Rating: 
Summary: Not a sequel, but part of a triptych
Review: Haldeman has claimed that FOREVER PEACE is part of a triptych of thematically connected novels containing THE FOREVER WAR and 1968. This is true, but only to the extent that they are all about war and what makes us fight and kill each other. Haldeman is at his best when he is describing everyday life in the "permanent war footing" of the future, with all its restrictions and "acceptable" dangers. If THE FOREVER WAR was the Vietnam War transposed to the future, then FOREVER PEACE is Nicaragua, Kuwait, and Oklahoma City. It's a world full of security precautions that don't work, but which are followed because they make people feel better. It's a world of elaborate rules of friendship based on who gets paid what, and when, and how. One of the best aspects of science fiction is the way it looks at the near-future and consequences of our current politico-economic situation, and Haldeman rises to that challenge very well.
Rating: 
Summary: Just as good as "The Forever War"
Review: First off, if you're looking for a sequel to the "Forever War", stop here. The two novels, in terms of characters, setting, etc. are in no way related. In their message they certainly compliment each other, but one is by no means a prerequisite for the other.As for the novel itself, "Forever Peace" is outstanding. While it is ultimately not quite as powerful as "The Forever War" it is also a lot more plausible. The world in which it takes place is disturbingly familiar to our own, and it is by no means unlikely that we could end up there in the relatively near future. Like "The Forever War", "Forever Peace" operates on two levels. On the one it is an exciting, engaging read with great chracters and technology. On the other, it is a serious examination of societal and politcal issues. To examine these issues here would give away some of the plot; suffice it to say they are both familiar and pressing. In "Forever Peace" Haldeman has written a novel that is both cautionary and hopeful. It is both and enjoyable read, and a book that will keep you thinking. To my mind, that's the best kind. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Forever War, but good
Review: The main character is a soldier in the not so distant future. The world is primarily split between the developed countries and the have-nots. A perpetual state of low-intensity warfare, terrorist attacks and punitive raids rage between the developed countries and the 3rd world (sound familiar?). The primary weapon used by the rich nations are nearly indestructable robots controlled remotely by teams of soldiers jacked into cooperative networks. This is not a sequel to 'Forever War'. The two novels are set in completely different universes. Violent conflict with the 'other' and the intense fellowship of soldiers fighting together are two of the themes both books share. As in 'Forever War', peace can only come in 'Forever Peace' when the Human Race cease to be Human. If you want to read a good SciFi novel read 'Forever Peace'. If you want to read a great and classic SciFi novel read 'Forever War'.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book but shouldn't have been a Hugo winner
Review: I really enjoyed Joe Haldeman's Forever Peace and thought it did a good job illustrating the horror and guilt of war. In fact, the first half of the book is spent exploring and describing the world in which the story takes place. It is an uneven world where a massive global war is fought on one side (the western world), by remote control where there are few human casualties and on the other side (the third world), where humans are butchered daily. The plot really gets going in the second half of the book when the set up ends and the interesting discussions, science, and action begin. Once you cross over that line in the book, you can't stop reading. To boil it down, a small group of academics formulate a plan to change the world, and humanity, as we know it. Weather their plan is good or bad for humanity is open to debate but the author certainly comes down on the side of the academics.
I would have liked to see more time spent exploring the "plan" and it's ultimate ramifications on humanity if successful. I thought this was a good book and well worth the read but just can't see how it rises to the level of a Hugo award winner. It could be that I'm just spoiled reading this story in a post Matrix world where the central scientific concept of the book, jacking minds together via a socket in the back of the neck, has been thoroughly explored and therefore does not seem as fresh and brilliant to me. It was probably more ground-breaking and innovative at the time it was published. However, it was a very well written book that kept me turning the pages late into the night. Its central theory about humanity is very interesting and I recommend it to all science fiction lovers out there.
Rating:
Summary: Forever Read
Review: Although I made it through, it seemed like it took forever to finish this book. The complex plot machinations, the cast of dozens, the apocalyptic political vision, and a minimum of eye-popping technological progress 40 years into the future all conspired to make this a fairly grueling read.
This is NOT a sequel or prequel to The Forever War, which is a much more readable and enjoyable book. In fact, the thousand years in TFW seem a mere fraction of the few months depicted here.
And I certainly HOPE that Haldeman is wrong that interracial dating will still be a cultural taboo in 2043.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done
Review: Forever Peace is well done. It is not the continuation of Forever War, but it can be seen as a side bar to the bigger war. The story is a study of society between the first world and third world. As in the real world, the first world has access to the niceties and the third world doesn't and there is a struggle between the two. The first world has machines called soldier boys that are remotely controlled by remotely plugged in soldiers. The soldiers are connected to each other so it is like living in each others head. This leads to unanticipated problems between the soldiers and their loved ones. There are also other unanticipated problems such as the various plugged in soldiers are having nervous breakdowns and the braintrust cannot figure it out.
Haldeman does a great job examining the problems of
America with having too much and the third world not having enough. He is also brilliant in his study of what can happen to soldiers waging war when they are actually disconnected from the actual combat and he also gives ideas of what problems may arise as the technology advances to the point of where no soldiers need to be in harms way. This is a very involved story and character driven with it not as much about war as it is about humanity. Forever Peace won the Hugo and Nebula awards, so it is obvious a great read. Highly Recommended
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Forever War, but good
Review: Forever Peace, not to be confused with a sequel to The Forever War (though I think there is one), appears to be Joe Haldeman's attempt to make a story with more philosophy. I'm never quite sure which character is supposed to be a mouthpiece for his beliefs - maybe none of them - so I suppose he has not overreached in this regard. But there is some unevenness in the storytelling on this account. The story itself, once it gets going, is fairly intricate. What at first seemed like disconnected events designed to make the reader go `wow, how clever' do end up being important to the greater story. We follow Julian Class, a physics instructor and researcher who is also a drafted part time soldier, fighting a war through virtual reality gizmos. The VR aspects of the story are quite important, as it impacts the world of Forever Peace quite a bit. But after various other events take place, we get to the heart of the main story. The universe will come to an end if Julian and friends don't take rapid action. And thus it continues from there. I mentioned before that Haldeman's opinions take a greater role here than in The Forever War. I'm hesitant to say how exactly, since mostly they have to do with how the characters save the universe. But if you've read his earlier work, there will be no surprises here. If you haven't read his other stuff, do not fear. Forever Peace is a self-contained novel. There's an intriguing plot and plenty of action. Just be aware that there's a strong political overtone here that may detract from the basic trustworthiness of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting take on the 'you will be assimilated' conspiracy
Review: We've all read (or seen movies about) insidious conspiracies in which some sort of sinister force starts taking over people's minds. Usually the heroes are racing against time to stop the conspiracy before it takes over the world completely. Haldeman manages a new angle on the genera by actually placing the protagonist on the inside of such a conspiracy, where he works to help insure that everyone in the world will be subject to a surgical procedure that renders the person perfectly docile, unable to kill, and generally very cooperative with the group. It's an interesting premise, but Haldeman's implementation suffers from some major flaws. Although his writing is stylistically excellent, he throws in a few too many sub-plots than a book of this length is able to reasonably handle. We've got tele-operated robot soldiers, a fanatical doomsday cult that wants to destroy the world, the aforementioned brainwashing conspiracy, nanomachines that can create anything on demand, and a colossal physics experiment that threatens to blow up the solar system. That's all just a bit much to cram into a single, relatively short book. The subplots are all intriguing, but none of them really get explored in the depth that they deserve. There seem to be enough creative ideas here for several books, or at least a much longer book, and it often seems as if major new plot elements are thrown in haphazardly and crammed together. The book's hero is an interesting, well-developed character, but he also seems to be a virtual carbon copy of William Mandala, the protagonist in Haldeman's 'The Forever War.' He's exactly the same sort of physicist who doesn't like fighting and has trouble dealing with its psychological consequences, but none the less is really, really good at it. In the end, though, my main problem with this book is that it's hard to really support the people we're apparently supposed to be rooting for. While it's interesting to see Haldeman's take on how this sort of 'brainwash the world' conspiracy might unfold, it's hard to root for the bad guys in the way that we're apparently supposed to. A really intriguing question is whether to not Haldeman actually believes that forcing people to under a surgical procedure that leaves them docile and cooperative would be a good idea. Although it's pretty obvious that this sort of thing should horrify any right-thinking person, Haldeman really seems to set the conspirators up as the book's heroes. He even throws in some laughable philosophical justifications for why this sort of thing might be a good idea, like the risk that some rouge group might develop a world-destroying technology if we aren't all forcibly pacified. Despite it's flaws, this book is probably worth the time of military sci-fi fans, or anyone who likes Haldeman's work.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing 2
Review: I have never read Haldeman before. The only thing I knew he is considered a good writer, so I decided to read a sf novel from a good author. However, I wonder why this book won the Nebula Award. Weren?t there better books ? Don?t misunderstand me. Forever peace is well written and interisting. The first part of the book is good and promising, but after some chapters the story got lost in a silly love affair, too many characters and an unbeleivable peace proposal. It must be note Haldeman?s knowledge of the south frontier of RIO GRANDE. I think Haldeman made a good description given his origin. There are better SF books.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, just not quite on par with Forever War
Review: Unlike "Forever Free", "Forever Peace" is not a sequel to author Joe Haldeman's award-winning landmark novel "Forever War". Some view it as an ideological sequel, if not an actual one. I'm not sure I agree with that, as "Forever Peace" is a vastly different story with different characters and a much earlier timeline. The only similarities lie in the books respective disdain for war. "Forever Peace" is not up the level of quality of "Forever War", but it is still a good book.
The story of "Forever Peace" centers on a full-time college professor and part-time combat soldier named Julian Class. Julian is part of a new breed of soldier that doesn't physically fight the battles themselves. Through robotic and biological advancements that bear many similarities to the methods used in the "Matrix" movies, soldiers are now operators whose minds are 'plugged-in' to the warrior-robot machines (called 'Soldierboys') they control and the platoon members they control these robots with. While not putting the soldiers in any imminent physical danger, the control of the Soldierboys does bring about the high risk of mental and emotional wounds. These Soldierboys are used primarily to put down uprisings in Third World countries. These uprisings are caused primarily by conflicts over control of a technology called nanoforges, which are machines capable of designing and creating almost any physical product necessary for survival and prosperity. In the midst of the strife caused by uprisings, there is also the planned unveiling of the most ambitious and massive scientific experiment ever conceived. A superconductor designed around Jupiter's moons is set to be activated so that scientists can create and observe the exact conditions of the Universe's creation at its earliest possible moment. Julian is attached to both of these major events and his actions will play a major role in determining their outcome and future impact. There is a danger from the continued uprisings that can only be resolved by implementation of a plan based on the Soldierboy technology that can make Earth a peaceful place indefinitely. The other danger exists in the form of a governmental and religious conspiracy that goes all the way to the stop is hell-bent on concealing evidence that shows that the superconductor experiment may be dangerous enough to threaten the galaxy's existence. The race is on to see if these threats can be defused and Julian holds the key to them both.
Conspiracy theories, fatalistic prophecies, not to mention, overt sexual themes, are common elements of Haldeman's "Forever..." series. They are as prevalent as ever in "Forever Peace". Julian is an empathetic character whose own breakdowns and relations with his female academic colleague are full of the tension and sensuality readers come to expect from Haldeman. The threat and danger of the government conspiracy to conceal the truth about the superconductor project is well written and full of suspense. While I don't feel that Julian is quite as compelling a character as William Mandella from "Forever War" or that his relationship is quite as touching, he still brings a strong presence to the table. Overall, "Forever Peace" is a good book. I don't think it is quite worthy of Nebula and Hugo awards (which it did win, but its not nearly the quality of other winners like "Forever War", "Ender's Game", and "Speaker for the Dead"), it is still a valuable piece of science fiction and worth spending the time to get to know.
|
