Forever Peace

Rating:
Summary: Slow and not-engaging
Review: It's very rare that I give up on a book. But that's exactly what happened when I picked up Forever Peace. Every word was slow, and the characters have little depth. The only thing that kept me going was my own imagination. After forcing myself to keep reading, I just couldn't take it anymore and closed the book forever. Back to Card's Ender series for me... those are books I can't put down!

Rating:
Summary: Reinventing Man
Review: I have been reading Joe Haldemans books since I was twelve years old, when a copy of Forever War fell into my hands. Of course at that age Forever War reads the same as any other grand space adventure, but the fundamental issues underlying Haldemans book weren't wasted... The only way to truly understand the horrors of war is to see them through the eyes of the soldier as it is revealed to him the pointless nature of the entire affair. Written by a soldier who fought in Vietnam, and reading it just at the age when I was becoming aware of Vietnam, I can honestly say that his book played an important part in my understanding of mankinds most primative and violent pastime. His call to peace is so well articulated and deeply felt by the end of his tale that you wonder why anyone would wish to continue engaging in the travesty that is War in an effort to bring about the trivialities of policy.

With Forever Peace Haldeman shows us that the traumas of ones youth reverberate throughout the rest of your life. Once again he presents us with Goya inspired landscapes of war and a central character who is deeply involved and who has come to an emotional and ethical impasse concerning his role in the affair.

Julian Class is one of the hot new high-tech soldiers who fights incredible battles from the safety of a control booth thousands of miles away (a truly horrifying concept that seems to be the direction our modern military would like to go... combat that is all to real to our enemies but no more dangerous than a virtual reality simulator for our military). Julian, an educated man, has always skirted the ethical delimna within himself by not being involved in the most violent or bloodthirsty campaigns (these are saved for the Hunter/Killer squadrons who seem to be populated with the futuristic versions of the Columbine High School gunmen... kids who are turned on by death). But when Class is involved in an operation that goes terribly wrong and results in the deaths of hundreds of civilians the emotional wire he has been so carefully balancing on finally breaks. It is at this point that Haldemans novel begins to explore the suggestion of changing mankinds fundamental propensity towards violence. As the main characters happen upon a scheme that could permanently alter the human urge to act out in a violent fashion towards one another. The idea is attractive but the realization of it is, unfortunately, all too fictional.

Our violent history is something to be gravely considered on a daily basis as we work towards a more peaceful coexistence but the dream of erasing our violent natures at the touch of a button is now, and will likely always be, a dream. So, like Orson Scott Cards book Pastwatch (a novel that suggests we could alter the violent history of the Americas with a few minor changes in the events surrounding Columbus's discovery of the New World) I have to say that Forever Peace is a tremendous read but it chooses to resolve a monumental dilemma far to easily for my taste. I do, however, give it four stars since Mr. Haldeman seems to be chanting a prophetic refrain taught me in my youth .... What if they called a war and nobody went?

Rating:
Summary: A bullet train that smacks into a marshmellow
Review: This is one book that starts off well. Let's be clear about one thing: no one, and I mean no one, writes about military science-fiction with the sense of versimilitude that Joe Haldeman commands. The opening portion of the book is definitely military in nature, then Haldeman does the unexpected by deepening the book with moral and practical dilemmas that take it to a whole new level, all the while ratcheting up the tension and complexity of the story.

I don't think that I've ever felt this much stress when reading a story. I found the characters compelling and engaging and I was impressed that Haldeman didn't pull any punches at throwing problems their way. If anything, it almost seemed like he was trying to destroy them.

By the time it reaches its conclusion, the story is moving along like a bullet train -- sleek, beautiful, and fast -- and then it hits a big, marshmellowish deus ex machina. Worse, the ending *literally* takes the form of "and over the next two years, X happened".

It was a real let-down. I think that Haldeman realized that he was 300+ pages into the story and, dammit, there was the end coming up! I can understand that, but he should have made this into a trilogy. There was certainly enough story potential to turn it into one. As it is, we have a truly brilliant book that's crippled by a truly sallow ending.

I think that it's worth picking up. I really do. The ending is poor but the rest of the book is filled with so much brilliance, energy, and passion that I really think that it deserves to be read. Just... flesh out the ending in your imagination when you get to it.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: Worst then being plain bad, is being forgettably average. The plot line of Forever Peace was not strong to begin with, and the lack of flow only made it worse. Almost the entire first half seemed to be devoted to nothing, then suddenly things pick up, fast. So fast that reading the ending is like running into a brick wall.

Rating:
Summary: A great novel, kind of a mix of sci-fi and thriller
Review: This is a great novel, but like some of his other recent novels, it is a mix of sci-fi and neo-political thriller. Its a great book, especially if you enjoy his gritty and realistic view of the future. If you like Buying Time you will like this book. If you are more of a Forever War fan, this side of Haldeman may not be you cup of tea. My personal favorite by Joe H. is All My Sins Remembered - which is similar in some ways to Forever Peace.

Rating:
Summary: A forced march through a grim landscape
Review: Should be titled: The Forever Piece of $#!@%. I threw it away with less than 100 pages to go. A forced march through a grim landscape of mind-melding and sexual equality. A stinker. Stupid plot, boring characters, heavy-handed, plodding, and lifeless. Blech! And this won the Nebula!

Rating:
Summary: This was a Hugo winner???
Review: I am a fan of Joe Haldeman and when I saw this was a Hugo winner I didn't think I could go wrong. I was sadly mistaken. I finished reading the book only because I thought it would get better. The book was slow paced, contrived and just not very interesting. My overall impression was the book was lacking in the plot, technical detail and character development normally associated with a work by Haldeman. Next time I will be more careful in spending my money on 'favorite' authors and Hugo winners.

Rating:
Summary: So so Sci-Fi
Review: It is difficult to imagine that this book received the Hugo Award. The story seems too weak for that. It is just another version of the same old story about scientists trying to save the universe from the crazies who are about to do it in. Religious crazies in this case are the bad guys. There is a lot of "jacking" and lots of war stuff. There are some twists to the plot and a little suspense but it doesn't amount to all that much. The characters are not strong but rather gray and not entirely believable. Still, though, not the worst science fiction I have read.

Rating:
Summary: Another great book from Haldeman
Review: This is a great book, and a must for any Haldeman fan (Joe or Jack!) It's not a Forever War sequal (though I was hoping it would be), but some of the same themes are there. Haldeman is a combat veteran, and NO ONE writes about combat better than he does. I noticed some negative comments, and the only reason I can figure is they didn't couldn't follow the perspective switching, which is critical to the story. I liked it, so I guess that is just personal preference.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific science fiction
Review: This is one of the best books I have read in some time. I had difficulting setting it aside. I found the 1st to 3rd person changes easy to get accustomed to; they allow the author to provide more background information. It seems to disappoint people who have read Haldeman's other books, but as a first time Haldeman reader I did not have this experience at all.