After completing The Forever War, I had to take a step back and think about what I'd just read. This is good and this is not so good. I did not particularly care for the story, in fact I'd expected better, but there was a meaning behind that story, and therefore I was left with an indelible impression. A lot of praise has been given to this book written in 1974 by Haldeman, a Vietnam Veteran. His experience is felt in these pages, but not in an obvious manner. The Forever War is analogous to what war can do to man (mankind), yet it spans a millennium into the future, across an infinite outer space, against an enemy barely known. Yeah, that part definitely resembles the war. 
 I like the main character Haldeman created called William Mandella. He is brash with a soft center. Too bad most of this book's time is spent talking about the battles. That would not be so bad if what occurs had been more interesting. Don't get me wrong, there are some good parts in here. Women fight this war too. Early on, Mandella meets Marygay. She becomes his counterpart (I could just say lover here, but she's more than that). The book is at its best when these two are together. 
 So why did I stop to think about this book after it was over? As the soldiers travel light years through worm-holes they age normally while those they leave behind can age ten, twenty, a hundred years. It all depends on the distance. In my mind, Mandella becomes a man trapped by time. What's to go home to? In many respects, war is now his identity. 
 One last thing to say: Loved the ending. Joe Haldeman saved the best for last.