Book Review - Starship Troopers
Hey there.
I may have mentioned in my earlier post that I'm hoping to include occasional book reviews here. This will be a little more common in the next few weeks, as I'm trying to catch up on the books that I've been reading lately. Fortunately, I'm always reading a hard-copy book and listening to an audiobook, so I can get a lot of lit in as I go about my day on daddy-duty.
This week, I want to take a minute and talk about the classic 1959 science-fiction book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
My first reaction was ... whoa.
Here's a quick recap of the book's plot: Juan Rico (the first-person protagonist) turns eighteen and is legally able to make his own choices in regard to what he wants to do. Much to the chagrin of his dad, he joins up with the military. He figures he's going to end up doing something kind of inane—his best friend want to go into R&D on Pluto (which is a planet, Neil Degrasse Tyson!) and he ends up in the mobile infantry.
But here's the interesting part. You'd think that a book that inspired a movie with such intense action would contain more ... action. But you'd be wrong. There are passing references to combat occasionally in the opening and middle chapters, but it's not until fairly later on that you actually get into fighting. And even then, it's less intense than you might think.
So now you might be thinking this sounds like crap. Well, I've got to say you're entitled to your opinion, but we're on different sides of the fence on this one. Throughout, there is a lot of political tension, mixed with the pressures of other military forces from above and below the protagonist. But the thing that really holds you in this book is one of the philosophies Alfred Hitchcock used. A bomb goes off, it's action. A bomb doesn't go off, it's suspense. It takes a long time for any bombs to go off, and you're left hanging on the edge, just wondering where it's going to drop.
So here's something I'd like to do with each of my reviews: I'm going to have a list of pros and cons for each work, although the names of the lists might change. Sue me.
Pros:
Military and politics married well
Suspenseful
Detailed
Organized
Absorbing
No coarse language or content
Cons:
A little slower if you're looking for an action novel
Possibly a little overly detailed
Very analytical
Overall: I'd give Starship Troopers a solid 8/10. It's not perfect—there are things that could be improved, but those things would appeal to a more modern audience, so you have to take into account the time in which Heinlein wrote it. Therefore, it may be a little stilted for audiences nearly 60 years later. But when it comes down to it, it's a really absorbing story and draws you through the career of Mr. Rico from an 18-year old kid to a badass in the Mobile Infantry. There's intrigue, obvious content drawn first-hand from Heinlein's experience in the Navy, and plenty of crunchy sci-fi stuff for people to latch onto.
I may have mentioned in my earlier post that I'm hoping to include occasional book reviews here. This will be a little more common in the next few weeks, as I'm trying to catch up on the books that I've been reading lately. Fortunately, I'm always reading a hard-copy book and listening to an audiobook, so I can get a lot of lit in as I go about my day on daddy-duty.
This week, I want to take a minute and talk about the classic 1959 science-fiction book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
My first reaction was ... whoa.
Here's a quick recap of the book's plot: Juan Rico (the first-person protagonist) turns eighteen and is legally able to make his own choices in regard to what he wants to do. Much to the chagrin of his dad, he joins up with the military. He figures he's going to end up doing something kind of inane—his best friend want to go into R&D on Pluto (which is a planet, Neil Degrasse Tyson!) and he ends up in the mobile infantry.
But here's the interesting part. You'd think that a book that inspired a movie with such intense action would contain more ... action. But you'd be wrong. There are passing references to combat occasionally in the opening and middle chapters, but it's not until fairly later on that you actually get into fighting. And even then, it's less intense than you might think.
So now you might be thinking this sounds like crap. Well, I've got to say you're entitled to your opinion, but we're on different sides of the fence on this one. Throughout, there is a lot of political tension, mixed with the pressures of other military forces from above and below the protagonist. But the thing that really holds you in this book is one of the philosophies Alfred Hitchcock used. A bomb goes off, it's action. A bomb doesn't go off, it's suspense. It takes a long time for any bombs to go off, and you're left hanging on the edge, just wondering where it's going to drop.
So here's something I'd like to do with each of my reviews: I'm going to have a list of pros and cons for each work, although the names of the lists might change. Sue me.
Pros:
Military and politics married well
Suspenseful
Detailed
Organized
Absorbing
No coarse language or content
Cons:
A little slower if you're looking for an action novel
Possibly a little overly detailed
Very analytical
Overall: I'd give Starship Troopers a solid 8/10. It's not perfect—there are things that could be improved, but those things would appeal to a more modern audience, so you have to take into account the time in which Heinlein wrote it. Therefore, it may be a little stilted for audiences nearly 60 years later. But when it comes down to it, it's a really absorbing story and draws you through the career of Mr. Rico from an 18-year old kid to a badass in the Mobile Infantry. There's intrigue, obvious content drawn first-hand from Heinlein's experience in the Navy, and plenty of crunchy sci-fi stuff for people to latch onto.
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