Starship Troopers

In my last post, I mentioned that I reread The Ghost Brigades by Jon Scalzi. This in turn prompted me to reread Heinlein's classic, Starship Troopers. Both are great military scifi novels. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to tackle Troopers at the beach (It’s getting a bit cold for that!).  If you haven't gotten around to reading this one, you need to.

Much has been written about Troopers in the decades since it was first published so I'll spare you an in-depth analysis. It touches on a variety of themes such as suffrage, militarism, politics, and more.

Basically, Juan Rico is a member of the Mobile Infantry, fighting an interstellar war between humanity and some arachnid aliens known as the "Bugs", and their allies, the "Skinnies". The novel details Rico's enlistment, training, and rise in rank in the military. The novel features a mix of action sequences, in which Rico's team battle hostile aliens, and Rico's classroom studies in both high school and Officer Candidate School.

While it's not such a light beach read, Starship Troopers is fun and has some meat to it. It's great for a book club or someone looking for a novel with substance.

I recommended Starship Troopers to Paul Aridas, a friend and frequent contributor to this blog. Here's what he had to say:

"Adam recommended I read Starship Troopers, arguing that Heinlein’s piece is essential reading from 1950’s science fiction canon.  I agree with his endorsement. It’s not as sophisticated a work as Catch-22 or as emotionally taut as The Things They Carried but it is enjoyable nonetheless.  Ender’s Game was influenced by this work, and those familiar with any of the aforementioned novels will be able to see the connections of structure and theme.” -Paul Aridas

Stop by the library and pick up a copy.

Thanks for reading.

-Adam Delaura

If Dickens designed Star Wars...

Today’s review comes from Paul Aridas, a relative newcomer to the SciFi genre. Read his take on Frank Herbert’s classic, Dune.

William Styron’s quote, “A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end.  You live several lives while reading it”, is true when it comes to the experience of reading Dune by Frank Herbert.

It is immediately apparent, early in the novel, that it is a book that is meant to be savored: slowly, meticulously digested by the reader with a standing invitation to rediscover the book again and again at a later date, each time garnering something new from the pages. Dune is when of those books, where, when someone asks, “What is it about?” a solid half an hour is required to answer. 

There is the basic plot: new conquerors of a planet must adjust to the precarious political situation of a new life….but this is also a story of family, betrayal, politics, religion, humanity, ecology, power, mysticism, and legacy. The details unfold in a systematic way, but lend themselves to multiple interpretations, depending on the reader, and the particular character’s perspective they have chosen to embrace.  This journey differs when comparatively seen through the eyes of Paul, the beliefs of  Jessica and the Bene Gesserit, the prophecy of Muad’Dib, and the political alliances of the Baron.  The adventure evolves into a complicated series of alliances with epic consequences when the  Fremen, the worms, Paul and Chani’s love story, and the wretched climate all begin to intersect.

From a lesser author, this book would be a mess. In Herbert’s hands, it is a masterpiece.  If Dickens designed Star Wars, this would be the result.  From the intricate details of the planet’s ecology to the historical narrative of  Princess Irulan, this book is well thought out and brilliantly layered in complexity.  My reading registry is more complete for having discovered this title, and I look forward to continuing the adventure with the other novels within the Dune series.

Paul Aridas

Stop by the library to checkout Dune in a variety of formats.

Paperback

Audio Book

Downloadable Audio

As always, thanks for reading. Leave questions and comments below.

-Adam Delaura