The protagonist of the story is a Private William Mandella, who finds himself thrust into a conflict that he neither understands nor volunteers for. Through rigorous training and mental-conditioning, Mandella is transformed into an efficient 'killing-machine' and given access to advanced weaponry to achieve the army's goals.

The war is set in a future where instantaneous space-travel between the stars is achieved through a series of 'collapsar jumps'. Astute readers will note that the 'collapsars' are nothing more then Einstein-Rosen bridges or what are more popularly termed as 'wormholes'. The truly fascinating developments in the book manifest themselves through the 'time-dilation' effects imposed by relativity. The net effect is that through this form of space-travel, the soldiers only age a few years, while a much greater time period passes on Earth.

As a result of all this, the Earth Mandella returns to after his first 'tour-of-duty' is a completely foreign one. Haldeman describes a chilling new history where Earth has become a third-world country and a world where 'food calories' have become the new global currency. It is a world created to serve the needs of a growing military-industrial complex. A world with very little understanding of the individual, placing greater emphasis on the larger needs of a society embroiled in an interstellar conflict.

The dystopia Haldeman creates is disturbing, though not quite in the Orwellian 1984 sense. Haldeman's vision lacks the fatality of Orwell's creation, but embodies the same sense of moral stagnation. This feeling of cultural alienation leads Mandella to reenlist in the army, with the promise of being given a desk job. Of course, the army wastes little time in transferring him to a combat unit and sending him off to battle again.

This book deserves all the accolades it has received and provides a fascinating glimpse of what the future may hold for us among the stars. The book deals with the complex issues of the effects of war on the soldiers and society's changing perceptions of the conflict. In this setting, the actual battles take place hundreds of light-years from Earth, so it is difficult for the citizen's to become overly concerned with the outcome. There is no perceived threat to their current way of life and therefore the conflict is seen as an unnecessary drain on society.

The book also features some great 'hard' science-fiction descriptions. The details of the battle-armor the soldiers wear as well as the descriptions of their battles with the enemy 'Taurans' are both convincing and realistic.

The most fascinating thing about the book is the way Mandella views and confronts the changes in society that take place around him. Haldeman also puts forth some interesting ideas about humanity's potential future views on homosexuality. Towards the end of the book, homosexuality has become the cultural norm and is encouraged, serving as a form of birth-control. I found these views to be a bit peculiar and they may speak to some underlying 'homophobia' in Haldeman, but that is not really relevant to the scope of the novel.

The Forever War is definitely one of the best science-fiction novels I have ever read. If you are a fan of the genre, then this is one book you should not miss.