Rating: 
Summary: Not a perfect book, but highly interesting nonetheless!
Review: I never really got to like Johnny Rico very much, but his story is certainly an interesting one. The constant flashbacks from his days as a fighting M.I. trooper to his high school memories to his boot-camp training days keep this novel moving at a fast pace. Johnny always seems to be at the low end of the totem pole, just barely surviving to advance to the next level. But he's still a bit smug at times, and I just never felt much sympathy for him. And while I don't necessarily disagree with Heinlein's political views, I got tired of his trying to bring in every single geographical group of people on the planet into the military. It smacked of those modern, politically correct Saturday morning cartoons, where every little group of kids has a representative of every race & religion among them. In the same fashion, Johnny's unit is made up of people from every single country on the planet. It just seems too contrived to be real.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't try this at home
Review: It's hard to believe that some readers draw inspiration from this book. To be sure, it presents interesting philosophical arguments, but the conclusion leaves little room for hope -- life is all about war and war is inevitable. The most you can hope for is to stay a step ahead of the other species trying to conquer the universe...for a while at least. But it isn't so much the philosophy I take issue with (I don't buy the argument but I'm not sure that Heinlein believed it himself, and I don't judge the quality of a novel by its philosophy). My issue is primarily with the fact that the book does not explore the ramifications of such a world-view and such a society. The hero, Juan Rico, whom we follow from his ad-hoc decision to join the army to his thorough indoctination into the Mobile Infantry as an officer, never has to grapple with the brutality of war, the deaths of his comrades, and relatives, the seemingly endless and pointless blodbath in which he participates every day. His psyche is never damaged, he never questions his sanity, he never has a serious problem with the notion that to prove his "manhood" he must kill others. And, conveniently, the enemy he fights is so (litarally) inhuman that he never has to face the horror of knowing himself to have destroyed others' lives and societies. This book is pro-war propaganda which fails to propose any real alternatives to a life of fighting, and does not dwell on the implications of its choices to deeply. Just sing to the glory of the infantry, and everything will be fine.
Rating:
Summary: Much ado about not that much
Review: Sorry, folks, but I didn't find this thing either the work of genius some would have you think, nor the abomination others decry. It basically reads like a recruitment guide for the military. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but if you buy it looking for action you will be sorely disappointed; it begins with action, and there is some action later, but not very much. Seventy-five percent of it is the author's political and/or moral philosophy, as rendered by various teachers, military officers, and the narrator.
Rating: 
Summary: Fire the moron is who wrote the Amazon review of this book!
Review: How dare this person presume to decide for us what should or should not be used by the reader as a political manifesto !!!The reviewer's arrogance is typical of socialist "thought police" who propagate, and try to enforce, "political correctness"!!!
Rating:
Summary: Much better than the movie. Great book about citizenship.
Review: I had to read this book for a class, and I am glad that I did. It's main theme is citizenship, and it illustrates how one boy grows to become a man and a citizen. The transition is smooth and very interesting. It could be difficult if you aren't into science fiction or technology.
Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the movie, read the book!
Review: Contrary to what the movie displayed, the book is a much more human and intelligent look at an interstellar war in the future. The powered suits(not shown in the movie) are a possible direction of future warfare. This book was originally intended to be a juvinile novel, but possibly due to it's graphic nature was published as an adult.
Rating:
Summary: If you loved the movie, dont read this book.
Review: Any responsible moviemaker was obviously at least a thousand miles away when the film adaptation of this great book was made. It makes me sick anytime a work of substance such as this is mutilated by hollywood and fed into the meatgrinder of hacks that turn literature into sausage for public consumption. Enough about the movie though. I love this book. The ideas and philosophies of Heinlien are sometimes right winged but always pragmatic. His style is crisp and efficient. This book will make you think about things a little differently and hopefully appreciate the freedom we all share a little more.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I am sick and tired of reading about reviews that say Starship Troopers is a horrible book because of its lack of action. The book was not written for action; the movie was written for action, and the movie sucked. It wasn't true to the story. Let's get one thing straight: the movie was not the book. There are too many differences to point out. In fact, the differences would probably run for as many pages as the book did. A few of the many differences, just to show you how different: the M.I. have power suits similar to those used by the Marines in Starcraft, and Dizzy Flores was a guy who didn't even rate more than a couple of sentences in the first chapter (and one in a later chapter). For all the people out there who read books just for the action, you must not have gotten past the Hardy Boys. Starship Troopers is meant to be a THINKING MAN's book, not a war monger's. I highly suggest that you do one of two things: read it again and this time pay attention to what Heinlein is saying about morality, about how one needs to serve the state in order to be served (citizenship in the book), or you can give this book to someone with at least twice your IQ. I do agree with two criticisms, though (they both seemed thoughtful and insightful compared to the one about the lack of action). They were the one-sidedness of the characters and the effectiveness of representing the Bugs. The Bugs in the movie seemed far closer to what Heinlein had wanted: a race of insects bowing to a collective intelligence. They were also much more scary in the movie. The characters' dialogue seemed plastic, especially the short conversation between Carl, Juan and Carmen when Carmen announces she's joining up. Same thing with the argument betweem Rico and his father ("Golly, father..."? You've got to be kidding me!). Johnny's thoughts by themselves, though, was believable. The long speeches about the morality and honor of being a soldier was the final element that convinced me to join up.
Rating:
Summary: Bo-rrrrrring. Like watching paint dry.
Review: It wasn't until I was nearly finished with "Starship Troopers" that I realised Johnny Rico was never going to develop into a multi-dimensional character. I kept expecting some twist to jolt the main man from his zombie-like state of good soldiery, his gradual indoctrination into the ruling military class being more a series of realisations and explanations than the spiritual battles of someone seeking some great, elusive Truth.
And I still can't believe how many people actually agree with the notion that military service should be mandatory for the right to vote. Two words people: Arrested Development.
It's not that I am uncomfortable with the (abhorrent) philosophy presented to the reader, thought provocation is a requirement of good literature. But nothing else seems to happen! I kept expecting the main character to eventually want something or someone. Alas, the only meaningful existence in Heinlein's book was being a good fighting man.
I am usually against extensive rewriting when books are made into movies, but the movie was much better in this case. Starship Troopers reads like a manual for developing quality military personnel, a good manual at that. But I had turned to this book for a decent plot with interesting characters; if I want a manual I'll pick up a Unix book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Sci-fi book with insight as to why we fight.
Review: This great book was done a great injustice in a "B" movie. The movie director should be publically flogged for insulting this work. A well thought out and thought provoking look at the professional military man and the morality and philosophy of war. Not obsessed with action and gore like the movie portrays, this is a serious hard look at our society and virtues that are often sneered at by an ignorant public. Very enjoyable as a military sci-fi gendre. What one would expect from an author with the vision and intellect that Heinlein possesed.
|
