RFalvo69
Posts: 1380
Joined: 7/11/2013 From: Lamezia Terme (Italy) Status: offline
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I'm finally reading The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It was written as a counterpoint to Starship Troopers by Heinlein, but, IMHO, it lacks the sophistication of the latter. What The Forever War achieves is a tale of a soldier drafted in an incomprehensible war - with surprisingly spare action and interminable periods of boredom (but not for the reader). The Vietnam War metaphor is transparent, including the dislocation that a soldier feels when he returns to "normal life" (Haldeman was a combat engineer in Vietnam and was awarded a Purple Heart). Anyway, it is a pretty good yarn, and where Heinlein openly "philosophises", Haldeman speaks factually. Both books are worth reading, and I think that after finishing this one I will re-read Starship Troopers.
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"Yes darling, I served in the Navy for eight years. I was a cook..." "Oh dad... so you were a God-damned cook?" (My 10 years old daughter after watching "The Hunt for Red October")
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