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I recently read the latest Sword and Laser pick: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. The main character, William Mandella is part of an elite group of an elite group of soldiers that are sent into war again an alien race called the Taurans. The story starts when he’s about to go into training and ends after the end of the war.

This book was written back in 1974. There are parallels between the war in the book and the Vietnam War. I can see the statement that he’s trying, but I think all of that would’ve had a bigger impact on me if I read it when I was a little more politically frustrated.

I like that these old school scifi books take time dilation into account. Since people are out in space traveling at or near the speed of light, they experience time differently than the people on Earth. It has something to do with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Over the course of the book, the main character ages only a few years, but over 1100 years pass by on Earth. You get glimpses into society on future Earth. Crime gets worse. There’s big time inflation and calories become the only currency on the planet. I think that changes later, but I’m not sure. At one point, almost everyone is gay and straight people are seen as deviants. The government encourages this to keep the population in control. Only when someone dies is another person created in a test tube. Most of the soldiers that survive the military campaigns don’t want to go back home because everything has changed so much. Very interesting.

Anyway, it’s a great book and I recommend giving it a read. Is there any point in keeping a list anymore since I haven’t really been following?

• Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
• Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged
• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• On Bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt
• On Truth, Harry G. Frankfurt
• The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
• Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, Stanislaw Lem
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Inside Straight, George R.R. Martin
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• Unholy Domain, Dan Ronco
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• A Memory of Light: The Gathering Storm, Brandon Sanderson
• Flashfoward, Robert J. Sawyer
• The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare

Pearl Jam is releasing their new album called Backspacer on September 20 (a Sunday), which is less than 2 weeks away. Of course I’m excited!!! The video for the first single, “The Fixer”, has been on iTunes and Youtube for a couple of weeks now and I can’t stop listening to it.

Earlier this year they were saying this album could end up sounding a lot different than their other ones. Judging by the few songs I’ve heard so far, that could be true. Eddie’s experience with making the Into the Wild soundtrack may have had a little influence on the way it sounds. They made it sound like the lyrics on this album were more straightforward, without all the multiple meanings. I like that. Simplicity can be good.

Take a look at the video. They’re getting so old now :).

Just testing out the WordPress app for the iPhone. Pretty neat.