The year in books #8: Forever Peace

I've intentionally waited awhile to post my thoughts on Forever Peace, because I wasn't sure at first what to make of it. Usually when I don't enjoy a book, I just assume it's not a great book - when that book has won a Hugo Award, I have to ask myself if there's something wrong with me. Often, I find that a book I didn't necessarily enjoy nonetheless ends up in my mental list of great books, because it contained ideas that stuck with me and continued to provoke thought years after I read it.

Certainly the book has its share of ideas, and the ideas are ones that I am thrilled to see addressed in the form of science fiction. It describes a world in which the first world has developed nearly indestructible robotic soldiers that can be piloted from afar by pilots whose nervous systems are directly jacked into the robots' control and sensory systems. The conceit allows for the exploration of concepts that are very pertinent to warfare today: How much more willing are we to use war as a political tool in if we can kill our enemies at very little risk to ourselves? What would happen if we didn't have to send our soldiers away, but kept them part of the civilian population while they carried out their duties remotely (this is already happening with the Predator drones, which I have read can be piloted from bases on American soil)? At what point does such asymmetric warfare cross the line to simple butchery?

And the book addresses and explores all of these concepts. Which would make an excellent essay. A novel needs characters and a story that draw you in, and I found Forever Peace to be very lacking in that department. Having read it two weeks ago, I can barely remember anything about the protagonist's personality, and the other characters left no impression on me whatsoever. The twist that leads to the happy ending promised by the title felt contrived and pat, rather than flowing naturally from the premise proposed by the story.

In short, I feel like Forever Peace took a perfectly excellent premise and a collection of very interesting ideas, and turned them into an utterly forgettable novel. Despite the Hugo award, I'm afraid I can't recommend this one.