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Our ongoing series reviewing audio adaptations of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror works. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.

By John J. Joex

Book Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Stars
Audiobook Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis: Starship Troopers is Robert A. Heinlein’s classic military sci fi book chronicling interstellar war between the humans and two alien races, the human-like “Skinnies” and the arachnid “Bugs”. Told in first person by infantryman Juan “Johnnie” Rico, it gives an account of his time in the service spanning from his decision to join the military through his training and subsequent service in the “Rasczak’s Roughnecks” platoon. Rico enlists partially on a whim and partially to earn full citizenship, as only those who have served in the military in this future world of Heinlein’s can achieve that status. Rico originally has lofty aspirations to receive a more glamorous assignment such as a starship pilot, but finds himself cast down with the grunts in the mobile infantry. At first, Rico wonders whether his decision to enlist was a grave mistake and he often questions the rigid disciplines and harsh punishments of the military. But as his training progresses and he then moves into active service, his stance shifts and he eventually decides to attend Officer Candidate School and become a career soldier.

Review/Commentary: Rounding out my brief tour of military science fiction novels that also included Ender’s Game and The Forever War, I now land on one of the best known and most notorious of this sub-genre. Starship Troopers does not follow the traditional approach of a novel and some have even argued that label does not fit this book. It basically gives us a journal of sort of Rico’s experiences in the military and actually spends much less time dealing with the war between the humans and the Skinnies and Arachnids and much more time with the mundane day-to-day routine while also pondering the moral and philosophical issues that arise from military service. And this is where much of the controversy has arisen form Heinlein’s book.

The author takes a very pro-military stance with his narrative (even if it does take a while for the main character to arrive there as well) and critics have picked out what they see as militaristic, and some argue even fascist, elements in the novel. I would say that the militarism is definitely there, but it seems like a stretch to call it fascist. Many will take issue with Heinlein’s idea that people should serve in the military to receive the full rewards of citizenship, and I would be averse to such a civic requirement myself. But he does present some interesting reasons on why this developed (beginning with his assumed fall of the Western Democracies) and his mouthpiece in the book, Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois, argues that it is necessary for people to make some sort of sacrifice before receiving the status of citizenship. You could argue this many ways, but at least the author has thought through his ideas and makes some credible cases with the characters in his book. I personally disagree with much of his philosophical and moral arguments presented here, but at least Heinlein does make you think (and what more can you ask for from a piece of literature) and this book ultimately presents a good springboard for debate. Not that I will get into all of that here, but it would make for a great forum topic on Reddit or someplace like that.

Where Starship Troopers does fall short, though, is in telling a good story. As I mentioned above, it dispenses with the usual structure of a novel (which in itself is not a bad thing) and gives us more of Rico’s personal account of his time in the military. And that really gets plodding at times. The book starts with a military campaign, then works its way backward to Rico’s enlistment, training, and active service. So very little action, or plot development for that matter, follows the intro sequence. And the routine of military life interspersed with philosophical asides does not make up for the lack of a well-developed story. The book will make you think (and may even enrage some), but I found it a bit of a chore to get through the whole thing. Military sci fi fans will definitely love this one, but the general sci fi fan may find this a love it or hate it affair.

One more comment, Paul Verhoeven’s big screen adaptation diverges considerably from Heinlein’s book. His movie focuses much more heavily on the action and battle scenes and gives very little screen time to the philosophical side of the book. He also played up militarism of this future Earth, giving it a near fascist look to it and making it almost self-mocking at times. Thus the movie is very much the antithesis of the book as it works best if you shut down your brain and enjoy the carnage and mayhem (even if it is peppered with some bits of wry commentary).

Comments on the Audiobook: The audio adaptation does a good job of bringing the book to life and even makes up for some of the failings of the source material. Lloyd James narrates and his youthful voice helps him to transcend the narrator role and actually slip into the character of Rico. Because of this, we sympathize with Rico more and better understand his point of view. Of course Rico is not a disagreeable character to begin with, we just may not accept some of his choices or views. In any case, this audiobook is a good way to encounter Starship Troopers and makes it a bit more bearable for those who may not quite buy into the story or how Heinlein approached it.  The audiobook is widely available at the usual sources such as Audible.com, eMusic.com, and BooksFree.com as well as from Barnes and Noble.