If this is Vietnam then I guess the answer was to become Communists...

books:


	• The Forever War Joe Haldeman Eos, 2003 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 289 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In my Top 5 Novels Ever.

#4 on my All-Time favorites list. A must-read.

The basic plot is simple: Humanity has discovered a series natural wormholes, and in the process of charting their endpoints stumbles across an alien race and starts a war. Lacking FTL travel (besides the wormholes), both sides develop ships that can travel closer and closer to the speed of light. The natural result of this is time dilation and all of the consequences thereof. Each mission sends the soldiers hundreds of years into the relative future (compared to Earth) which rips relationships apart and returns the soldiers to a strange world each visit "home."

Overall this novel was excellent. Faced paced and full of action, Haldeman weaves a very plausible story that is almost within the confines of modern physics. Characters are shaped and destroyed by a war and a universe that is changing faster than they are.

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Good in parts, contrived ending

I have been trying to round out my sci-fi reading repertoire, "The Forever War" was an important missing hole of mine.

I was expecting a great work as befitted the Hugo and Nebula awards, and in many ways it satsified. Haldeman's handling of the time shifting and out of place-ness of Mandala was very well portrayed.

The culture twists were a bit contrived but helped place Mandala in a position of solitude.

The battles were good enough.

My real problem is the moral-high-ground/plot-device dropped on us at the end. Clearly reflects the era in which it was written. I mean peace could have been achieved in the end, fine, but to arbitrarily portray the entire war as an evil pointless act...well ok then...thanks for your opinion Joe, I guess it's your book and you can do what you want with it.

Oh one more thing, the ludicrous description of society in 2007 was hard to read, skimmed it until they left the planet again.

On the whole a good book, I enjoyed it mostly. Would I recommend it...yeah. Just prepared to be "messaged" at the end.

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Original vs. "Definitive" Edition

There are three different versions of this novel in existence: the first, abridged version that won the Hugo and Nebula Awards; the second, partially "restored" version in print from 1991 to 1996; and the third and final "definitive" edition first published by Avon in 1997. The current version in print is the definitive edition.

The novel's true genius was to subvert the traditional space opera by infusing it with the author's Vietnam War experience, both in battle and on the homefront. In the definitive edition, the book is somewhat less about the hard science fiction space warfare and more about the societal changes on Earth (and beyond). If you're into hard science fiction, you'll probably enjoy the original version more; readers looking for idea-driven fiction should pick up the newest version (I recommend skipping the 1991 edition since it is only a "partially" restored work that Haldeman admitted is riddled with contradictions in the added material).

"Forever War" is an intelligent look at the life of a soldier and a powerful allegory for the Vietnam War. It's a five-star book, but it's not perfect. Primarily, the portrayals of sexuality are (pardon the pun) hard to swallow. And, without giving anything away, the ending is fairly optimistic for a book that otherwise doesn't pull any punches. But these are minor quibbles: "Forever War" remains a gripping saga that is just one of many essential science fiction books penned by Joe Haldeman.

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If this is Vietnam then I guess the answer was to become Communists...

For the benefit of those who have not read this book I will break the review into two parts. The first will have no significant spoilers. The second will

NO SPOILERS REVIEW:

The premise of the book is a soldier drafted to fight in Earth's first interstellar war. Due to the vagaries of travel at or near light speed what seems like only a brief time to the protagonist stretches out to decades and centuries with regards to the passage of time on earth. The book focuses on the following issues:

1. The draftee has with being forced to kill.

2. The changes to him personally from his experiences.

3. The huge changes between himself and the earth he left behind.

4. The randomness of war which can result in death irregardless of personal actions.

This is a book about Vietnam. It is conducted in space and in the future but it is a book deeply rooted in the author's experiences. In many ways it is also his judgment of at least the Vietnam War, if not all wars, as can be seen at the end very clearly.

High Points:

1. The science of the fighting and travel seemed well thought and plausible.

2. The action when and where it occurred was well handled.

3. The sense of isolation the protagonist felt with regards to home was excellently related using the huge passage of time between his subjective years and decades or more on earth.

4. The sense of relationship and loss as the war went on, including a somewhat hopelessness and malaise, was well done.

5. Speculation on the far future of earth was interesting and different to say the least. Originality counts for a lot in my book.

6. Views of military discipline and how it would evolve were entertaining.

Low Points: (See spoiler review for greater depth.)

1. I detected at least one age issue where things were not properly edited.

2. I do not believe basic human nature can be so radically overcome in such a short time as relayed in the early section of the book.

3. The author's very definite feelings on Vietnam and his opinions on its motivation was translated a little too broadly to the will of all of earth.

4. Speculation on the far future was not something I see as happening in the manner described.

5. It began too early in earth's future. It was written in the early 70s with an interstellar war kicking off in the 90s. I know he wanted to include some older vets of Vietnam in the book, as he states himself, but the start point itself is a problem and drives much of my low point #2.

6. Some of the evolutions of military discipline seemed ridiculous, especially given the short time frame many took place in. Over hundreds of years I could see this but not 20.

I do believe the high points greatly outweigh the low ones and recommend this book. It can be read quickly and is an interesting book to have read along with Heinlein's Starship Troopers (ST). Both are similar in some respects and different in others. The motivation in The Forever War (TFW) was being a draftee. They had no choice and therefore little loyalty except to one another and the goal of getting through alive. I see the protagonist of TFW as trapped into a world he never wished to be in, forced to fight a war he was programmed to fight, and eventually doubting the very society he is supposedly defending. That is pretty much completely opposite from what ST discusses although both tackle the subject of the changes soldiers go through after the horrors of war and how they relate to civilians.

Verdict: Read it and give it a place on your shelf. It is a classic and another view of how war affects those who fight in it using Science Fiction and the future as tools to make its points.

I give it 4 out of 5 knocking off some for poor placement of a start date (Heinlein's dates have come and gone as well but at least they were far enough ahead that his predictions had a viable chance of happening) as well as some serious misgivings I have concerning the author's assumptions on human nature.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! STOP HERE IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK!!!

There were some definite good points and others which had me scratching my head. I see no way that the majority of earth would decide to suddenly become homosexual, including 60 year old women who have been hetero until their 40s, because the world gov't told them to. In fact I seriously doubt we would be able to see a world gov't with the power wielded by the one in the book in a hundred years, let alone 20. This all comes down to tying yourself down to dates too doggedly and calling for huge changes in human nature in that time. I can believe that after 300 years with cloning fully in sync an unanswerable gov't could through forced injection or ingestion of drugs, genetic engineering and worldly incentives force about global homosexuality. I might not agree that it would be successful but possible I can see. When Mandella comes home to find out his mother in her 60s is now a lesbian was a little far fetched given she hadn't been one 20 years earlier.

Speaking of his mother... She was in her 60s when he headed off to Marygay's place but when he returned no more than a couple months later the health care representative said she was 84! Hello Mr. Editor!!! The author though needed to tie up loose ends on earth and get them back to space so killing off any family was important. I also could not help but think of Gov't run healthcare! The idea that the old will be cast off to die because the gov't refuses them care and no amount of private funds can buy the care was a great example of what some are now seriously proposing...

I thought the suits were well done except for some minor points. You cannot convince me that if they are having 25%+ fatalities from people falling in suits and having the heat evaporators touch frozen hydrogen resulting in an explosion that they would not have changed the design IMMEDIATELY before spending millions on more suits and training. Likewise having such an advanced suit fail simply because someone bumped a heat exchanger doing normal work. Come on now, there were better ways to create the situations desired.

The creation of Man as a cloned single consciousness individual was a very interesting twist. I don't buy it though. Sorry, but I don't see even clones who at least have individual identities deciding to eliminate their race so everyone can become male and female iterations of one being with one view and one identity. What is more compelling is I want to know what the author was thinking here. His clones, both Man as a single entity, and the Tauruns were made to be far superior to normal humans for running the universe. The whole war would never have happened if we had only been more like the Tauruns who were the ideal communists. Once we became like them, communists, we immediately were able to stop the war and now we live happily as two galactic empires of communists with no differences and only a handful of barbaric throwback humans having sex and making babies should some genetic plague hit. The idea of course is fresh genetic stock could then be taken and MAN recreated. No plan to bring back man the individual though... Even the ending of the war was a direct statement of what Haldeman thought of Vietnam and what caused it.

A book like this is the outpouring of an author's inner self. Haldeman used the book to discuss his views of Vietnam and his experiences in it and returning home. One must wonder then if the ending of the book is Haldeman's idea of the perfect society with the universe controlled by some single identity communists and the barbarians locked away where they can't hurt themselves. Taken a little further though I must ask this; the Tauruns were around for millions of years as a single entity before man encountered them. Man the individual proceeded to kick their butt around the galaxy because the ancient Tauruns had decided they "Ain't gonna study no more war." The Tauruns fought back but it was revealed in the end they were doomed. Man the individual was too much for them and would have eliminated them. What then about Man the single entity? He seems on the same path as the Tauruns. Will the next race of individuals on the block show up and start kicking MAN around once he has put aside war's toys and skills? Will he have to dust off old Man the Individual to keep him alive? Will he have kept Man the Individual, dangerous as he is, around long enough to counter such a threat?

Those are intriguing questions are ones not asked or answered. If anything I believe they are things the author never even considered at the time of writing. I wonder if he has done so since.

Even after the spoilers I do recommend this book. It is a very different look at the future and an insight into what a soldier in a war such as Vietnam might feel. I say "a soldier" because every one carries a different feeling. One does not need to agree with everything in a book to consider it worthwhile reading though.

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Dated... for the future!?

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.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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. . .

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