Starship Troopers

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Starship Troopers
First edition cover
Author	Robert A. Heinlein
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction Philosophical novel[1][2]
Publisher	G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date	December 1959
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	263 pp (paperback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-450-02576-4

Starship Troopers is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published (in abridged form) as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (October, November 1959, as "Starship Soldier") and published hardcover in 1959.

The first-person narrative is about a young Filipino soldier named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit equipped with powered armor. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs". Through Rico's eyes, Heinlein examines moral and philosophical aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, the necessities of war and capital punishment, and the nature of juvenile delinquency.^[3]

Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960. The novel has attracted controversy and criticism for its social and political themes, which some critics claim promote militarism.^[4] Starship Troopers has been adapted into several films and games, with the most widely known — as well as the most controversial and criticized — being the 1997 film by Paul Verhoeven.

Contents 1 Heinlein's military background and political views 2 Writing of the novel 3 Plot summary 4 Major themes 4.1 Politics 4.2 Military history, traditions, and Military science 5 Military innovations 6 Popularity amongst US military 7 Controversy 7.1 Literary critiques 7.2 Allegations of militarism 7.3 Allegations of fascism 7.4 Allegations of utopianism 7.5 Allegations of racism 8 Cultural references 9 Release details 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Heinlein's military background and political views

Like several other authors who have written in the military science fiction genre (such as David Drake and Joe Haldeman), Robert A. Heinlein served in the United States military. Heinlein graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1928, and served in the United States Navy for six years. He served as a lieutenant aboard the USS Roper between 1933 and 1934, until he was forced to leave the Navy due to pulmonary tuberculosis. Heinlein never served in active combat while a Navy officer, and he was a civilian during WWII doing research and development at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.^[5] Heinlein's non-combat Naval service would become a point of contention in later criticism of Starship Troopers.

According to Heinlein, his desire to write Starship Troopers was sparked by the publication of a newspaper advertisement placed by the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy on April 5, 1958 calling for a unilateral suspension of nuclear weapon testing by the United States. In response, Robert and Virginia Heinlein created the Patrick Henry League in an attempt to create support for the U.S. nuclear testing program. During the unsuccessful campaign, Heinlein found himself under attack both from within and outside of the science fiction community for his views. Starship Troopers may therefore be viewed as Heinlein both clarifying and defending his military and political views of the time.^[6]

[edit] Writing of the novel

Some time during 1958–1959, Heinlein ceased work on the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange Land and wrote Starship Troopers. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in October and November 1959 as a serial called Starship Soldier. Although originally written as a juvenile novel for Scribners, it was rejected.^[7] The novel was eventually published as teenage fiction by G. P. Putnam's Sons.^[8] With their rejection of his novel, Heinlein ceased writing juvenile fiction for Scribners, ending his association with them completely, and began writing books with more adult themes.^[9]

[edit] Plot summary

Further information: List of characters in Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers is a novel set in an unspecified time in the future. It chronicles the experiences of Juan Rico, the story's narrator, during his enlistment and training in the Mobile Infantry, and his participation in an interstellar war between the Terran Federation and the Arachnids (referred to as "the Bugs") of Klendathu. It is narrated as a series of flashbacks — one of only a few Heinlein novels to use that narrative device^[10] — and contains large sections of character discussion and introspection, as well as exposition, all meant to detail the political theory and philosophical beliefs underlying the society that Juan Rico lives in.

The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette Rodger Young, platoon transport for "Rasczak's Roughnecks", about to embark on a raid against the planet of the "Skinnies", allies of the Arachnids. We learn that he is a "cap" trooper (called this because they are dropped in capsules toward their drop zones) in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry (MI), a military unit somewhat like a cross between an airborne force and a marine corps. The raid itself, one of the few instances of actual combat in the novel, is relatively brief: the Mobile Infantrymen land on the planet, destroy their targets, and withdraw, suffering three casualties (one fatal) in the process.

The story then flashes back to Rico's graduation from high school and his decision to sign up for Federal Service over the objections of his wealthy father rather than attend Harvard University. This is the only chapter that describes Rico's civilian life, and most of it is spent recording the monologues of two people: retired Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois, Rico's school instructor in the subject of "History and Moral Philosophy", and Fleet Sergeant Ho, a recruiter for the armed forces of the Terran Federation.

Many readers have felt that Dubois serves as a stand-in for Heinlein throughout the novel. He delivers what is probably the book's most famous soliloquy, on how violence "has settled more issues in history than has any other factor."^[11] Fleet Sergeant Ho offers a separate angle on military service to that of Dubois. (Ho has prostheses for several limbs, but does not wear them on duty at the front door of the federal building. This is calculated to remind applicants of the real risks of service, and to weed out those not willing to take such risks in the service of the commonwealth).

Interspersed throughout the book are other flashbacks to Rico's high school History and Moral Philosophy course, which describe how, in the Terran Federation, the rights of a full Citizen (to vote, and hold public office) must be earned through voluntary Federal service. However, the franchise cannot be exercised until after honorable discharge from the Service, which means that active members of the Service cannot vote. Those residents who opt not to perform Federal Service retain the other rights generally associated with a modern democracy (e.g. free speech, assembly, etc.), but cannot vote or hold public office. This structure arose ad hoc after the collapse of the 20th century Western democracies, brought on by both social failures at home and military defeat by the Chinese Hegemony overseas (i.e. looking forward into the late 20th century from the time the novel was written in the late 1950s).^[12]

After enlisting, Rico is assigned to boot camp at Camp Arthur Currie. Five chapters are spent exploring Rico's training, under the guidance of his chief instructor, Career Ship's Sergeant Charles Zim. Boot camp is deliberately so rigorous that fewer than ten percent of the recruits finish basic training; the rest either resign (with no penalty, save never being able to vote), are expelled (likewise), are given medical discharges (which may however be refused) or lesser duties (enabling them to vote after their service is finished) or die in training. One of the chapters deals with Ted Hendrick, a fellow recruit and constant complainer who is flogged, and expelled for striking a superior officer. (Flagellation and hanging have become the principal forms of both civil and military punishment in the novel's world). Another recruit, a deserter who kidnapped a small child, held her for ransom, and then murdered her while AWOL, is hanged by his battalion after his arrest and transfer from civilian to military authorities. Rico himself is flogged for his negligent handling of a simulated nuclear weapon during a drill; despite these experiences, he graduates with his class and is assigned to an active duty MI unit.

At some point during Rico's training, the Bug War moves from police action and border skirmishes to outright war, and upon graduation, Rico finds himself taking part in combat operations. The war "officially" starts when an Arachnid attack annihilates the city of Buenos Aires, in which Rico's mother is killed, although Rico makes it clear that there had been many prior "'incidents,' 'patrols,' or 'police actions'".^[13] Rico briefly describes the Terran Federation's catastrophic defeat in the Battle of Klendathu; his own unit was devastated and its transport ship destroyed. The Terran Federation suffers such tremendous losses that it is reduced to making hit-and-run raids similar to the one described at the beginning of the novel (which chronologically would be placed between Chapters 10 and 11) to gain time to rebuild. Rico meanwhile finds himself posted to Rasczak's Roughnecks, named after Lieutenant Rasczak (whose first name is never given). This part of the book focuses on the daily routine of military life aboard ship, as well as the relationship between officers and non-commissioned officers, personified in this case by Rasczak and Sergeant Jelal.

Eventually, Rico decides to become a career soldier and with the encouragement of his fellow trooper "Ace" applies for and is accepted to Officer Candidate School, which turns out to be just like boot camp, only "squared and cubed with books added."^[14] Rico is commissioned a temporary Third Lieutenant as a field-test final exam and, under supervision, commands his own unit during Operation Royalty; eventually he is commissioned as Second Lieutenant. At the end of his field exam, it is revealed that Rico's platoon sergeant during his final exam was Zim, his drill sergeant from Camp Currie.

The final chapter serves as more of a coda, echoing the opening few scenes of the novel and bringing the novel a sense of return and closure. In the preparation for this drop, however, Rico is aboard the Rodger Young as the lieutenant in command of Rico's Roughnecks, preparing to drop to Klendathu as part of a major strike, with his father (who has joined the MI earlier in the novel after his wife's death) as his senior sergeant and a Third Lieutenant-in-training of his own under his wing.

[edit] Major themes

[edit] Politics

Starship Troopers is a political essay as well as a novel. Large portions of the book take place in classrooms, with Rico and other characters engaged in debates with their History and Moral Philosophy teachers, who are often thought to be speaking in Heinlein's voice. The overall theme of the book is that social responsibility requires individual sacrifice. Heinlein's Terran Federation is a limited democracy with aspects of a meritocracy based on willingness to sacrifice in the common interest. Suffrage belongs only to those willing to serve their society by two years of volunteer Federal Service — "the franchise is today limited to discharged veterans", (ch. XII), instead of anyone "...who is 18 years old and has a body temperature near 37°C"^[15] The Federation is required to find a place for anyone who desires to serve, regardless of skill or aptitude.

There is an explicitly made contrast to the democracies of the 20th century, which according to the novel collapsed because "people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted... and get it, without toil, without sweat, without tears."^[16] Indeed, Col. Dubois criticizes as unrealistic the famous U.S. Declaration of Independence guarantees concerning "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." No one can stop anyone from pursuing happiness, but life and liberty can exist only if they are deliberately sought and paid for.

Starship Troopers is also widely regarded as a vehicle for Heinlein's anti-communist views, best summed up by Rico's (and his Federation's) belief that "correct morals arise from knowing what man is—not what do-gooders and well-meaning old Aunt Nellies would like him to be."^[17] Characters attack Karl Marx (a "pompous fraud"), the Labor theory of value ("All the work one cares to add will not turn a mud pie into an apple tart...")^[18] and Plato's The Republic ("ant-like communism" and "weird in the extreme").^[19] Many believe Heinlein's fears about communism are embodied in the Arachnids, the "ultimate dictatorship of the hive."^[20] The Arachnids are a society of "total communism" adapted by evolution. Queens lay eggs by the thousands and send warriors off to battle without (apparent) regard for casualties, and both behaviors are significantly different from the individualistic Terrans.^[21]

[edit] Military history, traditions, and Military science

During Operation Royalty, the Mobile Infantry occupy the surface of Planet P and have to blast the Arachnids out of their well-prepared underground bunkers, which is reminiscent of Japanese island fortifications during the Pacific War.^{[citation needed]} Following the losses in the ill-conceived and executed First Battle of Klendathu, the Terran Federation is reduced to making hit-and-run raids on isolated Arachnid and Skinny bases, similar to the U.S. Navy's situation between Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway.^{[citation needed]}

The Korean War ended only five years before Heinlein began writing Starship Troopers, and the book makes several direct references to it, such as the claim that "no 'Department of Defense' ever won a war".^[22] Heinlein also refers to the American prisoners of war taken in that conflict, including the popular accusations of Communist brainwashing.^[23] After the Korean War ended, there were rumors that the Chinese and North Koreans continued to hold a large number of Americans.^[24] Rico's History and Moral Philosophy class at Officer Candidate School has a long discussion about the need to never leave a single man behind, even at the risk of starting a new war. These positions may reflect popular views in the America of the late 1950s, and may have influenced Rico's (and others') commitment to his fellow Troopers when he concludes it "doesn't matter whether it's a thousand — or just one, sir. You fight."^[25]

Several references are made to other wars: these include the name of the starship that collided with Valley Forge, Ypres, a major battleground in World War I, as well as Rico's boot camp, Camp Arthur Currie. (Named after Sir Arthur Currie who commanded the Canadian Corps during that war). Another World War I reference was the phrase "Come on you apes! You wanta live forever?", which comes from Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly at the Battle of Belleau Wood (Although instead of "apes", Daly said "sons of bitches"). Another war reference, this one from the War of 1812, is the implications of the court-martial of Third Lieutenant William Sitgreaves Cox, which are discussed in some detail.

[edit] Military innovations

Further information: Powered armor

In addition to Heinlein's political views, Starship Troopers popularized a number of military concepts and innovations, some of which have inspired real life research. The novel's most noted innovation is the powered armor exoskeletons used by the Mobile Infantry.^[26] These suits were controlled by the wearer's own movements, but powerfully augmented a soldier's strength, speed, weight carrying capacity (which allowed much heavier personal armament), jumping ability (including jet and rocket boost assistance), and provided the wearer with improved senses (infrared and night vision, radar, and amplified hearing), a completely self-contained personal environment, sophisticated communications equipment, and tactical map displays. Their powered armor made the MI a hybrid between an infantry unit and an armored one.

Whether directly inspired by Starship Troopers or not, the United States military has attempted to develop "real world" technology that would give the abilities of the MI's powered armor to its soldiers.^[27] Equipment which replicates many of the individual abilities of powered armor (night vision goggles, infrared goggles, and GPS locators) are now standard issue military equipment.^[28] Between 1996 and 2007, the US Army conducted its Land Warrior research program, which would have given many of the MIs integrated communications and tactical intelligence abilities to United States infantrymen. However, the program funding was eliminated in the army's 2008 budget.^[29][30] The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States Department of Defense has also spent some $USD 50 million in an attempt to develop a powered exoskeleton in its Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation program, although apparently without any significant breakthroughs or the release of battlefield versions of its prototypes.^[31][32]

Another concept the book pioneered was that of "space-borne infantry". The heavily mechanized units of MI troops were attached to interstellar troop transport spacecraft, which then delivered them to planetary target zones, by dropping groups of Mobile Infantrymen onto the planet surface from orbit via individual re-entry capsules (hence the book's slang term "cap troopers" for MI troops). The uses for such a force - ranging from smash-and-burn raids, to surgical strikes, conventional infantry warfare, and holding beachheads - and the tactics that might be employed by such soldiers are described extensively within the novel. The weapons, tactics, training, and many other aspects of this futuristic elite force are carefully detailed: everything from the function of the armored suits themselves, to the need for multiple variants of powered armor, to the training of personnel in both suit operations and the specialized unit tactics that would be needed, to the operational use of the suits in combat.

[edit] Popularity amongst US military

While powered armor is Starship Troopers' most famous legacy, its influence extends deep into contemporary warfare. Almost half a century after its publication, Starship Troopers is on the reading lists of the United States Army,^[33] the United States Marine Corps,^[34][35][36] and the United States Navy.^[37] It is the only science fiction novel on the reading list at four of the five United States military academies. When Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers the United States military was a largely conscripted force, with conscripts serving two year hitches. Today the U.S. military has incorporated many ideas similar to Heinlein's concept of an all-volunteer, high-tech strike force. In addition, references to the book keep appearing in military culture. In 2002 a Marine general described the future of Marine Corps clothing and equipment as needing to emulate the Mobile Infantry.^[38]

The book is recommended reading within the U.S. Army and Marine Corps because of its emphasis on small-unit cohesion, the fraternity of service, and its focus on the forward-serving, elite mobile infantry units, that so closely resemble the infantry units of the United States Army, Delta Force, United States Army Rangers, the cavalry units of the United States Army, and the Marine Corps Force Recon. Mobile Infantry can be thought of a futuristic force incorporating elements of the aforementioned units (but more towards cavalry) due to their emphasis on raids, mobility, screening missions, scouting, unpredictability, and capacity to act as a quick reaction force.

Heinlein depicts the MI as a heavily armored but highly mobile force which virtually dominates the battlefield and utilizes shock effect to great effect- much in the way of modern armored units. Likewise, they are utilized in the same missions (raids, screens, etc.) as modern cavalry. In effect, the role depicted in the novel, relying on mobility, shock effect, and firepower, greatly follows the modern US Army Armor branch, with parts running the gamut from light cavalry to heavy tanks.

[edit] Controversy

To Heinlein's surprise,^[39] Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960. By 1980, twenty years after its release, it had been translated into eleven different languages and was still selling strongly. However, Heinlein complained that, despite this success, almost all the mail he received about it was negative and he only heard about it "when someone wants to chew me out".^[40]

[edit] Literary critiques

The main literary criticism against Starship Troopers is that it is nothing more than a vehicle for Heinlein's political views. John Brunner compared it to a "Victorian children's book"^[41] while Anthony Boucher, founder of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, remarked that Heinlein had "forgotten to insert a story."^[41] Alexei Panshin complained that the novel was overly simplistic — "the account of the making of a [marine]... and nothing more"^[42] — and that the characters were simply mouthpieces for Heinlein: "At the end you know nothing of [Rico's] tastes, his likes and dislikes, his personal life. The course of the book changes him in no way because there is nothing to change — Rico remains first and last a voice reading lines about how nice it is to be a soldier... The other characters are even more sketchy, or are simple expositions of an attitude."^[42] Richard Geib adds "The real life 'warriors' I have known are all more multi-faceted than anyone we meet in Starship Troopers. And the ones I know who have killed are much more ambivalent about having done so."^[43] He further complained about the almost complete lack of sexuality among the characters and the absence of any serious romance.^[43]

[edit] Allegations of militarism

Another complaint about Starship Troopers is that it is either inherently militaristic or pro-military. There was a two-year debate in the Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies (PITFCS) that was sparked by a comparison between a quote in Starship Troopers that "the noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and war's desolation"^[44] (paraphrase of the fourth stanza of "The Star-Spangled Banner") and the anti-war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen.^[41] Dean McLaughlin called it "a book-length recruiting poster."^[41] Alexei Panshin, a veteran of the peacetime military, argued that Heinlein glossed over the reality of military life, and that the Terran Federation-Arachnid conflict existed simply because, "Starship troopers are not half so glorious sitting on their butts polishing their weapons for the tenth time for lack of anything else to do."^[42] Joe Haldeman, a Vietnam veteran and author of the anti-war Hugo- and Nebula-winning science fiction novel The Forever War, similarly complained that Starship Troopers unnecessarily glorifies war.^[45] Others have pointed out that Heinlein never actually served in combat, having been a Naval Academy graduate who was medically discharged for a tuberculosis infection and spent World War II as a civilian doing Research and Development at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Defending Heinlein, George Price argued that "[Heinlein] implies, first, that war is something 'endured,' not enjoyed, and second, that war is so unpleasant, so desolate, that it must at all costs be kept away from one's home."^[41] In a commentary on his essay "Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry?", Heinlein agreed that Starship Troopers "glorifies the military ... Specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and the war's desolation — but is rarely appreciated... he has the toughest job of all and should be honored."^[46] The book's dedication also reads in part "... to all sergeants everywhere who have labored to make men out of boys."^[47] However, he thoroughly disagreed that Starship Troopers was militaristic, arguing that the military personnel in the Terran Federation were not allowed to vote while on active duty — since "the idiots might vote not to make a drop"^[48] — and that the military was thoroughly despised by many civilians. Interestingly, Heinlein also received some complaints about the lack of conscription in Starship Troopers (the military draft was the law in the United States when he wrote the novel).^[49] Heinlein was always vehemently opposed to the idea of conscription (calling conscripts "slave soldiers" and arguing that a nation which was not able to find volunteers to fight for it did not deserve to endure).

[edit] Allegations of fascism

Another accusation is that the Terran Federation is a fascist society, and that Starship Troopers is therefore an endorsement of fascism. These analogies have become so popular that Sircar's Corollary of Godwin's Law states that once Heinlein is brought up during online debates, "Nazis or Hitler are mentioned within three days." ^[50] The most visible proponent of these views is probably Paul Verhoeven, whose film version of Starship Troopers portrayed the Terran Federation wearing Nazi-like outfits and using fascistic propaganda; but Verhoeven admits that he never finished reading the actual book.^[51] Most of the arguments for this view cite the idea that only veterans can vote and non-veterans lack full citizenship. Federal Service is not necessarily military, although it is suggested that a certain hardship and discipline is pervasive. According to Poul Anderson, Heinlein got the idea not from Nazi Germany or Sparta, but from Switzerland.^[12]

Defenders of the book usually point out that although the electoral franchise is limited, the government of the Terran Federation is democratically elected. There is freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of conscience. The political system described in the book is multiracial, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic. The protagonist Juan Rico is Filipino and others in his training group are American, Armenian, Japanese, German, and Turkish, Australian or Arab, and one or two have recognizably Jewish last names. Many also argue that Heinlein was simply discussing the merits of a "selective versus nonselective franchise."^[41] Heinlein made a similar claim in his Expanded Universe.^[52] The novel makes a related claim that "[s]ince sovereign franchise is the ultimate in human authority, we insure that all who wield it accept the ultimate in social responsibility — we require each person who wishes to exert control over the state to wager his own life — and lose it, if need be to save the life of the state. The maximum responsibility a human can accept is thus equated to the ultimate authority a human can exert."^[53]

[edit] Allegations of utopianism

More recently, Heinlein has been accused of creating a utopia (in the sense of a society that does not, and cannot, exist), and that while his ideas sound plausible, they have never been put to the test and are, actually, impractical. This criticism has been leveled by the likes of Robert A. W. Lowndes, Philip José Farmer, and Michael Moorcock. The latter wrote an essay entitled "Starship Stormtroopers" in which he attacked Heinlein and other writers over similar "Utopian fiction."^[54] Lowndes accused Heinlein of using straw man arguments, "countering ingenuous half-truths with brilliant half-truths."^[41] Lowndes further argued that the Terran Federation could never be as idealistic as Heinlein portrays it to be because he never properly addressed "whether or not [non-citizens] have at least as full a measure of civil redress against official injustice as we have today".^[41] Farmer also agreed, arguing that a "world ruled by veterans would be as mismanaged, graft-ridden, and insane as one ruled by men who had never gotten near the odor of blood and guts."^[41]

However, this issue is still controversial, even among the book's defenders. James Gifford^[7] points to several quotes as indications that the characters assume Federal Service is military; for instance, when Rico tells his father he is interested in Federal Service, his father immediately explains his belief that Federal Service is a bad idea because there is no war in progress, indicating that he sees Federal Service as military in nature, or not necessary to a businessman during peacetime. Some Federal Service recruiters wear military ribbons, and a term of service "is either real military service... or a most unreasonable facsimile thereof." Moreover, the history of Federal Service describes it as being started by military veterans who did not originally allow civilians to join and are not described as allowing them to join later. Gifford decides, as a result, that although Heinlein's intentions may have been that Federal Service be 95% non-military, in relation to the actual contents of the book, Heinlein "is wrong on this point. Flatly so."

[edit] Allegations of racism

The supposedly racist aspects of Starship Troopers involve the Terrans' relations with the Bugs and the Skinnies. Some people are also uncomfortable with the idea of an interspecies war, viewing it as similar to a race war. Richard Geib has suggested that Heinlein portrayed the individual Arachnids as lacking "minds or souls... killing them seems no different from stepping on ants."^[43] Both Robert Peterson and John Brunner believe that the nicknames "Bugs" and "Skinnies" carry racial overtones, Brunner using the analogy of "gook"^[41] while Peterson suggested that "not only does the nickname 'Bugs' for the arachnids of Klendathu sound too much like a racial slur — think of the derogatory use of the word 'Jew' — but Heinlein's characters unswervingly believe that humans are superior to Bugs, and that humans are destined to spread across the galaxy."^[55]

Robert A. W. Lowndes argues that the war between the Terrans and the Arachnids is not about a quest for racial purity, but rather an extension of Heinlein's belief that man is a wild animal. According to this theory, if man lacks a moral compass beyond the will to survive, and he was confronted by another species with a similar lack of morality, then the only possible result would be warfare.^[41]

[edit] Cultural references

Main article: Books, films, and games influenced by Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers influenced many later science fiction stories, setting a tone for the military in space, a type of story referred to as military science fiction. John Steakley's novel Armor was, according to the author, born out of frustration with the small amount of actual combat in Starship Troopers and because he wanted this aspect developed further.^[56] Conversely, Joe Haldeman's anti-war novel The Forever War is popularly thought to be a direct reply to Starship Troopers, and though Haldeman has stated that it is actually a result of his personal experiences in the Vietnam War, he has admitted to being influenced by Starship Troopers.^[45] Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is also thought by many to have been either a direct response to or influenced by Starship Troopers. Card has flatly denied this, saying that he never read the novel and did not read The Forever War until after writing Ender's Game.^[57] Harry Harrison wrote a satirical book called Bill, the Galactic Hero which he described as "a piss-take on Heinlein's Starship Troopers."^[58] John Scalzi's novel Old Man's War is, according to the author, explicitly patterned after Starship Troopers.^[59] In recent years, John Ringo's series Legacy of the Alldenata (also known as the Posleen series) featured a more explicit homage to Heinlein's book.

The 1986 James Cameron movie Aliens incorporated themes and phrases right out of the novel such as the terms "the drop" and "bug hunt" as well as the cargo-loader exoskeleton. The actors playing the Colonial Marines were also required to read Starship Troopers as part of their training prior to filming.^[60] In 1988, Bandai Visual produced a 6-episode Japanese original video animation locally titled Uchu no Senshi, which is reported by Anime News Network as the media adaptation most faithful to the novel's plot.^[61] The novel's name was licensed for Paul Verhoeven's film adaptation in 1997.^[62] The movie of the same name diverged greatly in terms of the theme and ideas with the novel. It received mixed reviews,^[63] and was followed by a direct-to-video sequel in 2004. An animated series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles which took inspiration from both the novel and the first film was started in 1999, and lasted for 40 episodes.

In 1976, Avalon Hill published Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a miniature board game featuring a number of scenarios as written in the novel.^[64] In 1997, as a tie-in with Verhoeven's film adaptation, they published Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle! which entirely focused on the film.^[65] A miniature wargame of the same name which used material from both the novel and the film was published by Mongoose Publishing in 2005.^[66] Starship Troopers is also thought to have influenced numerous computer and boardgames, including Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Tribes, and Tribes 2, ^[67] Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri,^[68] Halo, Warhammer 40,000, Fallout 2,^[69] and StarCraft.^[70] In 1987, a Choose Your Own Adventure-style interactive book set in the Starship Troopers universe, Combat Command in the World of Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers: Shines the Name by Mark Acres, was published by Ace Publishers.

In 2006 Markosia began publishing The Starship Troopers Comics Ongoing Series , using, and expanding on, the background from the Mongoose Publishing wargame.

[edit] Release details

• 1960-06-01, Putnam Publishing Group, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-20209-9
• May, 1968, Berkley Medallion Edition, paperback, ISBN 0-425-02945-X
• January 1984, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-07158-8
• November 1985, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09144-9
• November 1986, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-09926-1
• 1987-05-01, Ace Books, paperback, 263 pages, ISBN 0-441-78358-9
• 1995-10-01, Buccaneer Books, hardcover, ISBN 1-56849-287-1
• 1997-12-01, Blackstone Audiobooks, cassette audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-1231-X
• 1998-07-01, G. K. Hall & Company, large print hardcover, 362 pages, ISBN 0-7838-0118-1
• 1999-10-01, Sagebrush, library binding, ISBN 0-7857-8728-3
• 2000-01-01, Blackstone Audiobooks, CD audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-9946-6
• 2006-06-27, Ace Trade, paperback, ISBN 0-441-01410-0

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Starship Troopers publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• "Starry-Eyed Internationalists" versus the Social Darwinists by Rafeeq O. McGiveron. Examines Heinlein's transnational governments, including the Terran Federation.
• Militarism and Utopia in 'Starship Troopers' by Robert Peterson. Argues that Heinlein's Federation is a fascist government.
• Citizenship at War by Roberto de Sousa Causo. Review from a Brazilian newspaper.
• SciFi.Com book review by Craig E. Engler.
• Gotterdammerung.Org book review by Branislav L. Slantchev.
• SFReviews.Net book review by T. M. Wagner.
• "STARSHIP TROOPERS" by Robert A. Heinlein. An opinion by Richard Geib.
• "Thoughts on Starship Troopers" by Christopher Weuve.
• Rah, Rah, R. A. H.! - essay by Spider Robinson in defense of Heinlein mostly against Panshin's "Heinlein In Dimension"

v • d • e Robert A. Heinlein novels, major collections, and nonfiction (Bibliography) Future History & World as Myth Methuselah's Children (1958) · The Past Through Tomorrow (1967) · Time Enough for Love (1973) · The Number of the Beast (1980) · The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) · To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987) Scribner's juveniles Rocket Ship Galileo (1947) · Space Cadet (1948) · Red Planet (1949) · Farmer in the Sky (1950) · Between Planets (1951) · The Rolling Stones (1952) · Starman Jones (1953) · The Star Beast (1954) · Tunnel in the Sky (1955) · Time for the Stars (1956) · Citizen of the Galaxy (1957) · Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958) Other novels For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs (1939/2003) · Beyond This Horizon (1942) · Sixth Column (1949) · The Puppet Masters (1951) · Double Star (1956) · The Door into Summer (1957) · Starship Troopers (1959) · Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) · Podkayne of Mars (1963) · Glory Road (1963) · Farnham's Freehold (1965) · The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) · I Will Fear No Evil (1970) · Friday (1982) · Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984) · Variable Star (1955/2006) Nonfiction Take Back Your Government (1946/1992) · Tramp Royale (1954/1992) · Expanded Universe (1980) · Grumbles from the Grave (1989)

Preceded by A Case of Conscience by James Blish

Hugo Award for Best Novel 1960

Succeeded by A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.