God, I... I discovered The Forever War through Haldeman's Star Trek spinoff fic in my early teens, so it must be fully twenty years ago that I read it. I remember being blown away by it at the time, but the couple of times I've picked it up and flipped through it in the intervening years, my attention wasn't captured enough to re-read it, and that's been true of several of his novels. There are several classic sci-fi authors, and Haldeman is one of them, who I enjoy well enough on the first read but who just don't hold up, for me, to the cultic re-reading of their avid fans (Robert Silverberg, godhelpmeIsaacAsimov).
Starship Troopers, on the other hand, is THE Great Future War Novel in my mind. There are no words for how much I love that book - partly because I had a JROTC instructor in high school who was the living, breathing personification of Lt. Col. Dubois, and who I absolutely worshipped. I haven't read Scalzi, but I flipped through your reviews, and I'm definitely interested!
I have to agree with you about the cover. :-D I recently replaced an old worn library copy with that cover with the new, jungle cover, and I was never happier to get an ugly book off my shelves!
Start with OLD MAN'S WAR, then GHOST BRIGADES, then LAST COLONY and then ZOE'S TALE. That's the series.
Scalzi has, no doubt, been influenced by Heinlein and Haldeman, and while I haven't read Heinlein yet, from what I hear, it's pretty obvious the inspiration. Still though, I also hear that his stuff stands up on its own two feet, and it's entertaining as hell.
Starship Troopers, on the other hand, is THE Great Future War Novel in my mind. There are no words for how much I love that book - partly because I had a JROTC instructor in high school who was the living, breathing personification of Lt. Col. Dubois, and who I absolutely worshipped. I haven't read Scalzi, but I flipped through your reviews, and I'm definitely interested!
I have to agree with you about the cover. :-D I recently replaced an old worn library copy with that cover with the new, jungle cover, and I was never happier to get an ugly book off my shelves!
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Scalzi has, no doubt, been influenced by Heinlein and Haldeman, and while I haven't read Heinlein yet, from what I hear, it's pretty obvious the inspiration. Still though, I also hear that his stuff stands up on its own two feet, and it's entertaining as hell.
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