Four Stars
The Forever War
Joe Haldeman
The
Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand—despite
the fact that the fierce alien enemy that they would oppose is
inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript
drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has
been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant
thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties without rancor and even
rise up through military ranks. Pvt. Mandella is willing to do
whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home"
may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time
dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the
Earth he left behind is aging centuries
My Review
Sure this has your typical space wars that were popular in mid 20th
century sci fi but what makes this book stand out is the time
dilation and it's effects. When the soldiers return home
approximately 60 years have passed during their two year tour and
much on Earth has changed.
So many people so lacking food and the basic necessities that they
are more than willing to kill others for what they have.
Overpopulation and lack of medical care for the majority of it. Sound
familiar? Acclimatization is rough and trying to just live a regular
life is seemingly impossible so the only logical step is to
re-enlist.
Haldeman has done a great job of showing the culture shock that some
historical soldiers faced when returning home from war. He's using
space as a backdrop but the story remains the same. He conveyed
Mandella's confusion with the changes very believably.
I also found his solution for overpopulation unique and interesting.
Outlawing heterosexual couples to curb population growth would
certainly be one way to deal with things. I also liked how Haldeman
ended the story. It was both plausible and satisfying. A classic
science fiction well worth the read.
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