Sci-Fi Group Book Club discussion

This is the discussion thread for the first book of the month, or group read, for February. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where necessary. The other group read topic for this month (Intersection Man) can be found here.

Although the current group read topics don't come to an end until February 12th, feel free to start reading this book now.

Greg wrote: "This is the discussion thread for the first book of the month, or group read, for February. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where necessary. The other group read topic for this month ([book..."

Hi Greg, did you mean to put a link for the word "here"?

Chris wrote: "Greg wrote: "This is the discussion thread for the first book of the month, or group read, for February. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where necessary. The other group read topic for this..."

Just did! :P I couldn't make the link until I'd set up the second thread.

Greg wrote: "Chris wrote: "Greg wrote: "This is the discussion thread for the first book of the month, or group read, for February. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where necessary. The other group read ..."

That makes perfect sense :)

Chris wrote: "Greg wrote: "Chris wrote: "Greg wrote: "This is the discussion thread for the first book of the month, or group read, for February. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where necessary. The othe..."

Usually people don't catch me in the act of setting up the two topics so I guess it had to happen sometime!

Greg wrote: "Chris wrote: "Greg wrote: "Chris wrote: "Greg wrote: "This is the discussion thread for the first book of the month, or group read, for February. Please remember to use the spoiler tags where neces..."

Usually I don't speak before I think (you need a page to link to before you can link to it) but that had to happen sometime too lol

Anyway ... Forever War ... amazing book!!! Haven't read it in a while so, as I have it in my bookcase, I might as well give a second read.

I'm here on this read. Just downloaded the book and looking forward to this story line. This will be my first time with this book/ author.

Enjoyed reading that book.

(I'd like to apologize in advance for my typing. I lost some use of fingers on my dominate hand and and I'm waiting to see what the VA can do more for me. I can correct with the other hand it is just so frustrating. Now on monitor #3 since this happene. Down from about 100 words per min to 20 if that and soo frustrating. The poor spelling is all me however)

This is my first discussion group on a book that I read on my own....ie without being assigned by a teacher or prof.
I hope it is not a spoiler to say the book is about a war that well lasts forever. Not sure what it discussed in a group like this but I FEEL the book is a commentary on the futility of war. When you are there and fighting it is so important. Every event is so significant. You are fighting to stay alive and fighting for the friends who are with you. As in the book you risk your life for some unnamed planet ( or Hill or town) and you do all you can. But as in the book when all is said and done did it really make a difference? When you look at it through the lens of time and ask this you see things differently. And the further back in time you go the less important things seem to impact on our now. In the book when the (spoiler warning???? sorry don't know how to hide it) soliders get back home they find that the war had been over for a long time.....I don't recall if it was hundreds or thousands of years and no on really cared about it any more. The war had made no difference really to them and they were their just waiting to put the rest of the war engine to bed and close it down.
That was my take on it. I enjoyed the book and my view is probably just BS but it gave me something to think about for a long time after reading the book.
So if I didn't do this correctly please feel free to tell me how one is suppose to do it and I may try harder next time.
ID
Irving Drinkwine

Irving wrote: "(I'd like to apologize in advance for my typing. I lost some use of fingers on my dominate hand and and I'm waiting to see what the VA can do more for me. I can correct with the other hand it is ju..."

Hey Irving - sorry to hear about your fingers. That really must be frustrating to have to type with your other hand at a much slower rate. It reminds me of when I wanted to do calligraphy as a teen but calligraphic writing is geared towards right-handed people and I'm a left-hander. I wouldn't worry about the spelling though - I think everyone makes typos from time to time.

I haven't had the chance to read The Forever War yet due to various other reading and writing commitments but from what you've said about the book your point that it's a commentary on the futility of war sounds valid. And your post was just fine! To use spoiler tags, you can see these listed in the '(some html is ok)' link just above the comment box (along with 'comment' and 'add book/author').

So I'm new here. Just finished the book. This is a book that's kind of hard to nail down. Well, before I continue, let's just assume everything I will write here is SPOILERS!!! If you have not read the book, don't read.

To begin with, I kept wondering, is this future a dystonia or not? This is an important question when discussing the LGBTQ side of the story. I kept wondering, is the film using the gay relationships to normalize it or to show how fucked up the world has become. I fear it is a little of the latter. While I loved that a sci fi book discussed homosexuality (so many never touch upon it) I felt the way it was treated was at times problematic. To begin with, it was presented like people could just chose to be gay, and not in a bi sexual kind of way. Yes in the future they could change sexual orientation with technology but that was later. First, people just decided to be gay and it was all about just having someone in their life and having sex. Nothing to do with love. The only true love story we get is the heterosexual relationship of the main character. And in the end when they finally decide to do the right thing then heterosexuality becomes a part of that solution. So I would love to hear what other people feel about the LGBTQ side of the book. I for one feel it is rather dated.

I did like the way the book discussed the futility of war. Humans just assume that these aliens are hostile. There is no desire to even try to communicate.

What I liked most about this book was the play with time. How our "hero" becomes more and more of an outsider. More of a dinosaur as "older" he gets. Just the idea that not traveling with your girlfriend can mean that you will never see her again because she might end up in another timezone than you was pretty awesome.

Finally, for those of you who have read the other books. Are they worth a visit?

Thorkell wrote: "...Finally, for those of you who have read the other books. Are they worth a visit? "

I agree with your points here Thorkell. It just seemed to me the author was setting up a situation where the 'tables were turned' so to speak, to cause heterosexuals to see the issues from 'the other side.' To do that, the way he came up with was societal/ population pressure.

The book seems to play with psychological issues, and explore ideas of morality and even human feelings towards violence and racism to the background of eternal war removed from their own species.

Like you, you most interesting part for me was the math. I enjoyed twisting my brain around the numbers as I tried to imagine details like, just how much military service credit did they get for x number of years? Was it counted in Sun years, or intergalactic time? etc. The author uses some Science to explain things, but I didn't really see much in the way of new ideas outside the psychological issues mentioned before.

Slidewalks, for example, have been used in Ringworld.

In answer to your question about the other books, the only one I read is one that didn't get any votes. It was pretty good and worth a read. My review is here: Replay by Ken Grimwood


Irving wrote: "(I'd like to apologize in advance for my typing. I lost some use of fingers on my dominate hand and and I'm waiting to see what the VA can do more for me. I can correct with the other hand it is ju..."

Hope you feel better after all the pain Irving. Yes, I felt like the war was going to go on forever too, but then began to wonder if it would already be over when they got home. So, I guess I anticipated right. Probably because I was thinking about the math so much.

But, I wondered a lot too about the use of the name Mandella, which nothing was ever made much about. It just mentioned the African wheel thingy. Oh well. It got the point across though about the pointlessness of war and the numbness of violence against aliens.

Mostly, I liked the ending, which was well resolved.

My Review for Forever War is here for anyone interested:
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

Thanks Vicky!