Book 25 - Joe Haldeman "The Forever War"
Mar. 16th, 2019 11:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzy_daveJoe Haldeman "The Forever War" (Gollancz)
"This was not just a separation. Even if the war was over and we left for Earth only a few minutes apart, in different ships, the geometry of the collapsar jump would pile up years between us. When the second one arrived on Earth, his partner would probably be a half-century older; more probably dead."
Deservedly acknowledged as a classic, this tells the story of a physicist drafted into the military when humanity's first contact with aliens turns violent. Haldeman, a veteran himself, is able to make the training regime and the military culture eminently believable.
"The Forever War" essentially is nothing more than a part-time biography of a soldier living through a war. What makes it special is that said war isn't your typical planetary conflict, but rather fought in the vast expanse of space. Even though faster than light flight was discovered, most of the travel still has to be done at relativistic velocities, thus ensuring that the soldiers on the first campaign returned a generation after they had launched to fight, after only one subjective engagement.
What is perhaps surprising is how little actual fighting there is in the book. (The protagonist even misses out on one of the few battles that do occur, getting shot down before reaching the battlefield and waking up in hospital.) This book isn't about the war, it's about what happens to the people in it.
The most significant effect is from time dilation. Travelling huge distances at relativistic speeds, the soldiers keep returning to Earth way out of their time. We see some fascinating snapshots of how society might evolve, and then watch our heroes try to come to terms with the changes.
The lead characters struggle to hold on to each other, their senses of self, and their connections to the rest of humanity. It's a striking premise, excellently executed.
A solid piece of speculative hard science fiction.
"This was not just a separation. Even if the war was over and we left for Earth only a few minutes apart, in different ships, the geometry of the collapsar jump would pile up years between us. When the second one arrived on Earth, his partner would probably be a half-century older; more probably dead."
Deservedly acknowledged as a classic, this tells the story of a physicist drafted into the military when humanity's first contact with aliens turns violent. Haldeman, a veteran himself, is able to make the training regime and the military culture eminently believable.
"The Forever War" essentially is nothing more than a part-time biography of a soldier living through a war. What makes it special is that said war isn't your typical planetary conflict, but rather fought in the vast expanse of space. Even though faster than light flight was discovered, most of the travel still has to be done at relativistic velocities, thus ensuring that the soldiers on the first campaign returned a generation after they had launched to fight, after only one subjective engagement.
What is perhaps surprising is how little actual fighting there is in the book. (The protagonist even misses out on one of the few battles that do occur, getting shot down before reaching the battlefield and waking up in hospital.) This book isn't about the war, it's about what happens to the people in it.
The most significant effect is from time dilation. Travelling huge distances at relativistic speeds, the soldiers keep returning to Earth way out of their time. We see some fascinating snapshots of how society might evolve, and then watch our heroes try to come to terms with the changes.
The lead characters struggle to hold on to each other, their senses of self, and their connections to the rest of humanity. It's a striking premise, excellently executed.
A solid piece of speculative hard science fiction.
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Date: 2019-03-17 12:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-03-17 05:14 pm (UTC)