The Forever War (Orbit Books) - Softcover

Haldeman, Joe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0860078825 ISBN 13: 9780860078821

Publisher: Orbit, 1981

SCIENCE FICTION-MY NAME IS PRIVATE MANDELLA,I HAVE BEEN CONSCRIPTED TO GUARD HUMANITY AGAINST THE TAURAN MENACE ON SOME LONELY OUTPOST OF THE GALAXY.THE ONLY WAY TO GET BACK HOME IS AFTER A COMBAT TOUR-WHICH,BECAUSE OF THE COLLAPSAR JUMP,COULD LAST A CENTURY OR TWO.I'LL ONLY BE A FEW MONTHS OLDER,BUT I WON'T RECOGNISE EARTH.SO I'LL RE-ENLIST.AND BY THE TIME I RETURN AS A VETERAN,THEY WON'T EVEN SPEAK MY LANGUAGE.A SUPERB,CHILLING PANORAMA OF INTERGALACTIC CONFLICT.

Review:

"Today we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man." The first line of this 1974 sf war story still grabs hard: The Forever War, winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards, is a fine choice to launch Millennium's "SF Masterworks" series of classic reissues. Future soldier William Mandella's service in the interstellar "Forever War" chillingly echoes Vietnam, where Joe Haldeman was severely wounded and won the Purple Heart. Afterwards, many real-life veterans found themselves distanced and alienated from US society: thanks to starflight's time dislocations, Mandella returns from weeks or months of combat duty to an Earth which after centuries of change is no longer his home. Though armed with increasingly futuristic weaponry--laser fingers, nova bombs, stasis fields--the infantry still suffers the long agonising waits, the sudden flurry and horror of battle, the shock of loss in a futile war without glory or glamour. But there's still room for tenderness, and for a satisfying ending as the cruel equations of relativistic time finally work in Mandella's favour. Incidentally, this is the first full British edition. When The Forever War was serialised, the magazine editor vetoed one section; it was omitted from the 1974 novel and is now restored. Highly recommended. --David Langford

Review:

'Military science fiction comes in many flavours, and Joe Haldeman's is every bit as satisfying as Heinlein's.' (SciFiNow)

• Publisher: Orbit
• Publication date: 1981
• ISBN 10: 0860078825
• ISBN 13: 9780860078821
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240