Robert A. Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPERS.
Ace, ISBN 0-441-78358-9, [1959] 1987, 263pp, US$6.50

Review by Michael Lichter

STARSHIP TROOPERS is an old book, and not one of Heinlein's best, given a new lease on life by a movie which shares its name and some of its plot but none of its convictions.

More than anything else, STARSHIP TROOPERS is a serious moral tract about the obligations of citizenship and the nobility of the individual willing to sacrifice himself [sexist term intended] for the greater good.

Those who know Heinlein's work recognize him as a bizarre sort of principled right-wing libertarian/anarchist who believed strongly in individual responsibility, corporal and capital punishment, free thinking, mother-son incest, and the social equality of men and naked, sexually voracious, large-breasted women.

STARSHIP TROOPERS is, first and foremost, a statement of Heinlein's political philosophy, and as such can be at least somewhat tiresome. In fact, people hyped-up by the movie are likely to find the book downright boring.

As in the movie, Johnny Rico is a high school grad wondering what to do with his life. Convinced by his high school civics teacher and his friend Carl that Federal Service was right and natural, he signed up over his father's objections.

Now, unlike in the movie, Federal Service meant not just military service, but any of a variety of dangerous but socially necessary jobs. The rights of the citizen only come with the assumption of the sometimes-onerous responsibilities that make those rights possible, says Heinlein. And besides (he says later) governments made up of veterans have tended to be the most benign (hey, just look at Ike!).

Johnny goes through boot camp, does "drops" against the "bugs", and sees his share of action. He even makes some progress with "little" Carmen, now a starship pilot (women are of course unsuited for combat, Heinlein tells us, but they make great pilots) whom he had met but didn't know well in high school. He makes friends, gets promoted, and embarks on a sometimes-bloody but ultimately glorious future.

And of course Johnny learns to stop worrying and love the bomb. TROOPERS has to be see as partly a celebration of American victory in World War II with its unsung citizen-heroes, partly a reflection of the Cold War and its attendant anxiety, and partly a reaction to growing popular discontent which originated with the inconclusive Korean War and culminated in the anti-war movement of the 1960s.

The film satirizes racist (species-ist?) wartime propaganda, and shows the smothering of political dissent. It portrays the military and government as proto-fascist. The implication is that Heinlein, who is completely serious about his story, was a fascist.

This is not really fair to Heinlein. Like many science fiction authors, Heinlein was an elitist and not much of a democrat, but his ideal state, as presented in the novel, doesn't depend at all on fanaticism or charismatic leadership. His paranoia and his celebration of martial virtues certainly leaves him open to being labeled a militarist, but that's a different question.

As an aside, one of the things that struck me about the book when I read it long ago was that its protagonist, Johnny Rico, was Filipino (he identifies Tagalog as his native language, though his mother gets killed in Buenos Aires, and he never actually says where he was born).

A Third World protagonist was pretty much unheard of in American SF at the time. I assume that this was inspired by the participation of Filipinos in the U.S. military during World War II, but nonetheless it seemed like a significant gesture.

In any event, STARSHIP TROOPERS is likely to be distasteful and/or boring to most contemporary readers. If you love Heinlein and haven't read this book, you should pick it up while it's still in the stores. If you loved the film and you're curious what the screenwriters came up with on their own, get the book. Otherwise, spend your US$6.50 on Bruce Sterling's excellent HOLY FIRE or some other deserving contemporary novel.

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