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The Forever War #1.5 - A Separate War
A Separate War and Other Stories
6 years of stories from the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author. Here are fifteen stories-never before collected-that tread upon familiar Haldeman territory, as well as explore the outer reaches of his phenomenal imagination.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2006
41 people are currently reading
693 people want to read
About the author
Joe Haldeman
444 books2,213 followersBrother of Jack C. Haldeman II
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
March 2, 2017
Damn you, Joe! *fist waiving*
How many so-called "Best of" albums contain, at best (pun intended), maaaybe two or three great songs? Or worse... capping a "Best of" with a supposed new song (yeah, I'm lookin at you Van Halen).
Enter Joe Haldeman's "A SEPARATE WAR & OTHER STORIES. Most of the "Other" short stories found here are mediocre (2-3 stars) with the one exception being FOR WHITE HILL, a sexy tale with a Robert Silverberg feel. The gem in the rough is the title novella A SEPARATE WAR, an intriguing add-on to the author's smash hit novel (see what I did there?) THE FOREVER WAR, wherein we experience the ending chapter through the eyes of Marygay, William Mandella's life mate. Her epic struggle to fight the cruel effects of time dilation in order to reunite with William is worthy of a sappy 80s hair-band love ballad *Bic lighter aflame*
How many so-called "Best of" albums contain, at best (pun intended), maaaybe two or three great songs? Or worse... capping a "Best of" with a supposed new song (yeah, I'm lookin at you Van Halen).
Enter Joe Haldeman's "A SEPARATE WAR & OTHER STORIES. Most of the "Other" short stories found here are mediocre (2-3 stars) with the one exception being FOR WHITE HILL, a sexy tale with a Robert Silverberg feel. The gem in the rough is the title novella A SEPARATE WAR, an intriguing add-on to the author's smash hit novel (see what I did there?) THE FOREVER WAR, wherein we experience the ending chapter through the eyes of Marygay, William Mandella's life mate. Her epic struggle to fight the cruel effects of time dilation in order to reunite with William is worthy of a sappy 80s hair-band love ballad *Bic lighter aflame*
July 29, 2008
Contents:
"A Separate War" (1998) The story of Marygay, William's fellow draftee and lover in The Forever War. Covers an aspect skipped in The Forever War, just how do you get far off and out-of-contact troops to know that the war is over? It's good, but it does require reading the novel first.
"Diminished Chord" (2004) a mood piece fantasy of a musician, his student, and the lute she gives him.
"Giza" (2001) Haldeman's 9/11 story and better than that implies.
"Foreclosure" (2004) a real estate agent gets told by the one who designed Earth that it's time to vacate. This has a William Tenn feel to it.
"Four Short Novels" (1998) each "short novel" begins with the line "Eventually it came to pass that no one ever had to die, ..." Each of them are clever and I liked them.
"For White Hill" (1995) Earth was one of the losers in a massive attack against human-occupied worlds. Visiting artists are studying it for a commemoration when a subtler attack is revealed that may kill everyone.
"Finding My Shadow" (2003) A soldier patrolling Boston for rebellious survivors of a plague finds her former lover among them.
"Civil Disobedience" (2005) A scuba instructor comes under the attention of a future Homeland Security.
"Memento Mori" (2004) A simple medical procedure involving the rebooting of an immortality treatment. The similarity to an old-fashioned exorcism really is just a coincidence, but the metaphor is pretty strong.
"Faces" (2004) A mysterious force may be overcome only by ...
"Heartwired" (2005) A pretty good joke written as a short story. Unfortunately I was already familiar with the joke.
"Brochure" (2000) A small list of the catastrophe tours as described in a brochure. Amusingly cynical.
"Out of Phase" (1969) An alien is sent to observe our species. Unfortunately, it is from a species where the young routinely kill and eat each other. It is approaching what might be called its adolescence, but will it outgrow its youthful enthusiasm before "playing" with us?
"Power Complex" (1970) The story that follows "Out of Phase". Our alien is in its second stage of its life, and is in a very powerful position. It has to deal with equally powerful humans, on their terms.
"Fantasy for Six Electrodes and One Adrenaline Drip" - Haldeman's entry for The Last Dangerous Visions, a now infamous anthology that was never published. This is a script from the future, with "stage directions" that include adrenaline levels and somatic stimuli. Unfortunately, the story within the script is fairly ordinary.
Haldeman follows with Notes on the Stories, which gives the background and thoughts behind the stories.
Overall, I liked this, but for the casual reader too much depends on having read Haldeman's other work. "A Separate War" is the obvious example, but the paired stories "Out of Phase" and "Power Complex" clearly need a third story to end the sequence, and it isn't there (but since these two stories are obviously precursors to the Tiptree Award-winning Camouflage, maybe a third story is redundant). If you're not the sort of person who likes to read everything by an author to see how he or she develops (I am), then I recommend picking the book up in the library and reading "Giza", "Four Short Novels", "For White Hill", "Finding My Shadow", and "Memento Mori". The rest you can pick and choose.
"A Separate War" (1998) The story of Marygay, William's fellow draftee and lover in The Forever War. Covers an aspect skipped in The Forever War, just how do you get far off and out-of-contact troops to know that the war is over? It's good, but it does require reading the novel first.
"Diminished Chord" (2004) a mood piece fantasy of a musician, his student, and the lute she gives him.
"Giza" (2001) Haldeman's 9/11 story and better than that implies.
"Foreclosure" (2004) a real estate agent gets told by the one who designed Earth that it's time to vacate. This has a William Tenn feel to it.
"Four Short Novels" (1998) each "short novel" begins with the line "Eventually it came to pass that no one ever had to die, ..." Each of them are clever and I liked them.
"For White Hill" (1995) Earth was one of the losers in a massive attack against human-occupied worlds. Visiting artists are studying it for a commemoration when a subtler attack is revealed that may kill everyone.
"Finding My Shadow" (2003) A soldier patrolling Boston for rebellious survivors of a plague finds her former lover among them.
"Civil Disobedience" (2005) A scuba instructor comes under the attention of a future Homeland Security.
"Memento Mori" (2004) A simple medical procedure involving the rebooting of an immortality treatment. The similarity to an old-fashioned exorcism really is just a coincidence, but the metaphor is pretty strong.
"Faces" (2004) A mysterious force may be overcome only by ...
"Heartwired" (2005) A pretty good joke written as a short story. Unfortunately I was already familiar with the joke.
"Brochure" (2000) A small list of the catastrophe tours as described in a brochure. Amusingly cynical.
"Out of Phase" (1969) An alien is sent to observe our species. Unfortunately, it is from a species where the young routinely kill and eat each other. It is approaching what might be called its adolescence, but will it outgrow its youthful enthusiasm before "playing" with us?
"Power Complex" (1970) The story that follows "Out of Phase". Our alien is in its second stage of its life, and is in a very powerful position. It has to deal with equally powerful humans, on their terms.
"Fantasy for Six Electrodes and One Adrenaline Drip" - Haldeman's entry for The Last Dangerous Visions, a now infamous anthology that was never published. This is a script from the future, with "stage directions" that include adrenaline levels and somatic stimuli. Unfortunately, the story within the script is fairly ordinary.
Haldeman follows with Notes on the Stories, which gives the background and thoughts behind the stories.
Overall, I liked this, but for the casual reader too much depends on having read Haldeman's other work. "A Separate War" is the obvious example, but the paired stories "Out of Phase" and "Power Complex" clearly need a third story to end the sequence, and it isn't there (but since these two stories are obviously precursors to the Tiptree Award-winning Camouflage, maybe a third story is redundant). If you're not the sort of person who likes to read everything by an author to see how he or she develops (I am), then I recommend picking the book up in the library and reading "Giza", "Four Short Novels", "For White Hill", "Finding My Shadow", and "Memento Mori". The rest you can pick and choose.
September 27, 2023
Some of the stories are hit or miss. Maybe three of them I would wish to be fleshed out some more they would be great novels. I especially like at the end where the ideas for this stories came from. One was at the beach another riding the bike. Gets you inside the head of the writer for his process.
November 22, 2025
Una raccolta di racconti, in cui solo il primo è collegato al ciclo di "Guerra eterna", pur dando il nome al libro. Come in tutte le raccolte, ci sono alti e bassi. Alcuni racconti sono piacevoli, altri un pò noiosi, alcuni originali. Non sono un amante delle raccolte, ma questo libro è comunque sopra la sufficienza.
May 18, 2015
Started this in tandem with Forever Free. Got so irritated by Forever Free that I decided to be Forever Free of Haldeman. Never again.
September 17, 2025
ИМХО, показательынй пример того, как литературные эксперименты интеллектуала и блистание умом зашли слишком далеко. "Сепаратная война" (ради нее читал сборник) неплоха, показывает события Бесконечной Войны с другой стороны. Понравились некоторые короткие рассказы. Еще можно выделить "For White Hill" - неспешный медитативный рассказ с грустным обреченным настроем, но он уже шел тяжело, слишком много там лишнего, рассуждений художников будущего о средствах выразительности, много этого заумного и чересчур детального исследования придуманного мира. Я не любитель такого жанра, хотя могу понять тех, кому нравится погружаться в спекуляции и разбирать их по кирпичику. Можно выделить финальную "Fantasy for Six Electrodes and One Adrenaline Drip" - "пьесу форм и чувств", где ремарки расписывают не только действия, но и уровень адреналина/возбуждения героев, чувства-аналогии в данной ситуации и т.п. Сюжетный твист там пожалуй разочаровал, но иногда ловишь себя на мысли, что все эти детали чувств и восприятий описывал немного больной ублюдок. Остальные длинные рассказы не зашли - по той же причине чрезмерной заумности. Плюс (моя обычная персональная претензия) в тексте очень много всяческих не очень популярных жаргонизмов, отсылок, поэтому просто погрузиться в чтение не удалось - пришлось продираться через непонятки текста. Мне иногда заходят произведения-челленджи (чего стоил Маятник Фуко - это было болезненно, но интересно), но в этот раз оно не сработало.
April 16, 2023
“The most expensive and hard-to-replace component of a fighting suit is the soldier inside of it,”
“We all got different ways with reality.” Jeremiah Phipps, science-fiction writer.
“It’s rush hour... Horns honking, as if that ever did any good.”
“[The] ultimate ad campaign achieved the ultimate victory: a world that consumed itself.”
“Big money seeks out the company of its own, for purposes of reproduction.”
“England’s versatile language, like mine and hers, is strangely hobbled by having the one word, love, stand for such a multiplicity of feelings. Perhaps that lack reveals a truth, that no one love is like any other.”
“Everything is important. Nothing matters. Change the world but stay relaxed.”
“Inspiration is where you find it.”
“Maybe this nightmare was the real America, stripped of cosmetic civilization. What my mother had called the Reaganbush jungle, the moneyed few in control, protecting their fortunes at any social cost.”
“I hadn’t really done anything, but since when did that matter.”
“In our culture, love between a man and a woman normally goes through three stages: sexual attraction, romantic fascination, and then long-term bonding. Each of them is mediated by a distinct condition of brain chemistry. “A person may have all three at once, with only one being dominant at any given time.”
“And there is no Formula Three?” [Mrs. Stevenson.] — “No. That takes time, and understanding, and a measure of luck.” [Seller]
“The shoe on the other foot, she found, made things different, but not necessarily better.”
“Born into big money, married bigger.”
“I’m a fairly serious bicyclist, and one chore bicyclists do is ‘interval training,’ which is a fancy way of saying ‘go up hills.’”
“We all got different ways with reality.” Jeremiah Phipps, science-fiction writer.
“It’s rush hour... Horns honking, as if that ever did any good.”
“[The] ultimate ad campaign achieved the ultimate victory: a world that consumed itself.”
“Big money seeks out the company of its own, for purposes of reproduction.”
“England’s versatile language, like mine and hers, is strangely hobbled by having the one word, love, stand for such a multiplicity of feelings. Perhaps that lack reveals a truth, that no one love is like any other.”
“Everything is important. Nothing matters. Change the world but stay relaxed.”
“Inspiration is where you find it.”
“Maybe this nightmare was the real America, stripped of cosmetic civilization. What my mother had called the Reaganbush jungle, the moneyed few in control, protecting their fortunes at any social cost.”
“I hadn’t really done anything, but since when did that matter.”
“In our culture, love between a man and a woman normally goes through three stages: sexual attraction, romantic fascination, and then long-term bonding. Each of them is mediated by a distinct condition of brain chemistry. “A person may have all three at once, with only one being dominant at any given time.”
“And there is no Formula Three?” [Mrs. Stevenson.] — “No. That takes time, and understanding, and a measure of luck.” [Seller]
“The shoe on the other foot, she found, made things different, but not necessarily better.”
“Born into big money, married bigger.”
“I’m a fairly serious bicyclist, and one chore bicyclists do is ‘interval training,’ which is a fancy way of saying ‘go up hills.’”
January 22, 2023
An excellent anthology by one of the masters of sci-fi. This genre-spanning effort ranges from hard science to fantasy crossover. Containing old nuggets and new creations we see the breadth and depth of Haldeman’s career. The end notes are wonderful, feeling like you are quaffing a beer by the fire in a mountain retreat with an old friend plying you with their approach to writing, somehow feeling like a peer and equal. I originally sought this collection for the short story related to the sublime classic “Forever War,” then having finished that story I could not stop reading everything else until done.
Get the book, s find a cozy place, brew a warm beverage, sit down and visit the galaxy. See you on the other side.
Get the book, s find a cozy place, brew a warm beverage, sit down and visit the galaxy. See you on the other side.
January 17, 2021
Bought this exclusively to read the novella A Separate War, but ended up enjoying most of the short stories also found in this collection. Haldeman's spare and economical style, remniscent of Hemingway, translates well to the short form - and it's a form he clearly enjoys. The appendix notes to the stories was a nice surprise, giving insight into the writing process and the author's view of each story including, variously, its conception, commission, and context. While I'm not necessarily a fan of the short story, I do enjoy them when they are well crafted, and they provide a window into the author's mind - as themes often repeat themselves, like a testing ground for his longer works.
May 2, 2019
A good solid read by a great writer. Reading Joe's notes, it's clear short stories are not his priority. He only does them between novels and other projects.
My favourite is the title story which is a coda to The Forever War. It is similar in style and focus.
The very short stories like Heartwired and Foreclosure have zip and are fun. All the stories are well written and have depth of science.
The notes are very interesting - maybe more so than the stories - and show the writing and in particular the idea process.
My favourite is the title story which is a coda to The Forever War. It is similar in style and focus.
The very short stories like Heartwired and Foreclosure have zip and are fun. All the stories are well written and have depth of science.
The notes are very interesting - maybe more so than the stories - and show the writing and in particular the idea process.
September 9, 2021
Mixed Bag
The collection started off with such promise - a story from The Forever War universe. It was a reminder how good, if now very dated that novel was. That story was followed by several stories that were again dated but entertaining. At this point I would have given the book a solid 4 stars.
Then I read the last two stories in the book. Or tried to. Couldn’t finish either one of them, they were so badly written to the point of incoherence. Really a disappointing end to what up to then had been a decent story collection.
The collection started off with such promise - a story from The Forever War universe. It was a reminder how good, if now very dated that novel was. That story was followed by several stories that were again dated but entertaining. At this point I would have given the book a solid 4 stars.
Then I read the last two stories in the book. Or tried to. Couldn’t finish either one of them, they were so badly written to the point of incoherence. Really a disappointing end to what up to then had been a decent story collection.
June 14, 2018
Haldeman's collection spanning from the beginning of his long career through 2005 includes a few of knockouts, A Separate War chief among them if only for the pleasure of returning to the world of his masterpiece The Forever War though these are matched by Diminished Chord and Out of Phase. Most of the other stories are good to very good but the short shorts and a few others don't leave much of an impression. Still a book worthy of its price of admission and worth the read.
January 20, 2019
I am a fan of Joe Haldeman but feel he is better at full length novels or novellas. Loved the first story, A Separate War, where we find out what happened to Marygay from the timeless The Forever War. The rest were a bit hit or miss, the final story just not doing it for me but the publication of his first two ever published stories, along with the first story in this collection, make it a worthwhile read.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
January 1, 2024
Can't say why but Joe Haldeman's works--those I've read--just don't seem to hit me in a way that lights my fire. I know he gets a lot of adulation out there but when I read him, it's like I'm reading something written by someone who heard about the story and decided to write it down. I can't say for sure what's missing (and, again, this may--probably is--just a mismatch between me and JH's work) but it's something like immediacy, or tension, or ... something.
October 17, 2025
Definitely some stories worth reading, my highlights were ‘a separate war’, ‘Giza’, ‘rememberance of things past’ and ‘finding my shadow’. He is clearly best at using science fiction as a medium to highlight human nature in different situations. The rest were ok and all still enjoyable stories, just not as unique in concept, which I feel limits a story with so little space to work with. Good read though give it a go it’s a nice short anthology
May 2, 2018
'A Separate War' and 'Diminished Chord' were my favourites among all 15 stories here. 'Foreclosure' was particularly humorous and similar in style with 'the restaurant at the end of the universe'. A refreshing breath of hard core 70s-90s Sci-Fi in a stagnate 21st century science genre.
The last two "out of phase" and "power complex" are a tough read, maybe incohorrent. But super original.
The last two "out of phase" and "power complex" are a tough read, maybe incohorrent. But super original.
January 11, 2021
Excellent writing, as expected. I'm not sure why, but the manner in which sex in included in almost every story gacked me out a little. I am no prude (dirty books are great!), and the writing is not misogynist, so I'm not sure why. If Connie Willis, who wrote the intro, was fine with it, it must be okay. But for me, it took the reading experience down by half a star or so.
June 8, 2023
I enjoyed reading these Haldeman short stories. Some are science fiction. Some are post apocalyptic. Some are just stories. There is a lot of diversity. I did really enjoy the story about what happened to Marygay from Forever War. It's probably a 3.5 stars, rounded down. I liked and enjoyed reading it.
April 7, 2025
Got this to read A Separate War, which was a fun add-on to Forever War. Reviews seem mixed on the other stories, so I might revisit this book and check them out. But A Separate War was worth the read as a fan of Forever War. It's short, and doesn't contain much that is new, but it completes the story from a character perspective.
July 3, 2018
I actually did not enjoy this collection of shorts nearly as much as I enjoy his novels, not sure why. Some were written some time ago and seem a little dated. Others went to fast to develop any ideas of note. Anyway, i encourage the interested reader to Joe's novels, well worth the read
February 13, 2025
I mainly wanted to read this anthology for the titular short story. I enjoyed The Forever War so much that I was eager to consume this remaining morsel. Although I enjoyed several of the other stories, the majority evaporated from my memory.
June 8, 2017
Entertaining and well written, though the overall message felt a bit weird and undefined, or at least to me.
February 21, 2018
A Separate War was an interesting story taking place at the same time as the Forever War from a different perspective. It was enjoyable, but very short so difficult to give an appropriate rating.
April 11, 2020
I've read Joe Haldeman's novels but up to now none of his short stories; more's the pity. A good collection with some noticeable stand outs but, unlike other anthologies, no total failures.
February 14, 2021
Unnecessary.
December 28, 2022
Several great short stories
Haldeman’s Forever War remains one of my favorite novels, and several of the short stories in this collection are nearly as good.
Haldeman’s Forever War remains one of my favorite novels, and several of the short stories in this collection are nearly as good.
February 12, 2023
I didn't actually read this one, but another short story by Haldeman which I can't find on Goodreads.
April 18, 2023
Прочитав тільки A Separate War, але цієї новели немає окремо на goodreads. Непогана історія про те, що відбувалось з Мерігейл після її розлуки з Вільямом
August 22, 2023
Terrific collection. Really fun, quite a few have a nice, dark turn or twist - nothing macabre, but not all gleeful and puppies either. Excellent stories.
November 9, 2023
Voy n. CC
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews