Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards: A futuristic masterpiece, “perhaps the most important war novel written since Vietnam” (Junot D#65533;az). In this novel, a landmark of science fiction that began as an MFA thesis for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and went on to become an award-winning classic–inspiring a play, a graphic novel, and most recently an in-development film–man has taken to the … film–man has taken to the stars, and soldiers fighting the wars of the future return to Earth forever alienated from their home.
Conscripted into service for the United Nations Exploratory Force, a highly trained unit built for revenge, physics student William Mandella fights for his planet light years away against the alien force known as the Taurans. “Mandella’s attempt to survive and remain human in the face of an absurd, almost endless war is harrowing, hilarious, heartbreaking, and true,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Junot D#65533;az–and because of the relative passage of time when one travels at incredibly high speed, the Earth Mandella returns to after his two-year experience has progressed decades and is foreign to him in disturbing ways.
Based in part on the author’s experiences in Vietnam, The Forever War is regarded as one of the greatest military science fiction novels ever written, capturing the alienation that servicemen and women experience even now upon returning home from battle. It shines a light not only on the culture of the 1970s in which it was written, but also on our potential future. “To say that The Forever War is the best science fiction war novel ever written is to damn it with faint praise. It is . . . as fine and woundingly genuine a war story as any I’ve read” (William Gibson).
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Joe Haldeman including rare images from the author’s personal collection.
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A classic. Easy to read, action-packed yet also philosophical. Instead of being preachy with its social theories, the book shows you how small actions can lead to big changes in how we live. I’ve kept my copy for three decades, re-read it once, and plan to again.
One of the best antiwar science fiction stories ever
I loved this book. I was so sure it would have a tragic ending until the last two pages. So don’t give up. Something good happens.
A very interesting sci-fi in the space wars genre, but a bit more interesting with character development.
Mind blown. I could not stop thinking about this book for many nights. I wish I could read it for the first time again.
Good book, interesting twists to the plot
One of the best sci-fi stories of all time. It has a great romance, combat, and an interesting/novel view of one potential evolutionary path. One of the great anti-war war stories.
This was the first book I read that dealt with interstellar war in a realistic way. I likes some of the ideas so much I tried them out in one of my own book. I also loved how the author figured out, like a good strategy game player, how to use the multiplying effect of the nova bomb and the energy shield – very clever.
The Forever War is the tale of a soldier fighting an interstellar war, way out in space with aliens called the Taurans. Sounds like just about a thousand other sci-fi novels, right? Well, this one is wholly original. The storyline is less about the human-alien conflict, and more about the life of the soldier. It’s said that much of the storyline is inspired form Joe Haldeman’s experiences in Vietnam, and I can see that as being try. The author does an amazing job of creating a believable science fiction tale, which spans thousands of years into the future. You don’t have to be a heavy sci-fi reader to enjoy this book.
Took the premis of war in the future where I never had thought it would go.
I really enjoyed this book and felt for some of the characters. Reading this with the knowledge the author was a Vietnam War veteran allowed me to draw some parallels from his story to the experiences of veterans.
One of the best alien/human sf war books ever written. The timeline is the most interesting aspect, as the main character fights in the war over more than a century (of Earth time) as time passes differently in deep space. Each time he returns home, long periods of time have elapsed. This to me was the most interesting aspect of the war, but I won’t say more (no spoilers here). A must read for sci-fi fans of alien contact.
Did’nt even finish reading it. No originality. Cookie cutter characters.
Excellent read.
Makes you want to get the rest of the series immediately .
A classic commentary on the effects of war.
There are a lot of high action sci fi books, but Haldeman brings the story back home to a changed world, different eyes, and introduces us to what many vets never discuss.
A future war against aliens as seen through the eyes of a disillusioned Vietnam War veteran.
Believable book.
Fantastic.