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The Forever War cover art

The Forever War

By: Joe Haldeman
Narrated by: George Wilson
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Summary

When it was first published over 20 years ago, Joe Haldeman's novel won the Hugo and Nebula awards and was chosen Best Novel in several countries. Today, it is hailed a classic of science fiction that foreshadowed many of the futuristic themes of the 1990s: bionics, sensory manipulation, and time distortion.

William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?

Narrator George Wilson's performance conveys all the imaginative technology and human drama of The Forever War. Set against a backdrop of vivid battle scenes, this absorbing work asks provocative questions about the very nature of war.

©1974 Joe W. Haldeman (P)1999 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"A vastly entertaining trip." ( The New York Times)

What listeners say about The Forever War

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it.

Having always wanted to read this book, I took the opportunity of a long commute to listen to it instead. it is slightly dated, but if you cannot rise above the tide of time, you shouldn't read any book older than a couple of years old, which rules out rather a lot of good books - "That Treasure Island, it's sooo dated!"

The narration is good, and the story itself, despite having travelled in strange directions as far as predicting a future world is concerned, is charming with believable characters and plays with interesting ideas. Not sure how it won the Hugo and Nebula, as I can think of better books, but still well worth listening to.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Starship Troopers for the thinking pacifist

War is Hell... Coming back home is also Hell.

Mandella is conscripted into the army and unwillingly gets caught up in a war he never wanted to be a part of, for an army he doesn't want to fight for, and for a planet he knows that he will eventually no longer even recognise as home.
Mandella will have to forfeit his life and experience time dilation where earth will advance hundreds of years to his few. This means leaving behind his family, his home, his career and any anyone else he has ever loved. Will there even be a planet to go back to when his tour of duty is up? It's anyone's guess.

Forever War is an epic tale of intergalactic war, time travel (of a sort), and the human condition. A bleak and dystopian look at war, waged by governments and fought by men. Halderman has written a brilliant tale.

Jon Halderman's own military experience is evident throughout this book. I don't think his opinion of war, government, and the military is necessarily a great one. His own experience speaks volume, and lends real weight and depth to the story.

I almost couldn't believe this book was written in 1974, Halderman hits the nail on the head as he writes about a lot of modern societies problems and even predicts technologies! The writing has aged impeccably and could easily have been written today, never mind nearly 45 years ago.

Excellently narrated by George Wilson, the characters are really brought to life. His accents are spot on and he really nails the heavy emotional tone of the novel.

If you're a fan of Old Man's War or Starship Troopers you'll lap this one up. However, unlike those 2 books this takes a very grim view of war and does not glorify it the same way as these other novels.

This is Starship Troopers for the thinking pacifist. There is no glory in war, war is Hell.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

it's a gay old romp across the universe

i do love a happy ending. my only complaint is the somewhat overbearing focus on sexuality that crops up more often than its really needed. the themes are ALMOST progressive, but it still seems to matter over 1000 years in the future what your sexual preferance is. still abloody good story that really uses the time dilation of space travel to push the story forward in 3 neat acts.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A true SciFi classic.

This was a great reading of a fantastic book. It moved me emotionally much more than I expected and I kept making time to listen to this instead of doing other things. The text felt a bit dated at a couple of points but it's of its time and it wasn't anything major - especially in the context of when these moments occured.

In summary, it was thought-provoking, interesting and moving. I highly recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Forever?- This went pretty quickly!

What did you like best about this story?

This has been one of my favourite books in a 'best sci-fi' list that I have been working through lately. The structure is great as it keeps the pace of the story motoring along and alternates between the action based military campaign, and a more thoughtful reflection on the society that has been left behind. It's not a dumb book, but it remains completely unpretentious at all times which is not always the case with the old sci-fi. Pleased I came across this one.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not even remotely interesting.

I've read tons of scifi, and this looks like just another plain war/action scifi. It is not smart, it is not thought provoking, it is not relatable, it doesn't have humor, it doesn't provoke fear, it doesn't touch you in any way. Completely bland story + lasers and almost realistic physics.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very good!

One of the better ones I've read during the recent years. On par with Hyperion but very different of course.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

pedantic, didnt stand the test of time wery well

didnt stand the test of time wery well, the authors personal opinons showed its self all too clear. more like a class from the seventies than a good book unfortunately. only listened it to the end because i paid for it😆

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A starship full of curses.

This book shows its age as descriptions of alien worlds, space battles, technology, etc are dated and sound like a child has come up with them.

I believe Forever War is from the 1970s but I have read books like War of the Worlds from 1898 that have far superior terminology and writing compared to this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

magnificen

A slow and lovely sci fi. very much enjoyed it. Recommended read from me .

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1 person found this helpful