Work Done for Hire

by Joe Haldeman

The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of The Forever War delivers "a riveting near-future science fiction story of the dangers of living in a surveillance state" (The Tech).

Wounded in combat and honorably discharged nine years ago, Jack Daley still suffers nightmares from when he served his country as a sniper, racking up sixteen confirmed kills. Now a struggling author, Jack accepts an offer to write a near-future novel about a serial killer, based on a Hollywood script outline. It’s an opportunity to build his writing career and a future with his girlfriend, Kit Majors.

But Jack’s other talent is also in demand. A package arrives on his doorstep containing a sniper rifle, complete with silencer and ammunition—and the first installment of a $100,000 payment to kill a “bad man.” The twisted offer is genuine. The people behind it are dangerous. They also prove that they have Jack under surveillance. He can’t run. He can’t hide. And if he doesn’t take the job, Kit will be in the crosshairs instead.

Genres: Thriller, Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

Brother 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.

Reviews

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only good thing about having a major snowstorm knock out power to your house for three days is that you can really catch up on your reading. Thankfully once the Kindle ran out of juice I still had a stack of stuff from the library as well as some recent purchases from a used book store to keep from thinking about how my toes were growing numb.

It’s the near future and America is still so tangled up in various conflicts overseas that the draft was re-instituted. Jack Daley was one of the reluctant citizens called to duty. Jack turned out to be a pretty good shot and was trained as a sniper and during his deployment he killed several people before being wounded and sent home. Despite some dark times thanks to his PTSD Jack has started building a career as a writer as well as enjoying his relationship with his girlfriend Kit.

Jack receives a chance to make some serious money by writing up a novelette based on the idea for a horror movie about an obese serial killer who might be an alien. The assignment comes from a famous film director who has the basic story concept but is looking to get it written up as a book to see if it would make a good film. With a potential fat payday on the line Jack throws himself into the work and is making good progress. That’s when he receives a mysterious package with a rifle inside it as well as a demand: If Jack follows instructions and uses the gun to kill a ‘bad man’ he’ll make a small fortune. If he refuses then Kit will be killed.

Since he doesn’t want to murder anyone Jack and Kit try to alert the authorities as well as make themselves impossible to find. However, they can’t get anyone to take them seriously, and the bad guys have an uncanny ability to keep tracking them down.

I’ve been a big fan of Joe Haldeman for some time, but this novel is hard to get a handle on. Even though the concept seems easy enough as a sci-fi thriller it takes a long time to get going. The first part is mainly about Jack’s life as he works on the book and goes on some bicycle trips as part of his research for it. We even get a chapter in which he meets Kit’s parents for the first time that really serves no purpose. There’s also the book-within-the-book with Jack’s chapter’s about a really gruesome serial killer doing his business. The rifle and the threat don’t even arrive until about halfway through a book that isn’t that long.

Even when we get to the aspect you’d think would be the conspiracy thriller it seems disjointed and low key with Jack and Kit kinda sorta trying to lay low, but there’s not really a sense of danger in any of it even when they get found. The ultimate resolution doesn’t make a lot of sense either.

So this book is a mess, but it’s an oddly fun mess. I really liked the character of Jack who is a funny guy just trying to live his life. Despite being a decent sniper in the army he’s not really a bad-ass, and as he points out several times he’s not a super assassin. He wasn’t even the best shot in his platoon, and he really doesn’t want to ever hurt anyone again.

Despite the plot not making a lick of sense and the book seeming kind of aimless overall, I had a pretty good time reading it just because I liked Haldelman’s story about this guy writing a serial killer story. Maybe I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if I had anything else to do, but it was fun enough when you’re huddled a blanket with no TV or heat.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a near-future novel & a disappointment. I read The Forever War when it first came out & Haldeman is - at least in my mind - a futuristic writer, but almost all the technology was today's. Actually, some was rather clunky by today's standards & some important abilities that should have been commonplace (Tor & other anonymous proxies!) were left out.

The book was well written - typical smooth, Haldeman prose. The book within the book was kind of fun, but really didn't add anything to the story. It ended better than the main story which was OK, if a bit anticlimactic. The book uses an epilog to wrap everything up tidily. That's not horrible, but not one of my favorite devices. Unfortunately, it left me with a really big question.

If you have read this, please read beneath the spoiler tags. If you answer me in the comments, please hide it under a spoiler tag as well. If you haven't do NOT look!!! It's a major spoiler.

Just how did they track him so well since the odd device turned out not to be one? What did I miss? I had to have missed something since Haldeman couldn't leave that big of a plot hole, could he? I just can't buy that a director/producer with a few inept (at least at the end) hirelings could keep better track of the hero than Homeland Security without a gimmick. They also bought off the New Orleans cops? Or was that HS? Anyway, after the big reveal in the epilog, I was just confused as to how it all worked. That's not a good way to end a book unless you mean it. I don't think Haldeman did.

The gun sabotage was correct, although it didn't make much sense since the guy had a pistol. I could let it slide, but it felt forced. It depends on the gun, though. In this case, it made sense, but on an M-16, I saw the same trick blow the right side of the receiver off & no one was hurt. It didn't do the shooter's ear any good & their right hand got stung & a bit torn, but nothing permanent nor debilitating.

Overall, there are a lot of Haldeman's books that are worth reading. I wouldn't number this one among them, though.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

What was that?!

Have you ever listened to modern jazz and -- while knowing that it's very difficult and played brilliantly by outstanding musicians -- you can't get past that it's splitting your ears and you just don't get it?

This book is modern jazz. I get the feeling that it's probably operating at a level that's beyond me. I think it's really well written (great musician) -- the prose is really well crafted (played brilliantly) -- but parts of it really split my ears, (man-eating alien of the future??) and I just didn't quite get it.

But it's not without its interest. While the story-within-a-story gets incredibly (incredibly) gruesome a times, it being coupled with an author who makes Hemingway and Camus jokes, well, I found it kind of intriguing. Thankfully, the gore is not without its (dark!) humor, and it becomes pretty clear as the book progresses that the gruesomeness functions as a metaphor which helps take some of sting off of it, through context and a purpose.

But it's pretty out there.

The story arc felt a little random to me, but the writing itself is smooth: really nicely assembled words, with something to enjoy in every chapter. I finished it, though, not even being sure what I had just read. So in the end, for me, it was was a paradox: A pretty well written bit of I don't know what. I have a feeling this one might better than I realize it is...but maybe it isn't.

I'm just not sure. Three quizzical stars.

(Note: I received an advance copy of this book through a Goodreads' first reads giveway. Thanks to them, the author, and the publisher for making it available.)

[Tito Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of macho, simplistic prose (with some stereotypical "machoisms"), but it has meta-meta-fiction and I've liked Haldeman's SciFi work. This one seems to be more crime fiction (crime story within a story of an author with another crime on top). Very little SF so far, although a brief discussion of photons. I like it so far (1-fifth of the way).

UPDATE 7/26/18: So I finished it quickly, which is a good sign. There was a slow spot when the author had the protag. "thinking out loud" too much, but then the non-metafictional crime generates a lot of steam for the plot. And soon we see why the protag. has to have his inner thoughts exposed to the reader. And you can't truly call this SciFi, although there is a POSSIBLY non-Earth-born character (I'll let you read about that).

Is this great prose? No, but Haldeman uses a somewhat unusual plot style at times and milks some good suspense. (Who cares if I sort of guessed one of the plot twists; that didn't lessen the suspense one bit). Novel was instructive to me as a wanna-be writer, too.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jumped on this after seeing it in the new paperbacks section of the library. Having recently read, and greatly enjoyed, The Forever War, I was happy to see something much more recent from Joe Haldeman. That being said, the description made it seem more like a thriller than a science-fiction novel, so I didn’t go into it expecting too much. This proved fortuitous, because there isn’t much here. Thrillers are neither my area of interest nor expertise, so I can’t be certain, but I don’t think this is a particularly good one. As a “near future science fiction story of the dangers of living in a surveillance state,” as the blurb says, Work Done for Hire is just perplexingly dull.

There are a few rays of sunshine, so let’s start there.

The main character, Jack Daley, is actually pretty interesting. He sort of fell into sniping after being drafted in a near-future rerun of something that sounds suspiciously like the Iraq/Afghanistan wars. He got out with a medical discharge, became a hack writer, and found a girlfriend.

Did I mention the girlfriend, Kit, is a mathematician? Mmhmm. The duo protagonist vibe here is very similar to the one from The Forever War. And while sometimes it seems like all Haldeman had to say about their relationship involved their sex life, I did appreciate at least that both Jack and Kit were the type of people who were fairly open about such things. Haldeman depicts their relationship as one where they are both comfortable in their own skins and comfortable with each other—they are probably in love, but it isn’t the melodramatic, head-over-heels, passionate romances that are almost required in fiction. Theirs is a relationship grounded in mutual respect: Jack views Kit every bit as capable as him, though each recognizes that the other has certain domains in which they excel. I think this is a very positive and healthy portrayal of a long-term romantic relationship.

I also like that the two are, for the most part, interesting fugitives. They go on the run quickly, pulling up sticks and changing cities and identities without too much complaining. While Jack’s reticence to involve the police or other law enforcement might feel a little contrived, I admit it doesn’t feel too contrived. I suspect that we are all generally starting to become rather cynical about the state of law enforcement these days—and Haldeman is probably trying to say something about that here.

Unfortunately, the entire premise of their fugitive lifestyle is hampered by the story-within-a-story that Haldeman includes. This is Work Done for Hire’s unique point: Jack is also writing a novelization of a screenplay that will then serve as the basis for a horror movie about a serial killer. Haldeman intersperses chapters of his story with chapters of Jack’s story. Even after going on the run, Jack continues to write chapters and send them to his editor. Uh … you know, if I were running for my life, that probably wouldn’t be near the top of my priorities. But Jack has to keep doing it, so Haldeman can keep including those chapters, and in so doing, stretch that suspension of disbelief ever so slightly.

Similarly, the third act, in which Jack goes Liam Neeson on the bad guys, feels like it was bolted on to the rest of the book after Haldeman couldn’t find a better ending. (I’m not saying that’s the case; it might be the original ending—but it’s not a good ending.) The story very quickly degenerates into formulaic tropes in which Jack tries to turn the tables on the bad guys. Surprise, surprise—they turn out not to be as competent as they first appeared. The suspense that Haldeman is successful in building for the first half of the novel escapes with all the impressiveness of air escaping a balloon. And from there on, it’s just your textbook thriller.

So, I mean, if that’s your thing, then go for it. Haldeman demonstrates he’s a good writer. I like how he writes the story-within-a-story chapters in a different style to Jack’s more simplistic, formulaic approach to writing. I was having fun for the first part of the book, and I didn’t hate the last part—it just became rather boring. The two main characters are all right, even if no one else ever receives much development.

In short, Work Done for Hire is in the unfortunate position of being among the “meh” novels I’ve read this year. Little distinguishes it from the background—and perhaps if I hadn’t already read so many great books this year I might have been able to say nicer things about this one. As it is, all I can say is that it’s not bad.

[mariona · Rating 4 out of 5]

EMMMM m'ha encantaaat el llibree.
Després de llegir 2o3 llibres que erenn mehh, un porfiin m'ha agradat.
És un veterano snipper de la guerra on va perdre un dit ii li van donar la baixa. Després va escriure uns quants llibres sobre realment com era ser un snipper i matar a gent, però no van tenir molt èxit. El seu agent li encarrega un llibre de terror que després es pugii crear en una peli ii si ho fa bé guanyarà 50000$🤑. ((Lo guai esuqe en el llibre es comencen a tornar entre els capítols del llibre i la història de la seva vida ii com els va escribint)). Però un dia es troba que algú li deixa un rifle a casa seva i li diu que mati a una persona dolenta i si realment ho fa guanyarà 100000$ sino mataran a la seva novia😵
Aiaiii al final acaba matant alguuuu aahhh nosenose

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit disappointing would sum this one up. Had some potential but could not pull it off would also fit. A writer and former military sniper is blackmailed into an assassination of an unknown target. However things take a bit of a different turn from that point forward. The book seems like one of those old cars where you keep hitting the starter waiting for it to turn over. However you only succeed in running down the battery. The ending seemed cobbled together and rushed to fit in the last few pages. To even call it a thriller is a stretch. I would say that in my humble opinion this one would be okay to pass up if you saw it at your local library or bookseller.

[Leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The short version: Yikes.

In a whole lot of more words: I got this book for free on a convention and still feel robbed. Around page 180 I started to skim heavily for the end because I was fed up a long time ago but got finally pushed over the edge by some details that weren't all that important but just rubbed me the wrong way in the worst way possible. All in all, I think there was not a single moment while reading this where I actually drew joy from the experience.
The writing is bland and uninspired at best, grating and self-gratificating at worst. The plot is contrived, barely held together by thin and unbelievable threads and it was a new experience to have my suspension of disbelief broken over and over. The main character, for somebody supposedly clever in his planning, does incredibly stupid things, he bears trauma from his experiences in the army, is unlikeable, and at one memorable point randomly gets applause from two bystanders for being rude to an annoying agent on the phone. That last point, among other things, makes him feel like a Gary Stu-ish character (sometimes with the hint of wish-fulfillment self-insert *sends a sideway glance at the character being a published author* but I don't want to make any accusations in that regard, it just eminates that particular kind of feeling). A lot of the intent to make him feel like a badass falls incredibly flat, especially when he delivers one-liners which the author obviously thought were very cool although he tries (and fails) to hide that fact.

The "big plot twist" has no build-up at all and is revealed literally on the last page and, as such, does not work. At. All. Besides that, it is not only harebrained but also incredibly stupid and boring.

The secondary plot - the story our protagonist is writing during the plot - isn't any better. If any, it is even worse. He is supposed to write a novel as the basis for a script for a horror movie. Nothing about the chapters we read is particularly horrible if you exclude writing, style and (lack of) originality. We follow a brutal murderer who eats his victims. At some point, he suddenly is actually an alien. At a later point, he also suddenly is so ancient he remembers Pompeii. Did I mention he is also a published author? Of low-quality scifi novels, but still. It just stuck out to me. In one of these chapters, we follow an investigator looking into a case corellating with the murders. We never see him again until the last of the chapters-inbetween where the monster is about as suddenly killed as the actual plot's twist is revealed before the end. At points, it is cringey how much attention goes to how the monster prepares his meals, it reads very much like it's supposed to become a softer version of a slasher movie (which is vehemently denied by the main character who dares to mention names like Stephen King, Peter Straub and Edgar Allen Poe as authors that influenced him at a young age. Be assured you could never tell if it weren't stated so on the nose.

To top it all off, the book seems to take place at some mysterious point in a not too far away future but nothing is ever actually stated or made clear at all and it wouldn't even be noticeable at all if it weren't for a couple of technological advances that are, at best, mentioned in passing or very seldomly.

To round all the mentions of murder, cannibalism, rape, at one semi-memorable point even necrophilia, trauma, war, violence and a lot else off, there are some moments where a latent homophobia and racism shine through. I am positively sure that wasn't a conscious choice and maybe I am a bit too pendantic on interpreting those comments negatively but they stuck out like a sore thumb to me, although I was far past the point of giving the book any kind of favour, so take that with a grain of salt.

(In the German translation I read, there was also a lot of typos and editing mistakes that were glaringly obvious. The translator/editor very obviously did not care for this book at all. On the [only] bright side, it gave me the highlights of Maryl Streep and Googlemeps that were the only times I had to smile or grin.)

I can only advise you to do yourself a favour and pass this one over.

[Bryn Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather slow start but once it got going it was a serviceable spy thriller. Then there's the fast-wrap up ending that didn't answer every question and in fact raised several more.

Who killed DHS Agent Blackstone? Why did the military arrest him? Who were the people who shot him with the dart gun after Kit had already been kidnapped?

Not Haldeman's best work, could've done with more time setting up the twist and a stronger structure.

[George Ashmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting & enjoyable--a bit difficult for the 1st few chapters until I understood what Mr Haldeman was doing, then really enjoyable. The movie sub plot would actually make a decent Hollywood movie--better than most coming out nowadays. Yes, s GOOD READ.

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest novels I've read in a while. It's a darkly comedic SF "thriller" full of useless tech, incompetent professionals, and one tellingly effed up novel-within-the-novel.

Some days you just can't get rid of a sniper rifle.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a terrible story; just not a great one. It passed some time, but there were elements that seemed too random to my mind, and the conclusion was a little out-there for my tastes.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would strongly recommend that you do NOT read this book. The story is weak. And the story within the story is so unbelievable that it is not worth reading.

[Marc Aplin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The following review was originally posted on www.Fantasy-Faction.com:

For those who are unfamiliar with Joe Haldeman, let me start by telling you that the man is one of the most critically acclaimed authors in the genre of Science-Fiction. His novels such as The Forever War, The Accidental Time Machine, and the Marsbound trilogy are often cited as some of Science-Fiction’s most important and influential. As well as collection an impressive number of awards for these titles – including Hugo, Nebula & John W. Campbell Awards – he has an unprecedented level of respect amongst his contemporaries too, with authors like Stephen King saying things such as: “If there was a Fort Knox for the science fiction writers who really matter, we’d have to lock Haldeman up there.” He is a SFWA Grand Master and was introduced to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2012. Of course, all of this means that when he releases a novel great things are expected and, hopefully, you won’t blame me for expecting something a little bit special from Work Done For Hire, his latest stand-alone novel. .

Haldeman’s protagonist, Jack Daley, served as a sniper in the military, but was forced into an honourable discharge after an explosion sent shards of shrapnel deep into his leg. Haldeman, a Vietnam veteran himself, uses his own experiences of coming out a combat environment, the military lifestyle and trying to integrate back into society to craft a truly believable POV. Using his favoured first person voice, Haldeman takes you into the broken mind of a man who has seen terrible things that have changed him, for the worse, as a person.

Jack talks to us knowing he has done bad things, but also knowing that he did not have any choice but to do them. He is angry at himself and at his Government, but realises that his choices are simply to bitch about it or try to move on. A critic, far more intelligent than I, once referred to the kind of voice Haldeman lends his characters as full of ‘grim stoicism’ and I think that nails it precisely. Surprisingly, this doesn’t make Jack unlikeable or make him a chore to share a mind with as a reader, in fact it makes for an intriguing character study and one of the aspects of the novel I thoroughly enjoyed.

Having written a few novels before going into the military, when Jack returns to ‘real life’ and begins trying to integrate himself back into society, writing another novel seems a logical step. Jack gets himself an agent and after a few years of not being able to sell a great deal of Jack’s own writings she comes to him with an interesting proposal. A big-time Hollywood agent has stumbled across one of Jack’s early novels and decided he is just the person to write a trashy pulp horror novel that should be full of blood, gore and general sickness. The idea is that should this book be any good Jack will receive $500,000 to walk away from it and surrender the movie rights. Having been injured in the military, Jack has been living off their pittance – I believe it is for about nine years – and so happily accepts the offer, which promises to make him rich should the novel be deemed good enough to actually make a movie.

From this point on the novel begins to alternate chapters; one chapter focuses on Jack and the next chapter is a chapter from his manuscript. The story that Jack is writing is one about a being that is stalking the American countryside at night, dragging people into its van and murdering them. This being is known as Hunter and although he is huge, at 400lbs, he has a human appearance and displays no real traits of being an alien being. That said, he is far from your ‘typical’ serial killer in that he doesn’t simply kill for pleasure, after torturing his victims (usually starting with their genitals) he cuts them up and stores them in his freezer to eat at a later date. Hunter’s mind is shown to us in the third person, but we are allowed into his mind through free-indirect speech. It is, in fact, Hunter that tells us that he is an alien and a big part of the book, arguably as important as Jack’s story, is trying to work out whether Hunter is a mentally ill human who believes he is an alien or an alien who has some kind of agenda.

Anyway, once the two characters have been produced and Jack’s life seems to be going well there is a knock on the door whilst he is writing. When Jack gets up to answer it he hears a car screech away and realises that something must have been left at the door. Indeed, when he opens it up, there is a briefcase on the doorstep. Opening up the briefcase Jack finds a sniper rifle, complete with a silencer and bullets, and the first instalment of a guaranteed $100,000 that he will be given should he kill a “bad man”.

Now, let me remind you that the $500,000 is only attainable by Jack if his script is made into a movie (and, if you know anything about authors or the movie industry, you know how few scripts actually get made into feature films). So, as an ex-military sniper this is a way for Jack to make some easy money for something he done time and time again in the military.

Much of the conflict from this point becomes Jack’s inner-struggle over whether to kill this “bad-man” or not. The decision is made both easier and more difficult when the people after Jack reveal that they have abilities to watch him that don’t seem natural and, when Jack continues to stall, that they are willing to kill his girlfriend if he doesn’t take the job. I have to say that the pacing was brilliant and by the time the will he / won’t he question is answered you have been thrown to certainty in both directions – never knowing which one Jack intends to take.

The problems with the book seem to occur once Jack has made his decision. The Hunter storyline ends abruptly at this point, returning only at the end to tie thing up, and it has far less overlap to Jack’s story than I would have liked. I guess there is an argument that it was a red-herring, but I honestly felt cheated. Similarly, once Hunter has been taken out of the equation and we are left with Jack there doesn’t seem to be many directions for Haldeman to take us and, indeed, the ending was the one I saw coming right from the word go (as, I would expect, will many other readers).

So, although there is a lot to love about this novel: the pacing, the evoked emotions, the case study of a retired war veteran, the guessing over whether Hunter is human or alien, the question of whether Jack will or will not kill the “bad man”, none of it ever leads to that climatic ending that knocks you off your feet and the sad result of it all is that the book loses all its hard-built momentum and feels completely forgettable. I’m sad to say this of one of Science-Fiction’s greats, but if you’re looking for a book to take on holiday or on a coach trip: something you can dip in and out of and leave on the chair at the airport: this is the book you’re looking for. If you are looking for a book that you will still be talking about, thinking about and considering re-reading 40 years after its publication, I suggest you pick up Mr Haldeman’s earlier work, The Forever War.

[Leather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has little to do with Sci-Fi, even if it takes place in the near future and if one alludes to the aliens sometimes. It's rather a thriller, with a very rich narrative. Rich because the book is once again intelligently nourished by the experience of Haldeman during the Vietnam War, rich because it contains a sublime mise en abîme (with a narrative embedded in the main plot which for once is even more interesting than the plot itself), rich because it is as usual in Haldeman's books full of humor from beginning to end.
If the basic material of the novel is amazing, if the characters are rather well done, if the construction and the plot are of very good quality, I must admit that the conclusion (too dry and a little predictable) is not at the height of the rest of the book. And there are some passages that are somewhat redundant in the heart of the narrative.
At some points in the story, the book could have blown up to something totally different than this B series's end. I don't know yet if it's a shame or if it's tremendous. That's probably an indication that it's tremendous...
But for a thriller the book remains relatively logical and credible from end to end, which in itself is already a great feat.
It's not quite a masterpiece (although..), but it's a great book that deserves to be discovered, especially for its first virtuoso half.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting premise for a book but the final result is disappointing.

Published in 2014 by Ace

Jack Daley is a former sniper turned down and out author in this near future sci-fi tale. But, he gets an odd offer to write the book adaptation of a movie before the movie script has even been written. Basically, the offer is to write the book and they'll adapt it a little or a lot to make the movie. And, he doesn't have to turn it in now, he can turn it in as first draft chapters as he goes along.

One of the more interesting features of the first part of the book is that it goes back and forth between Jack's story and the story he is writing - mostly in alternating chapters.

He also gets a second offer - from an unknown person that obviously knows his schedule and can track his movements. He has to kill someone with a sniper rifle (Daley was a sniper in a war, but not the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War) or his girlfriend will die.

So, he goes on the run with his girlfriend. He uses a laptop to write his book and e-mail in chapters as they try to drop off of the grid. But, soon enough, they realize that no matter how far they go to get off the grid, it will never be far enough...

This was an interesting premise for a book but...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2017/...

[Clark Hallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Haldeman has been one of my favorite authors for many years. I have read many of his books and I found them all to be very well written and very interesting reads. Recently I accidentally ran across this novel, which I knew nothing about. The previous Haldeman novels that I have read have never disappointed me, and I figured this one would be another good read. It turned out to be a somewhat unusual read compared to the other Haldeman novels I have read, but that slightly unusual feature helped make it another very interesting and entertaining read. Jack Daley, the main character, served as a sniper who was wounded in combat and is now a struggling author. However, he mysteriously receives a sniper rifle and a very lucrative first installment of $100,000 with instructions to kill someone who is described as “a very bad man.” Unfortunately, the people who are behind this demand are very dangerous and his girlfriend will be hurt if he doesn’t meet their demands. I found this book to be another very good read from Haldeman.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haldeman, Joe. Work Done for Hire. Ace, 2014.
Joe Haldeman’s Forever War (1976) is a classic of military science fiction. Sadly, Work Done for Hire is not. It falls between the genre stools—not quite a science fiction story, mainly a fugitive-style thriller, but at the same time a literary pastiche with a thriller within a thriller. The pieces here are poorly welded together. I wonder how long drafts of it had been sitting in Haldeman’s drawer when he finished it. There is some suggestion that it is a cathartic book in which Haldeman works out his feelings about his war experiences and about the risks of literary prostitution. The work in the title refers, after all, to the assassination plot and to the writing job the protagonist does while he is on the run.

[Greg Burrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you come to this book expecting spaceships and alien planets then you won't find that here. But stick around, its an enjoyable enough book. Its more of a suspense/thriller with very very very light touches of sci-fi. Unfortunately it takes a while to get going and wraps up all too quickly and I never really felt any suspense or danger. If you're a Haldeman fan then forget what you know about his previous work (though it does continue his theme of how war affects humans) and just enjoy it as a light fun read.

[Mhorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Joe Haldeman. I've read everything he's written since I discovered the Forever War. This book, which is really two books in one, is ok, but won't be a favorite. The main part, about a down on his luck ex-army sniper hired to write a book, who is then fooled into being used for a possible assassination, isn't as interesting as the book the guys writing about a centuries old alien preying on humanity. Really, this creature is similar to one from a previous book, camouflage. This is worth a read, but unlike some of his previous books, is disposable.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll admit I listened to the audio book rather than read the book. Its not bad, and well put together, I just didn't like it. I had to push myself to get through the first half. And while th last quarter was really the best part of the book, the storylines didn't really reveal themselves till the mid point. Overall one to skip of his

[Marty Solotki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Sorenson was an excellent narrator for Audible, in this quirky and entertaining modern retelling of old the pulp-style novels. Our hero is an injured war vet, an aspiring novelist…and now has been coerced into murder for hire? A wild cat-and-mouse chase across numerous states leaves you guessing until the end!

[David Driscoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haldeman has a knack for writing cerebral, masculine stories. Work Done For Hire is another example of this kind of storytelling, with a protagonist who is both sensitive and tough, thoughtful and war-weary. The story structure is clever and engaging, but i felt it lost momentum about halfway through, and the resolution, while perhaps realistically anticlimactic, was underwhelming.

[Nola Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird but not bad. The crossover with the novella was strange, like a previously written story the author wanted published so sort of merged. Not sure a pot shot warrants taking out a federal agent, and I'm also unclear about the military hospital. Just a bit too disjointed.

[Narzack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've liked his other work, but this one didn't really seem to have a reason to exist. It just kind of This story didn't seem to go anywhere, just meandered along and abruptly ended. Disappointed.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very different from his normal scifi work. I mean fine, but a disappointing ending. It was a three star book but a three stars that was worse than his scifi books. He tends to have a kind of twist that either works or doesn't. In my opinion, the twist in this was not so good.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of build up for a very small payoff. I liked the book-within-a-book better than the actual book.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

That sure was an abrupt ending.

[Aamundson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kept me reading and was fairly entertaining. However it was a whole lot darker than I expected. I was not expecting a psuedo-horror novel when I picked this up.

[Falbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I normally tend to love Haldeman's books, this one was 'just OK'.