Old Twentieth

Haldeman is a man who usually writes military sci-fi... actually, his best works are all about the military. Now here is Old Twentieth, where he stirs in the flavors of military-SF, cyber-SF and historical fiction. Such a rich combination resulted in a multi-faceted portrayal of an immortal people disenfranchised with the modern state of affairs, who also look back at the twentieth century as a time of calm and peace. They escape to the twentieth century by way of a virtual reality machine in which they can interact with the environment and people for 12 hours at a time. Attention has been paid to the details of the times, so that the client can experience an authentic reality (sights, sounds and smells are all important). This form of escapism is addictive, it seems, so nearly everyone on the generation ship takes part in the vise. Further, the construction of the generation ships is a detailed report, adding crucial elements to an already explored area of sci-fi literature. Haldeman may actually trump is military-SF with this unsual mix of history, cyber-SF and military-SF.

Old Twentieth hearkens back to both The Forever War (with its action sequences and its scientifically accurate portrayal of travel over vast distances) and to Camouflage (with its pastiche of experiences over the twentieth century--from exhilarating to tragic, gory, and depressing). It also has a classic Haldeman undertone about the mankind's fascinations with death, sex, art, time, and duty. The science of both the starship and the virtual reality worlds are handled with firm assurance, the historical battle sequences are vivid and appropriately horrifying (especially when you remember that virtual reality clients have chosen to have these sometimes painful and morbid experiences) and the characters compelling and realistically complex. The suspense builds nicely and there are some twists and turns along the way. While some reviewers have complained about the ending, I found it somewhat less rushed and much more satisfying than the ending of The Coming and quite frankly one of the few possible endings that would have fit with the overall story arc (and, thus, not as big of a twist or surprise as some would have you believe). I have dealt with some similar themes in my own writing and I found the book both viscerally gripping and intellectually interesting, even though it depicts a somewhat bleak and depressing view of the future and mankind's essential nature. Highly recommended for thoughtful consumers of speculative fiction. Donald J. Bingle, Author of Forced Conversion, a military scifi novel that deals with the beginnings of mankind's embrace of virtual reality.

Joe Haldeman's Old Twentieth is set far in the future, when near-immortal citizens long for the days when bodies spontaneously healed and death was caused by disease and age. A virtual reality time machine can bring them in contact with the bygone world of their past - but when the time machine itself becomes sentient, it too is obsessed with humanity - and wants its engineer Jacob to debate life. An intriguing, engrossing story; hard to put down.

Joe Haldeman's latest novel is not "Alternative History", but if you're a fan of the genre, you will find "Old Twentieth" an interesting read. As usual, Haldeman sets himself a difficult talk by distilling an epic story into a single volume. Expansive in scope, but not in length, it exemplifies Haldeman's compact and efficient writing style. Haldeman takes us on a journey that explores the downsides of immortality as his characters deal with guilt and search for redemption. Humans who have cheated death and are haunted by a tragic past, seek resolution in virtual reality scenarios recreating 20th Century events where death was common. One of the most interesting of theses scenarios takes us from the far future back to the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. Haldeman gives the reader a sobering glimpse of the horrors of the 1918 pandemic which are only vaguely alluded to in current news stories discussing the possibility of a new pandemic looming on our horizon. Oddly, there are relatively FEW examples in literature that attempt to portray an event that killed over 500,000 Americans in a single year. Katherine Anne Porter's Pale Horse, Pale Rider is one of the only examples. This alone makes Haldeman's exposition an interesting read. Immortality, multiple scenarios of tragic history both past and future, space travel, self-conscious computers.... Only Haldeman would try to combine these wide ranging topics into a single story. As usual, it makes for an enjoyable read. Does the novel have rough edges? Of course it does. It's actually one of the interesting aspects of reading a Haldeman novel. Although there is a distinctive flavor to Haldeman's writing, he is not formulaic. He tinkers and experiments with new ideas and writing styles. In Old Twentieth, he plays with multiple writing styles which make the novel even more complex and a bit convoluted. For instance, the style and flow of the opening chapter struck me as odd, until I remembered Haldeman's unabashed love for Hemingway. Then, everything became clear. Haldeman is a product of his own wartime experiences in Vietnam, and this novel plays with themes seen in his other novels. Old Twentieth is an enjoyable novel that requires some mental gymnastics from the reader; exactly my reason for recommending it!

The Becker-Cendrek Process allowed man to achieve immortality. Death only came to those who suffered accidents or died while pregnant when the procedure is temporarily discontinued. Two hundred years after the Immortality War that killed all but 200 million immortals humanity decided to send five spaceships to an uninhabited earth like planet revolving around Beta Hydrii. The eight-hundred crewmembers were going to the planet and they passed much of their time in a virtual reality time machinelike machine. They visited places and events in the twentieth century, the last century when death was a foregone conclusion to life. Jacob Brewer, a virtual reality engineer (and part time cook) is studying the data stream for anachronisms when he notices there is no sense of smell in certain virtual reality years in New York City. When a woman dies in virtual reality, Jacob investigates the problem and meets the sentient avatar of the time machine. Now Jacob has to find out what it wants and what its agenda really is. One of Joe Haldeman's greatest gifts is his ability to always surprise the reader by taking the storyline in a completely unexpected direction. Readers realize the immortals have the same feelings, fears and beliefs as mortals and since the oldest is only a few centuries old ennui hasn't had a chance to settle in. Virtual reality takes on a whole different meaning in OLD TWENTIETH, a science fiction novel worthy of Hugo and Nebula nominations. Harriet Klausner