The Forever War

[Zoltan]

I just read on an astronomy related blog about an upcoming movie title "The Forever War" that will be based on a book with the same title by Joe Haldeman. It will be directed by Ridley Scott and thus marks the return of the director to science-fiction.

I never heard of the book and wanted to hear your opinion as well; from the comments on the blog, it seems people are very excited about it.

Read here.

Zoltan

[NotSoWize]

It's been several years since I read TFW, but it was a very good book. A military SF novel with an anti-military agenda if I recall. In any case, it sounds great to have Ridley Scott directing a SF movie based on very solid material.

[vakie]

The story does sound intriguing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_War

Surprising that this is only Ridley Scott's 3rd sci-fi movie. He's currently looking for someone to write the script. I wonder if Joe's too busy already to add this to his plate.

And next year we'll get James Cameron's Avatar.

[Harrdy]

It is a book about war with aliens. We don't know who started the war, we don't know if we are in war with them (because traveling to the fields of war takes centuries), we fight them, fast and deadly. Some of the times we die, some of the times they die. We have sex and drugs to keep us calm, we loose our touch with the folks back home (because centuries are a long time, and they don't stop changing), we loose body parts and get replacements, wounder what we will do after war... the book has a "kinda" happy end, to happy for my taste, but... the protagonists earned it, I guess.

The book is very interresting in showing what could happen if war takes centuries, and the combatants are most of the time in dilated time, therefore slowly loosing touch with the folks back home (wtf, they are homos! *g* But the reasoning was solid). Crumbling economy because of the stain in budget, the brightest are sent to war. Also information is slower than lightspeed, so they don't have intel and even don't know if maybe the war is even over, when they hit the enemy.

As far as I know Haldeman wrote a lot of his Vietnam experience into the book, and I found it quite realistic. But... I have never been in a war, so I wouldn't know.

I am a BIG fan of the book and I am interrested in the movie adaption, while I am not sure if they can capture the scope of the book...

edit add: with JMS as writer I wouldn't have any worries... 8-)

PeAcE