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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Controversy and illusion, June 16, 2007
This review is from: Starship Troopers (Paperback)
I first encountered this story in October of 1959, when the first part of a two-part serial entitled _Starship Soldier_ appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I had just turned nine, so I didn't understand what I was reading all that well -- but I really liked the cover art for the second installment, in December, which was a stunning scene of the Mobile Infantry in combat, done by Emshwiller. My main memory of it at the time was that my father didn't think I could understand what I was reading; he asked me if I could explain "genetic impoverishment" (I couldn't). I'm not going to give a neat plot synopsis here; most of the other reviews have that. In the nearly 48 years since then, I have re-read this book more times than any other of my favorites. I don't know why this is, and it would probably be pointless to speculate on it. The point here is that I have come to see things about this story that others might miss. This book represents a major watershed in Heinlein's career. _ST_ was his last juvenile novel, and it marks the beginning of Heinlein being a controversial figure. This book is one of the greatest bones of contention in the history of science fiction, with people arguing mightily (and seemingly endlessly) over it, dividing themselves neatly on opposite sides of the right-left faultline. Many opinions have been given on it, almost all of them quite worthless, a point which applies to those approving of the book as well as those disapproving of it. This is one of Heinlein's strangest books, and one of his most convoluted. One has to read it closely (or many times, anyway) to really take note of it. The story is told from the first person point of view, a point which starts to take on significance when the reader realizes that there are entirely too many casual references to drugs and hypnosis through the text, starting with the very first paragraph. One might consider also that nowhere else in the body of Heinlein's work does he describe a society like that of _ST_ (a limited franchise democracy, with a decidedly right-wing, law-and-order ambience, complete with floggings and hangings). If he really were advocating this, one would expect to see this type of society depicted in many of his novels -- but it isn't. This is the only one. And, of course, it's well-known that the opinions that authors put in the mouths of their characters are not necessarily the opinions of the authors. The opinions of Johnnie Rico's mentors and authority figures are not, I think, identical with those of Heinlein himself -- but that's sort of hard to tell, because Heinlein always maintained a closed front to the world, only displaying the sides of himself that he wanted to. The one other thing I want to say about this book is the fact that you can keep on finding things in it that you hadn't previously noticed, even after many readings (that's also true of much of his other work). I noticed a new thing just a few months ago; this has to do with Heinlein's technique of showing rather than describing, and it makes for the sort of book you can read more than once. I won't go on about that; you can look for yourself, and maybe you'll find things that I've missed. _Starship Troopers_, is one of the absolutely essential works that someone interested in Heinlein should read. The corollary to that is that, in order to have a valid opinion on Heinlein and his work, one needs to read more of his work than one book, or even half a dozen; depending on which ones one reads, that number would be around fifteen or twenty. This book, of course, works on a number of levels. Whatever level you want to approach it on, I highly recommend it -- just don't stop here, because all of Heinlein's work deserves attention.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paying for the Right to Vote, July 22, 2008
This review is from: Starship Troopers (Paperback)
When Heinlein first penned this work in response to a call by some politicians to unilaterally disarm the United States, I doubt if he thought it would become one of his best known and most controversial works, a work which continues to have steady sales and whose influence on the science-fiction field has been enormous. It's a simple story, one of the growth of Juan Rico from boy to man, as he enlists in the military of the future, and learns just what duty and responsibility mean, what his own capabilities are, and just what he wants out of life. What is controversial about this book is the philosophy that suffuses it, is in fact the heart of this book, as Heinlein posits a future where, in order to vote or hold political office, you must prove your willingness to support and defend the society through either military service or service in one of the non-combatant auxiliary services. As part and parcel of this idea, no one can be refused entry into these services, even if blind or paralyzed, so political franchise is available to anyone who so desires (as opposed to some of the limitations that have been put on the voting franchise by various states at various times - and remember that this book was written in 1959, long before the Voting Rights Act of 1965). Heinlein further posits that such a society, even though the people who hold office were no better, smarter, or otherwise more qualified than our current leaders, would be a more stable society than our current one because their authority is balanced by their proven sense of responsibility and duty towards that society, a point that is certainly debatable, but in the absence of any real-world society so structured, must remain a conjecture. Right alongside this idea are statements that rights must be earned (a critical failure of our current society is the inculcated belief that people have these rights just because they exist - that they are `owed' things without having to make any effort of their own), that correct moral attitudes are not inherent but must be taught (and a lack of corporal punishment in the early developing years does not help in this education), that war is a political statement whose level of violence must be geared towards what the political goal is, that the dictum that `violence never solves anything' is hogwash, that communism is based on faulty premises, and a whole host of other such ideas. Now quite a few people have labeled this book as `fascist' because of this military service requirement, when it is no such thing (just look up the definition of fascist). Heinlein does glorify the military to some degree, but he also shows (often by counter-example) just how screwed up the military can be. And far from robotic adherence to commands, he clearly indicates that military people should question orders they think are suspect (at the right time and place - not while the bullets are whizzing over your head). There is a well-established court system, that like ours is pretty much insulated from political influence, and a political election process that is far away from any fascist government organization. His depiction of boot camp and later military operations is excellent, comparable to similar descriptions in things like Leon Uris' Battle Cry. Rico is very well portrayed, a man that is very easy to empathize with and understand his thought processes. The plot seems to ramble a bit, as the story is not really about the Bug war, but about Rico's development. Once you understand this, it is very logical, coherent, and often exciting. The philosophy is presented with anecdotes, analogies, and concrete examples that make it easy to understand and far from being just `dry lecture', though perhaps that is the only real flaw with this book, as there is perhaps just too much of this `telling', rather than `showing'. But in general this is extremely readable, with Heinlein's typical unforced, near-folksy prose and clear thought processes. This book has been, at various times, on the recommended reading list of all of our military service academies. I would go further, and recommend that this book be added to the list of `required reading' that our high school students are subject to. Whether you agree with ideas of this book or not, at the very least this book will make you think, and that's not a bad thing for students to learn how to do. --Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing book, but don't expect lots of battle scenes, August 12, 2006
This review is from: Starship Troopers (Paperback)
...because there aren't. This book has very little to do with the movie of the same name, other than some of the characters have the same name (but completely different personalities, not to mention different races), and the overall idea of fighting against an alien race known as the bugs. This book is more about philosophy, why do we fight, why a volunteer army is important, and morality. Heinlein is one of the few people to admit that our Justice system is based on the principle of people wanting vengeance against criminals who have caused pain and harm to innocents. I believe he sums this up very in one particular line which states, "While a Judge's purpose is benevolent in nature, his rewards are supposed to make the criminal suffer". It also points out the failures in our modern society. In our society, people are punished more harshly than murderers sometimes. Disgusting. Anyway, like I said, there aren't too many battles, but the few ones there are, are pretty cool. I find myself re-reading those parts because Heinlein also gets into the idea of fighting an enemy who won't roll over and die just because you throw a million nukes at their planet. Not gona work on the bugs pal. The technology they use is also really cool, the power armor in particular. Bottom line, read this book.
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