100 MUST READ SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS: 'The Forever War' by Joe Haldeman

Jules Burt requested some talk about 'The Forever War' when I mentioned it a while ago, so here is my take on this classic Hard SF Military novel with a reading from my book '100 Must Read Science Fiction Novels'.
#sciencefictionbooks
#bookcollecting

[@spiraldaddy]

I really enjoyed this book because there is an element of getting on different timelines just from traveling from one destination to another by continuing a war that switches its point and purpose over time. There is a feeling of losing purpose through travel and shifting time.

[@sciencefictionreads]

One of the first Science Fiction books I read when I walked out of the bookstore with 5 random choices back in 2015, and the book that introduced me to time dilation in the form of space travel!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I can't think of any better application of the basics of relativity than this in SF.

[@JJasonHicks]

Awesome. I'll checknit out. Thanks!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Do Jed, it's a Modern Classic.

[@JulesBurt]

Thanks Steve. Can't believe I've not read this👍🙂

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

It's a great book, Jules, you MUST get onto it...I think with Haldeman he was never able to equal its success, so his fame never got above a certain point. He's still alive, but doesn;t seem to be producing much now.

[@littleredflying-fox]

I really enjoyed this book, having read it after Starship Troopers, and am sure it is polemic. Heinlein wrote his in 1959, and Haldeman in the early 70s. Both deal with war, but are products of the time in which they were written. Heinlein in a time when wars could be "winnable", and Haldeman when there is an increasing disillusionment with war. Another book in the same vein is Bill the Galactic Hero (1965) by Harry Harrison. Great video as always!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

All the points you make are spot on, of course, even the choice of Haldeman's protagonists' name indicates that. Glad you enjoyed the video, many thanks for yr kind comment!

[@richardking3206]

I’m in the midst of listening to Forever War at the moment. I’m loving it. As you said, I don’t know how I’ve not come across this before now. I dug it out because you mentioned it in your 25 recommended books post. I’m not clear which version I’m listening to, sadly, and I’ve contacted Audible to enquire but they were (surprisingly) unable to answer the question. They couldn’t even tell me who published the version, so I could pursue it that way. I’d hoped that your discussion of the differences would help me, but it was a bit too vague to be able to tell. I’m just reaching the relevant bit, too. Thanks anyway!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

You can only get the revised text now, I'm sure- as I said in one of my videos, you have to get an early 80s one or before for the alternative version.

[@richardking3206]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal Some of Audible’s recording are pretty old, however. With an American recording you can’t tell so easily. Thanks, anyway.

[@HasteWriting]

There's a line in The Forever War when they're shooting into an alien base and I'm going to butcher the quote, but it's something like "They performed an impressive imitation of panic." And that line hit me so hard. To this day I think of that line if I choose to kill ants, which I try ot to do. I can see them panic. Who am I to say that their fear and suffering isn't real?

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Absolutely. I think the strength of this book lies in its compassion - Haldeman's own experience of the folly of war comes through so clearly. I think the book deserves a readership well beyond SF circles as a classic of War Fiction.

[@ColinMcAlister-kilt]

I’ve got the newer Masterworks edition (yellow) of the Forever War. Looking forward to it. Even as an avid reader of SF for neigh on 40 years I still come across loads of classics that I’ve not read yet. I’m slowly rectifying this.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Well, there's a lot out there!

[@felixskivor4487]

Hey, really enjoying the channel! Where can I get your ‘100 must read…’? As a new SF reader I have a feeling this will be an invaluable resource. Thanks!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Amazon usually has my book in stock in the UK and USA. Thanks!

[@ernestschultz5065]

I enjoyed The Forever War. What I really want to comment about is the phrase "Hard SF". I always found it a little off putting. I have heard RingWorld and books like that called hard science fiction. That used to make me think the book was going to go into excruciating detail of warp drives and complicated maths. A better phrase, I think, is High Concept SF. What do you think Mr Outlaw Bookseller? I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I do see where you are coming from - as much as I enjoyed the physics in 'The Forever War', it's really a human story and it owes just as much to the humanist attitude of New Wave literary SF as traditional space opera. I prefer not to suggest alterations or amendments to long-established usages coined by genre experts and critics who have done decades of reading and research. Have you tried looking up 'Hard SF' in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (now a website)? It simply means SF that is predicated on 'hard sciences' - physics, chemistry, biology - rather than 'soft sciences' like philosophy, psychology and sociology. It became a very necessary usage from the mid 60s on when British New Wave SF based itself on soft sciences more and more. Most things that people think of as SF is 'hard SF' - Space Opera, for example. It doesn't have to be loaded with actual science to be SF, but sometimes is. When Space Opera resurged in the late 1980s in Britain, it started to be called New Radical Hard SF to reflect the idea that the new space opera was more engaged with physics. Personally, I'm all for limiting nomenclature as opposed to loads of new terms that quickly become nerdspeak - look at 'Dieselpunk', ' Grimdark' and 'Sword and planet' - unnecessary usages coined by those who don't know their SF history. Thanks for your comment, always good to exchange views on these things.

[@stephenmurphy8349]

Sorry Steve I can't make out the Bob Shaw book you mention @4:46. What is it? Thanks again!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

'Who Goes Here?' -excellent book, very funny, but not in a nerdy way. Try it. Watch my Bob Shaw video too- 'The Greatesr Hard SF Writer You (N)ever Heard Of'.

[@stephenmurphy8349]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal I have learnt so much from your channel. Thanks again!

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@stephenmurphy8349 -It's all about sharing the knowledge and good times with reading-thank you!