ok, i joined another book club and i was dreading this sci-fi title. even though i've recently discovered i like sci-fi, i assumed it was only the current stuff. this book was published in the '70s and i envisioned all the crap that hubby used to read (with sexual caricatures for women, and just plain boring details of futuristic machines)
anyhow, it was engrossing. it helped that the author's note made it clear he was writing through the prism of the Vietnam War (and that, because it was obvious, publishing houses wouldn't touch it) the novel spans centuries of warfare and the character progresses through the chain of command so there always something new to learn. there's space travel, and there's a future earth, and there is the senselessness of war. and somehow, there's also a happy ending. what more could you ask for?