The Forever War Reviews
The Forever War
Guaranteed The monumental Hugo & Nebula award-winning nth SF classic – with a new foreword by John Scalzi
The Earth’s leaders a line in the interstellar sand have signed up – despite the fact that foreign enemy into oppose the violent w? RDEN is unergr? TALLY, invincible, & very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an Milit? Summary elite unit, Private William Mandella has been catapulted through time & space into fight in the distant thousand-year old conflict with k?; The performance of their duties & do what
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August 31st, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Review by B.D. Milligan for The Forever War
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I was somewhat taken aback by the style of this novel at first. After reading a few dozen pages, however, I could clearly see why this book is considered classic military science fiction. This is a fascinating contrast to Starship Troopers. Haldeman’s style is terse and effective, seasoned with a sly sense of humor throughout. The protagonist, William Mandella, is a likeable military everyman with whom a reader readily identifies. The battle scenes are particularly well done, allowing a reader to easily follow the action without the confusion that would plague a less skillful account. The Forever War is notable for its exploration of the temporal effects of faster than light travel, i.e., Mandella’s tours of duty last hundreds of years on earth, while for him, only a few years pass. Mandella goes forth to battle, having no idea what type of home will await him in the unlikely event that he survives. Eventually, Mandella is rendered a human anachronism, a veteran in command of troops he can barely understand. The parallels with Vietnam were mostly lost on me, as I’m too young to relate, but the theme of coming home to a world one no longer recognizes is more than ably developed. Another theme that gets a lot of play is that of the unintended consequences of social engineering as Earth’s society “evolves.” Some of the changes to Earth that Mandella witnesses are disturbing, many are humorous, and the final chapter is extremely unusual and thought-provoking. More than just a cold military fantasy, The Forever War has a surprising emotional impact as well. Best of all, Haldeman makes his points with subtlety and humor, not by nailing them into your skull. A terrific read that I would recommend to anyone without hesitation.
August 31st, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Review by Ryan Harvey for The Forever War
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Haldeman originally wrote this novel as an allegory of the Vietnam war, told through the eyes of a reluctant soldier caught up in a battle that never seemed to end, while the world he left behind changed drastically. However, it applies to all wars, in any time, and the book has never lost its timeliness.Main character William Mandella serves in the war against the mysterious Taurans, which, because of time dilation udring his spaceship travels, lasts for seven hundred years while Mandella ages only ten. Earth alters, lifestyles completely change, and Mandella wonders the purpose of the senseless warfare. Although specifically allegorical, Haldeman’s novel is powerful enough to apply to all combat. In a way, this could be seen as the opposite to Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_, with reluctant soldiers caught in purposeless combat, and a hero who is neither more skilled or heroic than any other solider around him-he has merely lasted longer than the others. The book has many great touching moments in between the furious combat scenes (a few of which are confusing), such a Mandella’s separation from his love Marygay Potter, and a sad return to an Earth that has aged beyond their understanding. A deserving classic of many awards, and I’m sure it will never age as long as warfare is still with us.
September 1st, 2010 at 12:43 am
Review by jj for The Forever War
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“The Forever War” is authored by a Vietnam Veteran who uses the colorful setting of the future “Forever” War as an allegory for The ‘Nam and the feelings of its vets. This powerful book grabs the reader quickly and throws him straight into the first-person world of William Mandela, would-be physics professor turned soldier by the Earth’s military fight alien Taurans in a war with nebulous origins. Due to complications posed by relativity, each time the combatants engage, the battle is completely lopsided because one race will have the technological advantages endowed by time on their side. For example, if Earth sends a mission that takes 300 years for the mission to reach it’s goal, the enemy already had 300 years to prepare and upgrade defenses, so the mission’s tech is obsolete. Then, if the Taurans attack our outpost, the same thing happens. With no communication between the two races, no chance of winning, but the ever present chance of defeat, an eternal war is created. Halderman also captures the disorientation experienced by GIs who came back from horrific combat, and were expected to instantly adjust to 1960′s “Ozzy and Harriet” American culture. The “Forever War” has a cynical ring that I instantly loved, as well as sublimely juxtaposing the positive and negative potentials of humans as individuals and a race. The military details are right on target, from the lingo and attitudes to soldiers’ attitudes. Overall, I’d definitely recommend “The Forever War” to anyone with an interest in Sci-Fi. It’ll also teach you about the motivations of warriors who turn peacemakers.
September 1st, 2010 at 1:30 am
Review by Barry John McGovern for The Forever War
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This book is a perfect blend of hard-edged scifi, thrilling action and wrenching emotion. I was instantly enveloped in the story and involved with the character of Mandella, the almost accidental,reluctant everyman/hero. Many have compared/contrasted this book with Starship Troopers I have even read a critique referring to it as a “caustic reply” to the Heinlein classic. I feel thay have more in common then differences and in fact make a great companion pieces. Once you understand that both authors were involved in different kinds of wars in real life you can understand their different experiences of war, Heinlein,the “Great Crusade” of WW2, and Haldeman,the greatest foreign policy disaster in US history, Vietnam. It’s no wonder Haldeman is somewhat more cynical about conflict, its causes and its purposes. But neither author is cynical about the spirit of the common man.
September 1st, 2010 at 1:38 am
Review by Denny Gibbons for The Forever War
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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.