Uneven near-future war story

It's a while since I read a book that generated mixed feelings within me like this: half the time I was thinking and feeling what a great story this was, the other half I felt bewildered, a little short-changed, and rolled eyes at the cliche.
And in many ways it's a book of two halves with a loose connection of near-future war with a quirky interface system between man, machine, and one another called 'jacking.' it's this tech that I most enjoyed about the book as some of the concepts felt very interesting regarding shared experience, emotions, and understanding a la Philip K Dick territory. Yet in the latter stages of the book even that became a bit of a strange goofy plotline to strive for a utopian peace.
The book starts well in what was a now well trod morality of future war trope. The recruits pilot remote killing machines (whether army, navy, or air force) against a third world rebel force. The process is fairly safe for them as remote operators save the risk of stroke or heart attack, or the risk of psychological trauma. It's this latter event that affects the main character after killing a teenager in a mission gone wrong.
The story follows the impact of this, and the consequences on his army career. So far, so good, and so relatable. And if the book remained about the horror of war, especially where war was about impersonal remote murder, then that would suit me. The exploration of 'jacking' and its impact upon world perspective and relationships was interesting and could have progressed more
Instead the second half of the book evolves into a strange future conspiracy thriller. To ask the question about the nature of innate violence in man is again of interest, but then the twist of the jacking being a pacifier after overexposure seemed strange and contrived. Then the morality of enforcing this upon a population after a cursory ethical debate amongst intellectuals, and then driving forward a coup with a time frame determined by impending Armageddon (conveniently tied to the main characters day job as a physicist) started to feel... just bizarre. Then throwing in some Christian extremist assassins with a penchant for sexual sadistic violence--it all felt utterly random.
I enjoyed Haldeman's writing and his clever bounce between first and third person. He handles graphic violence and sexual content without being gratuitous and I enjoyed some of his characters and ideas. But this felt too uneven, too much like two stories bolted together with scanty plot threads between.

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good read

this is the 2nd book in the forever war series and does not disappoint well written with characters that are believable. Just as good as the rest and a great book whether you are a Sci fi buff or not

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Good book

I Liked the book good narration I recommend the book series I would give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Interesting, deep, thoughtful story.

Interesting ideas, not especially new to todays science fiction reader or popular culture devotee but written in 1997 and very well imagined from that time. The story is a slow steady flow, and I had to persevere at times because I found the lead characters human failings irritating, but worth seeing through to the end to get the fully formed picture. Halle an has a powerful and forward thinking imagination and a clearly a so,I’d knowledge of science to stand his ideas up. The narrators style was almost laconic but suited the slow passing of the story. Was a big fan of the Forever War. This one seemed derivatively titled to start with but it all comes clear in the end. Worth the effort.

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Interesting, but slow and low energy

The story is great, especially if you have read Joe Haldeman's work before. However, it is a little slow at times and the reader does not emote much. There were even a few moments of action where you can hear him stop to have a drink...

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An Enjoyable Romp

What did you like best about Forever Peace? What did you like least?

The first half of the book. The second half of the book.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The stuff at the beginning. The stuff at the end.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoyed "The Forever War" then I can see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy at least the first half of this book. The second half, although entertaining, just seemed a bit daft. Having said all that, the whole thing was infinitely better than listening to Radio 2 or John Humphrys.

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3 people found this helpful

A Sci-Fi thriller that reads like a film.

Joe Haldeman, said although this wasn't a direct prequel to The Forever Wars, there's aspects of the story that fit into that universe.

There's three stories interweaving within the book, one of them the military industrial complex and the futility of war, another is a love affair between a couple of different races and ages, and thirdly a threat that could kill us all.

What more do you need from a Thriller!

The reader is fantastic, a voice that is pure Americana with a slightly world weary sardonic tone, that I think references the sense of war weary America that this book portrays.

I have a lot of audio books and I regularly come back to this one, knowing what's going to happen before you listen, but it not mattering as you're so immersed in the books universe, says a lot about the quality of the story and the reader.

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1 person found this helpful

Some interesting technology.

There were parts of this thriller that worked well, but it was a lot of focus on sex and a predictable story about a military conflict. This didn't come close to Forever War

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The odd one out

The other two Forever War books are a clear pair. This one feels like a standalone novel or a concept piece that the author decided to remove from the FW universe. It's an odd one, a likeable and relatable lead character and a plot that starts strong but weakens as the book progresses. I enjoyed the downbeat narration, I felt that it leaned well into the character's depression and jaded view of the world.

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Uninteresting

Unlike his first book, this one was completely uninteresting stock scifi-action with scarcely a hint of novelty to it.

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1 person found this helpful