All My Sins Remembered (1977)

I finished late last night. Fought through the sleepies to finish. I don't know why a book that short seemed to take that long, but I guess it really wasn't. Was more like a long week...

But anyway, I liked it. Not near as much as [b:The Forever War|21611|The Forever War|Joe Haldeman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167322714s/21611.jpg|423], or even quite as much as [b:The Accidental Time Machine|21608|The Accidental Time Machine|Joe Haldeman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167322712s/21608.jpg|22743], the previous Haldeman books I've read.

I liked the concept of this one, and for the most part the execution. But by the end of it I was ready to move on to something else. ( )

Interesting story about a deep-cover government operative who uses hypnosis and advanced plastic surgery to literally become some one else in order to complete his missions. He spends the time between each mission in "conversation" with a psychiatrist while completely unconscious, so each mission can be seen as a sort of reincarnation for Otto.

All throughout the story is a kind of allegory that what he does is an earthly replication of Buddhist reincarnation (the character mentions that he is/was a Buddhist), however with each new "life", he commits more and more sins (government sanctioned as they may be) which leads to chaos and the climax of the story.

Ultimately, it's an interesting concept that fuels an interesting story. The four missions that we witness through Otto's varying eyes are diverse and interesting enough, though I felt that some of the missions hinted at through the conversations with the psychiatrist could've been more interesting.

If it were any longer (it was 176 pages in my edition), it would have long overstayed its welcome, but as it's a bite-size snack for a few hours reading, it's entertaining enough. ( )

From human contact they absorbed a quirky and usually harmless assortment of ideas and things. They wore junk and jewelry. Hated Kept gerbils as pest. human music but collected recordings of city noises. Loved Hilbert, hated Euclid. Kept gerbils as pets; prized caterpillar hors d'ouvres. Did crossword puzzles without looking at the definitions.
I am the Resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, shall live . . .
Were suckers for a resurrection myth.

There were some very interesting alien species in this tale of a Confederacion spy who took on the appearance, personality and memories of other people in order to infiltrate situations where it was suspected that the rights of aliens or humans were being violated. Enjoyable science fiction with a conflicted hero. ( )

Essentially a set of previously extant stories brought together by a post hoc linking narration.

The linking narration was interesting, and one wishes more time had been spent on it. The majority, however, was made up of the earlier stories, which failed to hold my interest as much. ( )

What happens when the government machine decides a man would make a good assassin, even if he is a self-professed pacifist? Haldeman's experience in the Vietnam War colors this novel with his anti-government attitude as much as it does "[b:The Forever War|21611|The Forever War|Joe Haldeman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167322714s/21611.jpg|423]". Set in the far future, man has spread out to diverse worlds & colonized them, no matter what the natives may think. It's a great action story as well as a condemnation of our foreign policy. ( )