Rating: 
Summary: Not a sequel, but also a great achievment
Review: Haldeman's 'The Forever War' is an all-time science fiction classic, but that doesn't make 'Forever Peace' its sequel. Still, the ideas of the two books couldn't be more the same and diametrically opposed at the same time. Where a never ending war was described in TFW, 'Forever Peace' makes an attempt at a never ending peace.
But in the beginning there is war: the Alliance of the United Welfare State (formerly known as the USA) fights against the Ngumi, a loose combination of several African and South American countries. The Alliance is technologically superior, and instead of sending soldiers into combat, they send so-called soldierboys, which are remotely guided fighting machines.
Julian Class is the commander of a platoon, who gets weary, depressed and eventually suicidal of fighting against the Ngumi. Together with his lover, who is a scientist, they make a startling discovery, that could mean the end of the world, and then another discovery, which would be too good to be true. Different forces start fighting to achieve different goals (of course).
Haldeman's heroes are very likeable, they are black soldiers, homosexual intellectuals, older women having younger lovers. The villains are Christian fundamentalists, and on p. 341 of the paperback edition, religious fundamentalism is even compared to rabies. If you happen to live in the USA and hear some of their gospel, you can agree just too eagerly on that.
Don't expect another 'The Forever War', but Haldeman is a very aware author who doesn't hide his contempt for the things he doesn't like. Some may criticize him for playing his Vietnam veteran status as a trump card in every book he writes, but then at least he has seen some actual atrocities, which makes it legitimate for him to be so explicit.
Although there is some hard science in this novel, the important stuff are the social interactions, the decisions people have to make and their actual developments. Read 'Forever Peace' with an open mind and you won't regret it.
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: Morally Questionable
Review: The theme of this book is that mind control is good, and resisting mind control is bad. Except that even the brainwashed have dirty work to do, whacking the people who resist too hard, so they keep some unbrainwashed lackeys around for this purpose. The morality of this is so difficult to justify that Haldeman must invoke DESTRUCTION OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE as the consequence of failure. Talk about contrived! If you love Haldeman for his hard science and gritty truths, stay away from this book. The price of his Peace is too high.
Rating: 
Summary: ARMAGEDDON
Review: Adopting multiple points of views, Joe Haldeman has patiently constructed a nightmarish world in FOREVER PEACE. Former soldier and physicist, he describes the tension felt by the soldier in the middle of a guerilla situation with the same meticulosity he used to convince us that our researches concerning The Big Bang will lead to a catastroph. Apart of the thriller mood of this book, I've liked the moral point developed in FOREVER PEACE. For Joe Haldeman, humanity will sooner or later find a way to destruct the universe. Scientific curiosity or evil minds cannot be stopped in this deadly vertigo. So, if men must be changed -with jacks- in order to save the humanity, it has to be done. God's world is not perfect according to Haldeman, but God has given us the means to improve it. On the other hand, religious fanatics believe that the world God has created is perfect and that if it must be destroyed, it's God's will and men don't have to interfere with the Almighty God. Well, it's an interesting moral point that can be applied on numerous other basic contemporary questions our politicians are treating all year long. One can recognize in FOREVER PEACE a slight Dan Simmons favour in the descriptions of the mental trips of Julian Class and his colleagues. It's not disagreeable but lets a taste of "déjà vu" in the mouth. A Jansenistic book.
Rating:
Summary: Peace through oblivion
Review: There are two ways to interpret the title, which you'll understand more as you read the book. One way to get "forever peace" is for all of us to realize that war is very very bad and that we should stop before we just wipe everyone out, while the other interpretation is that if the entire universe just up and died, then it'd be peace forever because there's no one around anymore. Is that strange? Because I think it is. Anyhow, now that I've got you reading, I should also note that this is not a sequel to The Forever War, his much earlier, much more significant novel, if either novel ceased to exist you could read the other without any problem. What this does do is take some of the themes in the first book (ie military life being degrading) and attempting to come to the same conclusion in a different fashion, albeit shaped by years of maturing and experience. So what we have here is soliders mentally linked to each other to control "soldierboys" mechanized killing machines essentially. Doing so links the nine soldiers together in a way that involves total intimacy and it's this world where war is fought by impersonal machine while the soldiers in the group are closer than even lovers that Haldeman makes his case. Seems that a science group has figured out how to redo the Big Bang, the only problem being that it'll really cause the Big Bang and destroy just about everything. They're about to pull the plug when a secretive religious group with higherups placed in the government decides that it'd be a great idea if it continued. Confused? You won't be, Haldeman pulls everything along with a natural grace that whiles it lacks the fire and passion that drove The Forever War, still stands as a fine book that will make you think about war and peace and what it all means. You mean not totally buy into his concepts or the themes but the central idea is one you should find yourself considering just the same. Pretty cover too, with a single white dove flying alone and silently through shattered ruins. Give the artist who did that an extra few bucks (especially since they got rid of that great planets falling through an hourglass cover on The Forever War . . . it's just some stupid medal now, what's up with that?). He deserves it. And you should read this and not just stare at the pretty cover. Please?
Rating: 
Summary: Good action/adventure sci fi
Review: fun to read but with a great main character but nothing too deep and the ending is a bit chesse
Rating:
Summary: fun read
Review: I found this easier to get through than _Forever War_.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good on the action, unbelievable in the sci fi
Review: Haldeman mentions in his intro blurb that this book is not a sequel to Forever War, but is sort of an extension thereof in his own mind. I heartily agree, for the first 150 pages, that is. This section of the book is very reminiscent - high tech soldiers fighting in a futuristic war. The setup is good, the sci fi believable, and the action entertaining. The interest generated by the action is maintained throughout the book. Unfortunately, the sci fi and believability break down spectacularly. There are two scientific breakthroughs at the heart of the story. I will not spoil it for someone who has not yet read the book, except to say that one of them has to do with bringing humans into the next level of evolution. When an alien intellegence brings one human to the next level of evolution in 2001, it's believable. When the entire planet spontaneously evolves in Childhood's End, it's not believable. When scientists plan to force it onto an unwilling populace, as in this book, it's rediculous, even if you believe the sci fi setup of how they could do it. Thus, the last 200 pages is this small cadre of scientists working their way through this utterly impossible plan. You are simply left shaking your head. Another near-fatal flaw is the way the book is written, half 1st person and half 3rd person. One of my biggest pet peeves is first person books where you are not allowed into the thoughts of the narrator. Isn't that the point of 1st person? For example, in Presumed Innocent, we don't know if the narrator killed the woman until end of the book. In this book, when Haldeman wants to spring a surprise on us, he switches to 3rd person, then back to first for the surprise. It's inconsistent and a manipulative gimmick. You can't trust (or even really like) the main character because of this. It's surprising and dissappointing coming from Haldeman, considering how well he wrote Mandela's character in Forever War - you felt his isolation, fears, joys, and sorrows. In this book, Class is just some guy. Although it's better than a lot of other Nebula/Hugo award winners, it's also a lot worse than some of them, including this author's own Forever War. It is somewhat entertaining and interesting, but will never make my favourite books list.
Rating:
Summary: Not a stunning read.
Review: What Haldeman does well is come up with an interesting idea and he writes convincingly about military operations, not surprising from a veteran soldier! In Forever War the story was fast paced and punchy, and that made the book a good read. From the first page you are thrown into the plot. But in Forever Peace he builds up to the main plot more slowly. I think he was trying to build better characters by giving us a history of sorts. I think he should stick to the short punchy style. Otherwise he should get a co-writer to work on development of characters, subplots and descriptive sequences. All in all I suppose I like well written books, and as a result I do not like the way Haldeman writes. In this book since he takes half the book to come to the point of his plot, I have to give it a poor rating. For me this book was not a patch on Forever War. But it is a sequel of sorts, and if you enjoyed Forever War you will probably want to read this one.
Rating:
Summary: Clancy and Dickens in one
Review: I heard about Haldeman from my brother about 6 months ago. Since then I have read almost all of his books and been captivated with every single one, and Forever Peace is no exception. This book is extraordinarily moving and meaning full. Though defiantly not a sequel to Forever War it is extremely profound and has insight that rivals Charles Dickens. His main character Sergeant Julian Class is both complex and interesting. I almost get the feeling of Clancy when I read this but with more of a profound sense of the way our world is. This book is a great and intriguing read for anyone.
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