I’ve missed out on most of Joe Haldeman’s career. I believe I read The Forever War a couple of decades ago, and I dismissed him as one of those gung-ho Viet Nam vet writers who writes SF novels as extended metaphors for the war.
More recently, I came across his superb novella, “The Hemingway Hoax”, which I believe was later published as a full-length novel. I’ve not read the longer version – it worries me. What could you possibly add to a perfect novella to turn it into a novel? Anyway, I realised belatedly that Haldeman was a more three-dimensional writer than I’d given him credit for. His style is fresh, natural, contemporary – you’d never believe he started his career in the 70s.
The Accidental Time Machine was published last year, and it’s a straightforward SF adventure with a simple premise. There’s very little toying with paradox and and brain-aching concepts, and it’s straight on with the story, a ripping yarn about a graduate student who builds a bit of lab equipment that doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do. Instead, it seems to be able to move forward in time. The twist is, it goes further forward by a factor of twelve each time it’s switched on.
Problem is, it has a tendency to move a little bit in space, too – which makes it the Maguffin – or the main driver of the plot.
Haldeman keeps the science plausibly in the background – though an author’s note at the end links it to recent scientific research. His hero is pleasantly hopeless – though smart enough to learn, and the future he encounters is intriguing. The book’s an effortless read, it’s not one of these 900-page epics with two sequels, so it’s well worth picking up.
There’s a taster for Haldeman’s latest, Marsbound, at the end, which is enough to make you want to read that one, too.
Recommended.
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