The Forever War by Joe Haldeman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Forever War
Book Review: Dated... for the future!?
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an easy-to-read scifi story that is more involved with fastforwarding the timeline to see Humanity in different stages of social evolution (basically from modern time and into the distant future) with a heavy focus on sexuality. A lot of it is far fetched and odd, but that's ok because it IS scifi. Overall it is a good read with interesting details and descriptions that I'd probably recommend to any adult that enjoys reading.Book Review: Doesn't quite stand the test of time.
Summary: 3 Stars
I feel much the same after reading Forever War as I did when I finished reading Haldeman's companion book, Forever Peace, but worse. I liked Forever Peace better. I was underwhelmed by the ending of Forever War, hoping for something a little more exciting. The ending to Forever Peace stayed with me for a while and I grew to like it better as time went by. That definitely won't be the case here. I did like the ending in Forever War, especially the way things turned out with Mandella's girlfriend Marygay, but I felt it needed a little more of a twist. Earths's population morphing into a cloned master race was interesting and unexpected but I would have enjoyed learning more about how that development came about. I assume Haldeman fleshes out that transformation more in the sequel to Forever War, Forever Free. Additionally, I really liked tracking how the human race socially evolved from one century to the next as well as the evolution of the tools of war, but I wasn't so crazy about the portrayal of earth during the short period of Mandella's return. I thought Heinlein's Earth in Starship Troopers was more compelling. Still, I enjoyed the book. I think my expectations were set too high due to the fact that it was a Hugo and Nebula award winning novel, just as they were set too high when I finished reading Forever Peace for the same reason. That tells me that both books must have made more of an impact when they first came out than they do many years later. Forever War seemed a little dated in some areas and Forever Peace isn't as cutting edge after the release of the Matrix movies with whom it shares some key concepts.
It's a good thing Forever War was not a long book. I think Joe Halderman's writing style is much more appropriate to a short book rather than a 500+ page novel or an epic trilogy, as opposed to someone like Walter John Williams who can pull off military science fiction in a much longer format as illustrated in his excellent Dread Empire's Fall saga. Had Forever War gone on much longer it would have quickly become boring and repetitive, something it barely avoided as it is. Overall, the book was well worth reading and would be enjoyed by any fan of military science fiction.
Book Review: Enjoyable but overrated?
Summary: 3 Stars
I know it's supposed to be kind of a classic but I wasn't particularly bowled over. I found it engaging and occassionally exciting but never really engrossing. Mediocre character development is somewhat offset by the mind-blowing idea of fighting a war under the circumstances of "time dilation" caused by traveling vast distances at near light speed. It picked up another star because of its exciting and satisfying ending.Book Review: Excellent Book
Summary: 4 Stars
It was interesting in that part of the book took place during what is now the present day. The book is well written. The concept does not get lost with the book not taking place completely in the future. It was interesting to see what the author thought the world could possibly be like in the future.Book Review: Excellent Science Fiction/War Parable
Summary: 4 Stars
The plot and character development, rather than the sections depicting action, really allow the Forever War to shine. Although there are many parallels to Vietnam--an enemy whom we are inherently not able to understand--there are also parallels to today's war on terror. The final act of the novel, a long action sequence, weighs the novel down--much like the last act of Heinlein's Starship Troopers--in unnecessarily technical depiction of heavy combat and pseudo science. However, the Forever War, in its science fiction dramatization of the psychological, social, and personal toll of war on society, and in particular, one individual, remains a stand-out sci fi novel. Haldeman definitely deserved both the Hugo and Nebula awards (both of which he won).