nicanical
The Forever War is like Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers with fewer classes, more combat, and a protagonist—William Mandella—who is jaded with the war rather than bought into it.
Joe Haldeman's treatment of time dilation here is the best I've seen after Alastair Reynolds's. Time dilation means decades pass between engagements, with successive expeditions equipped with drastically improved weapons and tactics. Like winning a line battle with muskets and cannons only for the enemy's reinforcement to show up with jets and tanks.
Naturally, time dilation means that Earth changes drastically as well from Mandella's point of view. The first time he returns home, two years have passed for Mandella but over twenty years have passed back on Earth. Mandella is so alienated by the unfamiliar world that he re-enlists shortly after. (In this way, The Forever War is also an allegory for the Vietnam War).
The story is paced well with chapters kept to digestible lengths. Haldeman's style is straightforward and relatively unadorned making this an easy read.
The Forever War is like Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers with fewer classes, more combat, and a protagonist—William Mandella—who is jaded with the war rather than bought into it.
Joe Haldeman's treatment of time dilation here is the best I've seen after Alastair Reynolds's. Time dilation means decades pass between engagements, with successive expeditions equipped with drastically improved weapons and tactics. Like winning a line battle with muskets and cannons only for the enemy's reinforcement to show up with jets and tanks.
Naturally, time dilation means that Earth changes drastically as well from Mandella's point of view. The first time he returns home, two years have passed for Mandella but over twenty years have passed back on Earth. Mandella is so alienated by the unfamiliar world that he re-enlists shortly after. (In this way, The Forever War is also an allegory for the Vietnam War).
The story is paced well with chapters kept to digestible lengths. Haldeman's style is straightforward and relatively unadorned making this an easy read.