Book review

Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
I give the book overall a C.

The plot is a good one, and the moral/ethical questions raised - about war, the way we fight, and if it's possible to 'go back again' after experiencing combat - are surprisingly valid. Almost eerily so considering our current wars and weapon systems (the book was published in 1997). The concept that wars are fought by 'soldierboys' (robots controlled by 'mechanics' working the robot's movements and weapons from thousands of miles away) bears an eerie resemblance to our use of predator drones. And the concept of the 'mechanics' (robot operators) being 'jacked in' to other mechanics in their platoon via an apparatus installed in their brain and being able to feel exactly what the other members of the platoon feel draws a pretty exact parallel to what I've read regarding troops in combat - that you work and function just as a family and no one but other members knows exactly what it is like for you.

The idea that scientists are working on a machine with the capability to 'undo' the mental damage done by combat is rather interesting, and of course brings up lots of questions.

However, the sci-fi element to the story was one I had an extremely hard time seeing past, and I feel that the story would have been almost as good (and a lot easier to follow) without it. I realize, of course, that asking Joe Haldeman not to write sci-fi is like asking the Pope to become Lutheran. My brain just does not wrap around ideas like particle accelerators and such very well. (This is probably why I don't 'get' movies like 'Star Wars' as well as others do.)

So the plot is one worthy of discussion. Were I grading solely plot and concepts, I'd probably give it an A, but considering the sci-fi gets a D- from me, I'm sticking with a C, possibly C+. If anyone has read this and wants to disagree with my grading, feel free to comment.