The Book Itself
The book is good in and of itself, but it’s one of those true cases that the old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, applies to. Yes, the book starts and ends with sci-fi combat action on an alien world, but whats in between, say a good 60% of the book, is even more interesting. Heinlein, a former US Navy officer seemed to pride himself on his knowledge of military and political history and philosophy, and pretty much used the book as a platform to state his own personal philosophies on these matters, against the backdrop of a future world. At times it can be a bit hard to push through, but keep in mind its actually a relatively short novel, and an interesting one at that. As far as what your there for, the novel doesn’t disappoint when its does get into combat, and Heinlein’s description of the mechanized “Mobile Infantry (M.I) suits” as well as their weapons and support roles is more than fascinating, as are his descriptions of spacecraft, and other planets. No doubt it’s that kind of detail that has gone on to really inspire other science fiction works, especially Halo‘s “ODST troopers”, and Mechwarriors “Elementals”, and even Star Wars Clone and Storm Troopers just to name a few.
Fallacy’s About the Book
I feel the need to clear up a few fallacies I have had others tell me about the book:
First off the common urban legend is that the book is about the Vietnam War. The book was actually published in 1959 long before the U.S. deep involvement in Vietnam. Historically speaking Eisenhower was sending advisers into Vietnam at that time but there was no massive military occupation force as we would see in the late 60’s. However, with that said Heinlein does throw the term “Police Action” a few times, which leads me to believe he is indirectly referencing the Korean War which was called a “Police Action” by the U.N.
Secondly, I have heard “Heinlien uses the book as a platform for his atheistic beliefs”. Ok, first of all no, and than no. At the beginning of each chapter Heinlein uses quotes from history and/or literature, and a more then a few of them are from the bible. The last chapter itself starts out with four biblical quotes alone. Heinlein also references the bible, as well as religious tolerance a few other times within the novel. Don’t get me wrong, its not like your going to get hit over the head with religion reading this, but your also not going to have to deal with atheism either. As far as Heinlein being an atheist himself, I’m not sure about that either, since philosophy of all types seem to be common in his novels. Like fellow sci-fi legend and creator Gene Roddenberry, many seem to misunderstand his exact belief system although its agnostic if anything.
The Book vs The Movie: Why so Different?
The screenplay for the movie was inspired by Starship Troopers but initially had no direct connection. Originally, meant to be a B-movie (yes, MST3K fodder), the original title was Bug Hunt, however at some point the film rights to Starship Troopers where purchased from Heinlein’s estate. Shortly after the awful Bug Hunt script was adapted to it, renaming characters in it to fit those of characters in the book. On top of that travesty the films director, Paul Verhoeven, had never actually read the novel all the way through, therefor not entirely getting the books general premise, and political themes. So when fans of the book finally got a movie adaptation in 1997 they where bitterly disappointed in what they got, a gory, nonsensical film filled with gratuitous violence, nudity, and sex. Essentially, the movie killed the book for years after, until just recently when many have been picking it up again to find something totally different.
Halo (series) and Halo 3: ODST:
I won’t attribute the concept of the Battlemech to Starship Troopers but you have to admit the giant fighting robot concept is a giganticized version of the “Mobile Infantry”. As previously mentioned though individual fighting suits that more or less beef up an individual soldier, much like Heinlein’s version of “Mobile Infantry”, do appear and are known as “Elemental’s”. The soldiers themselves who wear the suits are known for being extremist, and zealots, and attack large Mechs like bees. Part of their backstory comes from the actual Mechwarrior books and games, paints them as over the top versions of “Mobile Infantry”.In the Command & Conquer universe “Mobile Infantry” suits, and space dropped military units first appear, in the original games sequel Command & Conquer: Tiberium Sun. A basic vehicular unit called a “Wolverine”, is essentially a “Mobile Infantry” suit for a single soldier. To the best of my knowledge the “Wolverine” is the only playable game unit that seems to best fit Heinlein’s description of the “Mobile Infantry” suit in his book, as small self contained and armed suits. The only thing really missing is are the jump jets, and the fact that they get picked off quickly. The “Wolverine” however wouldn’t be the first or last such suit in the C&C franchise. Also, if you read Starship Troopers you will see “Wolverine” used a few times.
Ironman
Developed in 1963, and appearing in comics, cartoon shows, TV shows, movies, and video games Ironman is part of Starship Troopers legacy. Essentially, Ironman can be described as the best example of what Heinlein described “Mobile Infantry” being. However in Starship Troopers, such suits act as part of a military unit, being operated by highly disciplined soldiers. Although far cry from loner Tony Stark, it is pretty close approximation to the Ironman character “War Machine” which is manned by United States Air Force Major James Rhodes.
Of course I could go on listing various works the book influenced, whether directly and indirectly, but ultimately that will become clear as you read the novel. As a gamer and sci-fi lover I can’t help but feel that Heinlein’s novel of Starship Troopers is an essential for understanding the origins of a lot of ideas and concepts that have appeared in science fiction since.
I find it interesting that now days the most controversial thing about the novel of Starship Troopers is its complete difference from the movie. In its time Heinlein’s views in the novel where enough to make his long time publisher refuse to add the book to its young adult line, and make him look elsewhere to publish the novel. Although Heinlein shows an open disdain for Communism in the book, his pro-military, and military run government opinions where enough for him to be accused of being a radical and/or of supporting Fascist ideas. To be honest though the late 50’s and early 60’s where a huge era for science fiction writers who wanted to do more than just write another space age yarn. It was in this same era Frank Herbert would write Dune, a deep novel about politics, and ecology, and it was also the era when Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C Clark, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury would write or build on some of their most famous works. In this same time Gene Roddenberry, and George Lucas would dream up the basis of their own science fiction futures, to play out in the next two decades on the big and small screen. It was a time when sci-fi authors could leave behind Flash Gordon and explore real world issues against the backdrop of an alien world and/or some distant future. To us 50 to 60 years later the world(s) they have created in science fiction have become old hat, and the use of science fiction as a platform for ideals of one kind or another is something that is almost expected. When one picks up an Orson Scott Card novel for instance we expect to feel out some political or philosophical ideal the author wants to get across to us, and when we tune into the new Star Trek series next year we will expect to see more the a series of morality plays the franchise has been come to be known for.
