Greats of Science Fiction

Haldeman, Joe

Joe William Haldeman, born on the 9th of June, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and still alive and writing today at 71 years old, was an American science fiction author who is often referred to as the Robert Heinlein of the modern day. His writing is often praised for its creative science and military elements, based on his degree in Physics and Astronomy, and his experience in the Vietnam war.

Haldeman quickly became well known after his second and most famous novel, The Forever War, was released. For many years he produced high quality works and eventually released other famous science-fiction works such as The Hemingway Hoax and The Forever Peace.

While Haldeman was most noted for his military science fiction he was also an avid short story writer. His collected works can be found in A Separate War and Other Stories, and another collection simply titled War Stories.

Haldeman's stories have addressed a huge number of themes in a great variety of stories. The most common themes used tend to revolve around how the expansion of technology could impact warfare as well human governments. He has often explored how the dangers of technology could harm humanity in both the near and very distant future, often in the same novel.

Haldeman won his first Hugo in 1974 for The Forever War, and it was the start of a long list of awards including five Hugos and five Nebula awards which he has picked up through his writing career. He was also inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2012.

Aside from his purely literary works, he has also assisted in the creation several comics, one of which was based on The Forever War, and has produced a Hollywood script for the film Robot Jox, although he was not happy with the end result.

Written by Reretzu