The Forever War, Joe Haldeman's science fiction classic. The book seems so familiar when you are reading it, even a bit cliched, until you realize that the Forever War is probably the source of all these genre tropes, and every familiarity is a little homage to Mr. Haldemans vision.
The novel is brilliant. Exciting, mind-bending, interesting. I read it in about three hours and almost reread it immediately after.
Much has been made of the idea that "The Forever War" transcends science-fiction as a classic anti-war allegory, but I'm not really sure that I buy it. Its certainly about war, how silly it can be, how it can effect everyone in the world in ways that are mostly bad. but Hadleman does not necessarily portray the situation with the Taurans as a great tragedy, nor do I think he means for us to read between the lines and see one. The first shots that led to the war that was the central driver for the course of history over a thousand years (subjective) are presented as unfortunate, and possibly avoidable, but understandable with the motivations, limited information, and lack of communication between the two alien races. The war is what it is, and Haldeman presents no great tricks or life lessons to draw from the allegory and avoid any future situations like this. I suppose you can come down against war without offering any solutions, but I don't think that is the goal here.
The novel never explains the full strategy or thought process behind the war, reflecting Mandella's limited information due to both his mid-level position in the armed forces, and the huge jumps in time that come as a result of his various missions.
The novel is brilliant. Exciting, mind-bending, interesting. I read it in about three hours and almost reread it immediately after.
Much has been made of the idea that "The Forever War" transcends science-fiction as a classic anti-war allegory, but I'm not really sure that I buy it. Its certainly about war, how silly it can be, how it can effect everyone in the world in ways that are mostly bad. but Hadleman does not necessarily portray the situation with the Taurans as a great tragedy, nor do I think he means for us to read between the lines and see one. The first shots that led to the war that was the central driver for the course of history over a thousand years (subjective) are presented as unfortunate, and possibly avoidable, but understandable with the motivations, limited information, and lack of communication between the two alien races. The war is what it is, and Haldeman presents no great tricks or life lessons to draw from the allegory and avoid any future situations like this. I suppose you can come down against war without offering any solutions, but I don't think that is the goal here.
The novel never explains the full strategy or thought process behind the war, reflecting Mandella's limited information due to both his mid-level position in the armed forces, and the huge jumps in time that come as a result of his various missions.
