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Joe Haldeman is a prolific sci-fi writer who has won numerous awards for his work. His most significant novel is The Forever War which also had two follow on novels. His trilogy has recently been released in comic book form and I spoke to him about his time in Vietnam and about his writing.
1:13 – Joe talks about why he writes sci-fi and what he enjoyed in sci-fi.
1:57 – Joe talks about how Vietnam inspired Forever War.
4:00 – Joe was told he could choose a job when he was drafted but instead they made him a combat engineer-Pioneer. He cleared paths for troops.
8:00 – Joe talks about how Vietnam affected how he wrote about character interactions in the Forever War.
10:24 – Joe talks about the sexuality of the novel and mentions a gay couple he knew in Vietnam, two medics who shared a tent.
13:47 – Joe talks about the serious wound he received in Vietnam and the hospitals he went to in Vietnam. He ended up in charge of the library and the game room.
18:16 – Joe was in Vietnam from February 1968 to February 1969 and was in the Central Highlands in places like Pleiku. His unit moved around in helicopters but they used trucks to move their whole base about three times.
20:13 – Joe talks about booby traps used in Vietnam.
21:36 – Joe talks about the wound he received. He talks about what he did while recovering.
31:57 – Joe doesn’t want people to feel pro-war feelings when they read Forever War.
35:06 – He and his wife went to Mexico after the war.
44:00 – Joe and his wife started the ICON convention 43 years ago and still attend.
45:40 – Sci-fi convention and writing has made Joe more of a public speaker.
51:06 – A lot of magazines used to fill their pages with stories that were made to order.
54:04 – Joe loves reading about new solar systems and planets.
58:04 – Joe talks about how he felt when the US landed on the moon. He was in mexico at the time.
For more of “The Art and Design of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Mystery and Horror” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi
Guests: Joe Haldeman
Host: Cris Alvarez
Tags: science fiction, writer, novelist, Forever war, sci-fi, war, vietnam, wounds
