The Forever War, Vol. 2: Forever Free

The Forever War (Graphic Novels) #4-6

by Joe Haldeman, Marvano (Illustrator)

The sequel to The Forever War - Joe Haldeman's legendary intergalactic Vietnam War parable. Stunningly realized by Marvano.

The Forever War has ended and the survivors are left to pick up the pieces. But what remains of the human race struggles to find its place in the universe in the aftermath of the galaxy shattering conflict.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

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

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was marginally better than the book which I gave up on as not entirely interesting. The comic version is light on war and more about the end of time which seems to be more of a Poul Anderson setup. I dunno, I sorta liked the first volume The Forever War, Vol. 1, but this followup was just myeh.

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 2 out of 5]

An illustrated sequel of the remarkably successful military science fiction novel that was heavily influenced by the Vietnam War, the sequel is tedious and dragged out, maybe an unnecessary footnote to the original tale. There is a thin line between cheesy metaphysical and deep transcendental. This novel devolves into the former.

The artwork utilises the ligne claire technique but it seems rather varied, some pieces are imaginative while others seemed out of place and odd. The original illustrated novel felt a lot more effective.

[Aron · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars really. It started out pretty good, but it took a turn off into the metaphysical by the end that was just kinda weird.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recent Reads: Forever Free. Joe Haldeman and Marvano follow up the graphic Forever War with a philosophical work. Why are we here? Why did we meet the Taurans ? The doors of perception open, the experiment revealed to mice in the maze. At its heart, though, a story about aging.

[MrBuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genialne! W końcu przecczytałem te trzy części, kontynuację "Wiecznej wojny" i to chyba po 36 latach! Genialna teoria istnienia Wszechświata i jego stworzenia! Rewelacja!

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quando Joe Haldeman sublimou as suas experiências como veterano do Vietname em Forever War, criou um dos livros clássicos de FC do século XX. Uma obra sobre o absurdo da guerra, sobre a incompreensão entre culturas, e os limites relativísticos. A guerra trava-se porque o primeiro contacto entre terrestres e uma civilização alienígena é mal interpretado. E combate-se ao longo de séculos, as unidades militares demoram tempo a chegar aos seus alvos, o que confere aos soldados sobreviventes uma espécie de imortalidade. Regressar de uma missão implica que décadas, ou mais que isso, passem na Terra.

É aqui que Forever Free se foca. Os soldados sobreviventes têm, cortesia da relatividade, idades quase milenares. O tempo passou, as sociedades evoluíram, o impensável acontece: uma paz, quando a evolução das civilizações acaba por ditar a sua aproximação. Os velhos soldados são agora um múltiplo anacronismo. Indivíduos numa sociedade de mente enxame, fósseis vivos de uma antiga cultura que é vaga memória nos arquivos, heterossexuais numa cultura de reprodução pós-sexual. Exilados num planeta distante, a sua inadaptação é cada vez mais notória, e decidem usar as peculiaridades da física para viajar pelo espaço, e com isso fazer com que mais umas centenas de anos passem. Esperam perceber até onde irá evoluir a sociedade.

A meio da viagem, são surpreendidos por o que aparenta ser uma violação das leis da física. E, também, pela extinção aparente de terrestre e alienígenas. Com isso, descobrem uma espécie poderosa, que sempre coexistiu com outras vidas inteligentes no universo, e que manipulou a humanidade a entrar em guerra como experiência para ver até onde iria a sua evolução.

O final algo metafísico trai uma nova metáfora, a da adaptação do ex-soldado à vida civil. A versão para banda desenhada conta, como sempre, com o traço rigoroso de Marvano, que consegue ser ao mesmo tempo futurista e classicista. Infelizmente, esta edição sofre as agruras de ser uma versão comic de um álbum francófono. Diferentes formatos de prancha, e o traço de Marvano sai a perder nesta conversão.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Czasami ciężko udźwignąć oczekiwania w kolejnych częściach, kiedy pierwsza trylogia stawia poprzeczkę tak wysoko. Tu jest po prostu poprawnie. Przedstawione zakończenie w moim wewnętrznym „ja” nie spełnia oczekiwań i potencjału poprzedniczki. Trochę tak, jakby autor nagle niepotrzebnie zmienił charakter utworu. Jakby chciał sięgnąć gdzieś dalej i rozciągnąć swoje dzieło na niezagospodarowane obszary. Pierwsza cześć egzystencjalna do bólu, przeistacza się w coś metafizycznego, zupełnie niepotrzebnie. Można się z cyklem spokojnie rozstać na końcu „Wiecznej Wojny”.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to chat with the author about this adaptation and his other work over at the All the Books Show podcast. Find the Joe Haldeman episode here: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Marvano's art, and "Forever Free" is a favorite SF novel. Unfortunately, because the last half of the novel is so packed with ideas and with so little action, it doesn't lend itself to a graphic novel. What action there is gets truncated by the limited page count.

[Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stick to the original nice Forever War. This started out OK and then got muddled and repetitive.

[Kristina]

Priča je zbrda-zdola, nekako nejasno, nezanimljivo i površno napisana. Likovi nisu dovoljno razrađeni. Crtež mi se isto nije svidio.