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Starship Troopers

Robert A. Heinlein

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 198,959 ratings · 5,829 reviews

The historians can’t seem to settle whether to call this one "The Third Space War" (or the fourth), or whether "The First Interstellar War" fits it better. We just call it “The Bug War." Everything up to then and still later were "incidents," "patrols," or "police actions." However, you are just as dead if you buy the farm in an "incident" as you are if you buy it in a dec ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 208 pages

Published May 15th 1987 by Ace Book (first published December 1959)

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Nov 24, 2008 Manny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, if-research-were-romance

My first impulse is to dismiss it as an appalling piece of militaristic propaganda, whose one saving grace is that it's at least much better than the movie. But that wouldn't be doing the book justice. With all its faults, I simply loved it as a 14 year old, and I'm in no way alone there. Why is it so fascinating?

Let me start by dismissing a couple of possible theories. One reviewer wonders if it's deadpan satire. I suppose, when you see some of Heinlein's later books (Stranger in a Strange Land ...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Lyn rated it really liked it

A great work of science fiction.

This is not at all about action, and fighting bugs, it is a study of a man’s compulsion to fight and or serve his country, and a discussion about our society’s, and any society’s responsibility to its citizens and what is best for society. Like many Heinlein novels, it works well on many levels, the surface science fiction, and then the deeper, more complicated voice of the storyteller, speaking from his own experience.

This is a controversial book. Criticized for A great work of science fiction.

This is not at all about action, and fighting bugs, it is a study of a man’s compulsion to fight and or serve his country, and a discussion about our society’s, and any society’s responsibility to its citizens and what is best for society. Like many Heinlein novels, it works well on many levels, the surface science fiction, and then the deeper, more complicated voice of the storyteller, speaking from his own experience.

This is a controversial book. Criticized for espousing a militaristic, maybe fascist ideal, Heinlein was also criticized from the other side for his own lack of combat experience. This book inspires strong emotions.

At the end of the day, it was a fine book, another excellent, genre transcending work from Heinlein.

*** 2020 reread - Starship Troopers came out in 1959, a departure from his juveniles published by Scribners’. This is more mature and his ideological and social commentary is more advanced.

A modern reader will find some somewhat dated action sequences as our heroes fight first alien “skinnies” and then the main antagonist bugs. The most important thing going on between the covers, though, is Heinlein’s description of a society that rose from the ashes of the “noble experiment” of democracy.

In Heinlein’s world building, western civilization had collapsed sometime in the late twentieth century after a fight between the Soviet state, the United States and China. What survived was a culture raised up by the veterans of those wars and built on the foundations of military thought and organization. Only a veteran can be a full citizen who can vote and have other rights. There appears to be limits on free speech and due process, and a relaxation of the eighth amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Residents are not required to serve, and in ironic twists are even discouraged from enlisting, but they can never be a true citizen of the state without veteran status.

Marvel introduced Iron Man in the 1963 edition of Tales of Suspense. The armored suits the mobile infantry wear to battle may have been an inspiration for Stan Lee and associates when they envisioned the Iron Man suit.

Good fun and also thought provoking.

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Mar 08, 2013 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it it was ok

Shelves: science-fiction, stole-from-dad, dated-social-attitudes, not-my-cuppa-tea, military

I first read Starship Troopers as an impressionable teenager. My dad had a lot of SF books around the house, particularly Heinlein's, and I read most of them, except the especially sexy ones that he hid from me. (I read several of them later and hated them. But that's a different story.) And I have vague memories of liking this book - a lot.

So when I decided to reread it as an adult, I was expecting some old-fashioned shoot-up-the-aliens classic pulp SF, like, say, The Puppet Masters.

What I go ...more

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Jul 16, 2016 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, united-states, classics, science, 20th-century

Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein

The story is set in a future society ruled by a world government dominated by a military elite. The first-person narrative follows Juan "Johnny" Rico through his military service in the Mobile Infantry.

Rico progresses from recruit to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between humans and an alien species known as "Arachnids" or "Bugs".

Interspersed with the primary plot are classroom scenes in which Rico and others discuss philosophical and m Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein

The story is set in a future society ruled by a world government dominated by a military elite. The first-person narrative follows Juan "Johnny" Rico through his military service in the Mobile Infantry.

Rico progresses from recruit to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between humans and an alien species known as "Arachnids" or "Bugs".

Interspersed with the primary plot are classroom scenes in which Rico and others discuss philosophical and moral issues, including aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, and war; these discussions have been described as expounding Heinlein's own political views.

Starship Troopers has been identified with a tradition of militarism in U.S. science fiction, and draws parallels between the conflict between humans and the Bugs, and the Cold War.

A coming-of-age novel, Starship Troopers also critiques U.S. society of the 1950s, argues that a lack of discipline had led to a moral decline, and advocates corporal and capital punishment. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز شانزدهم ماه ژوئیه سال 1998میلادی

عنوان: جنگاوران اختر ناو؛ رابرت انسن هاین لاین؛ مترجم: پیمان اسماعیلیان خامنه؛ تهران، نشر گل آرا؛ 1376؛ در 272ص؛ شابک 9649080406؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، نشر قطره، 1392، در 399ص؛ شابک 9786001191732؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20 م

جنگاوران اختر ناو، یا «سربازان کشتی فضایی»؛ رمانی خیال انگیز، اثر: «رابرت آنسون هاین‌ لاین»، است؛ این رمان نخستین بار در ماههای اکتبر و نوامبر سال 1959میلادی، با نام «سربازان کشتی فضایی»، به فرم خلاصه، در مجله‌ ای فانتزی، و علمی تخیلی، منتشر شد، و سپس در ماه دسامبر سال 1959میلادی، به صورت کتاب به چاپ رسید

این داستان روایتی اول شخص، در مورد یک سرباز جوان از «فیلیپین»، به نام «جانی خوان ریکو»، سوء استفاده از جنگ‌افزارهای پیشرفته، و مربوط به آینده، و روش‌های جنگی نوین است؛ قسمت‌های هیجان انگیز داستان، هنگام جنگ‌های بین ستاره‌ ای، و با استخدام «ریکو»، به عنوان سرباز، شکل می‌گیرند؛ جریان جنگ او و همراهانش، با مردمان فضایی عنکبوت گونه‌ ای، سبب رخدادهای داستان می‌شوند؛ از دیگر جنبه‌ ها، مسائل مربوط به شخصیت‌های داستان، در زمینه‌ های اخلاقی، فلسفی، حق رای عمومی، فضیلت مدنی، بزهکاری نوجوانان، مجازات اعدام، و جنگ هستند

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 08/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

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Apr 18, 2008 Paul Dura rated it really liked it

Starship Troopers is listed amongst the recommended books by the United States Air Force for a reason. For those who plan on pursuing a military career, this book exhibits the very ideals upon which our current military standards are based. Camaraderie, Sacrifice, and Responsibility are more than mere words to the protagonist. The distinction between a fighting man and a soldier is made. The distinction between a superior rank and a true officer is made. Johnny Rico is a soldier in more than mer ...more

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Nov 04, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, military-science-fiction

I enjoyed this book greatly. While I certainly can't be said to agree with Heinlein on every aspect of life, politics, or theology...I do appreciate where he's coming from in this book. (Remember it's a 1959 book, before the idiotic handling of Vietnam became apparent). There are thought provoking ideas in this book even if it is considered a YA book. Agree or disagree, it's a good read.

By the way, I must say this. It's often (actually more often than not) true that a movie doesn't live up to t I enjoyed this book greatly. While I certainly can't be said to agree with Heinlein on every aspect of life, politics, or theology...I do appreciate where he's coming from in this book. (Remember it's a 1959 book, before the idiotic handling of Vietnam became apparent). There are thought provoking ideas in this book even if it is considered a YA book. Agree or disagree, it's a good read.

By the way, I must say this. It's often (actually more often than not) true that a movie doesn't live up to the book. In this case that would be like saying the Atlantic Ocean isn't exactly like Death Valley. If your only experience with Starship Troopers is the movie of that name, then you don't know anything about this book excepting the names of a few characters. The characters in the movie don't resemble the characters in the book. The universe and governmental structure in the movie doesn't resemble that of the book. The main science fiction "hook" of the book isn't even present in the movie.

When you saw the movie some of you may have noticed a flaw in the soundtrack, a "whirring noise". That was Robert A. Heinlein spinning in his grave at high speed. The movie by the same name as this book is so spectacularly bad (compared to the book) I sometimes wonder if wasn't an intentional "hit piece". So...see the movie if you will, but PLEASE, don't confuse it with or miss the book. The book is more or less a YA book(then called a "teen book"), an easy and quick read...and FAR FAR superior to the travesty of movie by the same name.

By the way, my late wife summed up a lot about the movie when she observed it should have been called,"Bug Blasters".

********************* Update ******************

They have been playing this thing (the movie by the same name as this book)on several TV channels lately AD NAUSEAM...it seems to be on almost every time I check the listings on the idiot box. So since there seems to be a new push to legitimize this grotesque cinematographic attempt at "science fiction" I'm forced to revisit my review here. Yes this is a YA or as it was called at the time a "teen" book...but it's a good one. Let me emphasize again, the movie doesn't even resemble the book except in that the "enemy" vaguely resembles the one in the book (the movie uses 6 legged "insect" type life forms the book refers to them as "arachnids" giant spider life forms) and they use some of the same character names. But the world the novel takes place in, the actual characters, the nature of the government, the way the military works...it's all different, they even get the heart of the actual story wrong. For that matter the relatively minor "romance" angle is (as portrayed in the movie)silly and will mislead. The story in the book is more peripheral and is more to give insight into the world/cosmos than to be a love story. This movie is terrible, please don't confuse it with the book. This is one of those movies that "ticks me off" in that I liked the book and this thing takes the book's title and gives us a perversion of that story.

************

!2/9 /2018
Okay time for another update.

This has come up in the discussion of the book on/in the Action Adventure Aficionados group and now in a comment here. I'm aware but didn't mention it in the review above.

The movie was actually an intentional hit piece by the movie maker. He gave the book a Nazi look through his interpretation in the movie.

The government pictured by Heinlein in the book is Libertarian. Everyone is free to live, do business etc. as they choose. The right to vote and send the military out however only rests in the hands of those who have themselves served in that kind of service (thus the reasoning in the book that a panicked civilian can't order disastrous military action). You may agree, you may disagree but it's not a government anything like the one in the ridiculous movie. ...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Lucas rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Where do I even begin? For starters, I should let the reader know that I'm not basing my score on the politics of the book (as laughable as I think they are) but on the plot of the book, or rather the complete lack of a plot in the book. While things do happen, some of them pretty big, Mr. Heinlein has seen fit that we should not be party to any of those things. Instead, he saves the most loving descriptions for daily life at boot camp. Seventy, yes seventy, pages of a two hundred-odd page book Where do I even begin? For starters, I should let the reader know that I'm not basing my score on the politics of the book (as laughable as I think they are) but on the plot of the book, or rather the complete lack of a plot in the book. While things do happen, some of them pretty big, Mr. Heinlein has seen fit that we should not be party to any of those things. Instead, he saves the most loving descriptions for daily life at boot camp. Seventy, yes seventy, pages of a two hundred-odd page book are dedicated to boot camp. Within those pages we learn the importance of food, and being able to sleep in any condition. Thrill to the excitment of marching into the middle of nowhere! You will weep and wail along with the officers when you hear them lament the fact that they are compelled, nay forced, to flog their men when they misbehave. Honestly, you could watch the beginning of Full Metal Jacket and skip reading that whole part and save yourself some time, and be more entertained in the meantime.

Next you're treated to an extended flashback where a teacher (who is quite obviously channelling the author) lectures his students (representing the reader) about the major reason for the downfall of society in the past (today!). What one overarching reason is responsible for the collapse of society? Massive energy crisis? Economic collapse? Political anarchy? WRONG!!! It's because people listened to psychiatrists and didn't spank their children enough! The secret to an orderly society is corporal punishment, and lots of it! It does make me wonder about the particular proclivities of the author, but that's neither here nor there.

So now that our main character, Johnny Rico, is a full-fledged soldier we can finally get to some action after half the book is already finished, right? No. No, no, no, a thousand times no. You will not see action in this book that is advertised to be about killing gigantic outer space bugs. Instead, you will be treated to the doldrums of a soldier that isn't busy killing things. Guard duty! Sleeping! Maintaining weapons and space armor! Dinner and its various protocols! Even his time off gets more detail than all the fighting Rico participates in combined! The typical description for a battle will go like this: "We dropped on this planet to smash things up. Boy, what a mess that was. This guy died. These ones got hurt."

Then Rico goes to officer training school where we get more detail about learning things! And another lecture from another teacher to his students about why soldiers should be the only ones to handle government affairs! Then we get told how battallions are broken down into platoons and squads and such forth! Finally we get to the end which turns into one of the biggest anticlimaxes I've ever had the misfortune of reading. You'll get what feels like five hours of blabbing about setting up patrol and coordinates streamed endlessly at you, some thrilling detail on hypnotically suggested sleep, and then a blessed five seconds of actual confrontation with something! Then it's over before you even know it started. The end.

I realize that the life of a soldier is probably pretty accurately portrayed in the book, days upon days of boring drudgery with a few moments of life-and-death craziness, but that doesn't necessarily make for a particularly interesting book. At least not the way it's depicted here.

Don't be fooled by the first ten pages of the book, which actually contain more action than the other hundred and ninety. What you're getting when you get this book is only one step away from a military training manual, only with some references to outer space and aliens tossed in along with a couple crazy rightwing ravings as the chocolatey syrup to go on top of the whole crappy sundae. Don't fall for the hype, pass on this book.

And yes, the movie is better. It's stupid and fun. The book is just stupid. ...more

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Aug 16, 2015 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2015, liburrrrrry-book, the-great-white-hype

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

“Nothing of value is free. Even the breath of life is purchased at birth only through gasping effort and pain.”

Since NPH is one of the reasons Starship Troopers remains a favorite film of mine, I think I’ll let him express my sentiments on the paper version . . .

I need to realize that sometimes it’s okay to not read the book. Starship Troopers is such a cult classic – it’s just soooooo bad that it somehow became great. The boo ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 Peter Topside rated it really liked it · review of another edition

One of my guilty pleasures is comparing books to their movie adaptations. I picked up Starship Troopers, never realizing that it was originally a book, wanting to do the same. Aside from some very basic concepts and character names, the book is a completely different animal. There are a handful of action scenes, but the book is focused on Johnnie Rico, from his point of view. He begins as a privileged, upper class academic, but chooses to go on a different path by joining up in the armed service ...more

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Apr 19, 2018 Leonard Gaya rated it liked it · review of another edition

Space exploration has always been the realm of engineers and the military. When Heinlein wrote this novel (the late 1950s), the US Armed Forces had recently won World War II. They were beefing up their nuclear arsenal against a potential strike from the USSR, sending troops overseas, starting an endless war in Vietnam, and sending the first uncrewed missions to the face of the moon!

Starship Troopers is mostly a Bildungsroman about the US Armed Forces (Robert Heinlein himself was a US Navy office Space exploration has always been the realm of engineers and the military. When Heinlein wrote this novel (the late 1950s), the US Armed Forces had recently won World War II. They were beefing up their nuclear arsenal against a potential strike from the USSR, sending troops overseas, starting an endless war in Vietnam, and sending the first uncrewed missions to the face of the moon!

Starship Troopers is mostly a Bildungsroman about the US Armed Forces (Robert Heinlein himself was a US Navy officer and engineer), written in the form of a journal or documentary, from a young man’s point of view, from boot camp to glorious war veteran. It is indeed quite instructive, should you wish to understand how the military organisation works (or might work): from daily schedules to vocabulary, and from titles and hierarchy to values and etiquette.

About half the novel is mostly action, with combat training and battlefields (especially the battle scenes that frame the story, at the start and the end). The other half is all about moral and political doctrine, written in the form of philosophical dialogues. This device will be repeated and expanded in Stranger in a Strange Land, written shortly after the present novel. In this regard, Heinlein’s book is in the tradition of Plato and the Enlightenment. Not only in shape — this alternating between action and discussion made me sometimes think of the Marquis de Sade —, but also in content — the Terran Federation is a sort of utopia, redolent of Plato’s Republic (Col. Dubois acting like an ill-tempered Socrates). The story also displays a few examples of outstanding leadership, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this novel were included into a recommended reading list for cadets in the military or junior managers in the corporate world.

It is not entirely clear however why this is considered a science fiction novel (it won Heinlein a Hugo Award), except that the “Terran Federation” stands for the USA, that society is under a military oligarchy (only the veterans are allowed to vote), and that the enemy they fight against is a rather silly race of interstellar bugs (i.e. communists). There is no clear explanation for what’s at stake in that particular war at that specific point in time. What matters to Heinlein is to develop what it means to serve as a military in general terms. Starship Troopers could just as well have been an epic story set at the time of the Roman Empire. Needless to say: Heinlein’s hopeful and slightly naive military utopia is strikingly opposed to the great dark SF dystopias of former decades: We, Brave New World and 1984.

All in all, Heinlein’s book carries some radical ideology, with lengthy arguments in favour of corporal punishment and suchlike, all of which is “To the everlasting glory of the infantry—”. A doctrine which sounds quite outdated today but that, in a way, still resonates with the cheerful militaristic inclination of a few right-wing movements. Nevertheless, the story flows smoothly and merrily, and Heinlein does have a serious knack for writing good dialogues and confusing action scenes. However, if I had to choose one SF military book to carry to the proverbial desert island, it would probably be Haldeman’s Forever War.

Starship Troopers has had a considerable influence on popular franchises, such as Star Trek (the United Federation of Planets is indeed a military utopia like the one devised in this book), or Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Paul Verhoeven’s adaptation is an unfaithful and rather mediocre parody, despite Denise Richards’ dizzying plastics and Michael Ironside’s delightful badassery. I guess Iron Man also borrowed his power armour from Heinlein’s brightest addition to the Mobile Infantry arsenal. ...more

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May 01, 2018 Michael Finocchiaro rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-20th-c, fiction, novels, sci-fi

[UPDATED]
Starship Troopers was definitely a page turner and one did feel like he was on the ground with the Mobile Infantry, bouncing around killing Bugs. But. It was also incredibly pro-war and the middle development section got a little long. You remember how great Full Metal Jacket was, but that the great parts were at the very beginning and at the very end? Well, I felt that this book also started and ended with adrenaline rushes but that the middle was a bit flat. That being said, the reali [UPDATED]
Starship Troopers was definitely a page turner and one did feel like he was on the ground with the Mobile Infantry, bouncing around killing Bugs. But. It was also incredibly pro-war and the middle development section got a little long. You remember how great Full Metal Jacket was, but that the great parts were at the very beginning and at the very end? Well, I felt that this book also started and ended with adrenaline rushes but that the middle was a bit flat. That being said, the realism and the imagination around the weapons and tech were pretty good. I definitely see how influential Heinlein was on subsequent science fiction and it is impressive that this was written back in '59. The Bugs were never given any treatment to make them less of an "enemy" which seemed a bit like the vilification of, say, blacks or arabs by the extreme right. I would almost give him the benefit of the doubt that this was a critique of society, but from what I have read, that wasn't really his intention.

There is a lot of war theory in ST. "The purpose of war is to support your government's decisions by force...controlled and purposeful violence." (p. 78). That the government's motivations could be wrong or misguided is never really addressed, but then he is writing this after WWII and before Vietnam so my cynicism is perhaps too modern for this book. The worldview in the book is pragmatic and brutal: "There is an old song which asserts 'the best things in life are free.' Not true! Utterly false! This was the tragic fallacy which Brough on the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the 20th century." (p. 117). Fortunately, his pessimism has not (yet) been born out and there are still many who adhere to the 'best things are free' philosophy rather than the Ayn Randian determinism demonstrated here by Heinlein. To be fair to the author, he does mention some wartime abuses and in particular post-traumatic stress syndrome in the tragic story of Dillinger and his murder of the little girl Barbara. But even here, the protagonist reserves almost no criticism of the military, just some sadness for the misfortune: "my sympathy is reserved for Barbara Anne Enthwaite whom I had never seen, and for her parents who would never see her again" (p.141) and then back to business after the 30-day mourning period.

One sad aspect of ST's dystopian future is how citizenship is restricted to relatively few (like in ancient Greece or Rome). "Anyhow, it wasn't the process of voting that made a citizen - the Lieutenant had been a citizen in the truest sense of the word, even though he had not lived long enough ever to cast a vote. He had 'voted' every time he made a drop." (p. 207). Given the current attacks on democratic systems, this is a kind of dangerous form of thinking IMHO. If citizens are never given any choices and are limited to the elite, the fundaments of democracy disappear. "No attempt was made to determine whether a voter was socially responsible to the extent of his literally unlimited authority. If he voted the impossible, the disastrous possible happened instead - and responsibility was then forced on him willy-nilly and destroyed both him and his foundation less temple." (p. 234) Again, I find this view too narrow and pessimistic.

Overall, since I am a dove politically, all the military camaraderie kind of put me off. I read it because it is a classic and a reference, but I prefer the Red Mars or if my aliens have to be insects, District 9. ...more

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May 07, 2010 Michael rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-that-speculates, 1950s

Big nasty communist spiders are attacking Earth and all the planets it has colonized! It's a battle between man and bug, and who is to save us?

I'll tell you who! Guys with really fucking big guns, that's who! With spacesuits that make it so they can jump over buildings, and deflect bullets, and drop from spaceships to the surface of planets without getting hurt! That's who!

These guys get dropped onto planets with their spacesuits and their big guns, and they can incinerate some little brown peo ...more

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Dec 02, 2017 Manuel Antão rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1996, 2017

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Word of warning. I’m going to discourse both on the book and on the Verhoeven’s movie.

He didn't include them as "grunts" probably because the training was sufficiently hard that most wouldn't have made it. If you read the description of the training it wasn't just 12 weeks square-bashing, it reads far more like Special Forces.

It might also have been because he was paying lip service to a society kind of modelled on 50s America where If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

Word of warning. I’m going to discourse both on the book and on the Verhoeven’s movie.

He didn't include them as "grunts" probably because the training was sufficiently hard that most wouldn't have made it. If you read the description of the training it wasn't just 12 weeks square-bashing, it reads far more like Special Forces.

It might also have been because he was paying lip service to a society kind of modelled on 50s America where the ladies were the home-makers and females in the frontline weren't even on the radar.

However, having said that, we have the fabulous line about females in high rank and esteem:

"If the Almighty ever needs a hand to run the universe: hot ship pilot Yvette Deladrier" after Starship commander Deladrier brakes her ship's orbit to recover a lander that has blasted off late and which otherwise would miss rendezvous and all on board would perish. I’ve heard from a lot of my friends saying the movie version is utter shit. I’m not so sure. The thing is, Verhoeven was a master of taking existing texts and subtly pushing them into satire by overdoing Hollywood/MTV filming tropes. The viewer was encouraged to look at the films as broad entertainment and then ask what the actions of the heroes had to do with American culture. He did the same with Joe Eszterhas's scripts for “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls”. “Basic Instinct” is a detective story where the 'hero' is someone who's already gotten away with murder because of his badge, and who shoots another innocent victim before the film is out, while the 'villain' is never actually shown to kill anyone. She's chiefly a suspect because of her sexuality (which is why GLAAD picketed the film) and lack of shame about it. “Showgirls” meanwhile depicts a vision of Las Vegas as a patriarchal dystopia where every woman is judged on her body and literally every male character is a predator of some kind.

If you're into SF, read on. ...more

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May 16, 2014 Donna Backshall rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: by-rec-to-read, favorites, 030-in-2013, reviewed-amazon, on-audible, reviewed-bookbub, reviewed-goodreads, fiction, classic, military

Starship Troopers, the book, is one of my all-time favorites. This military sci-fi novel has all the aspects of hard science fiction I love: an honest and brave protagonist in a ridiculously dangerous situation, controversial politics, space adventures, cool gadgets, and unimaginable aliens.

By contrast Starship Troopers, the movie, is also one of my favorites, but for completely different (and admittedly shallow) reasons. The movie only vaguely resembles the book, but it has hot-hot-oh-SO-HOT ch ...more

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Apr 17, 2007 Tom rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

Chock-a-block full of gung-ho jingoism, narrow minded fascist pipe dreams, and casual descriptions of institutional dehumanization as well as violence...basically everything you would expect from a book written in the perspective of a futuristic jarhead. I have never read a book in which I agreed with so little, but loved so much.

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Aug 13, 2014 Markus rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2017, classics, get-it-away-from-me

The first book that I read by Robert Heinlein turned out to be a surprise in more than one way. I picked it because it seemed to be the short and fun story among them, and saved his other famous works for later.

The problem with many classics is that they are painfully tedious. The problem with many science fiction novels is that they are mindless entertainment in space. Starship Troopers is neither of these things. It is way more entertaining than the average classic and way smarter than the ave The first book that I read by Robert Heinlein turned out to be a surprise in more than one way. I picked it because it seemed to be the short and fun story among them, and saved his other famous works for later.

The problem with many classics is that they are painfully tedious. The problem with many science fiction novels is that they are mindless entertainment in space. Starship Troopers is neither of these things. It is way more entertaining than the average classic and way smarter than the average sci-fi book.

The issues with it are much deeper than that.

For this is a novel of political philosophy more than a novel of science fiction. It is a pure glorification of violence, of soldiers, and of the despotic ways of armed forces. It is blatantly amerocentric, militaristic propaganda.

First of all, the book propones the view that only those who have served in the military should be given civil rights. One of the arguments contained in the book actually makes a certain amount of sense, namely that only those who care about their state and take an interest in government should be allowed to vote. This is quite a fair statement (especially in this era of populism). However, the conclusion is nonsensically absurd. How does this relate to soldiers? Not at all.

Secondly, the characters fall into two categories. The first one is the protagonist and his teachers, reflected semi-philosophers acting as Heinlein’s voice in describing his military utopia. The second is all the rest of the soldier characters, who are, to put it mildly, not particularly bright. In other words, a wonderful set of recipients for exclusive voting rights.

Thirdly, the setting operates on the assumption that after the great nations of the world battle it out in massive global wars and subsequently collapse, high and mighty benevolent veterans from the wars will step in and clean up things. This is if possible even more absurd than the idea above.

Fourthly, strip away the flawed reasoning and the ridiculous ode to soldiery, what are we left with? ‘Muricans (and wannabe ‘Muricans) killing space bugs.

Starship Troopers has many layers: it’s a propaganda text in the guise of a political treatise in the guise of science fiction. Other than that, it has about the same amount of depth as the Aral sea.

That said, I stand by the second paragraph. On one hand, this book is indeed a decent sci-fi war story with suspense and good writing. On the other, however, it’s political aspect is frighteningly ignorant and delusional.
...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Jeff rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

"What do you mean 'They' cut the power? How could they cut the power man they're animals!"

Aliens (sure it's the wrong movie, but a cool quote nevertheless)

The book has very little in common with the movie. The film is something that is ubiquitous on cable. You can probably see the entire thing in snippets just by changing the channels over the course of a year.

In both the film and book, the soldiers battle big bug thingies. The book is only bookended with battle sequences, the rest is training ...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, space-opera, 2019-shelf

One of the original Mil-SF classics!

I've read this before. Several times, even, back when I was a newb when it came to Heinlein or SF in general. You know, pick up the Hugo Award winners and see if I like the author enough to continue on. Twenty books later, (THAT YEAR,) I discovered something. I like Heinlein. A lot.

But not ALL of Heinlein equally. Starship Troopers seemed kinda preachy to me, a little slow, and RAH, RAH, RAH Civic Duty. :) Suffice to say, I liked it pretty well. Caveats: it di ...more

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Jan 17, 2008 Jenny rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: no one

This was terrible and not interesting at all. This book is for people who are interested in the nuances of military training and organization and did not feel like classic science fiction to me. I guess technically it takes place in the future and in space but this is such a minor part of the book that it shouldn't really fall into the sci-fi category. As I entered the last 50 pages, I seriously considered stopping reading. I was confused by the military ranks and didn't care about any of the ch ...more

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Aug 10, 2016 Ivana Books Are Magic rated it it was amazing

When I say that Starship Troppers is a novel that has had a profound influence on me, most people look at me like I'm crazy. If they haven't read it themselves, I can see why it might not seem too promising, especially if one isn't a SF fan to start with. Nevertheless, I must stand my ground here. I’ve read this novel a number of times now and one doesn’t reread a novel that many times for no reason. This novel functions wonderfully on many levels. In my opinion that is what makes it so great. I When I say that Starship Troppers is a novel that has had a profound influence on me, most people look at me like I'm crazy. If they haven't read it themselves, I can see why it might not seem too promising, especially if one isn't a SF fan to start with. Nevertheless, I must stand my ground here. I’ve read this novel a number of times now and one doesn’t reread a novel that many times for no reason. This novel functions wonderfully on many levels. In my opinion that is what makes it so great. It works well both as a YA and SF novel. There are many great SF elements in it, for example the ingenious usage of power suit. Heinlein was not considered a master of science fiction without a reason and I’m sure SF fans will find a lot to like in this one.

Rico, the protagonist of our novel, is a Filipino growing up in a world set in future. I shall not describe this world in detail just yet but let’s just say it seems pretty believable and it creates some interesting moral dilemmas. The characters in this novel are surprisingly racially diverse considering the time period the novel was published in. Women being deemed superior pilots because of their better reflexes was, if I’m not mistaken, quite bold for that time. So, bonus points for that. The story is easy to follow and the protagonist himself is very likeable (I would say pretty adorable). We feel for the characters and we get engaged as readers. As far as the narrative is concerned, everything worked out perfectly. Nevertheless, there is another layer to this novel.

What layer would that be? The one that deals with individual responsibility and morals, the one that questions the way any society is organized, the one that asks important questions. Yes, that layer. The philosophical aspect of this novel was what I enjoyed the most. Remember those essays Rico had to write? I remember one instant where he had to prove with scientific arguments what causes wars and it turns out to be population pressure. Yes, increase in population (and hence reduced resources) is that triggers wars. I mean there is an intellectual aspect of this novel that often (for whatever reason) gets ignored, but it exists nevertheless. In other words, this novel asks questions that deserve to be asked. Moreover, it provides answers that are quite logical.

I think I was about 15 when I read Starship Troopers for the first time, which is perhaps appropriate because this novel can be labelled as young adult (and I can recommend it if that’s the genre you go for). If I say this novel was one of those life- changing books for me, would I be going too far? I don’t think so, because when I look back at my life, I can see its influence. That in itself makes it a pretty special book. I remember so clearly the effect it had on me the first time I read it. I’m sure it wasn’t only the story that moved me so.

You see, the story is interesting but it is not the main merit of his novel. Likewise, the character development of Rico is handled very well, but that is not the only significant aspect of this novel. Yes, this could be deemed a fantastic YA read, but it is also so much more than that. This novel contains some very important messages, but as you read it, you almost don’t notice them. Everything is so well balanced. You have this feeling of being in Rico’s head. Perhaps that is why I keep on reflecting on I when I finish reading it. While I’m reading it, I always have this impression of only following the story, yet when I’m done with reading, I always end up thinking about it a great deal.

That’s the thing. The point is that this novel made me think. That is what I originally loved about it and that is what still attracts me to it. Seemingly simple, but having a lot of depth, this novel stayed with me. It influenced the way I think. It made me question the relationship between society and the individual. Deep inside, there was an even more profound message and lesson to be learned. Nothing in life is free. As Heinlein put it in The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, there ain’t such a thing as free lunch. We have to work hard for everything in life. Thinking that we can lay back and let the government or whoever worry about our problems is so fundamentally wrong that it is not even funny. If one wants to live in a decent world, one must pay the price for it. If one wants to be a parent, one must be prepared to punish their child when they do something wrong, not just stand back and be lazy about it, because punishment of any sort (according to modern psychology) results in trauma. You know what results in real trauma? When a child knows his or her parents couldn’t care less. Everything in life requires effort, from relationship to work, there is no simple way and there are no easy answers. This book teaches us a lesson about life and it does it n such a casual and effortless way it is almost hard to notice it.

There are those who call this novel militant but I don’t think this world that Heinlein created was supposed to be taken as a strict model to build on. What I think Heinlein was doing (and doing it well) is examining human history, proposing certain ideas and bringing things to their logical conclusions. Yes, he created a society where only veterans ( i.e. those who enlisted to serve their society ) got to vote . This enlistment could be prolonged should a need arrive (as for instance in case of a war). The point was that the individual should not be given the right to vote if he wasn’t willing to die in the protection of the society he lives in. In other words, he or she shouldn’t be able to take an active part, unless took an active part in protecting that society. I don’t think this novel was written as a celebration of military life and I certainly don’t think it is militant in any way or form. On the other hand, it might make you better understand military men and be more compassionate towards veterans, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?

Even if you’re a pacifist, I think you shouldn’t find this novel offensive. There is a sound logic behind that division between civilians and veterans that this novel proposes. It is known that revolution eats its own children. The society in this novel tries to bypass that, by separating those who want to be active participants in society from those who aren’t willing to do so. We know the history of mankind is a bloody mess. Here in this novel there are some suggestions how to avoid it. It is not to be taken too literally, it is not something you should preach but hopefully reading this novel will make you a little more open minded and make you questions thing. This novel isn’t dated. Precisely because of that philosophical aspect of it, I’m pretty sure this book won’t be dated any time soon.

What kind of novel is Starship Troopers? Well, one wouldn't be wrong if one described it as a classic SF novel. It is certainly considered a SF classic for a good reason. Like the best of science fiction works, this novel explores the complex creation that is human kind, using a future world to question our own as well as to propose possible corrections to our society. In addition, it could also be called a YA novel because the protagonist Rico indeed grows up before our eyes. From a young man that acts as a boy, he makes the transition into an adult which sadly (as Heinlein noted in his Stranger In A Strange Land) is not something everyone is capable of. Not all people turn into adults, some remain caught into the limbo of shifting and avoiding to take the responsibility for their own lives forever.
When I started writing this review, I mentioned the fact that I’ve been rereading this novel for years. When it comes to my favourite authors, I seem to do rereading in cycles, every five years or so. I think rereading tells us a lot about a quality of any work of literature. In my opinion, there are two reasons why a novel gets reread again and again. It is either very good or it has a sentimental value for its reader. In this case, it might be both. I have a copy at my home that I will probably read at least once more and here is why. Because it is a great novel that functions perfectly on many levels. What I liked most about it, is surely its philosophical and intellectual aspect, but it functions perfectly both as a great SF and YA novel.
...more

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Mar 25, 2007 Randy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

If you have seen the movie- forget it. Besides the names, it shares very little with RAH's study on why free men subject themselves to a loss of freedom in order to ensure freedom for others.
This book greatly influenced me when I was a boy- and it still colors my thinking today- 35 years later.
This should be on the reading lists of every high school.

AFTERNOTE!

I would like to correct what appears to be a common misconception about the society described in Heinlein's book:

YOU DID NOT HAVE TO BE

...more

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Feb 11, 2019 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It's been years since I first saw the movie of the same name so it was about time I finally read this classic.

And boy, those two renditions of the story couldn't be more different. But more about that later.

We follow Juan Rico who enlists with the Federal Reserve and becomes an Infantry Man against his parents wishes. The book opens to one of his company's firefights (it's more a skirmish designed to disrupt the enemy rather than an actual battle). However, after that, as a flashback, we follow ...more

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Sep 28, 2019 Ken rated it liked it · review of another edition

My main association with Starship Troopers is due to the 90’s movie, I’m sure that I’ve only seen bits of it on TV in the past and that may have clouded my judgement slightly.

The novel follows our narrator Johnny Rico and his experiences through Federal Service, with trials of military life at the forefront of this novel.

I think I was expecting more of action packed story like the reader is given in the opening section, though Heinlein raises some interesting aspects through Johnny’s formative y ...more

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Feb 10, 2019 Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, best-all-time-favourites, recently-reviewed

Giant Bugs attacking Earth!
Brave people defending our planet!
Grand Science Fiction!

Johnny Rico wears tech-warrior mech-suit as a member of the Mobile Infantry on his path to become a Citizen. For only soldiers can take part in shaping society.

Quotes from the book:

"'You. What is the moral difference, if any, between the soldier and the civilian?' 'The difference,' I answered carefully, 'lies in the field of civic virtue. A soldier accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic ...more

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Nov 16, 2017 R.S. Merritt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Love this book. I was talking about it with my brother last night because he brought up an organization he's doing work for that looks to fund candidates who are community service oriented. One of their goals is to have half the House and Senate be veterans by 2020. I said i thought that was a great idea and that I thought we should go even further and demand all public servants have some sort of military service to achieve a high office. He disagreed and said it takes all types to be a leader a ...more

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Dec 14, 2011 James Corey rated it really liked it

Originally posted at www.the-expanse.com

I've been wanting to do this for a while. Write a series of book reviews of the books that had the most direct influence on my writing, and on The Expanse series in particular. Hopefully, this is just the first.

Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein:

Starship Troopers moved onto my nightstand a couple of days ago. I always have a nightstand book, and it tends to be something I've read before. I'll read a few pages while my wife does her pre-bed puttering, an ...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Dan Schwent rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: christmas-2010, sf, 2011

Against his family's wishes, Juan "Johnnie" Rico joins the Mobile Infantry and the war against the Bugs. Will he make it out alive?

Yeah, I don't really know what to think about this book. I picked it up solely because it was an inspiration for one of my favorite books, Old Man's War by John Scalzi. While the writing was very good, there was never an "I can't put it down" moment. I'd say ninety percent of the book was Juan Rico's military life. There wasn't a lot of action until the end.

I liked t ...more

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Oct 16, 2020 Christopher Paolini rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, recommended

Starship Troopers is the archetypal military sci-fi book. . . and yet it’s far more concerned with the politics and philosophy of its setting than so many of its successors. The action is almost an afterthought. The book also has a rather odd story structure that can take some effort to get into. But it is worth the effort, and though Heinlein often takes a different view of society than many of us do today, I still find myself wishing that more authors were willing to grapple with the questions ...more

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Nov 27, 2014 Apatt rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, pre-80s-sf

I started reading sci-fi quite intensively in the 80s (as if my life depended on it) and if you had asked me at the time who my favorite of the Big Three of Science Fiction is I would have said Robert A. Heinlein. He was, I thought, the funniest, the liveliest, the least dry, and basically the most badass of the Three. In recent years have been re-reading a lot of classic sci-fi and my answer today would be different. I would place Isaac Asimov first then Arthur C. Clarke and Heinlein would be t I started reading sci-fi quite intensively in the 80s (as if my life depended on it) and if you had asked me at the time who my favorite of the Big Three of Science Fiction is I would have said Robert A. Heinlein. He was, I thought, the funniest, the liveliest, the least dry, and basically the most badass of the Three. In recent years have been re-reading a lot of classic sci-fi and my answer today would be different. I would place Isaac Asimov first then Arthur C. Clarke and Heinlein would be trailing them a little. I may be a little unfair to Heinlein here as recently I have been reading his less well received books from the 80s, Friday, and the dreadful I Will Fear No Evil. Of course I remember very well how much I loved Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and The Puppet Masters when I read them. The funny thing is I remember loving Starship Troopers too.

Starship Troopers starts off with a bang where the protagonist Juan Rico is about to go on a raid against some aliens called The Skinnies. Scenes of combat, explosions, heroism, and death ensued. On the second chapter the flashback from the beginning of Rico’s military career begins. Most of the novel’s narrative is centered on Rico’s military life. As I am not a fan of military combat scenes I did not feel particularly involved with the first chapter but things really do pick up with the story of Rico’s boot camp experiences. I quite enjoy the “Drill Sergeant Nasty” trope. Where the Drill Sergeant spends all his time cussing and cursing at the trainees and generally making their lives miserable for their own good, and to weed out those who are not tough enough to cope with the rigors of the training. The details of the training, the future military technology and Heinlein’s jaunty, snarky narrative tone and dialogue makes this section of the book fast paced and enjoyable. This is just as well as the boot camp chapters takes up most of the first half of the book. I expect the storyline to become even livelier subsequent to the boot camp, especially as I already knew some insect-like aliens are about to make an appearance.

I was very surprised at how the second half of the book turned out. A long section of this part of the book concerns Rico’s training at the Officer Candidate School. The lecturing scenes are Heinlein at his didactic worst. Even though Heinlein can be very persuasive I was not entirely convinced of the political and philosophical points he is making here. Worse than that, I was a little bored of reading these thinly disguised lectures. It seems to me that the pacing of the novel grinds to a halt at this point and Heinlein has sacrificed the storytelling to espouse his personal views.

The last section of the book where Rico has graduated from the Officer Candidate School and goes on another raid to capture (literally) the brains behind the Bugs operations resumes the storyline and pick up the pacing. Unfortunately by that point the book has already lost my goodwill and I have already stopped caring about how Rico or even the rest of humanity fare. Besides, the ending of the book is inconclusive as far as the Bug War is concerned. This is not at all surprising because, in spite of initial appearances, this is not a sci-fi thriller about Humanity vs. Aliens. The aliens and their war with humanity are merely plot devices to mount Heinlein’s treatise about the value of the military and the necessity of war.

It is not my place to criticize Heinlein's views on these matters as he has clearly thought long and hard about them and I have not, but all his pontifications plays hell with the narrative flow and as a work of fiction Starship Troopers is by and large not a lot of fun to read. “Military science fiction” is hardly my favorite subgenre of sci-fi, but I did find The Forever War to be more consistently enjoyable and the author’s views more palatable without being overly didactic. ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 P.E. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Instead of the military pamphlet I was expecting to come across, I read a book about the workings of a military regime.

This is a book with strong biases in favour of the Vietnam war :
- Starship Troopers was issued in 1959.
- In a poll spread by Galaxy Science Fiction on the continuation of the Vietnam war,
72 science fiction writers wrote, “We the undersigned believe the United States must remain in Vietnam to fulfill its responsibilities to the people of that country.”
On the anti-war side, ...more

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About Robert A. Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein

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Robert Anson Heinlein was an American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of "hard science fiction".

He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre ...more