The Forever War (Joe Haldeman)

I like how much happens in this book apart from the set piece encounters with the aliens and training. It really is very inventive. It's a good one to give to the dull crowd who say "all science fiction is just metaphor for its time of writing". This book obviously is that, but alot more, and you can point to lots of bits and go "How does that fit into the metaphor, then?"

This was a great read, the characters had depth and motive and the science theory was deep and well conceived without becoming confusing or bogged down in explanation. Some of the scenes back on earth did seem to slow the story down a little (probably why they were cut from the initial release) but i think the relationship between the protagonists would feel weaker without them. Joe Haldeman knows his physics and knows his military bureaucracy, but he can also write a character you can empathize with.

I really, really enjoyed this book and the only reason that I didn't give it a five is because I actually thought that the best bits of the book were the very beginning, the training and the first mission. After that it went slightly downhill but it was always enjoyable.
Somehow that just didn't seem right to me given the main drive of the book was the time shifts...but like I said it was always enjoyable and highly recommended.