The Forever War - Significance and Critical Reception

Significance and Critical Reception

The novel is widely perceived to be a portrayal of the author's military service during the Vietnam War, and has been called an account of his war experiences written through a 'space opera' filter. Other hints of the autobiographical nature of the work are the protagonist's surname, 'Mandella', which is a near-anagram of the author's surname, as well as the name of the lead female character, Marygay Potter, which is nearly identical to Haldeman's wife's maiden name. Importantly, if one accepts this reading of the book, the alienation experienced by the soldiers on returning to Earth – here caused by the time dilation effect – becomes a clear metaphor for the reception given to US troops returning to America from Vietnam, including the way in which the war ultimately proves useless and its result meaningless. He also subverts typical space opera clichés (such as the heroic soldier influencing battles through individual acts) and "demonstrates how absurd many of the old clichés look to someone who had seen real combat duty."

It has also been considered to be a critical response to Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a book with a similar setting, often considered pro-military. For his part, Haldeman has played down this claim in several interviews, even going so far as to praise Heinlein's work on its own merits and to name him as one of his own favorite authors. There are also certain profound differences between the two novels. Whereas the characters in Starship Troopers were all volunteers, the characters in The Forever War were conscripts (Heinlein had stated his opposition to conscription on several occasions). The Forever War also broke from many military traditions of which Heinlein was fond. Haldeman, however, noted that he received a letter from Heinlein congratulating him on his Nebula Award which "meant more than the award itself" and author Spider Robinson claimed that Heinlein approached Haldeman at the award banquet and said the book "may be the best future war story I've ever read!" In August 2003, Haldeman was elected by unanimous vote to the board of directors for the Heinlein Society.