Joe Haldeman

Joe Haldeman burst onto the science fiction scene with his novel The Forever War in 1974. The story blends imaginative hard science fiction with a heartfelt examination of the impact of war and homecoming on the combatants.

He himself served as a combat engineer in Vietnam, and his experiences there clearly influence the topics and themes explored in his writing. The Forever War won Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel, and is the first of a series that continues with Forever Peace (1997)—which is only thematically linked—and Forever Free (1999), a direct sequel.

His other major series, Worlds (1981), Worlds Apart (1983) and Worlds Enough and Time (1992) presents a human society that has been fractured by nuclear holocaust and now lives in multiple space habitats. Haldeman frequently turns to themes of time travel, as with The Hemingway Hoax (1990) and Old Twentieth (2005), and immortality, as with Buying Time (1980) and Camouflage (2004). Both are methods of propelling his protagonists into the future. Camouflage won a James Tiptree Jr. Award as well as a Nebula Award.

Additionally, Haldeman has written numerous award-winning stories, including “Tricentennial” (1977), “Graves” (1993), and “None So Blind” (1995). He wrote two of the earliest Star Trek tie-in novels as well as the screenplay for the low-budget science fiction film, Robot Jox (1990). In 2010 he received the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America.

Induction Year: 2012

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Forever War (1974)
Worlds (1981)
Worlds Apart (1983)
Worlds Enough and Time (1992)
Forever Peace (1997)
Forever Free (1999)