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Aug 29, 2007
Jamie Collins
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review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
scifi-military
I listened to this classic sci-fi novel as an audiobook, and I absolutely don’t recommend you do that. It was the worst audiobook performance I’ve yet heard; often hilariously bad. The narrator's voice is perfectly clear, but his delivery is either wooden or badly dramatized. For instance, this book famously envisions a future where nearly everyone is homosexual, and this reader makes those soldiers of the future sound swishy.
It has been a very long time since I read the print version, and I was ...more
It has been a very long time since I read the print version, and I was ...more
I had not read this sci-fi classic until now. I enjoyed it...a bit more than Starship Troopers. I have not read much military sci-fi but this has been the best of the lot (much better than the cheesy Old Man's War). I did expect it to be more explicit in the details due to what Haldeman experienced in Vietnam, but it was surprisingly tame. However, it still accomplishes its goal of showing the horrors of war, and in no way makes it look attractive (as Starship Troopers did).
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An interesting tale about humans becoming involved in a war with aliens. The main character, Mandelle, is drafted into the army while finishing up his PhD in Physics. The army is drafting only really intelligent people, so Mandelle and 99 other extremely bright men and women are prepared for war against an enemy that no one has ever seen. During their first 2 years of service maybe 60 years pass on earth, and when they get back things have changed a lot (for the worse). So he signs up for duty a
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Jan 15, 2008
Joshua
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-and-fantasy
This award winner deserves every. Some accuse Mr. Haldeman of stealing Heinlein's body armor design from Starship trooper. This may be true, but then every space opera/futuristic military book owes due homage to Heinlein. This is a book about how war can break down someones body and mind, but never their heart and soul. This is a story about how sometimes we fight wars without even knowing why, but because we are told to. This is Haldeman's condemnation of the Vietnam War, but it's message is st
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A landmark work of military science fiction. An allegory of Vietnam but with time displacement. Stirring and impossible to put down.
This is a great book . . . I don't even remember when I read it, probably 10 years ago, but the story has remained with me.
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Nov 08, 2007
Rindis
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liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
unsure-edition
