The Forever War

I liked the writing style and the plot seemed promising. A war that has been going on for a thousand years against an alien race.

However, as with many war stories, it focus on the technical aspects of war that I do not find interesting. The book details the training of the troops, the special mechanized suit they had to learn how to use, the difficulties of training in a barely hospitable freezing cold environment. The unit the protagonist belongs to is the best there is, and still many are expected to die before training is over.

They're goal is to protect the portals from which instant travel to other portals in the universe is possible.

A perfectly adequate book that nonetheless didn't do much for me.

This is a 1970s era military SF book, in the spaceships-lasers-and-aliens mold. It deals with a conflict between humans and an alien race called the Taurans, about whom we never learn all that much. The plot revolves around the centuries-long conflict, narrated by drafted soldier Mandella; via relativity, he remains part of the war for much longer than a normal human lifespan. Which is where the other side of the story lies: constant culture shock, as for Mandella only a few years pass – relativistically speaking – while his home goes through decades and decades.

I suspect this was a stronger work in the '70s, when some of these ideas were more novel; these days it's all rather more pedestrian. Mandella's cynicism, likely a reflection of the post-Vietnam era in which the book was written, still plays well.

Bit disappointed with an ending that didn't feel brave enough, both for Mandella and the eminently predictable state of the war.

What a tremendous book. Probably the best of its genre I have read in many years. Military sci-fi, allegorically linked to the Vietnam War... and incredibily inventive with the time dilation plot mechanisms. Great commentary on the human condition. Loved this book!

I bought this book because the author was the special guest at a lectureship in a nearby town, and I wanted a copy to get autographed. It wasn't long after starting the book that I bought quite a few more because I simply loved it.

I knew going in that the message of the book is a general (loud and clear) anti-war message. And that coincides with my beliefs. Of course, most people are surely anti-war, but for some like myself, I think we should exhaust all other means before going to war.

The book begins in our past (well, at the time it was written, it still was the future). The majority of the story is about William Mandella as he climbs the ranks of the military after being drafted right out of college. Earth is fighting a far, far away enemy, and because of the distance, a lot of Earth time passes in between battles that happen quickly from the soldier's perspective. Due to these huge spans of time, I think the author had the opportunity to explore so many different topics and visions of the future.

Just one of the ideas explored is the draft. Only physically fit and intelligent men and women are drafted. Once drafted, they go through rigorous training in which it is known and expected that not all will live through. There are some interesting ideas about sex thrown in as well. The women are pretty much expected to have a lot of sex, likely to keep the men stable? Not sure, but interesting nonetheless.

The first attack by the Earth on the enemy is deeply cringe-worthy. It definitely seems unwarranted. The aliens seem complacent, uncaring, and we seem aggressive and hateful.

Each time Mandella goes back to Earth or back to a close base, a lot of time has passed. I loved some of the visions of the future the author had the chance to explore because of this. One is that the future becomes so overpopulated that homosexuality becomes the norm (encouraged by the powers that be). It's a dystopian future in which most citizens have weapons, even bodyguards, and expect violence.

This war lasts 1,143 years. The Earth had become so economically dependent on war that it just had to be kept up. And in the end, those involved didn't even remember why it began. There is definitely some parallel today to that concept as America continues to linger in the Middle East, and countless corporations and government agencies depend on the war for livelihood. I just hope we avoid this dismal future that Haldeman has envisioned.

Fantastic read that has stood the test of time!

I went back and forth on my opinions of this book. At first, I wasn't into it at all. Military sci-fi has never been a particularly interesting genre for me, and the futuristic conception of earth 2010 was ... well it was written in the 70s. I know at the time, Haldeman was feeling the pressure of the Vietnam War's effects on society. I can see where his fears came from and how he would have felt a real fear of a government-sanctioned zombie society where you couldn't walk outside without a bodyguard. I could see someone else today writing much the same vision for fifty years in our future. However, I had a hard trouble getting past the dated feel.

As soon as Earth was taken out of the equation, however, I found the story gripping. The time skips and relativity made my head spin quite a bit, but I felt I started to get to know Mandella better. I like that there aren't any real character shortcuts taken with him. He is a product of his society with his society's prejudices, and when he's thrust into an unwanted leadership position, he realizes there is no good way to be in that position and he's just as terrible a Major as every superior he's ever hated. His own subjective time is so short compared to the span of the book that the reader is able to feel just upside down in the universe as he is. I loved this.

However, I was most impressed by the social commentaries Haldeman presents, starting right off the bat with women in the military. I imagine his point was to say to his contemporary audience, “What if this was your daughters?” Then throw in some government compulsory promiscuity to complete the horror picture. Viewed from the modern time period, it's impressive that he's able to create a cast of female soldiers, and more impressive that half the time people are shouting orders/fighting, no distinction at all is made.

Then we zip into the future with compulsory homosexuality. Another issue from 40 years ago that is so topical today. Throwing a homophobic soldier into a world where suddenly he's an outsider, everyone thinks he's disgusting and doing their best to just be cool about his disability. It's brilliant, thought-provoking, and I only wish he hadn't taken some of the barbs out in the end by having Charlie decide to change his mind. As someone who lives her life as far removed from war and military as can be done on this planet, this commentary struck me a lot more poignantly than Haldeman's main thesis.

Which isn't to say the main thesis is not lost or in anyway lacking in relevancy. At this point, the never-ending war fought for no reason has become a sci-fi cliche as much as short people on a journey is for fantasy. Haldeman pioneered the idea, and the perspective he took of a simple, uprooted kid literally lost in time keeps it fresh. The book is not one I would have elected to read were it not on my booklist, and it's not one I'm too likely to return to (see earlier comment on my removal from all things military), but I'm glad I did read it.

As a side note, very weird to read this so soon after reading “Old Man's War.” I got the edition with Scalzi's forward apologizing for taking so long to read the book everyone kept blaming he stole for his own novels. I don't think that's a fair criticism, really, but I did keep picturing all of the characters with green skin accidentally.

Pros: : clear, concise writing, hard SF, relatable protagonists, interesting worldbuilding, exposition was limited and was worked into the story

Cons: We've already passed the book's future.

Reviewer's Note: This review is of the author's preferred edition of Forever War, published in 1997.

Forever War follows the military career of draftee William Mandella after aliens attack an Earth space ship outside a collapsar jump. Collapsar's allow long range space travel, and Earth refuses to give up the use of them. The best minds, both male and female, are drafted to fight this exhorbantly expensive war the rest of Earth must pay for. But as the years pass on Earth due to special relativity, and only months pass for the soldiers who survive combat, Mandella starts to wonder if he'll recognize home when his tour is over.

Forever War does for Vietnam in science fictional terms what Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich did for the Russian gulag: allow regular people to experience it. Mandella's career is exceptional, as the author uses him to explore all aspects of the war, from training on earth and Charon, to witnessing combat, returning home and realizing he no longer belongs, reinlisting, getting medical treatment, becoming an officer, and more. Through his eyes we experience fear, love, PTSD (in minor ways) and more.

The novel packs an emotional punch and covers an amazing amount of information, given it's size. Haldeman's prose is clear and concise, a pleasure to read.

As the war progresses over the centuries, Haldeman occasionally explains how the Earth has changed to face the circumstances. The most detailed of these passages comes when Mandella's first tour ends, 2 and 27 years after he enlisted. Earth is a cross between Harry Harrison's Make Room, Make Room and the later part of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. In other words, Earth is overcrowded and violent. His exploration into sexuality as it pertains to population control is interesting, espcially considering the current controversies over gay marriage. For a book that's 38 years old, it's surprisingly relevant.

This is a hard SF story, meaning the planetery battles are short while the battles in space are long and drawn out with very little action. Mandella's a physicist, so most of the info dumps are via conversations he has with others, where he either explains the scientific concept, or has new concepts discovered while he was on a mission explained to him. Like the rest of the writing, these passages are short, to the point and integrated properly into the story. This reviewer has limited physics knowledge and had no problem following the novel, even though most of the science went over her head.

The only ‘complaint' with the book is that it's dated. Meaning, the aliens attack in 1996, which obviously didn't happen. This is very easy to overlook and shouldn't detract from anyone's enjoyment of the book. There's some talk of hippies, but none of the sexism the word ‘dated' tends to imply when it comes to older science fiction stories. In fact, this is a remarkably feminist work, with women and men treated equally in the army (though more men then women end up in positions of command as far as Mandella's experience is concerned).

If you haven't read this yet, you should. And if you're hesitant to read hard SF, this is a good introduction to the subgenre.

Expected more from a Nebula and Hugo award winner. However, annual awards do HAVE to be given out every year, so who knows what to expect.
Haldeman's style is fine, not proper prose, but just nice enough. The story was the problem: It never went anywhere. It is also a lot like Starship Troopers, like that combined with space travel time and aging in OS Card's Ender series. The Forever War differs from Heinlein's version in that the war keeps continuing. That might have some meaning, but it is not a pleasant read.

Absolutely terrific! This is now my most favorite SciFi book.”

I read this as it was the September choice for the Sword & Laser book club. Sci-fi is a genre that I've not read much of, not because of I don't think I would enjoy it, but because I never really got around to it. I read Stephen Donaldson's Gap series twice and they are included in my top 5 list. I also read Dune and enjoyed it too.

So, The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman. This is supposed to be a classic of the genre and, to be honest, I'm not sure why. I did enjoy it but it's quite forgettable in my opinion.

The main themes are war and time dilation. The main protagonist, William Mandella, is conscripted along with a number of individuals with a high IQ. They endure a tough training regime, during which many trainees lose their lives. This happens in a fairly come-what-may sort of way and we don't learn enough about the characters really to care. And this is one of the book's shortcomings: it's too short. Not enough time is spent developing the characters, or the plot. This makes it a short book. Another 100 or so pages would have allowed the author to give it some flesh.

Due to the physics of travelling above light speed, Mandella encounters time dilation. So while a few months pass for him, years pass on earth. When he gets back, things have changed so much that he no longer feels comfortable on earth. So he goes back to the army and gets back into the war again.

I found the idea of homosexuality off putting at first. This is something that happens on earth to prevent population increase. It's an interesting concept.

To be honest, I didn't really enjoy the book enough to write more about it than I already have. As this is not a recommendation list but simply a list of what I've read (because I do forget), I'll leave it at that.