Questions About The Forever War (The Forever War, #1)

by Joe Haldeman

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Answered Questions (12)

is it just me or does that look like james franco

Tate Quinton 80% Benicio--20% Franco

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What is the point of land battles? Why do humans/Taurans need land bases on planets with no resources?

Chickenmittens

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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How on earth is this a 4.13 rating? No character complexity. No surprises. Hard to get to the end. Military description is interesting. Idea is interesting. Nothing more. As for the question: What else is interesting in this book?

Matt Thomas This novel is about veterans returning from war. It's a very, very hard subject to tackle. A lot of memoirs don't do it particularly well. But this no…moreThis novel is about veterans returning from war. It's a very, very hard subject to tackle. A lot of memoirs don't do it particularly well. But this novel uses hard sci-fi to exaggerate a lot of what the redeployment process is like psychologically. The world having changed while you're gone, the personality shifts in loved-ones, the struggle to reintegrate, and the feeling that, while deployed, your life has stood still. As someone who's been through this process a few times, I've yet to find anything else that adequately describes that sensation.(less)

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I'm about halfway through the first book, but there is a point fairly early on that keeps bothering me (besides the callousness of the training) Mandella says that by military law soldiers are compliant and promiscuous. This is so horrible I wanted to know if maybe I'm understanding this wrong or something. Comments?

Charles Having served in VietNam, the writer took some grim fun in turning some military rules upside down. Instead of punishing "fraternizing between the off…moreHaving served in VietNam, the writer took some grim fun in turning some military rules upside down. Instead of punishing "fraternizing between the officers", the military in the book ENCOURAGES the male and female soldiers to have sex. Instead of requiring the soldiers to be always respectful toward their superiors, the military allowed some ritual insults ( F*** YOU SIR!) And instead of giving college students deferments from the draft, they targeted them because they need soldiers who could figure out the technology.(less)

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I've read the sample of the kindle version. Seems well written and I want to give it a go. Realising that this is book 1 of 3, I've just read the comments about the other two on Amazon and I don't want to read those. Can I read just book 1 and get served with a read ending or will I regret it?

Suden Käpälä No, you'll not be left dangling from a cliff. It is a closed-ended novel.
(The second book, "Free", is not a traditional sequel; it plays much later an…moreNo, you'll not be left dangling from a cliff. It is a closed-ended novel.
(The second book, "Free", is not a traditional sequel; it plays much later and deals with completely different topics and themes. And the third book, "Peace", is only a spiritual successor -- it doesn't even take place in the same universe nor does it deal with the same characters.)
You might want to dig up the short story "A Separate War", though. Not mandatory, but it sheds light on a period in this novel from another character's perspective.(less)

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