Starship Troopers

Rating:
Summary: Classic Military Sci Fi
Review: The book is about a juan who joins the mobile infantry and alienates himself from everything except the military. The insights into the militerized utopia brilliant. Too bad its name was trashed by a horrible movie bearing the same name. The book was anti climactic because it shows how incrediable horrible the war was. You want some sappy ending with him killing all the bugs and made a hero? if you do this is not a book for you. This is not so much a novel as a detailed account of a soldier in the future joining the army and learning about society and the military. The movie lost sight of this and thus everyone who souldnt read the book thought it was some action novel and read it. The movie was lacking in detail about the society, totally omitted all of the technology used by the MI they were taken from using energy weapons with powered sci fi armor to using unbelievably stupid rifles and latex vests and why did they use flashlights when going into a cave? we have night vision goggles NOW(why coudlnt they waste their time on another robo cop iswear his movies are made for 5 year olds) and lost sight of the mentality of the MI instead it took a classic philisophical sci fi and made it into a hollywood action pile of poooooo. A great book by one of the greatest sci fi writers ever

Rating:
Summary: that's the first time a movie is better than the book
Review: Watch the movie, it's much better

Rating:
Summary: Great action, great sci-fi, and interesting politics.
Review: Most people have now seen Starship Troopers, the movie, filled with tongue in cheek action scenes, charting the rise of Jonnie Rico through the ranks of the Mobile Infantry.

The book is so much more. It is strong on the military sci-fi elements, and gives a great run through boot camp and subsequent training. The description of the first drop on the Skinnies world is excellent, filled with well thought out technology and tactics.

But throughout the book Heinlein uses his story to question our assumptions about the way we look at politics, universal sufferage, corporal punishment etc. For instance, he points out that you cannot possibly have such a thing as a "juvenile delinquent" since delinquency requires a sense of duty, and the thing that divides juveniles from adults is the appreciation of duty. You can only be a delinquent once you accept your duty as an adult, and then fail to perform it.

The society on earth, ruled by "Citizens" who have the power to vote because they have demonstrated a concern for mankind above concern for the self is an interesting one. It smacks a bit of military dictatorship, except of course, the veterans can't vote while in uniform. The need to "Earn" the right to vote is not a bad concept.

Probably the most contraversial propositon is the use of corporal punishment to "Train" children and to punish adults. Heinlein becomes totally simplistic when he likens the training of children to that of puppies, but even here he makes us question current structures that are clearly not working.

This was much more than the Military Sci-Fi novel that I was expecting. It turned out to be a really good read, well worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Citizen Soldier
Review: I must agree with Robert Aarhus on his thought provoking statement in his review. The ideal of Honor is scoffed and laughed at by most of todays elitist society. Heinleins treatise put forth in this book is a view that should be pondered by anyone seeking insight into the problems that the U.S. faces. Love of country, and especially LOVE OF COUNTRYMEN was displayed with the highest honor by a diverse group of people on an airliner over Pennsylvania in September 2001. We can all take a lesson from that action. Honor, courage, and selflessness are key ingredients to strengthening this nation.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic in Military of the Future
Review: Juan "Johnnie" Rico is a young man who becomes a member of the Mobile Infantry, a part of the army in the not to distant future. This book should satisfy many different kinds of readers. It has the action one looks for in military classics. Beginning with an action packed battle against the "Skinnies" and ending with the "Bugs". For all those interested in the plausibility of the science, there are many things to ponder over, from the suits that make soldiers look like gorillas and are the equivalent of one armored tank, as well as the Karpolov drive which reminds one of the "hyper drive" of Star Trek. To me the area where the book really shines and is considered the most controversial are the philosophical aspects of the book. Understandably so, for most of it is spent talking about the ineffectiveness of governments of the past. It does help in understanding the political and Darwinian principles which it represents in their futuristic culture. I found it intriguing, but many would find preachy. Heinlein gets up on his soapbox, telling us how he feels the world should be run, what's wrong with the way we are running it, and why. Though the philosophical and political elements were enjoyable, and powerful, they lose base when Heinlein "proves" all of his theory and messages mathematically making all ethical and philosophical theory less effective.

Like many of his books including Citizen of the Galaxy Heinlein uses the protagonist's education to describe the structures of the society in this case militarily. In the society of the future everyone is a resident and doesn't become a citizen until they, both men and women serve in the army. Our protagonist is forced into the Infantry, for not being qualified for anything else. Much of the book deals with Juan's training which Heinlein has a sharpness and understanding of some one who has a clear vision of what the Infantry would be like. The battle themes are as realistic and believable as one can get for fights with aliens.

Many of themes in the book add a family sense to the story, but most are done in a way where they are picked up periodically and then brought up again fifty or so pages later, they work but not well. One theme that I found peculiar in the book was that the war being fought with the bugs relates to wars with communism and the continued struggle to destroy. The book is an amazing read which I thoroughly enjoyed, and would suggest to anyone interested in reading a book about political and military philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: Basic Training, Advanced Politics
Review: I've read Starship Troopers through at least three times now. Having gone through Army basic training, I can say Johnny Rico's experiences as a soldier are real enough. But this novel is much more than just basic-training-made-sci-fi. It is a study of social orders -- civilian vs. military, enlisted vs. officer. It is a study of human motivation in the struggles of man against himself, and man against an uncaring, unfeeling enemy. It describes the loss of good friends, the fear and fog of war, the "shakes" just before the fight and the long periods of self-doubt after. It also asks the fundamental questions: have we taken our freedom too lightly? Is citizenship without sacrifice a good thing? C.S. Lewis once said, "We laugh at honor, and are shocked to find traitors in our midst." In this post 9/11 world, these questions, and many others, are well worth pondering again. I've read no novel that asks them quite as bluntly, as effectively, or as entertainingly as Starship Troopers.

Rating:
Summary: Preconceptions galour
Review: Well, for starters, let me say that the reason this book got a mediocure score from me is that I, unfortunately, had a lot of preconceptions and misconceptions about this book when I first picked it up. You see, Starship Troopers is one of my all-time favorite movies and that sole reason is what gave me the determination to plow through this rather dense, at times, book. The book standing alone (without the hinderance and blessings of seeing the movie beforehand) would receive about a 2. It's really compelling at times (with its insightful views into moralities and political philosophies) and at other times down right dreadful. The scarce battles seem to be an afterthought, with not much care or effort put into them. The biggest bust is the very anti-climatic way the story is resolved. And then there's the nagging sensation you get whenever the author plows away on another seemingly irrelevant tangent, though, in fairness, it sheds some much needed light on the story in the end. All in all (as much as it hurts to say), the movie was much better (even though the book preceeded it). I never thought it possible that a movie based on a book could be better than the book itself, and in some ways it's not fair to say that it is because the movie couldn't exist without the book, right? Well, I now stand corrected and it can be done. If you liked the movie, you might just want to read this to compare and contrast, or if you're interested in political philosophies, but otherwise, steer clear of this one.

Rating:
Summary: Lighter than they say...
Review: I picked this book up having heard that the actors playing the space marines in "Aliens" (a film I enjoyed) were required to read it before filming. I also heard this book is supposed to be a scifi classic, so I just had to clean up any bad memories from that piece of trash of a movie under the same name, "Starship Troopers." I enjoyed the book, but I sorta' wished I had read it in highschool. By now, I have read far too many military history, operations, training, etc. stories, so the majority of this book came up a bit light for me. A lot of the book was devoted to the Mobile Infantry and general military training and lifestyle descriptions, and politics, which was fine, but I felt in the end that there needed to be more action and a greater climax to fill it out. I must agree though that some of the thoughts and viewpoints presented in the book are interesting considering it was originally published in 1959. Another good thing is that you won't get the movie poster on the cover, but a nice illustration instead ;). A quick read and definitely worth it if you're curious.

Rating:
Summary: Military Socialization
Review: A story covering Juan Rico from a socially active
but academically average high schooler to a Mobile
Infantry Platoon Leader. Throughout the book much
effort is made to justify this world's caste of
warrior-citizens - where only military service
justifies the right to vote and hold political
office - the reasoning being that only those who
demonstrate they have successfully served/defend
the political institutions have earned the right
to control it. This militaristic society is sort
of a futuristic Sparta. The two figures keep
reoccuring in the story - Mr. Dubois and Sargent Zim -
which act as philosophical-political catylst/anchors
that indoctornate Juan Rico into this
socio-political-military society mindset.
Much of the book is in the first person.
Rico is pretty self-centered and there isn't
much soul searching nor does Rico do any
detailed character analysis -- so the
characterization in this story is minimal.
One might say the story is "on the bounce."
This soldier's story lacks details ( as if
the details censored out by Military censors).
Some of the battle scene ( especially the last
scene for the brain bug ) was worded rather
awkwardly. Heinlein's portrayal of human reaction
in the heat of battle seems numbing, detached
and unreal, e.g. the reaction to a comrade literally
loosing his head. Luckily, the battle scenes are few.
Overall the book is not difficult reading.
A good portion and the best parts of the book covers
bootcamp and Rico's experience within this military
society which Heinlein gives a pragmatic and gritty
feel to. Heinlein story runs into trouble when
he attempts to pass off philosophical arguments
as scientifically based. Heinlein's society which
claims its philosophy and idealogy is based on
scientific inquiry doesn't appear to be based on
science at all - but rather the philosophy Heinlein
portrays seems more to be mimicking the ancient
dialogues of Socrates (Plato). In particular the
philosophically bludgeoning by Major Reid with
regard to the number of prisoners (or any acts of
hostilites) which would necessitate a war doesn't
reflect game theory or even pseudo science like
economics. Given the logic of Heinlein's society
- the correct answer is not that men aren't
potatoes - but that War is extension of political
survival and interest of the political-socio-economic-
military societies that wage those wars. Me thinks

that Heinlein has not read Clauswitz's treaties
on War.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Rarely can I say that a movie is better than the book that it is derived from; however, this was the case with Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers.

The book started off promising, detailing John Rico's struggles through boot camp and dabbling in the philosophy of citizenship. But from there on it only held my interest sporadically.

The remainer of the book is less a novel and more of detailed military description. The plot itself is meandering and often interupted by far too many details about the armed forces. Heinlein is no wordsmith. The actual battle scenes in the book are rather vague, generic, and stunted; the novel's action is like reading a comic book without the pictures. Other than Rico, Heinlein's characters lack emotion or depth. They are just cardboard-like figures that amount to no more than a motely association of names by the novel's conclusion. The novel ends with a rather anti-climatic battle scene just does not seem to really resolve much in the "Bug" war.

Overall, it seems like that purpose of the novel is for Heinlein to offer his skewed philosophy of citizenship. But ultimeatley, it is unclear whether he admires or condems the military, or what his greater purpose for the story was in the first place.

The novel, however, does have some promising parts which I believe were further elaborated on and better displayed in the movie of the same title. Whoever wrote that screen-play took this skeleton of a novel and turned it into a descent film with more action and character analysis, and less military jargon. I'd recomending watching the movie and skipping the book.