In the science fiction classic The Forever War, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Joe Haldeman draws from searing personal experience to write about a senseless, galactic war. Based on Haldeman's history as a combat engineer in the Vietnam War, The Forever War tells the story of physics student William Mandella as he's conscripted into service for the United Nations Exploratory Force.
Mankind takes to space to fight against an alien force known as the Taurans—why, exactly, it's hard to say. What victory looks like is even more difficult to describe. Even training the soldiers for off-world combat proves incredibly dangerous, and the incompetent officers in charge are often as perilous to a common soldier as the enemy. Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Junot Díaz says, “Mandella’s attempt to survive and remain human in the face of an absurd, almost endless war is harrowing, hilarious, heartbreaking, and true.”
But war isn't the only adversary in this book. The time dilation involved in traveling across planets and galaxies means that one year in combat may be a hundred years on Earth—a thousand. Mandella and his fellow soldiers must adapt to a culture that grows far more quickly than they can, even as they grieve the losses of the loved ones they left behind.
Author William Gibson says, “To say that The Forever War is the best science fiction war novel ever written is to damn it with faint praise. It is…as fine and woundingly genuine a war story as any I’ve read.”
The Forever War is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and what better way to celebrate than with the author himself? Haldeman was gracious enough to speak with The Portalist about how he started writing the book (which began as an MFA thesis for the Iowa Writers' Workshop), why the book has maintained its status within the science fiction genre, and what hopes he still maintains for this enduring story.
The Forever War revolves around William Mandella’s ability (or inability) to adapt to massive time jumps. We’re now celebrating the work’s 50-year anniversary, and it’s as relevant today as ever. Why do you think the book has maintained its popularity?
There are various reasons for a book to be successful, and they’re not all because it’s a good book. At this half-century remove, I do think that the political problems it dealt with remain unsolved, but that’s pretty much true of The Red Badge of Courage and you-name-it. The characters’ ability to “cope with massive time jumps” remains unchanged, but time jumps remain a science fictional MacGuffin—so why would they change?
The Forever War
The 50th Anniversary Edition of The Forever War features new cover art, an introduction by Haldeman himself, and a foreword written by bestselling author John Scalzi. This definitive version of the text is preferred by the author over the original printing, because it includes a section entitled “You Can Never Go Back."
“I guess it was part of the book that editor Ben Bova didn't want when the book was serialized in Analog, but I felt was part of the story,” Haldeman told The Portalist.
You write that your experience in active military service gave you an advantage over Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. What are your thoughts on the maxim that authors should write what they know?
I still think it’s a partial truth that ought to be ignored as often as obeyed. Especially for writers of fantastica ... how can you know what it’s like to be a vampire? Does that mean you should never write about them?
Your wife, Gay, took a teaching job to support you financially in the early days of your career. What was that time like for the two of you?
I doubt that I could have written for a living if I’d had to go out and get a “real job”—so Gay’s working was central to my writing success. She also supported me in less “practical” ways—to the outside world, freelance writing can look a lot like not having a job!
Forever Free
If you're moved by the partnership between William Mandella and his partner, Marygay, you need to read the follow-up to The Forever War, which is called Forever Free. The newest version of the text includes a beautiful new cover and an additional story, called “A Separate War,” which takes place from Marygay's point of view as she's reassigned and separated from her lover. Is it possible to reunite with Mandella despite the time and space between them?
Obviously, the partnership with your wife has been a success for 50 years now. Can you recall a specific moment of relief or triumph when you felt like you had made good on that deal?
When I got the first check. Literally! From that day on, I knew I was a writer, for better or worse.
Would you like to see The Forever War become a movie? If so, do you have any favorites to play the lead roles or direct?
I would love to see it made into a successful movie, but I don’t know enough about the day-to-day industry to have useful opinions about actors or directors—specifically, I’m always being surprised by brilliant new talent, so I’m willing to trust to my luck. I’d love to have some famous director put a huge fortune into a movie starring some famous actors, but right now I’d just like to see a FILM! It’s been due for half my life!
