Haldeman, Joe: The Forever War
The Forever War (1974)
Written by: Joe Haldeman
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 278
There is a small list of SF greats that I have yet to read. Joe Haldeman's The Forever War just now got crossed off this list. I've always heard good things about it, and I've also had people bemoan the fact I hadn't read it yet, and since I've been on an SF kick, I figured now was a good as time as any.
The premise: William Mandella never wanted to be a part of a war, but he's there, training and fighting against an alien race all for the sake of protecting colonist's ships as well as the collapsars that allow those ships to travel great distances. War is no picnic, but as Mandella will find out, neither is his homecoming.
Review style: this one's going to be pretty easy to discuss in general terms. Plus, the book's so old that spoilers, in my mind, are a moot point. This is a stream-of-conscious review, but I keep plot-specific spoilers to a minimum.
Okay, let's get one thing clear: I get it. I respect it. Haldeman wrote from his own experiences (and if the fact he was a Vietnam vet isn't enough to convince you of that, then the name of Mandella's lover and Haldeman's wife being the same should be a MAJOR CLUE) and that definitely colored the narrative of his work. War told from the actual POV of a soldier (meaning, the writer who was one) is a powerful tool, and what's better here is that the voice itself still reads modern and easily.
The problem: been there, done that. On so many levels. Be it with film (Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers--which I know is a television mini-series, but still--or Black Hawk Down), or in fiction (The Things They Carried, Warchild, or Old Man's War), I've been there.
As far as war itself goes, I don't think there's a book or movie that can surprise me anymore. The only thing they can do is reach me on a new emotional level through the characters involved. I never felt emotionally connected to the characters because this book was pretty much all telling. Sure, we got some action, but modern SF has given me FAR MORE ACTION on the page, so I'm ambivalent, desensitized.
As far as displacement goes, that's where I feel the book shines, especially in light of the Vietnam parallel. The time dilation was an excellent device to put soldiers completely out of touch with the real world, and if there's one thing I enjoyed about this book (aside from the voice), it was seeing how humanity and the world itself was changing century after century, and how the soldiers had to fight to keep up, or escape back into the military. I also had to remind myself often that this book is a product of its time concerning feminism and attitudes towards sexuality, and while I raised my eyebrows on more than one occasion, I was able to put it context and understand that for a character that grew up in our past and was catapulted into our future, it's no wonder he has the attitudes he does. I'm not saying those attitudes are right, but I understand where he was coming from and the world that shaped his ideas. To say Mandella's attitudes are the author's, well, they could be, but I don't think it matters one way or the other. This is a work of fiction that does present homosexuality in an interesting light for the future, and it's a fascinating future at that.
But as far as the whole package, I've been spoiled by John Scalzi. No doubt, Haldeman is an influence (hell, I wish I'd gotten the most recent edition that has Scalzi's introduction!), but in Old Man's War, I'm more emotionally connected to the characters and invested in the series that comes after. The voice is similar, but Scalzi's funnier (that may be in part due to the fact that Scalzi is the more modern writer), and the pacifism that permeates this novel didn't quite sit well with me, only because it makes The Forever War a tragedy, and preaches a message I'm already familiar with. At the time, hey, no doubt, this book was revelatory and in some ways, I think it still can be. However, the world as we know it is overly familiar with war: in the real world, in film, in fiction, and in video games. I don't mean to trivialize the topic, but for a book where war is such a vague thing, despite the action we are a part of, well, it's hard to become emotionally engaged. It's hard to feel heartbreak at the end when you learn the war was all for nothing (except keeping Earth's economy alive and kicking). I'm not bashing the pacifist message either: it's just rather anti-climatic (and I'm not feeling too forgiving after the cat got killed in the earthquake when Mandella could've picked it up, and fighting with medieval weapons, while necessary, was cheesy to me).
I liked that it was, in many ways, an alternate future of Earth (I credit that tidbit from Haldeman's own introduction in my Eos 2003 edition) starting from the Vietnam War, and I like that Vietnam vets got to fight in space. I appreciate how such a misunderstanding came about, but in the end, it does nothing for me. I have no interest in reading any of the other books that take place in this particular universe, but that doesn't mean I've written Haldeman off completely. I've got another one of his books waiting on my shelf, and he's still writing, which means I get to see how he's developed as a writer since this particular book.
My Rating
Give It Away: while I feel it's a must-read (not a must-have, there's a difference!) for SF enthusiasts and writers, really, this isn't the kind of book that I'd read again and want around. It's just familiar ground for me, and that's not the book's fault; rather, it's that I'm a product of dozens of films, television shows, and books that've done the same thing, if not better in some regards (this happens to me every time I read something that's classic SF or Fantasy). Scalzi fans who haven't yet read Haldeman might get a kick out of this, but may feel in the end that Scalzi does it better (but that's me). I'll give credit where credit is due: the SF of this book was interesting, and I can see where this book has been the inspiration for countless things (I couldn't help but giggle every time I saw the phrase "Stargate 1"). Haldeman crafts an interesting alternative history and future, and the voice of the narrator makes this book a relative fast read. I wouldn't call this book action-packed though: despite the fact it's a book about war, we hear about things happening more than we actually experience them. The book's more telling than showing, but the stuff it does show is pretty solid. I'm glad I read this, and while I won't read anything else in this universe, I won't hesitate to give Haldeman's work another shot later.
Cover Commentary: I really wish I had the edition I feature in this review. Not only do I prefer the cover art a billion times more (though I don't recall them sulking through jungles in combat gear, so this must be another nod to the whole Vietnam thing), but it's also the edition that has a John Scalzi introduction. Unfortunately, I bought the edition with this cover before I heard about the Scalzi edition. And I hate that cover. I hate it so much. No offense to the artist and the style, but I just hate it. :-/
