Book Discussion - The Forever War

[rune]

Novembers book discussion is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

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. . .

I've not read this book so looking forward to being enlightened by those who voted for it

 

[fluffy bunny]

It's been over a year and a half since I read this, so I'm going to find my amazon review:

Great military fiction told from a first person perspective.

This book has it all- Aliens, technology, space battles, deaths and loves. This is one of those books you'll come away from and remember the main character (whose experiences mirror some of those experienced by the author in the Vietnam war)- this is not some throw away cardboard cutout of a character.

What sets the book apart from a lot of its contemporaries is not just the style it's written in, but the sheer number of concepts explored in a book this thin. For example use of relativity- as you get closer to the speed of light, the less your body ages with respect to the rest of the universe. Every time the soldiers come back from a war, everything has changed, from the people to society. Go to a war zone? Well you've aged a year or 2, but the enemy's had 200 years to develop its weapon and defense systems, whilst other enemy planets still don't know there's a war on. Little touches like this, (look for the ingenious way the population problem of earth is solved), whilst maintaining a tight emphasis on the personal story of the main protagonist from boot camp to the end of the campaign combine to make a great read.

Between this book and Heinlein's Starship Troopers, you'll have experienced 2 differing attitudes to war and the soldiers who fight in them.

 

[direstraits]

I remember feeling envy at a society where sex has evolved to the stage where people freely slept with one another as and when it suits them, openly and without judgement, and with no emotional strings attached. Just as easily as one changes clothes.

I also remember it being too short - a few more battle scenes would be nice.

His book actually helped me in my understanding of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. If we could travel in light speed, the effect would probably be as described by Haldeman (there was a report in the news some time ago that confirmed this Theory). The only hitch is of course how not to disintegrate into tiny particles at this sort of velocity. Easy.

It is among the top sci-fi books I've ever read, and I would easily recommend this over something else written in a similar vein (i.e. Card's _Ender's Game_). And this recommendation doesn't come because of my first point.

ds

 

[Oberon]

Forever War must be read in conjunction with Heinlein's Starship Troopers (and please, never mind the movie) to get the full import of Haldeman's satirical bent. FW even follows the same three-main-battles structure of ST, so this is not mere coincidence! Think of Haldeman, ex-Viet vet reacting to Troopers' gung-ho attitude and you have a major layer of meaning to FW.

 

[Wabbit]

Ok, I know that I am going to be the wierd and odd one out again on this BUT... But please, indulge this insane old bunny his little rant!

I didn't it at all. I just thought... oh GOD not another thinly disguised book on nam. Been there, said it all, done it, please move on.

I found the main character a cardboard cut out cliche. I found the dialogue to be stilted. I thought that the metaphors and concepts were heavy handed and simplistic.

Oh, so morals are not set in stone but change with time and society? Really? Who knew?! *yawn*

I was just really dissapointed and especially after I had heard so many good things about the novel. It was only sheer will power that kept me going to th end!!!

Ok, now I will go back to my corner and mutter about the voices

 

[crowsplitter]

I really enjoyed it, I also enjoyed the sequel, Forever Peace (?) - there was also a companion novel Forever Free (or have I got those two the wrong way round). And if anyone missed it there is a filler short story in one of the sci-fi complilations... I can look it up if anyone wants to know.

 

[Prolixic]

I think Haldeman does a pretty good job showing the flipside of what Heinlein is trying to say in Starship Troopers. The problem was that he kept showing it and showing it and showing it...whew. The book was an exhausting read. I think he overused ST as an outline. Also the idea that whenever we're at war we are really just fighting ourselves left a bad taste in my mouth. Heinlein talks about war as a species survival tool, Haldeman talks about war as a threat to survival--I.e., what it does to those who practice it. Taken together you pretty well have to come back to those questions and decide what you believe.

 

[sparkchaser]

(Hell yeah I am bumping a 5+ year old thread.)

I finally got around to reading this classic. Someone should smack me for waiting so long to read it.

I think what I enjoyed most about the book was the changes in society Mandella would come home to with the end of each campaign. I found it interesting that by merely surviving the campaign, Mandella and his cohorts would find themselves in positions of increasing leadership. I don't know if I am going to read Forever Peace. Anyone?



As an aside, I would be pretty pissed off if

Spoiler

over 1200 years of pay with interest was suddenly made worthless by an "economy" that made money obsolete.

Or maybe I wouldn't.