I read this book shortly after I read John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, which makes for some interesting comparisons. I felt that neither book was particularly concerned about plot or characters; instead, they seemed to focus a lot more on ideas--in Irving's case, on his opinions about religion and American foreign policy, and in Heinlein's case, on his opinions about political philosophy. In Heinlein, as in Irving, I was faced with lengthy speeches or passages that sound like essays: Heinlein talks extensively about the right to vote, the meaning of civic obligation, and, in one particularly ridiculous (and inaccurate) passage, about cruel and unusual punishment.

My problem with this approach in the novel is the same problem that I had with Irving's novel: it really breaks the narrative thread and distracts me from whatever storyline exists. The ideas that Heinlein presents just aren't well-integrated into the rest of the novel; in a sense the novelistic elements of Starship Troopers seem like afterthoughts. This is particularly evident with regard to the character of Johnnie Rico, who ended up being a non-character to me since nothing about him stood out. By the end of the book I still didn't have a very clear idea of who Rico was. And throughout the book Heinlein makes him do things without any explainable motivation, simply for the purpose of advancing the plot: for instance, Rico's "decision" to join the military is made almost randomly although Heinlein went to great pains to show that this decision should have been a major one.

The other problem with having Starship Troopers be mostly about ideas is that Heinlein also shapes the plot so that it conforms to his ideas, whether or not it makes sense, and whether or not it serves the story well. At one point Johnnie Rico meets his father again; but rather than revealing anything deeper about the characters of either Rico or his father, Heinlein instead uses the scene to have both characters spout Heinlein's ideas. It was at that moment that the father's character died in my mind--when I realized that he was nothing more than a moutpiece.

As for the ideas themselves, they're actually not half-bad. Heinlein's basic premise is that in the future, all of our problems can be solved if we just require people to have some experience reflecting the general will before we give them the power to shape society. In Heinlein's world, then, the only way to get the right to vote is by serving in the military; after serving, you supposedly have enough experience thinking about the collective rather than about your own selfish interests to merit giving you the vote. As an idea this is very interesting. But aside from everything I've said so far, Heinlein does disservice to his ideas by making them work automatically in his story. In other words, rather than having his book really grapple with these ideas, Heinlein makes them true by fiat, as Ayn Rand does in her books. Thus, halfway through the book, when I began having questions about what effects such a policy might have on society, Heinlein tells me: "Many complain but none rebel; personal freedom for all is greatest in history, laws are few, taxes are low, living standards are as high as productivity permits, crime is at its lowest ebb." Well, that was persuasive! I guess there's nothing more to be said about that.

Two more minor things that irked me: there is one instructor in the book who makes a great deal out of saying, "Philosophical truths can be proved mathematically! Rico, bring me a mathematical proof of that proposition by Monday!" and so on--which I found ridiculous. And Heinlein (or maybe it's just his characters) has a very chauvinistic view of woman: Rico continually reminds us that it's good to have women in the military not just for their expert piloting skills, but also to remind the soldiers who they're fighting for--womankind in general, since they're too weak to protect themselves. Hmph.

The book isn't all bad, of course. The first quarter of the book, with Rico in boot camp, is funny and informative, and some of the battle scenes are pretty exciting (though not as good as they are in John Steakley's Armor, which has a similar premise). Also, Heinlein's writing style (like Orson Scott Card's) is, as always, clean and easy to read. Ultimately, however, the book was disappointing for me, especially because I read it on such glowing recommendations. Perhaps another Heinlein book will do it for me; Starship Troopers, unfortunately, did not.

Copyright © 2001 Steven Wu