The Forever War

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

The Forever War is that rare novel that begins with a fairly strong start and continuously gets better until it ends. It was enjoyable and thought provoking. I’ve read several reviews that suggest The Forever War’s time has come and gone or that its time has come, gone, and come back again due to the cyclical nature of life. I disagree. It is, in my opinion, a timeless classic. When, in the course of human history, have themes of upward mobility, senseless war, politically created enemies, conscription, and veteran life ever been irrelevant to current life? The Forever War is one of the best war novels and one of the best science fiction novels I’ve ever read. It is technical and emotional. It exercises the brain. And it tugs at the heart.

Haldeman’s plot follows William Mandella as he leaves earth to train for war against a recently discovered “enemy” from a foreign planet. Mandella’s story takes us through many planets and star systems to fight war against the Taurans. As we follow Mandella’s path, Haldeman touches on many topics: homosexuality, poverty, crime, corruption, the meaning and concept of home, and others.

Interstellar travel puts the soldiers on a different time scale than those who remain on one planet. The first time Mandella returns to earth, he finds his mother an old woman and life on his home planet much different than it was when he first left. For him and his team, it is a different world. This is an area in which Haldeman’s text shines.

The novel features a great deal of science, both in jargon and in the use of real and fictional (speculative) science. It works for me. The science was neither silly nor just shoe-horned in. It all makes sense. It would be very easy for poor science to turn a military science-fiction story into something silly and cartoonish. At no point does The Forever War seem in danger of taking that fall. This is a real world type of novel, and Haldeman’s science helps reinforce it.

At its heart, though, I think The Forever War is a love story. A serious adult love story. It is not a story about smitten lovers who gaze into each other’s eyes and see milk, honey, and heaven. No, these are real world people who have a real world love and deal with real world problems. What is their place in the world? Can they afford to be together? Will their jobs allow them to be with each other? William and his woman are, quite literally, star-crossed lovers. Haldeman avoids caricaturizing their relationship. Instead, he stays true to it and, without ostentation and loud warning bells, creates something endearing and heartfelt. That relationship, that love story, is what I will think of first when I think of The Forever War.

What a great, great book.

A+