The Forever War

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but overrated?
Review: I know it's supposed to be kind of a classic but I wasn't particularly bowled over. I found it engaging and occassionally exciting but never really engrossing. Mediocre character development is somewhat offset by the mind-blowing idea of fighting a war under the circumstances of "time dilation" caused by traveling vast distances at near light speed. It picked up another star because of its exciting and satisfying ending.

Rating:
Summary: The Foever War
Review: I was very disappointed. The book won Hugo and Nebula awards, but
I can't figure out way. I do not recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Classic anti-war story, for those paying attention
Review: I don't feel a need to add to the plaudits -- this is one of those Hugo/Nebula winners that really did deserve both awards. But I do want to point out that reviewer jrh1972 completely missed the point: Of course you didn't get a good sense of the Taurans, or why Earth was at war with them. That's precisely what Haldeman intended: to create the same "Why are we there?" feeling that disaffected American soldiers in Vietnam experienced thousands of miles from home -- fighting a war whose origins & purpose was only vaguely understood. Haldeman employs the tropes of science fiction to heighten the sense of dislocation and "alienation" (pun intended) that he and his fellow soldiers must have felt in Southeast Asia.