One of the very best science fiction novels of all time. An intelligent and thought provoking allegory for the Vietnam War.

Private William Mandella is a reluctant hero in an interstellar war against an unknowable and unconquerable alien enemy. But his greatest test will be when he returns home. Relativity means that for every few months'' tour of duty centuries have passed on Earth, isolating the combatants ever more from the world for whose future they are fighting.

Readers can''t stop thinking about The Forever War:

''More than just a book about a futuristic war, Haldeman describes a society built around the codependency of the industrial military complex and with a fluid dynamic socio-economic culture that is fascinating to watch unfold'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''A hugely important story from a very human angle . . . It will come as no surprise that this was written as a reaction to America''s war in Vietnam'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''Catch-22 is often cited as one of the great books about the futility and inherent paradoxes of war. I think this is easily its equal'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''This book is a masterpiece, both as a straight-up science fiction story, but also as an allegory for the horrors and hopelessness of war'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''This is military-flavoured bootcamp-to-war Science Fiction in its finest form, as refreshing and thought provoking as it no doubt was when it was released in 1974 . . . a landmark classic of Science Fiction'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''Haldeman''s story touched on a number of different themes (the horrors of war and those of personal traumatic injury, loneliness, alienation, loss, cultural indoctrination, and societal change over time) . . . a really good sci-fi classic'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

In the year 2043, the Ngumi War rages. Limited nuclear strikes have been used on Atlanta and two enemy cities, but the war goes on, fought by ''soldierboys'' - indestructible war machines operated by remote control by soldiers hundreds of miles away.

Julian Class is one of these soldiers, and for him war is truly hell. The psychological strain of being jacked-in to his soldierboy - and the genocidal results - are becoming too much to bear. Now he and his companion, Dr Amelia Harding, have made a terrifying scientific discovery, which could literally take the universe back to square one. Except that for Julian, the discovery isn''t so much terrifying as tempting...

Winner of the Hugo Award for best novel, 1998Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel, 1998Winner of the John W. Campbell Award for best novel, 1998

William Mandela is a genetic throwback, one of the small group of humans who fought and survived the Forever War. They returned to find humanity has evolved into a group mind called Man. Surrounded by a society that is too autocratic and intrusive, living a dull existence which cannot compare to the certainties of combat and feeling increasingly alienated, the veterans plan an escape to the future by means of space travel and relativity. But when their ship starts to fail, their journey becomes a search for the Unknown, the elusive entity responsible.

Earth was finished, devastated by nuclear and biological war. The inhabitants of the artificial asteroid colonies looked down on it and knew that humanity''s old home would soon be gone forever.But Earth would not loose its ties so easily. And for Marianne O''Hara there was work that had to be done among the stricken ruins before she could at last look outwards to the stars.

Young Carmen Dula and her family are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime - they are going to Mars. But Carmen isn''t so sure she wants to. After training for a year and preparing to leave on the six-month journey, she finds that the initial excitement has given way to both trepidation and frustration.Once there, however, Carmen realizes that things are not so different from Earth. There are chores, lessons, and oppressive authority figures. All of that leads her to venture out into the bleak Mars landscape alone, where an accident takes her to the edge of death - and she is saved by an angel. An angel with too many arms and legs, a head that looks like a potato gone bad - and a message for the newly arrived inhabitants of Mars:We were here first...

After the shocking first contact between humans and alien life on Mars, Carmen Dula and her husband board a tiny, long-range craft with five other humans and two Martians. They travel to a distant solar system that is home to the "Others" - an enigmatic, powerful, and possibly immortal race. Once there, they manage to find enough common purpose to forge a delicate truce between human, Martian, and Other.By the time Carmen and her party are sent back to Earth, fifty years have passed - and the Earthlings have not been idle. They have built a massive flotilla of warships to defend Earth against the Others'' expected aggression. But the Others have more power than any could imagine.And they will brook no insolence from the upstart human race...

Nick Foley is on the run. The KGB and CIA are both after him. Not suprising, since he''s a Soviet sleeper whose cover has been blown, but Nick has more than state secrets to hide. If he tells a stranger to drive him a thousand miles, it''ll happen; if he tells a pusher to OD on his own heroin, the pusher will do it.Nick''s strange power is vital to both sides, and neither of them intend to let him keep it to himself, but neither the CIA nor the KGB can imagine Nick''s final, desperate throw of the dice.

More even than space travel, the Stileman Process had altered twenty-first century life. The most complex of medical miracles, it ensured that every ten years or so, the ailing aging body could be restored to youthful vigour and health.There was a catch of course. The cost. Every ten years or so you have to come up with £1,000,000 minimum or die.For Dallas Barr, one of the oldest men on earth, it was that time again. It was while he was casting around for that vital next million that he came across Maria, a woman from - literally - a previous life. And made two major discoveries.Not all Stileman ''immortals'' were born - or created - the same. And someone is trying to kill them. All of them.

The hoax proposed to John Baird by a two-bit con man in a seedy Key West bar was shady but potentially profitable. With little left to lose, the struggling, middle-aged Hemingway scholar agreed to forge a manuscript and pass it off as Papa''s lost masterpiece. But Baird never realized his actions would shatter the history of his own Earth . . . and others. Now the unsuspecting academic is trapped out of time - propelled through a series of grim parallel worlds - and pursued by an interdimensional hitman with a literary license to kill.

Astronomy professor Aurora ''Rory'' Bell gets a message from space that seems to portend the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. According to her calculations, whoever is coming will arrive in three months - on New Year''s Day to be exact.A crowded and poisoned Earth is moving toward the brink of the last world war - and is certainly unprepared to face invasion of any kind. Rory''s continuing investigation leads her to wonder if it could be some kind of hoax, but the impending ''visit'' takes on a media life of its own. And so the world waits. But the question still remains as to what, exactly, everyone is waiting for...

Uprooted from her Southern home during the Civil War, Rosa Coleman settles in Philadelphia with a husband whose compassion quickly turns to cruelty. But when that cruelty is inflicted upon their only son, she picks up and flees with the boy across the uncivilized Western frontier - and into Alaska to start anew among the region''s gold fields.But even the harsh journey across America has not prepared Rosa for the infinite possibilities that await her. Something not of this world has approached her. It has revealed the universe''s secrets to her. And it will take her on an extraordinary odyssey as she discovers the role she must play in bringing peace to Earth...

Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel, 2005Winner of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award 2004Unknown to anyone, two creatures have wandered the Earth for generations. The aliens have no knowledge of each other, but share a residual memory of a mysterious, sunken relic - and an affinity for deep water. One, the changeling, has survived by adaptation, taking the shapes of many different organisms. The other, the chameleon, has survived solely by destroying anything or anyone that threatens it.Now, finally brought up from the bottom of the sea by marine biologist Russell Sutton, the relic calls to them both . . . to come home. For all these generations there have been two invincible creatures on Earth. But the chameleon has decided there''s only room for one . . .

The twentieth century lies hundreds of years in humanity''s past. But the near-immortal citizens of the future yearn for the good old days - when people''s bodies were susceptible to death through disease and old age. Now, they immerse themselves in virtual reality time machines to explore the life-to-death arc that defined existence so long ago. Jacob Brewer is a virtual reality engineer overseeing the time machine''s operation aboard the starship Aspera. But on the thousand-year voyage to Beta Hydrii, the eight-hundred-member crew gets more reality than they expect when people entering the machine start to die.The time machine has become sentient. Obsessed with humanity, it wants John Brewer to enter its confines - and discuss this fragile state of being called life...

Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring quantum relationships between gravity and light, his calibrator disappears - and reappears, one second later. In fact, every time Matt hits the reset button, the machine goes missing twelve times longer.After tinkering with the calibrator, Matt is convinced that what he has in his possession is a time machine. And by simply attaching a metal box to it, he learns to send things through time - including a pet-store turtle, which comes back no worse for wear.With a dead-end job and a girlfriend who left him for another man, Matt has nothing to lose by taking a time machine trip for himself. So he borrows an old car, stocks it with food and water, and ends up in the near future - under arrest for the murder of the car''s original owner, who dropped dead after seeing Matt disappear before his eyes. The only way to beat the rap is to continue time travelling until he finds a place in time safe enough to stop for good. But such a place may not exist...

Otto McGavin is peaceful and idealistic by nature, an Anglo-Buddhist, who seeks employment with the Confederación because he believes in it and its mission to protect the rights of humans and nonhumans. The only problem is that the Confederación needs him as a Prime Operator for its secret service, the TBII, and the TBII wants Otto as a spy, a thief and an assassin.It''s not, of course, a problem for the Confederación, which simply uses immersion therapy and hypnosis for Otto''s training, and then sends him out in deep cover on a variety of dangerous missions on a number of bizarre worlds. But for Otto, it''s a different matter: what he has to witness and what he is forced to do take a terrible toll on him . . .

This stunning collection showcases 11 of Haldeman''s best stories. They range through time and space from planets beyond our wildest dreams to a nightmare future Earth all too close to home.Lindsay and the Red City Blues: A story of revenge - with a heart-stopping twist in the tail.Blood Brothers: A ''Thieves World'' story.You Can Never Go Back: A self-contained story from the original version of ''The Forever War'', never before published in book form.And ten more sharp and startling visions of tomorrow.

One of the very best science fiction novels of all time. An intelligent and thought provoking allegory for the Vietnam War.

Private William Mandella is a reluctant hero in an interstellar war against an unknowable and unconquerable alien enemy. But his greatest test will be when he returns home. Relativity means that for every few months'' tour of duty centuries have passed on Earth, isolating the combatants ever more from the world for whose future they are fighting.

Readers can''t stop thinking about The Forever War:

''More than just a book about a futuristic war, Haldeman describes a society built around the codependency of the industrial military complex and with a fluid dynamic socio-economic culture that is fascinating to watch unfold'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''A hugely important story from a very human angle . . . It will come as no surprise that this was written as a reaction to America''s war in Vietnam'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''Catch-22 is often cited as one of the great books about the futility and inherent paradoxes of war. I think this is easily its equal'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''This book is a masterpiece, both as a straight-up science fiction story, but also as an allegory for the horrors and hopelessness of war'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''This is military-flavoured bootcamp-to-war Science Fiction in its finest form, as refreshing and thought provoking as it no doubt was when it was released in 1974 . . . a landmark classic of Science Fiction'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''Haldeman''s story touched on a number of different themes (the horrors of war and those of personal traumatic injury, loneliness, alienation, loss, cultural indoctrination, and societal change over time) . . . a really good sci-fi classic'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

In the year 2043, the Ngumi War rages. Limited nuclear strikes have been used on Atlanta and two enemy cities, but the war goes on, fought by ''soldierboys'' - indestructible war machines operated by remote control by soldiers hundreds of miles away.

Julian Class is one of these soldiers, and for him war is truly hell. The psychological strain of being jacked-in to his soldierboy - and the genocidal results - are becoming too much to bear. Now he and his companion, Dr Amelia Harding, have made a terrifying scientific discovery, which could literally take the universe back to square one. Except that for Julian, the discovery isn''t so much terrifying as tempting...

Winner of the Hugo Award for best novel, 1998Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel, 1998Winner of the John W. Campbell Award for best novel, 1998

William Mandela is a genetic throwback, one of the small group of humans who fought and survived the Forever War. They returned to find humanity has evolved into a group mind called Man. Surrounded by a society that is too autocratic and intrusive, living a dull existence which cannot compare to the certainties of combat and feeling increasingly alienated, the veterans plan an escape to the future by means of space travel and relativity. But when their ship starts to fail, their journey becomes a search for the Unknown, the elusive entity responsible.

Earth was finished, devastated by nuclear and biological war. The inhabitants of the artificial asteroid colonies looked down on it and knew that humanity''s old home would soon be gone forever.But Earth would not loose its ties so easily. And for Marianne O''Hara there was work that had to be done among the stricken ruins before she could at last look outwards to the stars.

Young Carmen Dula and her family are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime - they are going to Mars. But Carmen isn''t so sure she wants to. After training for a year and preparing to leave on the six-month journey, she finds that the initial excitement has given way to both trepidation and frustration.Once there, however, Carmen realizes that things are not so different from Earth. There are chores, lessons, and oppressive authority figures. All of that leads her to venture out into the bleak Mars landscape alone, where an accident takes her to the edge of death - and she is saved by an angel. An angel with too many arms and legs, a head that looks like a potato gone bad - and a message for the newly arrived inhabitants of Mars:We were here first...

After the shocking first contact between humans and alien life on Mars, Carmen Dula and her husband board a tiny, long-range craft with five other humans and two Martians. They travel to a distant solar system that is home to the "Others" - an enigmatic, powerful, and possibly immortal race. Once there, they manage to find enough common purpose to forge a delicate truce between human, Martian, and Other.By the time Carmen and her party are sent back to Earth, fifty years have passed - and the Earthlings have not been idle. They have built a massive flotilla of warships to defend Earth against the Others'' expected aggression. But the Others have more power than any could imagine.And they will brook no insolence from the upstart human race...

Nick Foley is on the run. The KGB and CIA are both after him. Not suprising, since he''s a Soviet sleeper whose cover has been blown, but Nick has more than state secrets to hide. If he tells a stranger to drive him a thousand miles, it''ll happen; if he tells a pusher to OD on his own heroin, the pusher will do it.Nick''s strange power is vital to both sides, and neither of them intend to let him keep it to himself, but neither the CIA nor the KGB can imagine Nick''s final, desperate throw of the dice.

More even than space travel, the Stileman Process had altered twenty-first century life. The most complex of medical miracles, it ensured that every ten years or so, the ailing aging body could be restored to youthful vigour and health.There was a catch of course. The cost. Every ten years or so you have to come up with £1,000,000 minimum or die.For Dallas Barr, one of the oldest men on earth, it was that time again. It was while he was casting around for that vital next million that he came across Maria, a woman from - literally - a previous life. And made two major discoveries.Not all Stileman ''immortals'' were born - or created - the same. And someone is trying to kill them. All of them.

The hoax proposed to John Baird by a two-bit con man in a seedy Key West bar was shady but potentially profitable. With little left to lose, the struggling, middle-aged Hemingway scholar agreed to forge a manuscript and pass it off as Papa''s lost masterpiece. But Baird never realized his actions would shatter the history of his own Earth . . . and others. Now the unsuspecting academic is trapped out of time - propelled through a series of grim parallel worlds - and pursued by an interdimensional hitman with a literary license to kill.

Astronomy professor Aurora ''Rory'' Bell gets a message from space that seems to portend the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. According to her calculations, whoever is coming will arrive in three months - on New Year''s Day to be exact.A crowded and poisoned Earth is moving toward the brink of the last world war - and is certainly unprepared to face invasion of any kind. Rory''s continuing investigation leads her to wonder if it could be some kind of hoax, but the impending ''visit'' takes on a media life of its own. And so the world waits. But the question still remains as to what, exactly, everyone is waiting for...

Uprooted from her Southern home during the Civil War, Rosa Coleman settles in Philadelphia with a husband whose compassion quickly turns to cruelty. But when that cruelty is inflicted upon their only son, she picks up and flees with the boy across the uncivilized Western frontier - and into Alaska to start anew among the region''s gold fields.But even the harsh journey across America has not prepared Rosa for the infinite possibilities that await her. Something not of this world has approached her. It has revealed the universe''s secrets to her. And it will take her on an extraordinary odyssey as she discovers the role she must play in bringing peace to Earth...

Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel, 2005Winner of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award 2004Unknown to anyone, two creatures have wandered the Earth for generations. The aliens have no knowledge of each other, but share a residual memory of a mysterious, sunken relic - and an affinity for deep water. One, the changeling, has survived by adaptation, taking the shapes of many different organisms. The other, the chameleon, has survived solely by destroying anything or anyone that threatens it.Now, finally brought up from the bottom of the sea by marine biologist Russell Sutton, the relic calls to them both . . . to come home. For all these generations there have been two invincible creatures on Earth. But the chameleon has decided there''s only room for one . . .

The twentieth century lies hundreds of years in humanity''s past. But the near-immortal citizens of the future yearn for the good old days - when people''s bodies were susceptible to death through disease and old age. Now, they immerse themselves in virtual reality time machines to explore the life-to-death arc that defined existence so long ago. Jacob Brewer is a virtual reality engineer overseeing the time machine''s operation aboard the starship Aspera. But on the thousand-year voyage to Beta Hydrii, the eight-hundred-member crew gets more reality than they expect when people entering the machine start to die.The time machine has become sentient. Obsessed with humanity, it wants John Brewer to enter its confines - and discuss this fragile state of being called life...

Grad-school dropout Matt Fuller is toiling as a lowly research assistant at MIT when, while measuring quantum relationships between gravity and light, his calibrator disappears - and reappears, one second later. In fact, every time Matt hits the reset button, the machine goes missing twelve times longer.After tinkering with the calibrator, Matt is convinced that what he has in his possession is a time machine. And by simply attaching a metal box to it, he learns to send things through time - including a pet-store turtle, which comes back no worse for wear.With a dead-end job and a girlfriend who left him for another man, Matt has nothing to lose by taking a time machine trip for himself. So he borrows an old car, stocks it with food and water, and ends up in the near future - under arrest for the murder of the car''s original owner, who dropped dead after seeing Matt disappear before his eyes. The only way to beat the rap is to continue time travelling until he finds a place in time safe enough to stop for good. But such a place may not exist...

Otto McGavin is peaceful and idealistic by nature, an Anglo-Buddhist, who seeks employment with the Confederación because he believes in it and its mission to protect the rights of humans and nonhumans. The only problem is that the Confederación needs him as a Prime Operator for its secret service, the TBII, and the TBII wants Otto as a spy, a thief and an assassin.It''s not, of course, a problem for the Confederación, which simply uses immersion therapy and hypnosis for Otto''s training, and then sends him out in deep cover on a variety of dangerous missions on a number of bizarre worlds. But for Otto, it''s a different matter: what he has to witness and what he is forced to do take a terrible toll on him . . .

This stunning collection showcases 11 of Haldeman''s best stories. They range through time and space from planets beyond our wildest dreams to a nightmare future Earth all too close to home.Lindsay and the Red City Blues: A story of revenge - with a heart-stopping twist in the tail.Blood Brothers: A ''Thieves World'' story.You Can Never Go Back: A self-contained story from the original version of ''The Forever War'', never before published in book form.And ten more sharp and startling visions of tomorrow.