks to decelerate from lightspeed, whew.
The characters were well portrayed, the scenery amazing, and the ending...well, read it for yourself.
I have also read Ender's Game and Armor, in keeping with my current reading scheme. Both excellent and all three I'll read again.