Forever Peace [Mass Market Paperback]

Joe Haldeman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 1, 1998

2043 A.D.: The Ngumi War rages. A burned-out soldier and his scientist lover discover a secret that could put the universe back to square one. And it is not terrifying. It is tempting...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Julian Class is a full-time professor and part-time combat veteran who spends a third of each month virtually wired to a robotic "soldierboy." The soldierboys, along with flyboys and other advanced constructs, allow the U.S. to wage a remotely controlled war against constant uprisings in the Third World. The conflicts are largely driven by the so-called First World countries' access to nanoforges--devices that can almost instantly manufacture any product imaginable, given the proper raw materials--and the Third World countries' lack of access to these devices. But even as Julian learns that the consensual reality shared by soldierboy operators can lead to universal peace, the nanoforges create a way for humanity to utterly destroy itself, and it will be a race against time to see which will happen first. Although Forever Peace bears a title similar to Joe Haldeman's classic novel The Forever War, he says it's not a sequel. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Veteran sf writer Haldeman views this novel not as a continuation of but as a follow-up to the problems raised in his highly acclaimed 1975 novel, Forever War. In the Universal Welfare State in 2043, draftees and volunteers link their brains to "soldierboy" war machines that do the actual fighting hundreds of miles away. Black physics professor and linked draftee Julian Class; his white mentor and lover, Dr. Amelia Harding; and her colleague Peter discover that the high-profile Jupiter Project is about to re-create the Big Bang that will destroy the solar system. The original 20 survivors of an experiment to link brains via implanted jacks discover they can turn people into pacifists by linking them for two weeks. Together with Julian and Amelia, the group stays one jump ahead of assassins as they try to stop the project and pacify key figures. 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.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ace (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441005667
• ISBN-13: 978-0441005666
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (133 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joe Haldeman has served twice as president of the Science Fiction Writers of America and is currently an adjunct professor teaching writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#62 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#65 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#62 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#65 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, well worth your time December 7, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I don't read a lot of science fiction, but something about the title made me pick it up. I haven't read anything else by this author, but if Forever Peace is an example, I may have to try some of his other books.

The book is about a new kind of warfare that I found very believable. The advanced nations of the near future are using remotely controled androids known as "soldier boys" to fight the smaller "Bosnia" type wars of tomorrow. The soldiers who control these androids through brain implants can't stay plugged in too long, or they go insane. Which is one of the secrets the book unravels. The main character, a soldier/mathematician named Julian is the heart of what makes an intricate story work so well. This character is very well written. He is complex, and multifaceted person (which is to say very real). The story is political thriller set in the future, with an intellectual 'everyman' as its hero. It was one of the best books I have read this year.

I found it so believable I did a little snooping and I think I know why it rings so true: not only was the author a soldier (Vietnam) but he has been involved in think groups for the Pentagon on the weapons of tomorrow. He knows of what he speaks. I find the fact that an author with such a macho pedigree could write such a moving anti-war book to be facinating. Maybe what they say is true: nobody hates war more than a soldier.

My advice? Try the book.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, just not quite on par with Forever War October 2, 2003

By Patrick L. Randall VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Unlike "Forever Free", "Forever Peace" is not a sequel to author Joe Haldeman's award-winning landmark novel "Forever War". Some view it as an ideological sequel, if not an actual one. I'm not sure I agree with that, as "Forever Peace" is a vastly different story with different characters and a much earlier timeline. The only similarities lie in the books respective disdain for war. "Forever Peace" is not up the level of quality of "Forever War", but it is still a good book.

The story of "Forever Peace" centers on a full-time college professor and part-time combat soldier named Julian Class. Julian is part of a new breed of soldier that doesn't physically fight the battles themselves. Through robotic and biological advancements that bear many similarities to the methods used in the "Matrix" movies, soldiers are now operators whose minds are 'plugged-in' to the warrior-robot machines (called 'Soldierboys') they control and the platoon members they control these robots with. While not putting the soldiers in any imminent physical danger, the control of the Soldierboys does bring about the high risk of mental and emotional wounds. These Soldierboys are used primarily to put down uprisings in Third World countries. These uprisings are caused primarily by conflicts over control of a technology called nanoforges, which are machines capable of designing and creating almost any physical product necessary for survival and prosperity. In the midst of the strife caused by uprisings, there is also the planned unveiling of the most ambitious and massive scientific experiment ever conceived.... A superconductor designed around Jupiter's moons is set to be activated so that scientists can create and observe the exact conditions of the Universe's creation at its earliest possible moment. Julian is attached to both of these major events and his actions will play a major role in determining their outcome and future impact. There is a danger from the continued uprisings that can only be resolved by implementation of a plan based on the Soldierboy technology that can make Earth a peaceful place indefinitely. The other danger exists in the form of a governmental and religious conspiracy that goes all the way to the stop is hell-bent on concealing evidence that shows that the superconductor experiment may be dangerous enough to threaten the galaxy's existence. The race is on to see if these threats can be defused and Julian holds the key to them both.

Conspiracy theories, fatalistic prophecies, not to mention, overt sexual themes, are common elements of Haldeman's "Forever..." series. They are as prevalent as ever in "Forever Peace". Julian is an empathetic character whose own breakdowns and relations with his female academic colleague are full of the tension and sensuality readers come to expect from Haldeman. The threat and danger of the government conspiracy to conceal the truth about the superconductor project is well written and full of suspense. While I don't feel that Julian is quite as compelling a character as William Mandella from "Forever War" or that his relationship is quite as touching, he still brings a strong presence to the table. Overall, "Forever Peace" is a good book. I don't think it is quite worthy of Nebula and Hugo awards (which it did win, but its not nearly the quality of other winners like "Forever War", "Ender's Game", and "Speaker for the Dead"), it is still a valuable piece of science fiction and worth spending the time to get to know. Read more ›

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A bullet train that smacks into a marshmellow December 9, 1999

By Andrew X. Lias

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A good addition to Haldeman's works May 26, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I find myself always coming back to old Haldeman books when I am looking for something to read. Long after other science fiction novels have been hauled off to a library book sale, my tattered Haldeman books remain on the bookshelf because they are almost all worth re-reading. `Forever Peace' is no exception. It is in some ways a revisiting of the themes found in the "Forever War": of how a soldier of the not-too-distant future deals with war. However the author is 30 years (or so) older now and the mind of this soldier reflects that change.

Haldeman brings to the table his fine story telling ability, his background as a scientist, and his background as a soldier. There are few writers out there who can tell a story like Haldeman can because of where he has been in life. I think that is what brings me back to his books. His stories work, his science feels real-enough, and his violence is drawn from memory, not from fantasy. A rare, difficult, and ultimately intriguing combination.