Our ongoing series reviewing audio adaptations of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror works. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.
By John J. Joex
Book Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
The Forever War is a military science fiction novel written by Joe Haldeman and originally published in 1974 (several revised versions would follow over the subsequent two and a half decades). It chronicles a war between humans and an alien species known as the Taurans and focuses on William Mandella who starts out as an elite recruit and works his way into the officer ranks of the force. The book starts during the early 21st century and even though Mandella only ages about two decades during the events of the story, he lives across one millennia (the book ends in the year 3143) because of the time dilation he experiences from travelling near the speed of light. Mandella goes on his first campaign many light years away (they arrive there using a combination of near lightspeed travel and a wormhole jump though a “collapsar”) then returns to Earth to find much has changed. Even though he only aged two years, over a decade passed back on Earth and society went through drastic changes because of the costs to sustain the war and the impact of overpopulation. Mandella then decides that he does not fit in on Earth anymore and he and his girlfriend Marygay, who he served together with, decide to reenlist. This leads to them becoming career soldiers and spending several centuries (in actual time passed) fighting a war that never seems to find a conclusion.
The Forever War gives us a very different look at war in space than what we have seen in space operas like the Star Wars movies, or even the more (allegedly) scientifically honest productions like Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica (the 2003 remake). In Haldeman’s novel there is no hyperspace travel , no space fighter duels, no starships squaring off, none of the clichés that have come to dominate space opera or other similar science fiction subgenres. In his book, the campaigns can last years or centuries (actual time) and often hinge more on tenacity or luck than any sort of well planned out strategy or tactics. In fact, Mandella considers himself a mediocre soldier at best who has succeeded in the military only because he has managed to stay alive (which involves patching him up with multiple prosthetic limbs). And the book actually starts out rather tedious as Haldeman throws a lot of mundane details (though not a lot of techno-babble) at the reader and events seem to proceed at a rather lumbering pace. It was really not until I got to about the halfway point that I started to get a good feel for the book and started to see that it was really going someplace. So prepare yourself before embarking on this one, because it’s somewhat inaccessible at first to non-military sci fi fans. But ultimately the book delivers an interesting and rewarding tale that makes some thoughtful statements on the nature of war and human society as well. Some have seen parts of the novel as Haldeman’s comment on his time serving during the Vietnam War and the culture shock he experienced upon his return. And using the futuristic settings and impact of the time dilation that the soldiers experienced provides a good analogy to what the U.S. soldiers experienced when returning from Vietnam. In any case, The Forever War delivers a good novel that has appeal to genre fans beyond just military sci fi devotees.
The audiobook version is good if nothing spectacular. Audiobook veteran George Wilson narrates with a very professional, clean style that does not detract from the prose even if he does not add much either (like the performance you would get from a narrator like Harlan Ellison). As far as I know, this audiobook is only available for download from Audible.com. You can sign up for their service and get it for one credit or buy it a la carte for around $30.
