The Forever War

Private William Mandella is a reluctant hero, drafted into an elite military unit to fight in a distant interstellar war against an unknowable and unconquerable alien enemy. Mandella will perform his duties and, as he survives, rise through the ranks, but his greatest test will come when he returns to Earth. Because of the effects of relativity, every time he comes home afte...

Private William Mandella is a reluctant hero, drafted into an elite military unit to fight in a distant interstellar war against an unknowable and unconquerable alien enemy. Mandella will perform his duties and, as he survives, rise through the ranks, but his greatest test will come when he returns to Earth. Because of the effects of relativity, every time he comes home after a few months’ tour of duty, centuries have gone by on Earth, making him and his fellows ever more isolated from the world for whose future they are fighting.

乔·霍尔德曼：出生于1943年，曾获激光物理学学士和天文学学士学位，1970年开始写作，1983年开始在麻省理工学院做兼职教授。

乔·霍尔德曼的作品数量不多，是一位以质取胜的作家，代表作《千年战争》及后续作品《千年和平》被誉为“最值得回味的战争小说”。其中《千年战争》获得了“星云奖”和“雨果奖”双重大奖；《千年和平》则获得了“雨果奖”。

乔·霍尔德曼曾参与了越南战争，并获得紫心勋章，《千年战士》的创作可以看作是他对战争的真实体验与反思。