May 12, 2001 02:30 PM
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Starship Troopers is one of the great foundation stones of modern science fiction. Written by one of the acknowledged masters of the genre, Robert A. Heinlein, it charts the progress of John Rico, a young man who desperately wants to earn the right to vote.
This right can only be earned through serving a term in the services. The civilisation Rico is part of regards this “term of service” as a way of separating out the socially aware, ambitious people from the masses. Considering that this book was written in 1959 (first published in the UK in 1961 there are certain comparisons that can be placed at the door of the National Service programme that was active at the time. Perhaps Heinlein was making a social comment at the time of writing. Having watched Rico become an enlisted man in the Mobile Infantry we see his experiences of training camp gradually open his eyes to the real world that exists outside his pampered homelife. During his time he is rudely awakened to the fact that war is not mass slaughter, it is controlled violence on the grand scale and one of the most dangerous tools in a society’s political arsenal. As his career progresses more and more we see the values that Rico’s society is trying to instill into him forming as layers in his approach to life.
Although the film of the book by Paul Verhoeven made in 1997 is essentially a good movie in itself I personally feel that too many of the main features of the book were left out for it to be a true image of the book. I have to say I liked the concept of the news bulletins that feature throughout the film as it gave a good futuristic feel. Although this book sounds very heavy reading material it isn’t. A very short novel at 226 pages (published by New English Library price £4.99 sterling) it packs in a lot of story and is paced very well.
A very easy introduction to Heinlein’s work. Please read this book you will not be disappointed
