If you haven’t read anything by Robert A. Heinlein, you’ve missed a huge chunk of 20th century American science fiction. You may feel bad about that. Maybe not. Anyway, one of the greatest books in his corpus is Stranger in a Strange Land. If you like science fiction and haven’t read it, follow that link and buy it right fucking now.

This post isn’t about that book. Maybe next time. Today, I’m writing about Starship Troopers. As is fitting with the great tradition of American science fiction, Starship Trooopers was eventually made into a crappy/fantastic movie. I recommend the movie if you have some time to kill or if you just like silly adaptations. (I usually do.)

The gist of the story is that humanity has colonized space and is now at war with an alien race called the Arachnids. As a bildungsroman, the story follows Johnny Rico from high school boy with no responsibility to battle-hardened man who commands his military unit. For people to become full, voting citizens of Earth’s planetary nation, they must perform a certain amount of military service. Because of the war with the “Bugs,” that little commitment is a pretty huge deal. People are dying out in space in unspeakable ways. This makes citizenship an option (and it is only optional) that most folks don’t choose. Needless to say, Johnny’s parents are not super psyched that he wants to join up. After he takes the future’s equivalent of the ASVAB, he gets placed in the mobile infantry.

Now, the mobile infantry is basically the marine corps in this world. Instead of storming beaches, though, these guys storm planets. From space. In power armor. With these military units, Heinlein invents the drop trooper. These are the first guys to make planet fall without a space ship. Their power armor is super macho, flame-throwing badness. The only thing that would make these suits better is a pair of truck nuts tacked to the front. They’re amazing.

Now, there is some controversy surrounding this one. Heinlein wrote it during the Cold War after he started supporting U.S. nuclear testing. Yes, the book has a fairly pro-military, pro-war, pro-violence-in-general statement to make. I don’t especially agree with the message, but I was still able to really enjoy the book. Every chapter begins with a brief quote that talks about the proper way to raise a child, what makes a good soldier, or something else in that direction. Mostly, they’re interesting, and they always have something to do with the chapter. “The Ballad of Rodger Young”, if you’ll pardon the pun, is a running theme in this book. The book even ends with a historical note about the real Rodger Young, a no-shit WWII hero. At 260 pages, Starship Troopers is a short and brisk read. I recommend it for anyone who digs on military fiction, good science fiction, or manifestos in favor of the military industrial complex. Keep an eye out near the end of the book for when Johnny encounters his father. It’s quite a moment.