The Forever War Audiobook By Joe Haldeman cover art

The Forever War

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The Forever War

By: Joe Haldeman
Narrated by: George Wilson
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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 Fantasy Science Fiction Scary Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

  • Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1976
  • Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1975
"A vastly entertaining trip." ( The New York Times)
Powerful Allegory • Compelling Time Dilation • Excellent Character Voices • Relatable Protagonist • Emotional Love Story
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I first read this book in 9th grade, checked out from the public library. It was my first step into a brauder Sci Fi pallet. This was also the book that taught me to greatly dislike checed out books. (they have to be returned) Over the years I have searched for it to re-read and been unable to find it. What a joy it was to enjoy it in audiobook format. It may be just a little bit dated, but as a person who came into her own in the 1990's it was fun to read this alternate "future"

An Old Favorite

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What did you love best about The Forever War?

Time travel has always been a fascination of mine.

Who was your favorite character and why?

William Mandella of course

What about George Wilson’s performance did you like?

He did a very good job not being mono toned, kept it interesting

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It could have been, you really didn't need a break.

Any additional comments?

Very good SiFi.

A good read

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A very enjoyable book... Very different than other space infantry books I've read. Futuristic topics were detailed, and handles superbly.

Ahead of its time...

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So I started reading this book because a Sci-fi book club I joined was reading it. It was an award winner and had been published a number of times over the years. Many people have loved it, but I picked up on a number of amateur errors in the first few chapters.
Okay, first it was published in 1974, and the author placed his military sci-fi troops heading out into deep space in the 1990s. Having grown up in that time, I can tell you that was quite a stretch. The mistake is that he outdated the book within one generation. So now it’s a bit of a farce. The other problem I had was the idea that everyone smokes pot like they are as common as aspirin and all the women are happy to sleep around with any guy who askes them without hesitation. I know the ’60s were about free love and opening the mind to drugs, but this was published in the mid-’70s at the height of the women’s movement and the beginning of the drug wars. Why is that important in a sci-fi novel set in the future? Well if you are going to set a novel 20 years in your future, you should consider how realistic the progression of time you are living in would lead to your predicted future. The other option is to place the future at least 100 years or more away from your reality so that the reader is more comfortable with accepting the differences in culture and attitudes.
The other problem I had was that the characters, who were all supposed to be college educated experts in their given fields didn’t come across as that smart and acted more like college freshman. Plus the idea that the Senior military officers that were training them would use live ordnance in training, killing recruits and destroying millions of dollars in deep space assets as part of training was over the top.
Really good science fiction makes the impossible seem possible. Good writers do that by taking the fantasy elements (i.e., warp speed, laser guns, time travel, etc.) and surrounding it with people, situations and real items that we can accept as very possible. If this had been sold as a space opera or fantasy and set in a more distant time I might have enjoyed it a little more, but not much more.
The other drawback is that the audio recording was done in the late ’90s when audiobooks were more of a novelty and made for people who had difficulty reading a book, such as the visually impaired. So the narrator didn’t put much of performance into the reading.

I’m not sure why they call this one a classic.

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Great story. Interesting take on relativistic travel and war. First rate narration. If you enjoy sci-fi by audiobook then I couldn't recommend this any more.

Fantastic through and through

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For Sci-Fi fans, this is a good one to have in your collection. It examines an interesting problem in interstellar warfare that no other book (or movie or TV show) has attempted to tackle: relativity.

It's been a few months since I listened to this one, and I don't recall anything especially memorable about the characters, but this isn't about who the people are as much as it's about the cultural impact upon the characters of "moving through time". There's a lot of orginal and thought-provoking ideas here, and overall it's worth the time and credit.

That Relativity'll Get Ya' Every Time...

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Incredible and so original, one of the best books I've ever read. A must read

Incredible

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This is a classic Sci-fi but it feels very dated to the 70's. The performance was great , but I found myself at times hard pressed to finish the story.

A classic sci-fi

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Just when you thought it would crush you with loss, it makes the prospect of fighting interstellar war not so bad.

"Why is the sky blue? Because God loves the infantry!" - U.S. Army saying.

Excellent

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An original classic, this story took me from the late 20th century, and traveled over a Millennium to a time when the alien war came to a practical peace tre

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