Post by Attero Dominatus on Aug 1, 2009 19:34:01 GMT -5
Is it a really good story that you just have to encourage others to read? Or is it so crappy that you just feel like throwing the book in the trash? Those who write are almost always people who love to read, so I figure it would be great to review stories (including what is written here on this forum).
Since I am still reading Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (but I will say the first one hundred pages are an absolute drag! only now is it starting to pick up), I will start off with one of my favorite novels.
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Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein.
This tale of patriotism and coming of age pretty much started the whole subgenre of military science fiction. Some of the technology in the novel inspired real world military research, most notably Powered Armor. The novel is also on the reading lists of four of the five United States Military Academies.
The story is told from the point of view of Juan Rico, who joins the Mobile Infantry on a whim against the will of his wealthy father and rises through the ranks as a vast space war rages between humanity and communistic aliens known as the 'Arachnids.'
Throughout the novel, many critiques are made about communism, conscription (Heinlein was against it), and the culture of entitlement that we see today.
The novel is good, a true classic of science fiction, but is it perfect? Well, not quite. Rico is the only character in the story who sees any real development, and just about everyone else he knows lacks depth. Women are highly present in the novel (they make up most of the warship crews), yet the one courtship in the story is brief and undeveloped. A bit more characterization would bring this novel up to a perfect ten. However, warfare, tactics, and life in the military are described in good detail, which should come as no surprise since Robert Heinlein was a member of the United States Navy.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
Since I am still reading Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (but I will say the first one hundred pages are an absolute drag! only now is it starting to pick up), I will start off with one of my favorite novels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein.
This tale of patriotism and coming of age pretty much started the whole subgenre of military science fiction. Some of the technology in the novel inspired real world military research, most notably Powered Armor. The novel is also on the reading lists of four of the five United States Military Academies.
The story is told from the point of view of Juan Rico, who joins the Mobile Infantry on a whim against the will of his wealthy father and rises through the ranks as a vast space war rages between humanity and communistic aliens known as the 'Arachnids.'
Throughout the novel, many critiques are made about communism, conscription (Heinlein was against it), and the culture of entitlement that we see today.
The novel is good, a true classic of science fiction, but is it perfect? Well, not quite. Rico is the only character in the story who sees any real development, and just about everyone else he knows lacks depth. Women are highly present in the novel (they make up most of the warship crews), yet the one courtship in the story is brief and undeveloped. A bit more characterization would bring this novel up to a perfect ten. However, warfare, tactics, and life in the military are described in good detail, which should come as no surprise since Robert Heinlein was a member of the United States Navy.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.