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)

Good Classic Sy-Fy

I love a good science fiction novel. Forever War was one of those for me. It starts out small and then spirals down and down until you reach the end of the book. The ending is crazy but I loved it. I found it to be funny. #Future #Tagsgiving #Sweepstacks

Dated Sensibilities Don't Diminish a Strong Story

Some of the attitudes toward homosexuality and women are predictably dated, and this is exacerbated by the narrator's tendency to put a slightly camp tone into every homosexual character's voice, but the story still stands as a great anti-war parable.

Dated. just so limited. did not hold up

might make a decent short story concept but never a book. amazing how far we've come

Classic

This book is one that you'll want to keep going back to. Audible offers an option to holding a book in your hands while enjoying a book that has 'aged' well. As with any thing else some people are blessed with talent, as Mr. Wilson demonstrates with this performance.

Wonderful Classic Science Fiction

It has been around a couple of decades since I read this, the first time. I am glad that I chose to re-read it now that I am older. I had mostly forgotten it, so it was largely new to me again. It is such a good story! I love the idea of traveling into the future like that. If only I could do that, but be able to return to the past (present) if I did not like what I found, or just could not contend with how different it is.

Very interesting story

Where does The Forever War rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a unique and very interesting take on war, technology, and the future of the human race. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Science Fiction genre.

What does George Wilson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I find it very satisfying to have a narrator for the main character, this performance brought the story to life for me and it felt like the narrator was the actual character describing his experiences.

worth the time. good book

the forever war is like old mans war by scalzi, but without the humor. This one is more anti war which is fine, but why in the hell do the more current sci fy writers feel the need to dumb down the level through F bombs. Heinlein did fine while never cursing once, which makes it feel more like literature than a magazine article.

that being said, i am buying the others in this series.

A classic

Yes it feels dated, but in some ways it’s a paradigm for good military sci-fi. By that I mean it’s way more interested in the social and interpersonal aspects of fighting an alien war (and time dilation) than the tactical and technological aspects. Iow, it doesn’t read like it’s made to be a movie, but a novel. Not sure I’ll do the sequels but I enjoyed this one

Dated and unrealistic

Unique what other people here say, I don’t think it holds up well today at all. It is clearly a beloved tittle, but the portrayal of human sexuality and psychology is delusional. The author comes from an idealistic hippy-esk view of love and sex where “liberated” women are ok, happy even, to have compulsory sex with men in their unite. Soldiers in training are constantly exposed to horrible experiences of death and all they have to do is cry it off for a minute and they are back in the action.

I also had a hard time suspending my disbelief with the military training. The characters are told one minute how expensive their training is and how valuable they are, just for their officiers to kill them IN TRAINING. I mean what a huge waste. That makes absolutely no sense at all in any military anywhere. At the very least if you don’t care about your recruits you use them as cannon fodder but even for they they have to make it out of training…

Fantasic hard sci-fi

Outstanding audiobook. Writing is great and the performance nails it.

Story is exactly what you want in some good-ole-fashioned hard sci-fi. A little sex, a little science, a little politics, and a lot of action.

10/10, would mind-wipe and experience it again if i could.