Reading order · Science fiction
The Forever War Reading Order
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman has 2 main books (1974–1999), plus 1 novella or companion. Start with The Forever War (1974) and read the numbered books in order.
By Joe Haldeman
The Forever War books in order
Your reading speed
- 4 h 46 min
- 3 h 55 min
- 6 h 9 min
Main books together: 496 pages, about 8 h 41 min at 238 words per minute.
Page counts: median across editions on Open Library. Times assume about 250 words per page. How we calculate.
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The Forever War: common questions
- How many books are in the The Forever War series?
- There are 2 main books in The Forever War, plus 1 novella or companion book. The most recent main book listed here is Forever Free (1999).
- What order should I read The Forever War in?
- Read The Forever War in its numbered order: The Forever War, Forever Free.
- What is the first The Forever War book?
- The first book is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, published in 1974.
- How long does it take to read the whole The Forever War series?
- The 2 main books add up to about 496 pages (median edition lengths). At 238 words per minute that is about 8½ hours of reading, or about 18 days at 30 minutes a day.
- Do I need to read the The Forever War novellas?
- The 1 novella or companion book (Forever Peace) sit outside the main numbering. You can follow the main story without them; their numbers (like 0.5 or 2.5) show where they fit between the main books.