• The Forever War

  • By: Joe Haldeman
  • Narrated by: George Wilson
  • Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (7,853 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Forever War  By  cover art

The Forever War

By: Joe Haldeman
Narrated by: George Wilson
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

When it was first published over 20 years ago, Joe Haldeman's novel won the Hugo and Nebula awards and was chosen Best Novel in several countries. Today, it is hailed a classic of science fiction that foreshadowed many of the futuristic themes of the 1990s: bionics, sensory manipulation, and time distortion.

William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?

Narrator George Wilson's performance conveys all the imaginative technology and human drama of The Forever War. Set against a backdrop of vivid battle scenes, this absorbing work asks provocative questions about the very nature of war.

©1974 Joe W. Haldeman (P)1999 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

  • Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1976
  • Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1975

"A vastly entertaining trip." ( The New York Times)

What listeners say about The Forever War

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,017
  • 4 Stars
    2,485
  • 3 Stars
    1,009
  • 2 Stars
    240
  • 1 Stars
    102
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,591
  • 4 Stars
    2,074
  • 3 Stars
    740
  • 2 Stars
    135
  • 1 Stars
    61
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,579
  • 4 Stars
    1,881
  • 3 Stars
    846
  • 2 Stars
    206
  • 1 Stars
    105

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A classic.

The Forever War is science fiction at its best: A commentary on war cast in a science fiction motif.

Haldeman wrote this specifically as a reaction to the Vietnam War, of which he was a veteran. It is dated a bit, given that it posits the availability of collapsar jump technology in the 1990s, but that's just an interesting plot device, not the point of the book.

One reviewer suggests Starship Troopers as a better alternative. I strongly disagree and believe she has missed the point of The Forever War entirely. Starship Troopers is a lot more like Heinlein's version of Plato's Republic, especially clear if you've read his non-science fiction works. The Forever War is no such animal.

In short, I put The Forever War beside Stranger in a Strange Land and Foundation as the best examples of the science fiction genre and well worth your time to listen. Pure and simple.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

96 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

F U Sir!

When I first read this in the early 80's it was considered cutting edge, now it is considered a Classic. This does not surprise those who have read it, most of us knew back in the 70's and 80's that this would reach classic status. Before David Weber and John Ringo, there was Joe Haldeman. This involves a lot of physics, a lot of time paradoxes and a little anti-war. The physics in most cases is explained so that the common layman can understand and it is done in an entertaining way. In the beginning of the book Mandella goes to a planet out past Pluto. The suits they wear and how they deal with the climate make the book very entertaining. It is nota lot of speeches, it is more if you do this you will blow up, etc... It is written in a way in which you do not feel you are in a class room. There was some stuff, especially toward the end of the book that did go over my head, but the book was still great as a whole.

M*A*S*H
Is the theme song going through your head? The anti war is not overly done. You are not beat over the head with it. There are no long Alan Alda speeches. You can be a war hawk and still love this book. I will admit that the book does drag a little toward the end, but still as a whole it is great. Think a more modern version of Arthur C. Clarke.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Terrans vs the Taurans, + lots of weird stuff

A fun read. It takes a realistic-feeling approach to the physics of war in space. The politics as well. The characters are refreshingly down-to-earth (no apologies, pun-haters), instead of someone's fantasy of what a cool and macho space warrior should be like.

It's really an amazing book if you take into account that it was written in the 1970s. Until I finished reading it and checked, I had assumed it was written later.

Final note: at double speed, which is how I often listen to fiction, the narrator sounded like Peter Parker from the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon. Funny. I kept waiting to hear him say, 'Wallopping web-snappers!'

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Neat story, Emotionless narrator.

What didn’t you like about George Wilson’s performance?

Lack of emotion, weird inflections. Struggled to finish the story due to the narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

horrible message

This novel tells a story that sends the message: "Until you turn into communists, you won't understand that the enemy isn't your enemy." Or, stated in more conventional language: To those who understand, no explanation is necessary; to those who don't, none is possible.

It projects a "failed pacifist" as its hero and the plot is driven by a colossal and willful misjudgment made by war-loving men.

I suppose the story holds some small value inasmuch as it creatively presents FTL travel and the effects of time-dilation. But that is scant redemption.

Don't listen to this novel. Instead, try Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An SF treatment of Vietnam

Originally posted at FanLit:

William Mandella, a genius studying physics, has been drafted into the elite division of the United Nations Exploratory Force, which is fighting a seemingly never-ending war with the Taurans. After strenuous training with other elites on the Earth and in space, William and his colleagues are sent on various missions throughout the universe, traveling through black holes to get to each warfront. During each mission some of William’s friends die, but that’s expected. What’s surprising is that when he returns home, very little time has passed for him, but space-time relativity has caused many years to pass on Earth. Thus each time he comes back, he’s shocked by the changes that have occurred — changes in people he knows, changes in society, and technological advances which affect the progress of the war.

These changes are so drastic that Mandella, who was a reluctant soldier to begin with, would rather re-enlist — which means almost certain death — than live in a society he no longer relates to. He quickly moves up the ranks, but only because he’s the only soldier who has managed to survive this long, though it’s only been a few years of his own lifetime. The cultural changes on Earth have affected the military, too, and soon William, who’s so different from the people he leads, feels like an old man living in a young man’s body.

As you can probably tell, Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War is a military science fiction story that’s so much more than that. On the surface, it’s got all the stuff you’d expect from the sort of tense and exciting story where humans are fighting hordes of aliens, but on a deeper level, The Forever War is surprisingly emotional and thought-provoking. Joe Haldeman has called it “an sf treatment of what I’d seen and learned in Vietnam.” It deals with the expected themes — the horrors of war, xenophobia, survivor’s guilt, the disappointment of a tepid reception at home, the use of drugs and alcohol to cope and, especially in the case of Vietnam, the meaningless of it all. Haldeman’s SF-spin cleverly uses the relativity problem to show us the plight of soldiers who come back to a culture they hardly recognize, who lose family members and lovers who die or move on while they’re gone, and who feel like they’ve lost their former place in society and have trouble settling down. It’s tragically beautiful with an ending that offers hope.

Joe Haldeman wrote The Forever War as his thesis for an MFA. It was serialized in Analog Magazine and published as a novel in 1974. The Forever War won the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the Locus Award. I read Recorded Books’ audio version, which was superbly narrated by George Wilson.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story, Terrible Narration

The story was great, although there was a bit too much "hand waving" when it came to the science part of the science fiction.
Despite this, I almost returned the book due too the narration. He had really strange inflections that made every character seem as if they were non-chalant about everything. It's hard to describe, but the audio sample should've been a warning. I will avoid any book he's narrated from now on. Almost as bad as Scott Brick...almost.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Unique Perspective of the Vietnam War Experience

After listening to this book, I was curious about the author and his actual experience as a Soldier. As one myself, I was intrigued at Haldeman's capture of the Soldier's psyche as well as that of the view of civilians after returning from combat. Wikipedia said that he was in fact a Soldier in Vietnam and similarities of names and perspectives ostensibly show that he in fact wrote the book about his experiences both during and after returning from that war.

The story itself probably isn't a retelling of any specific event, but rather some intended hyperbole to facilitate civilians being able to relate to his experience (e.g., vast cultural acceptance and practice of homosexuality within a generation (i.e., future shock) juxtaposed against civilian inability to fully appreciate the horror that the protagonist had experienced).

I compare this book with, Starship Troopers (Heinlein) and Armor (Steakley) as philosophy disguised within science fiction but really trying to expose the psychology of a Soldier's growth into a leader (in the first) and (in the second work) dealing with the repercussions of trauma. All three are required reading for my Soldiers.

The narrator was fine, but his more mature voice was not necessarily representative of the young Mandella (however fine for the senior officer version). Also, it seemed to me that he really pushed the "femmy" tone of the homosexual males. I realize he's trying to paint a stark contrast as pushed forth by the author, but seriously, not all homosexuals talk in a more feminine tone. Related to the tone, but more about the story is how the author portrayed the protagonist as only dealing with the female Soldiers (despite equal mix) except for his male First Sergeant and Commander... missing the entire "brotherhood" of war concept that almost every Soldier experiences (regardless of gender, but this book portrays mostly sexual encounters between the sexes in his earlier years, except with his primary lover in subsequent years). I listen at 3x speed and had no problems with it for this narration.

I highly recommend this book and it will be added to my list of annuals reads/listens.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Still one of the best,and well narrated.

Many years have passed since I have read this excellent book, it still rates for me as one of the best sci-fi reads. Not too much battle action, just enough romance and for a story, spread as the name suggests, over many centuries, it is entirely believable.
The main characters are entirely believable as well.
Written before many of our 2010 incarnations of technology, the authors mind picture of the immediate future is very close to reality but also much that he describes as happening in the far off future is real today.
Joe's depictions of society and his assumption that homosexuality would become more accepted prove very close to actuality, although happening earlier than Joe anticipated.
Altogether a great listen, well narrated.
If you missed this and like Heinlein, Moorecock, Aldiss, Asimov and the like, give it a go you wont be disappointed... Brian

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Anti-War?...Might be...

"Back in the 20th century they had established-to everyone's satisfaction-that "I was just following orders" was an inadequate excuse for inhuman conduct". But what can you do when the orders come from deep down in that puppet master of the unconscious?"

A story that goes beyond stories. Is what Forever War is.

Homosexuality is used as a means of birth control. Currency takes the form of "Kilo-calories" (K) as the world-at that time-has become dependent upon food consumption and inadequate regulation. Frivolous excursions with accumulated capital. Injury and regeneration. Loss of love. The last campaign of the over 1300 year Forever War; successful due to a "stasis field".

Understandably, there are some very strong insinuations in the novel. But the writing and story are one, how do you say...for the books. I highly recommend this novel, no matter your stance on military actions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful