TCWriter

Haldeman's award-winning [b:The Forever War|21611|The Forever War|Joe Haldeman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167322714s/21611.jpg|423] has long been one of my favorite novels, and in [b:Forever Peace|21618|Forever Peace |Joe Haldeman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267317517s/21618.jpg|94590], I was looking for a similarly powerful read. Unfortunately, Forever Peace - which is not a sequel (or prequel) to Forever War - is a good book, but not a great one. Set in a post-scarcity world, Forever Peace lacks the jaded sensibility - and the wit - of Haldeman's earlier masterpiece, it does offer an interesting exploration of another kind of war - one fought remotely.Given the daily news reports of drone strikes and "video" warfare, it's an interesting take on what could lie in our future. It's also something of a thriller, yet its odd pacing and sudden appearance of critical ideas costs the novel some credibility; it's as if Haldeman was trying to address the larger issues, and the plot just kept getting in the way.While it's a fun read - a worthwhile novel in its own right - it fails to leave the same impression as some of Haldeman's other works.