Storyline: 2/5 
 Characters: 3/5 
 Writing Style: 1/5 
 World: 3/5 
 At around the halfway point in the book I could not have told you what the story was really about. I could have told you what genre it belonged to but not what the primary plot was. Haldeman was dabbling in a lot of ideas - the draft, crime, origins of the universe, militarization, postcolonialism - and at midway the second half was open to the introduction of aliens, space travel, a revolution, or the development of an alternate economic system. So as to not spoil it for those of you whom have yet to read the book, I won't tell you what actually did happen. As it developed, however, I found that the mystery and world-building of the first half was much more interesting than the story's development in the second half. On a more positive note, this could be called a companion to the first of the series, the Forever War, but there is no need whatsoever to have read it before you read this. Each one stands on its own and complements the other.