I'll keep this one short because most of it's been said in other reviews. I'm a *big* Haldeman fan and until now thought he could do no wrong. But _Forever Peace_ was a real let-down -- throughout the book it seemed that Haldeman was consciously trying to evoke the writing elements for which he's known without becoming *too* derivative of his past work. The result is tepid prose and a generally unappealing book -- annoying characters, laughable plot, weak science, useless and predictable "action" sequences. (And WHAT is with that ending?)
I did thoroughly enjoy _1968_ (a newish non-SF Haldeman novel) -- it's apparent that he still knows how to write a compelling story. I got the feeling Mr. Haldeman was writing _FP_ under contract, or simply to get *something* out there without having to put too much thought into it.
If this were my first Haldeman novel I doubt I'd pick up another one -- I've read better by less established authors. Granted, it probably isn't fair to compare this too strongly to his earlier work, but I *did* buy it simply because of the author's name on the cover.