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Forever Peace

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Forever Peace

By: Joe Haldeman
Narrated by: George K. Wilson
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About this listen

 Drawing on his own war experiences, Vietnam veteran Joe Haldeman creates stunning works of science fiction. Forever Peace is not a sequel to his previous award-winning work, The Forever War, but it deals with similarly provocative issues. When it was published, Forever Peace was chosen as the Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. It also won the coveted Hugo Award.

War in the 21st century is fought by "soldierboys". Remote-controlled mechanical monsters, they are run by human soldiers who hard-wire their brains together to form each unit. Julian is one of these dedicated soldiers, until he inadvertently kills a young boy. Now he struggles to understand how this has changed his mind.

Forever Peace is a riveting portrayal of the effects of collective consciousness, and it offers some tantalizing revelations. Narrator George Wilson's skillful performance weaves together the elements of futuristic technology with the drama of a trained soldier reconciling basic human needs.

©1997 Joe Haldeman (P)2000 Recorded Books Fantasy Science Fiction

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Critic reviews

"At once a hard science, military, and political thriller, this book presents a thoughtful and hopeful solution to ending war in the 21st century. Essential for sf collections." ( Library Journal)
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The story is great, especially if you have read Joe Haldeman's work before. However, it is a little slow at times and the reader does not emote much. There were even a few moments of action where you can hear him stop to have a drink...

Interesting, but slow and low energy

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second one i have read and enjoyed just purchased next book. they all seem loosely related

original

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It's a while since I read a book that generated mixed feelings within me like this: half the time I was thinking and feeling what a great story this was, the other half I felt bewildered, a little short-changed, and rolled eyes at the cliche.
And in many ways it's a book of two halves with a loose connection of near-future war with a quirky interface system between man, machine, and one another called 'jacking.' it's this tech that I most enjoyed about the book as some of the concepts felt very interesting regarding shared experience, emotions, and understanding a la Philip K Dick territory. Yet in the latter stages of the book even that became a bit of a strange goofy plotline to strive for a utopian peace.
The book starts well in what was a now well trod morality of future war trope. The recruits pilot remote killing machines (whether army, navy, or air force) against a third world rebel force. The process is fairly safe for them as remote operators save the risk of stroke or heart attack, or the risk of psychological trauma. It's this latter event that affects the main character after killing a teenager in a mission gone wrong.
The story follows the impact of this, and the consequences on his army career. So far, so good, and so relatable. And if the book remained about the horror of war, especially where war was about impersonal remote murder, then that would suit me. The exploration of 'jacking' and its impact upon world perspective and relationships was interesting and could have progressed more
Instead the second half of the book evolves into a strange future conspiracy thriller. To ask the question about the nature of innate violence in man is again of interest, but then the twist of the jacking being a pacifier after overexposure seemed strange and contrived. Then the morality of enforcing this upon a population after a cursory ethical debate amongst intellectuals, and then driving forward a coup with a time frame determined by impending Armageddon (conveniently tied to the main characters day job as a physicist) started to feel... just bizarre. Then throwing in some Christian extremist assassins with a penchant for sexual sadistic violence--it all felt utterly random.
I enjoyed Haldeman's writing and his clever bounce between first and third person. He handles graphic violence and sexual content without being gratuitous and I enjoyed some of his characters and ideas. But this felt too uneven, too much like two stories bolted together with scanty plot threads between.

Uneven near-future war story

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I Liked the book good narration I recommend the book series I would give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good book

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The other two Forever War books are a clear pair. This one feels like a standalone novel or a concept piece that the author decided to remove from the FW universe. It's an odd one, a likeable and relatable lead character and a plot that starts strong but weakens as the book progresses. I enjoyed the downbeat narration, I felt that it leaned well into the character's depression and jaded view of the world.

The odd one out

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