Starship Troopers - 6th Hugo Award Winner (1960)
6th Hugo Award Winner (1960)
2nd of 4 Hugo’s won by Heinlein
Landmark of the genre & the marked the end of Heinlein writing more juvenile works.
Highly controversial
1997 film was based on the book
“There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men”
Overview
It’s set in a future where Earth is in a space war with a bug-like alien species. The story follows Johnny Rico, a young recruit in the Mobile Infantry.
The first half of the novel is Johnny in boot camp and the 2nd half is Johnny fighting in the actual war.
Through his training and combat experiences, Rico develops as a character as he learns about citizenship, duty, and the brutal realities of war.
Pros
It’s a highly acclaimed novel that helped shape sci-fi. Has pop culture relevance as it was also adapted into a TV show & movie.
Lots of themes & ideas about freedom, morality, duty, etc.
It’s entertaining. Humans in space suit’s with cool weapons are fighting alien bugs.
Cons
It’s a controversial book that glorifies the military. A lot of people consider this military propaganda that is supporting fascism.
It has some questionable opinions in it. You should not have all your rights if you don’t sign up for the military. I.e you can’t vote unless you fight…
If Heinlein was alive today it feels like he would be the grandpa who says “Just pull yourself up by the bootstraps”, “Nobody wants to work anymore”, “Just walk into the place & hand them your resume, you’ll get hired for sure”.
Should you read it?
Yes. The main character’s name is Johnny Rico. He is shooting lasers out of his space suit to kill space bugs. It’s a fun book that heavily influenced the Sci-Fi genre.
My Rating
264 pages