The Forever War

By: Joe Haldeman

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

When it was first published over 20 years ago, Joe Haldeman's novel won the Hugo and Nebula awards and was chosen Best Novel in several countries. Today, it is hailed a classic of science fiction that foreshadowed many of the futuristic themes of the 1990s: bionics, sensory manipulation, and time distortion.

William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?

Narrator George Wilson's performance conveys all the imaginative technology and human drama of The Forever War. Set against a backdrop of vivid battle scenes, this absorbing work asks provocative questions about the very nature of war.

©1974 Joe W. Haldeman (P)1999 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1976
• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1975

"A vastly entertaining trip." ( The New York Times)

wow

survive the first hour. it's totally worth it. at first I thought it'd become a boring space opera. but some this gripped me to the end. definitely a unique piece of literature. I felt like the author let the consumer's mind create whatever structure the consumer wanted for scenery.

Enjoyable Performance

Haldeman's scfi allegory for the Vietnam War has impact! This was excellent!! Audio book is a good experience for this novel. George Wilson was good!

Just Wow.... worth every penny and every hour

It is 1Am. I can usually stop listening at 9pm when I am supposed to be asleep but once I started this book I could not stop. addicting and an amazing balance of everything. I feel complete after this book. Don't know what book ia next just wow.

very interesting, but boring in my opinion.

don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this book. It was a super cool concept and would make for a great movie. but I found it to be rather slow and boring. It reminded me a lot of the old Starship Troopers book. Which was good, but way less action-packed than the movie. Not trying to compare the two, because both the book and the movie were very good and very different, but this book reminded me of the Starship Troopers book. I definitely recommend it, but I was glad it was only 9 hours long. I wasn't crazy about the narrator. He didn't do a bad job, but he definitely didn't bring the characters to life. he basically just read the book.

exceptional

holds up to the ebb of time as if from an interstellar war. superb vision

Classic Sci-fi War novel

Classic story that follows William Mandela, a soldier in a centuries long galactic conflict . Strongly anti-war message, it underscores the alienation of soldiers coming home from a war, and the mindlessness of endless conflict and a military economony. Read it for the message, believable technology and a good story, only Mandela is presented as a fully fleshed out human being.

i listen to this book again and again and again

the story in itself is really good. but the narrator takes it to a whole new level. i love listening to it again and again and again

Really let's you think.

Amazing story with a rather interesting take on the way that our society could develop in regards to human psychology. Plus the staggered jumps through time are pretty cool.

A great story about war and life

The Forever War is an excellent story following the life of a single soldier in a war to colonize the galaxy and drive out a competing alien race.

Even though it takes place in a sifi setting, this story is one of the best in describing the death and destruction of battle and the incredible burn of energy, resources, and life used in war.

This would make good required reading for people in positions of authority that are pro war.

I’m not sure (no surprises here)

This is an interesting one. Not sure what to say. It’s a story about a character in a war that rages on for over 1000 years. However, not much happens to this character, his friends, the environment, the universe in general. Time just passes on and the character stumbles from forced situation to forced situation and he reacts to it as best as he can. Those sections are usually very short and don’t seem to serve any specific purpose other than exploring what could happen to humanity in a very distant future.
Overall, I was only mildly interested while listening to the story. On top of that the narrator is not really good at speaking with different voices or accents, so that all characters in the entire book sound very monotonous and the same. Not sure if I’d recommend this book for other reasons than a social study of future humanity.