Starship Troopers
Encyclopedia
Starship Troopers is a military 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 December, 1959.
The first-person narrative
is about a young soldier from the Philippines
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
.
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 fascism and militarism
. Starship Troopers has been adapted into several films and games, with the most widely known being the 1997 film of the same name
by Paul Verhoeven.
USS Lexington
in 1931, and as a naval lieutenant aboard the destroyer
USS Roper
between 1933 and 1934, until he was forced to leave the Navy because of pulmonary tuberculosis. Heinlein never served in active combat while a Navy officer and he was a civilian during World War II
doing research and development
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Heinlein recruited Isaac Asimov
to work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with him. 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 small "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 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.
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 New York publishing house Scribner
, it was rejected, prompting Heinlein to cease writing juvenile fiction for Scribners, to end his association with them completely, and begin writing books with more adult themes. The novel was eventually published as teenage fiction by G. P. Putnam's Sons
.
Starship Troopers takes place in the midst of an interstellar war between the Terran Federation of Earth and the Arachnids
(referred to as "The Bugs") of Klendathu
. It is narrated as a series of flashbacks by Juan Rico, and is one of only a few Heinlein novels set out in this fashion. The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette
Rodger Young (presumably named after Rodger Wilton Young), serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks" (named after the platoon leader, Lt. Rasczak) about to embark on a raid against the planet of the "Skinnies," who are allies of the Arachnids. We learn that he is a cap(sule) trooper in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry
. The raid itself, one of the few instances of actual combat in the novel, is relatively brief: the Roughnecks land on the planet, destroy their targets, and retreat, suffering a single casualty in the process (Dizzy Flores, who dies in the retrieval boat of wounds received in action).
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 father, who disowns him. This is the only chapter that describes Rico's civilian life, and most of it is spent on the monologues of two people: retired Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois, Rico's school instructor in "History and Moral Philosophy," and Fleet Sergeant Ho, a recruiter for the armed forces of the Terran Federation.
Dubois serves as a stand-in for Heinlein throughout the novel, and delivers what is probably the book's most famous soliloquy on violence, and how it "has settled more issues in history than has any other factor." Fleet Sergeant Ho's monologues examine the nature of military service, and his anti-military tirades appear in the book primarily as a contrast with Dubois. It is later revealed that his rants are calculated to scare off the weaker applicants.
Interspersed throughout the book are other flashbacks to Rico's high school History and Moral Philosophy course, which describe how in the Terran Federation of Rico's day, the rights of a full Citizen (to vote, and hold public office) must be earned through some form of volunteer Federal service. Those residents who have not exercised their right to perform this Federal Service retain the other rights generally associated with a modern democracy (free speech, assembly, etc.), but they 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 by extension, the poor handling of juvenile delinquency
) and military defeat by the Chinese Hegemony overseas.
In the next section of the novel Rico goes to boot camp at Camp Arthur Currie
, on the northern prairies. Five chapters are spent exploring Rico's experience entering the service under the training of his instructor, career Ship's Sergeant Charles Zim. Camp Currie is so rigorous that less than ten percent of the recruits finish basic training; the rest either resign, are expelled, 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 (he caught Sgt. Zim by surprise). Another recruit, a deserter who murdered a baby girl while AWOL, is hanged by his battalion. Rico himself is flogged for poor handling of (simulated) nuclear weapon
s during a drill; despite these experiences he eventually graduates and is assigned to a unit.
At some point during Rico's training, the 'Bug War' has begun to brew, and Rico finds himself taking part in combat operations. The war "officially" starts with an Arachnid attack that annihilates the city of Buenos Aires
(which kills Juan's mother), although Rico makes it clear that prior to the attack there were plenty of "'incidents,' 'patrols,' or 'police actions.'" Rico briefly describes the Terran Federation's loss at the Battle of Klendathu where his unit is decimated and his ship destroyed. Following Klendathu, the Terran Federation 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). Rico meanwhile finds himself posted to Rasczak's Roughnecks. This part of the book focuses on the daily routine of military life, 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 attends Officer Candidate School
, which turns out to be just like boot camp, only "squared and cubed with books added." Rico is commissioned a temporary Third Lieutenant as a field-test final exam and commands his own unit during Operation Royalty; eventually he graduates as a Second Lieutenant and full-fledged officer.
There is also the account of a meeting between Rico and his father, who has joined up since Rico's mother was killed at Buenos Aires. The final chapter serves as more of a coda, depicting Rico aboard the Rodger Young as the lieutenant in command of Rico's Roughnecks, preparing to drop to Klendathu as part of a major strike, his father being his sergeant and a Native American
Third Lieutenant-in-training (James Bearpaw, known as "Jimmie") of his own under his wing.
based on willingness to sacrifice in the common interest. Suffrage
belongs only to those willing to serve their society by at least 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" The Federation is required to find a place for anyone who desires to serve, regardless of his skill or aptitude (this also includes service ranging from teaching to dangerous non-military work such as serving as experimental medical test subjects).
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." Indeed, Colonel Dubois criticizes as unrealistic the famous U.S. Declaration of Independence
line concerning "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
". No one can stop anyone from pursuing happiness, but life and liberty are said to 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. 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..."), and Plato
's The Republic ("ant-like communism" and "weird in the extreme").
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." Heinlein also refers to the American prisoners of war
taken in that conflict, including the popular accusations of Communist brainwashing. After the Korean War ended, there were rumors that the Chinese and North Koreans continued to hold a large number of Americans. Rico's History and Moral Philosophy class at Officer Candidate School has a long discussion about whether it is moral to never leave a single man behind, even at the risk of starting a new war. Rico debates whether it was worth it to risk two nations' futures over a single man who might not even deserve to live, but concludes it "doesn't matter whether it's a thousand – or just one, sir. You fight."
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
, the starship Mannerheim, a reference to the World War II
-era marshal of Finland, as well as Rico's boot camp, Camp Arthur Currie (named after Sir Arthur Currie
who commanded the Canadian Corps
during that war); a brief reference is also made to Camp Sergeant Smokey Smith
, named after a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
in World War II. The airport was the location of the U.S. Army Air Corps' Walla Walla Army Air Base in World War II. The 91st Bomb Group lays claim to being the first Army Air Forces outfit to utilize that base. Another World War I reference was the phrase "Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?", which comes from Gunnery Sergeant
Dan Daly at the Battle of Belleau Wood
(although instead of "apes", Daly said "sons of bitches"). This phrase, however, has been attributed to various people throughout military history, including perhaps the earliest documented citation by Frederick II of Prussia
when he was meant to have said "Kerls, wollt ihr ewig leben?" (tr. "Dogs, would you live forever?") at the Battle of Kolín
. The Rodger Young was named after the World War II Medal of Honor
recipient, and the lines from the chorus of Frank Loesser
's Ballad of Rodger Young is used as the ship's recognition signal. 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.
s used by the Mobile Infantry. 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 vision and night vision
, radar
, and amplified hearing), a completely self-contained personal environment
including a drug-dispensing apparatus, sophisticated communications equipment, and tactical map displays. Their powered armor made the Mobile Infantry a hybrid between an infantry unit and an armored one.
Another concept the book pioneered was that of "space-borne infantry". The heavily mechanized units of M.I. 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 M.I. troops). The uses for such a force—ranging from smash-and-burn raids, to surgical strike
s, conventional infantry warfare, and holding beachheads—and the tactics that might be employed by such soldiers are described extensively within the novel. The 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.
, and the United States Navy
. It is the first science fiction novel on the reading lists at three of the five United States military branches. 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.
in 1960. By 1980, twenty years after its release, it had been translated into eleven 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."
compared it to a "Victorian children's book" while Anthony Boucher
, founder of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
, remarked that Heinlein had "forgotten to insert a story." Alexei Panshin
complained that the novel was overly simplistic—"[an] account of the making of a [Marine] ... and nothing more"—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." 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." He further complained about the almost complete lack of sexuality among the characters and the absence of any serious romance.
In his review column for F&SF, Damon Knight
selected the novel as one of the 10 best genre books of 1959.
In a 2009 retrospective, Jo Walton
finds Starship Troopers "military SF done extremely well." "Heinlein was absolutely at his peak when he wrote this in 1959. He had so much technical stylistic mastery of the craft of writing science fiction that he could do something like this and get away with it." "It’s astonishing that [Starship Troopers is] still controversial now, fifty years after it was first published," and "Probably [Heinlein would] have been delighted at how much the book has made people think and argue."
") and the anti-war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est
" by Wilfred Owen
. Dean McLaughlin
called it "a book-length recruiting poster." 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." 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.
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." 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." The book's dedication also reads in part "... to all sergeants everywhere who have labored to make men out of boys." 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).
states that once Heinlein is brought up during online debates, "Nazis or Hitler are mentioned within three days."
The most visible proponent of these views is probably Paul Verhoeven, whose film version
of Starship Troopers portrayed the Terran Federation's personnel wearing uniforms strongly reminiscent of those worn by the Third Reich-era Wehrmacht
; but Verhoeven admits that he never finished reading the actual book. Most of the arguments for this view cite the idea that only veterans can vote and non-veterans lack full citizenship; moreover, only veterans are permitted to teach the course "History & Moral Philosophy", children are taught that moral arguments for the status quo are mathematically correct, and capital punishment is acceptable as a method to teach morality. 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.
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 military service is entirely volunteer, with no conscription
. 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
, Australian, and Turkish, 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." Heinlein made a similar claim in his Expanded Universe and further noted that 95% of "veterans" were not military personnel but members of the civil service and that only retired veterans could vote or hold office.
However, this issue is still controversial, even among the book's defenders. James Gifford 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."
(in the sense of a society that does not, and cannot, exist), and that while Heinlein's ideas sound plausible, they have never been put to the test and are, actually, impractical or utopian. 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." Lowndes accused Heinlein of using straw man
arguments, "countering ingenuous half-truths with brilliant half-truths." 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". 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."
" 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."
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.
. 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. 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. 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. Harry Harrison
wrote a satirical book called Bill, the Galactic Hero
which he described as "a piss-take on Heinlein's Starship Troopers." John Scalzi
's novel Old Man's War
is, according to the author, explicitly patterned after Starship Troopers. In recent years, John Ringo
's series Legacy of the Aldenata
(also known as the Posleen
series) featured a more explicit homage to Heinlein's book. 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
.
film Aliens
incorporated themes and phrases from 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 preparation prior to filming.
The film rights to the novel were licensed in the 1990s. The first film, also titled Starship Troopers
, was directed by Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop
, Total Recall
) and released in 1997. The film diverged greatly in terms of the themes and plot of the novel, and received mixed reviews from critics. A sequel followed in 2004, titled Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
, and another in 2008, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. 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.
Yoshiyuki Tomino
, the creator of the mecha anime
TV series Mobile Suit Gundam
(1979) has cited Starship Troopers as an important inspiration. He coined the term "mobile suit" used to name the piloted mecha from the anime series as a reference to the novel's own "mobile infantry". The Gundam
series are notable because they started the Real Robot
genre of mecha anime that continues to be portrayed in several Japanese sci-fi productions until this day.
In 1988, Sunrise
and Bandai Visual
produced a 6-episode Japanese original video animation
locally titled Uchū no Senshi
with mobile infantry power armor designs by Kazutaka Miyatake
(famous for his work on Macross
/Robotech
).
Recently, StarKid productions has created a parody of Starship Troopers called Starship
. Instead of the main characters being to Troopers or Rangers, though, the main character is one of the Bugs, by the name of Bug. He is determine to be a Starship Ranger and only when they arrive on his planet to the viewers and Bug himself, actually meet the Rangers.
published Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a map-and-counter board wargame
featuring a number of scenarios as written in the novel. In 1997, as a tie-in with Verhoeven's film adaptation, they published Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle!, which entirely focused on the film. Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game
, a miniature wargame
which used material from both the novel and the film was published by Mongoose Publishing
in 2005. In 1982, Radio Shack/Tandy published Klendathu by Leo Christopherson for the TRS-80 Model I/II/III and Color Computer. In 1998, Mythic Entertainment
released Starship Troopers: Battlespace which was available to America Online subscribers. The game, in which players battled each other in overhead space combat, allowed players to assume either Klendathu or Federation roles. In 2000, Blue Tongue Entertainment
released the top-down real-time tactics
video game Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy
. A first-person shooter
game titled Starship Troopers
was released November 15, 2005, based on Paul Verhoeven's film version rather than on Heinlein's novel. It was developed by Strangelite
and published by Empire Interactive
. Starship Troopers is also thought to have influenced numerous games including Outwars
, Tribes, Tribes 2
, StarCraft
,, Warhammer 40k and Crysis
. They are also the basis of the ODST in the Halo series
, Mongoose Publishing
and Markosia
have held the license to produce comic book
s based on Starship Troopers. Over the years they have been written by writers like Warren Ellis
, Gordon Rennie
and Tony Lee
.
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
novel by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
, first published (in abridged form) as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
(October, November 1959, as "Starship Soldier") and published hardcover in December, 1959.
The first-person narrative
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
is about a young soldier from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
named Juan "Johnnie" Rico
Juan Rico
Juan "Johnnie" or "Johnny" Rico is the protagonist of Robert A. Heinlein's 1958 science-fiction novel Starship Troopers. He also appears in the films Starship Troopers and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder , and in the television series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles.-Biography:In Starship...
and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry
Mobile Infantry (Starship Troopers)
The Mobile Infantry is a fictional military force in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers and in the movies Starship Troopers, released in 1997, the 2004 sequel, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 film Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and the TV series Roughnecks: Starship...
, a futuristic military unit equipped with powered armor. Rico's military career progresses from recruit
Army recruit
Recruit or army recruit is a term often colloquially used to refer to the lowest military rank in various armed services. It usually implies that the soldier so labeled has not yet completed basic training....
to non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
and finally to officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs
Bug (Starship Troopers)
The Bugs are an extraterrestrial race in the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, its film adaptation , sometimes also referred to as the Arachnids, although this is a misnomer, as the aliens are not related to Earth arachnids...
". Through Rico's eyes, Heinlein examines moral and philosophical aspects of suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
, civic virtue
Civic virtue
Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community. The identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue have been a major concern of political philosophy...
, the necessities of war and capital punishment, and the nature of juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
.
Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 1960. The novel has attracted controversy and criticism for its social and political themes, which some critics claim promote fascism and militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
. Starship Troopers has been adapted into several films and games, with the most widely known being the 1997 film of the same name
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
by Paul Verhoeven.
Heinlein's military background and political views
Heinlein graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1929, and served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for five years. He served on the then new aircraft carrierAircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
USS Lexington
USS Lexington (CV-2)
USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
in 1931, and as a naval lieutenant aboard the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
USS Roper
USS Roper (DD-147)
USS Roper was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy, later converted to a high-speed transport and redesignated APD-20.She was named for Lieutenant Commander Jesse M...
between 1933 and 1934, until he was forced to leave the Navy because of pulmonary tuberculosis. Heinlein never served in active combat while a Navy officer and he was a civilian during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
doing research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Heinlein recruited Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
to work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with him. 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
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
by the United States. In response, Robert and Virginia Heinlein created the small "Patrick Henry League" in an attempt to create support for the U.S. nuclear testing program
Nuclear weapons and the United States
The United States was the first country to develop nuclear weapons, and is the only country to have used them in warfare, with the separate bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Before and during the Cold War it conducted over a thousand nuclear tests and developed many long-range...
. During the unsuccessful campaign, Heinlein found himself under attack both from within and outside 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.
Writing of the novel
Some time during 1958 and 1959, Heinlein ceased work on the novel that would become Stranger in a Strange LandStranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and...
and wrote Starship Troopers. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
in October and November 1959 as a serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
called Starship Soldier. Although originally written as a juvenile novel
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
for New York publishing house Scribner
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, it was rejected, prompting Heinlein to cease writing juvenile fiction for Scribners, to end his association with them completely, and begin writing books with more adult themes. The novel was eventually published as teenage fiction by G. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
.
Plot
Bug (Starship Troopers)
The Bugs are an extraterrestrial race in the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, its film adaptation , sometimes also referred to as the Arachnids, although this is a misnomer, as the aliens are not related to Earth arachnids...
(referred to as "The Bugs") of Klendathu
Klendathu
Klendathu is the fictional homeworld of the extraterrestrial race known as the Bugs , in the fictional universe of the Robert A...
. It is narrated as a series of flashbacks by Juan Rico, and is one of only a few Heinlein novels set out in this fashion. The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Rodger Young (presumably named after Rodger Wilton Young), serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks" (named after the platoon leader, Lt. Rasczak) about to embark on a raid against the planet of the "Skinnies," who are allies of the Arachnids. We learn that he is a cap(sule) trooper in the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry
Mobile Infantry (Starship Troopers)
The Mobile Infantry is a fictional military force in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers and in the movies Starship Troopers, released in 1997, the 2004 sequel, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 film Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and the TV series Roughnecks: Starship...
. The raid itself, one of the few instances of actual combat in the novel, is relatively brief: the Roughnecks land on the planet, destroy their targets, and retreat, suffering a single casualty in the process (Dizzy Flores, who dies in the retrieval boat of wounds received in action).
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 father, who disowns him. This is the only chapter that describes Rico's civilian life, and most of it is spent on the monologues of two people: retired Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois, Rico's school instructor in "History and Moral Philosophy," and Fleet Sergeant Ho, a recruiter for the armed forces of the Terran Federation.
Dubois serves as a stand-in for Heinlein throughout the novel, and delivers what is probably the book's most famous soliloquy on violence, and how it "has settled more issues in history than has any other factor." Fleet Sergeant Ho's monologues examine the nature of military service, and his anti-military tirades appear in the book primarily as a contrast with Dubois. It is later revealed that his rants are calculated to scare off the weaker applicants.
Interspersed throughout the book are other flashbacks to Rico's high school History and Moral Philosophy course, which describe how in the Terran Federation of Rico's day, the rights of a full Citizen (to vote, and hold public office) must be earned through some form of volunteer Federal service. Those residents who have not exercised their right to perform this Federal Service retain the other rights generally associated with a modern democracy (free speech, assembly, etc.), but they 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 by extension, the poor handling of juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
) and military defeat by the Chinese Hegemony overseas.
In the next section of the novel Rico goes to boot camp at Camp Arthur Currie
Arthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
, on the northern prairies. Five chapters are spent exploring Rico's experience entering the service under the training of his instructor, career Ship's Sergeant Charles Zim. Camp Currie is so rigorous that less than ten percent of the recruits finish basic training; the rest either resign, are expelled, 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 (he caught Sgt. Zim by surprise). Another recruit, a deserter who murdered a baby girl while AWOL, is hanged by his battalion. Rico himself is flogged for poor handling of (simulated) nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s during a drill; despite these experiences he eventually graduates and is assigned to a unit.
At some point during Rico's training, the 'Bug War' has begun to brew, and Rico finds himself taking part in combat operations. The war "officially" starts with an Arachnid attack that annihilates the city of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
(which kills Juan's mother), although Rico makes it clear that prior to the attack there were plenty of "'incidents,' 'patrols,' or 'police actions.'" Rico briefly describes the Terran Federation's loss at the Battle of Klendathu where his unit is decimated and his ship destroyed. Following Klendathu, the Terran Federation 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). Rico meanwhile finds himself posted to Rasczak's Roughnecks. This part of the book focuses on the daily routine of military life, 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 attends Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....
, which turns out to be just like boot camp, only "squared and cubed with books added." Rico is commissioned a temporary Third Lieutenant as a field-test final exam and commands his own unit during Operation Royalty; eventually he graduates as a Second Lieutenant and full-fledged officer.
There is also the account of a meeting between Rico and his father, who has joined up since Rico's mother was killed at Buenos Aires. The final chapter serves as more of a coda, depicting Rico aboard the Rodger Young as the lieutenant in command of Rico's Roughnecks, preparing to drop to Klendathu as part of a major strike, his father being his sergeant and a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Third Lieutenant-in-training (James Bearpaw, known as "Jimmie") of his own under his wing.
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 being prepared to make individual sacrifice. Heinlein's Terran Federation is a limited democracy with aspects of a meritocracyMeritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
based on willingness to sacrifice in the common interest. Suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
belongs only to those willing to serve their society by at least 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" The Federation is required to find a place for anyone who desires to serve, regardless of his skill or aptitude (this also includes service ranging from teaching to dangerous non-military work such as serving as experimental medical test subjects).
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." Indeed, Colonel Dubois criticizes as unrealistic the famous U.S. Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
line concerning "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence and considered by some as part of one of the most well crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language...
". No one can stop anyone from pursuing happiness, but life and liberty are said to exist only if they are deliberately sought and paid for.
Starship Troopers is also widely-regarded as a vehicle for Heinlein's anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
views. Characters attack Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
(a "pompous fraud"), the labor theory of value
Labor theory of value
The labor theories of value are heterodox economic theories of value which argue that the value of a commodity is related to the labor needed to produce or obtain that commodity. The concept is most often associated with Marxian economics...
("All the work one cares to add will not turn a mud pie into an apple tart..."), and Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's The Republic ("ant-like communism" and "weird in the extreme").
Military history, traditions, and military science
The Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
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
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
' ever won a war." Heinlein also refers to the American prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
taken in that conflict, including the popular accusations of Communist brainwashing. After the Korean War ended, there were rumors that the Chinese and North Koreans continued to hold a large number of Americans. Rico's History and Moral Philosophy class at Officer Candidate School has a long discussion about whether it is moral to never leave a single man behind, even at the risk of starting a new war. Rico debates whether it was worth it to risk two nations' futures over a single man who might not even deserve to live, but concludes it "doesn't matter whether it's a thousand – or just one, sir. You fight."
Several references are made to other wars: these include the name of the starship that collided with Valley Forge
Valley Forge
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...
, Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, a major battleground in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the starship Mannerheim, a reference to the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era marshal of Finland, as well as Rico's boot camp, Camp Arthur Currie (named after Sir Arthur Currie
Arthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
who commanded the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
during that war); a brief reference is also made to Camp Sergeant Smokey Smith
Ernest Smith
Ernest Alvia Smith, VC, CM, OBC, CD was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, named after a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in World War II. The airport was the location of the U.S. Army Air Corps' Walla Walla Army Air Base in World War II. The 91st Bomb Group lays claim to being the first Army Air Forces outfit to utilize that base. Another World War I reference was the phrase "Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?", which comes from Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is a staff non-commissioned officer...
Dan Daly at the Battle of Belleau Wood
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S...
(although instead of "apes", Daly said "sons of bitches"). This phrase, however, has been attributed to various people throughout military history, including perhaps the earliest documented citation by Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
when he was meant to have said "Kerls, wollt ihr ewig leben?" (tr. "Dogs, would you live forever?") at the Battle of Kolín
Battle of Kolin
-Results:The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war. This disaster forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice...
. The Rodger Young was named after the World War II Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient, and the lines from the chorus of Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
's Ballad of Rodger Young is used as the ship's recognition signal. Another war reference, this one from the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, is the implications of the court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
of Third Lieutenant William Sitgreaves Cox, which are discussed in some detail.
Military innovations
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 exoskeletonExoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
s used by the Mobile Infantry. 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 vision and night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
, radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, and amplified hearing), a completely self-contained personal environment
Environmental suit
An environmental suit is a suit designed specifically for a particular environment, usually one otherwise hostile to humans. An environment suit is typically a one-piece garment, and many types also feature a helmet or other covering for the head...
including a drug-dispensing apparatus, sophisticated communications equipment, and tactical map displays. Their powered armor made the Mobile Infantry a hybrid between an infantry unit and an armored one.
Another concept the book pioneered was that of "space-borne infantry". The heavily mechanized units of M.I. 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 M.I. troops). The uses for such a force—ranging from smash-and-burn raids, to surgical strike
Surgical strike
A surgical strike is a military attack which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed to have resulted in only damage to the intended legitimate military target, and no or minimal collateral damage to surrounding structures, vehicles, buildings, etc....
s, conventional infantry warfare, and holding beachheads—and the tactics that might be employed by such soldiers are described extensively within the novel. The 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.
Popularity with U.S. military
While powered armor is Starship Troopers most famous legacy, its influence extends deep into contemporary warfare. Over half a century after its publication, Starship Troopers is on the reading lists of the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. It is the first science fiction novel on the reading lists at three of the five United States military branches. When Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers the United States military was a largely conscripted
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
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.
Controversy
To Heinlein's surprise, Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best NovelHugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 1960. By 1980, twenty years after its release, it had been translated into eleven 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."
Literary critiques
The main literary criticism against Starship Troopers is that it is nothing more than a vehicle for Heinlein's political views. John BrunnerJohn Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
compared it to a "Victorian children's book" while Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
, founder of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
, remarked that Heinlein had "forgotten to insert a story." Alexei Panshin
Alexei Panshin
Alexis Adams Panshin is an American author and science fiction critic. He has written several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage and the 1990 Hugo Award winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill .-Other works:Panshin...
complained that the novel was overly simplistic—"[an] account of the making of a [Marine] ... and nothing more"—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." 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." He further complained about the almost complete lack of sexuality among the characters and the absence of any serious romance.
In his review column for F&SF, Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
selected the novel as one of the 10 best genre books of 1959.
In a 2009 retrospective, Jo Walton
Jo Walton
Jo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002 and the World Fantasy award for her novel Tooth and Claw in 2004. Her novel Ha'penny was a co-winner of the 2008 Prometheus Award...
finds Starship Troopers "military SF done extremely well." "Heinlein was absolutely at his peak when he wrote this in 1959. He had so much technical stylistic mastery of the craft of writing science fiction that he could do something like this and get away with it." "It’s astonishing that [Starship Troopers is] still controversial now, fifty years after it was first published," and "Probably [Heinlein would] have been delighted at how much the book has made people think and argue."
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" (paraphrase of the fourth stanza of "The Star-Spangled BannerThe Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
") and the anti-war poem "Dulce et Decorum Est
Dulce et Decorum Est
Dulce et Decorum est is a poem written by poet Wilfred Owen in 1917, during World War I, and published posthumously in 1920. Owen's poem is known for its horrific imagery and condemnation of war. It was drafted at Craiglockhart in the first half of October 1917 and later revised, probably at...
" by Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
. Dean McLaughlin
Dean McLaughlin
Dean Benjamin McLaughlin, Jr. is an American science fiction writer.He was the son of astronomer Dean B. McLaughlin.His best known work is "Hawk Among the Sparrows" , which was nominated for both the Hugo Award and Nebula Award for Best Novella.It concerns a late-20th century fighter plane which...
called it "a book-length recruiting poster." Alexei Panshin
Alexei Panshin
Alexis Adams Panshin is an American author and science fiction critic. He has written several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage and the 1990 Hugo Award winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill .-Other works: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." Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
, a Vietnam veteran and author of the anti-war Hugo
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
- and Nebula
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
-winning science fiction novel The Forever War
The Forever War
The Forever War is a science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story of soldiers fighting an interstellar war between humanity and the enigmatic Tauran species...
, similarly complained that Starship Troopers unnecessarily glorifies war.
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." 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." The book's dedication also reads in part "... to all sergeants everywhere who have labored to make men out of boys." 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).
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 allegations have become so popular that Sircar's Corollary of Godwin's LawGodwin's Law
Godwin's law is a humorous observation made by Mike Godwin in 1990 that has become an Internet adage...
states that once Heinlein is brought up during online debates, "Nazis or Hitler are mentioned within three days."
The most visible proponent of these views is probably Paul Verhoeven, whose film version
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
of Starship Troopers portrayed the Terran Federation's personnel wearing uniforms strongly reminiscent of those worn by the Third Reich-era Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
; but Verhoeven admits that he never finished reading the actual book. Most of the arguments for this view cite the idea that only veterans can vote and non-veterans lack full citizenship; moreover, only veterans are permitted to teach the course "History & Moral Philosophy", children are taught that moral arguments for the status quo are mathematically correct, and capital punishment is acceptable as a method to teach morality. Federal Service is not necessarily military, although it is suggested that a certain hardship and discipline is pervasive. According to Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
, Heinlein got the idea not from Nazi Germany or Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, but from Switzerland.
Defenders of the book usually point out that although the electoral franchise
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
is limited, the government of the Terran Federation is democratically elected
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. There is freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
, and freedom of conscience
Freedom of thought
Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints....
. The military service is entirely volunteer, with no conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. The political system described in the book is multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic. The protagonist Juan Rico is Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
and others in his training group are American, Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Japanese, German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Australian, and Turkish, or Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, 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." Heinlein made a similar claim in his Expanded Universe and further noted that 95% of "veterans" were not military personnel but members of the civil service and that only retired veterans could vote or hold office.
However, this issue is still controversial, even among the book's defenders. James Gifford 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."
Allegations of utopianism
More recently, the book has been analyzed as a utopiaUtopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
(in the sense of a society that does not, and cannot, exist), and that while Heinlein's ideas sound plausible, they have never been put to the test and are, actually, impractical or utopian. This criticism has been leveled by the likes of Robert A. W. Lowndes, Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
, and Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
. The latter wrote an essay entitled "Starship Stormtroopers" in which he attacked Heinlein and other writers over similar "Utopian fiction." Lowndes accused Heinlein of using straw man
Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
arguments, "countering ingenuous half-truths with brilliant half-truths." 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". 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."
Allegations of racism
The supposedly racist aspects of Starship Troopers involve the Terrans' relations with the Bugs and the Skinnies. Richard Geib has suggested that Heinlein portrayed the individual Arachnids as lacking "minds or souls... killing them seems no different from stepping on ants." Both Robert Peterson and John Brunner believe that the nicknames "Bugs" and "Skinnies" carry racial overtones, Brunner using the analogy of the Korean word for person "gookGook
Gook is a derogatory term for East Asians which came to prominence in reference to enemy soldiers. U.S. Marines serving in the Philippines in the early 20th century used the word to refer to Filipinos. The term continued to be used by American soldiers stationed around the world to refer to...
" 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."
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.
Books
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 fictionMilitary science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
. John Steakley
John Steakley
John William Steakley, Jr. was an American author, best known for his science fiction writing. He published two major novels, Armor and Vampire$ ; the latter was the basis for John Carpenter's Vampires movie...
's novel Armor
Armor (novel)
Armor is a military science fiction novel by John Steakley. It has some superficial similarities with Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers but concentrates more on the psychological effects of violence on human beings rather than on the political aspects of the military, which was the focus of...
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. Conversely, Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
's anti-war novel The Forever War
The Forever War
The Forever War is a science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story of soldiers fighting an interstellar war between humanity and the enigmatic Tauran species...
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
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, he has admitted to being influenced by Starship Troopers. Ender's Game
Ender's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
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. Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
wrote a satirical book called Bill, the Galactic Hero
Bill, the Galactic Hero
Bill, the Galactic Hero is a satirical science fiction novel by Harry Harrison, first published in 1965.Harrison reports having been approached by a Vietnam veteran who described Bill as "the only book that's true about the military."...
which he described as "a piss-take on Heinlein's Starship Troopers." John Scalzi
John Scalzi
John Michael Scalzi II is an American author and online writer, and president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Hugo Award-nominated science fiction novel Old Man's War, released by Tor Books in January 2005, and for his blog , at which he has written...
's novel Old Man's War
Old Man's War
Old Man's War is a science fiction novel by John Scalzi published in 2005. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006. It was optioned by Paramount Pictures in 2011...
is, according to the author, explicitly patterned after Starship Troopers. In recent years, John Ringo
John Ringo
John Ringo is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several New York Times best sellers. His books range from straightforward science fiction to a mix of military and political thrillers...
's series Legacy of the Aldenata
Legacy of the Aldenata
The Legacy of the Aldenata, also known as the Posleen War Series is the fictional universe of one of John Ringo's military science fiction series.- Premise :...
(also known as the Posleen
Posleen
Posleen are a fictional alien race, created by the Sci-Fi author John Ringo for his Legacy of the Aldenata series of books. The Posleen are a race of genetically engineered reptilian centaurs, supposedly designed by the long lost race - the Aldenata - to be the ultimate warriors...
series) featured a more explicit homage to Heinlein's book. In 1987, a Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
-style interactive book
Gamebook
A gamebook is a work of fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices. The narrative branches along various paths through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages...
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
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
.
Film and television
The 1986 James CameronJames Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
film Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
incorporated themes and phrases from 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 preparation prior to filming.
The film rights to the novel were licensed in the 1990s. The first film, also titled Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
, was directed by Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
, Total Recall
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
) and released in 1997. The film diverged greatly in terms of the themes and plot of the novel, and received mixed reviews from critics. A sequel followed in 2004, titled Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is the 2004 direct-to-video sequel to the 1997 feature film Starship Troopers. It had a $7 million budget as opposed to the $105 million of the original. Even though the film received only a direct-to-video released in the United States, it was granted a...
, and another in 2008, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. An animated series, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles was a CGI animated television series based on both the novel by Robert A. Heinlein and the 1997 film adaptation directed by Paul Verhoeven...
, which took inspiration from both the novel and the first film, was started in 1999 and lasted for 40 episodes.
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Yoshiyuki Tomino
is a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
, the creator of the mecha anime
Mecha anime
Mecha anime cover all series that revolve around the use of piloted robotic armors in battle, which is broken down into two subcategories of Super Robot and Real Robot. Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres from comedy to drama, though are always fantastical and larger-than-life in nature and...
TV series Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
(1979) has cited Starship Troopers as an important inspiration. He coined the term "mobile suit" used to name the piloted mecha from the anime series as a reference to the novel's own "mobile infantry". The Gundam
Gundam
The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
series are notable because they started the Real Robot
Real Robot
is a genre of Japanese animation. The genre contains mecha robots that are powered by conventional power sources and weapons explainable by real world science, and that use ranged weapons and speed to survive battle situations....
genre of mecha anime that continues to be portrayed in several Japanese sci-fi productions until this day.
In 1988, Sunrise
Sunrise
Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...
and Bandai Visual
Bandai Visual
, is a Japanese anime, film production and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai Co., Ltd. and a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc., which is based in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Since the reorganisation of Namco Bandai Holdings in 2006, Bandai Visual now heads the group's Visual and...
produced a 6-episode Japanese original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
locally titled Uchū no Senshi
Starship Troopers (OVA)
is a six part anime OVA produced by Sunrise/Bandai Visual and released in 1988. It is based on the book Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein that was published in 1959.-Production:...
with mobile infantry power armor designs by Kazutaka Miyatake
Kazutaka Miyatake
is an anime designer known for the mechanical design of the Macross TV series and a number of its continuations from Studio Nue, of which he is a founding member. He has also contributed to the mecha design of other series such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.-Mechanical Design:Kazutaka Miyatake...
(famous for his work on Macross
Macross
is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...
/Robotech
Robotech
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
).
Recently, StarKid productions has created a parody of Starship Troopers called Starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
. Instead of the main characters being to Troopers or Rangers, though, the main character is one of the Bugs, by the name of Bug. He is determine to be a Starship Ranger and only when they arrive on his planet to the viewers and Bug himself, actually meet the Rangers.
Games
In 1976, Avalon HillAvalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
published Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a map-and-counter board wargame
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
featuring a number of scenarios as written in the novel. In 1997, as a tie-in with Verhoeven's film adaptation, they published Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle!, which entirely focused on the film. Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game
Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game
Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game was a short-lived miniature wargame released in 2005 by Mongoose Publishing, a gaming company based in the United Kingdom. It drew upon the novel, films, and TV series as inspiration through a license from Sony...
, a miniature wargame
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
which used material from both the novel and the film was published by Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
in 2005. In 1982, Radio Shack/Tandy published Klendathu by Leo Christopherson for the TRS-80 Model I/II/III and Color Computer. In 1998, Mythic Entertainment
Mythic Entertainment
BioWare Mythic is a computer game developer in Fairfax, Virginia which is most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Dark Age of Camelot...
released Starship Troopers: Battlespace which was available to America Online subscribers. The game, in which players battled each other in overhead space combat, allowed players to assume either Klendathu or Federation roles. In 2000, Blue Tongue Entertainment
Blue Tongue Entertainment
Blue Tongue Entertainment Pty. Ltd. was an Australian video game developer founded in 1995. It was acquired by THQ on November 17, 2004, and remained an internal development studio of THQ until its closure in August 2011...
released the top-down real-time tactics
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
video game Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy
Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy
Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy is a real-time tactics video game developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment and published by Microprose on October 28, 2000. The game is based on both the 1997 movie Starship Troopers and the book Starship Troopers by Robert A...
. A first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
game titled Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (First Person Shooter)
Starship Troopers is a first-person shooter game developed by Strangelite Studios and published by Empire Interactive. The game is based upon the canon of the film Starship Troopers by Paul Verhoeven....
was released November 15, 2005, based on Paul Verhoeven's film version rather than on Heinlein's novel. It was developed by Strangelite
Strangelite
Strangelite is a video game development company in the northwest of England. They were formerly owned by UK publishing house Empire Interactive, but in Mid-2006 they were bought by Indie Developers Rebellion Developments...
and published by Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive was a UK based video game developer and publisher founded in 1987. It was closed under administration on 4 May 2009.-About Empire Interactive:...
. Starship Troopers is also thought to have influenced numerous games including Outwars
Outwars
Outwars is a science fiction selectable perspective First-person shooter or third-person shooter developed by SingleTrac and published by Microsoft in 1998....
, Tribes, Tribes 2
Tribes 2
-Legacy:On November 20, 2002, Sierra released an update for Tribes 2. This update contained two new game types, new maps and updates to address several issues. Sierra, which is now part of Vivendi SU, licensed the franchise to Irrational Games for a third installment; Tribes: Vengeance was...
, StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
,, Warhammer 40k and Crysis
Crysis
Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek , published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar...
. They are also the basis of the ODST in the Halo series
Comics
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
and Markosia
Markosia
-History:Markosia was founded by Harry Markos in 2005. Markos has already published Harry Gallan's The Lexian Chronicles and the initial plan was to produce comic adaptations of books, like The Lexian Chronicles and G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer. They secured the license to adapt Starship Troopers,...
have held the license to produce comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s based on Starship Troopers. Over the years they have been written by writers like Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
, Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
and Tony Lee
Tony Lee
Tony Lee is a British comics writer, screenwriter, audio playwright and novelist.-Early life:Lee was born in Hayes, Middlesex in England...
.
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 and ISBN 0-425-03787-8
- 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
External links
- Citizenship at War by Roberto de Sousa Causo. Review from a Brazilian newspaper.
- Gotterdammerung.Org book review by Branislav L. Slantchev.
- SFReviews.Net book review by T. M. Wagner.
- 2009 retrospective review by Jo WaltonJo WaltonJo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002 and the World Fantasy award for her novel Tooth and Claw in 2004. Her novel Ha'penny was a co-winner of the 2008 Prometheus Award...
- "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"
- Starship Troopers at Worlds Without End
- "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 Heinlein's Federation is a fascist government.