Ahoy there me mateys! This piqued me interest because of the title and then the blurb sounded awesome. I had never heard of the author or the book. I brought it home and of course the First Mate had not only heard of it but had read both it and another book in the series. Apparently, yet again, I somehow missed one of the most important sci-fi works ever written. This novel won the following awards:

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1976), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1975), Locus Award for Best Novel (1976), Ditmar Award for Best International Long Fiction (1976)

Also it is a sci-fi novel in response to the Vietnam War. As Goodreads states:
Based in part on the author’s experiences in Vietnam, The Forever War is regarded as one of the greatest military science fiction novels ever written, capturing the alienation that servicemen and women experience even now upon returning home from battle. It shines a light not only on the culture of the 1970s in which it was written, but also on our potential future.

Well then. So, of course, I had to read it and I have to say that I thought this book was amazing! While the book’s Vietnam references are there, I overall felt that this book was timeless. It didn’t feel aged or dated. I thought it was absorbing and fascinating.

The plot follows Mandella as he fights in an interplanetary war. The issue is that due to the logistics of space travel, Mandella’s battles can last several years while back on Earth decades or centuries pass. The war is the one constant but every time Mandella’s on leave, he has to confront the social and economic changes that have been occurring back home. And goodness do things change.

The main message seems to be that war is begun from stupidity and greed as a means to control the populace. War is pointless and never has good consequences. A message I can certainly get behind. If ye haven’t read this one then I highly recommend it.

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/