Book Description

Private William Mandella is a hero in spite of himself -- a reluctant conscript drafted into an elite military unit, and propelled through space and time to fight in a distant thousand-year conflict. He never wanted to go to war, but the leaders on Earth have drawn a line in the interstellar sand -- despite the fact that their fierce alien enemy is unknowable, unconquerable, and very far away. So Mandella will perform his duties without rancor and even rise up through the military's ranks . . . if he survives. But the true test of his mettle will come when he returns to Earth. Because of the time dilation caused by space travel the loyal soldier is aging months, while his home planet is aging centuries -- and the difference will prove the saying: you never can go home. . .

Shipped this today to HughYeman in exchange for postage.

Thanks to efs300 for sending me this book. This now has a place of prominence on Mount ToBeRead.

This is an excellent, engaging book. I found the action to be thrilling and believable while at the same time abhoring the stupid war into which the protagonist was thrust. Wry, smart, and poignant.

This arrived Thanksgiving week and got buried under other stuff. I came across it again this morning and look forward to reading it. It's been on my wishlist at Amazon for years, but I recently read a review of it that raised it up to a higher priority, so I arranged a trade with HughYeman for it and Ringworld's Children.

Thanks!

Sent out in response to a request via PaperBackSwap.com.