Starship Troopers
by
Robert A. Heinlein
Or basically
Huh?, the novel. For that is what you will constantly reading throughout Johnny Rico’s chronicle throughout his military career. Not one conversation can pass without it turning into a political debate.
I say debate, but really, it is just a manual in ideology. This is probably where a lot of the accusations of fascism stem from. Because, whenever a point of potential conflict is brought up, it is usually just Rico asking his superior’s views on the matter, and never questioning it.
Which is a crying shame, because honestly,
Starship Troopers does raise some interesting points. In this world, only those that have served in the military can vote because they have proven they have the experience and responsibility to make such a decision. It’s an intriguing concept (even if it’s one I vehemently disagree with) – how can one knowledgeably guide their country if one has never served their country in any way? Sadly, Heinlein does not raise any contrarian opinions on the matter.
Obviously, there are no “correct” paths in politics, but Heinlein could have strengthened his arguments by including different outlooks. It would have shown a deeper rationale as to why he came to his political outlook. It’s telling that the strongest segment of the book is Rico bearing witness to the execution of a child murderer. Heinlein doesn’t go into hysterical right-wing polemics on the subject. Instead, Heinlein allows Rico to measure up the pros and cons of capital punishment before making his begrudging approval. I don’t agree with Rico’s position, but at least I can understand it.
Sadly, though,
Starship Troopers is a bit of a slog to read. Heinlein is a pretty decent writer but the one sided arguments and the constant prose of military exercises starts to grate around the half-way mark (once you’ve read one patrol march, you’ve read them all). Plus, the fascist world depicted was enough to make me want to kill myself.
Not only that, Rico is a bit of a blank character. At first, that is understandable as he is just a rich teenager that joined up because his friends were and as such, he has no bearing on the decision he is making. The idea here is that, over time, Rico will develop as fully fleshed out character. But, he doesn’t for Rico’s views are not his own but simply copied from supporting characters. Maybe if Rico was able to see these points played out in the battlefield, or if he were to question his superiors in class instead of saying “Huh?”, he may have been able to accept these views rather than just repeat them.
Starship Troopers has its place in literature history because of the controversial issues it raises. But, it is one I cannot recommend. It is humourless affair that is more interested in telling you the answers instead of asking you the questions. Stick with the much better film instead.