Military Sci-fi

[Apache]

Don't read these then. Although it is your loss.
H. Beam Piper, dead the longest of my choices.
Chris Bunch is dead although co-author Alan Cole is still alive.
Gordon Dickson is dead
Joel Rosenberg.............dead
John Steakly is, you guessed it, still dead.
Apache

[Penforhire]

Definitely seconding the Armor, Starship Troopers, Old Man's War, and John Ringo's stuff recommendations.

[Kiwimick]

I enjoyed the Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd

[jbcohen]

Please excuse my ignorance but that book entitled Starship troopers, is that the same one that the movie was made out of? I don't think the movie went over to well.

[WillAdams]

The movie apparently had very little to do w/ the book --- it's important to read _Starship Troopers_ before _The Forever War_ and _Armor_, since it sets the standards / precepts for the powered armor stories.

William

[Apache]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Please excuse my ignorance but that book entitled Starship troopers, is that the same one that the movie was made out of? I don't think the movie went over to well.

Originally Posted by WillAdams

The movie apparently had very little to do w/ the book --- it's important to read _Starship Troopers_ before _The Forever War_ and _Armor_, since it sets the standards / precepts for the powered armor stories.

William

Do not base your reading the book on the movie. The movie was not even close to the book. They did not even have power armor, drop pods or nukes, let alone the Skinnies.
If you need to watch first see Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles.
This was a TV Series based more on the book. The story also followed Juan (Johnny) Rico and was narrated in the first person like the book. This series was oriented towards adults and is available on Netflix.
Apache

[DiapDealer]

Why would anyone ever use the success (or lack thereof) of a film to prejudge the quality/merits of a book that said film might have used for inspiration?

[ApK]

The movie was an embarrassing, ultraviolent, fascist insult that likely had Heinlein rolling over in his grave.
It had as much to do with the book as the Simpson's "Itchy and Scratchy" cartoons have to do with textbooks on veterinary medicine.

[jbcohen]

Ah, I see.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by ApK

The movie was an embarrassing, ultraviolent, fascist insult that likely had Heinlein rolling over in his grave.
It had as much to do with the book as the Simpson's "Itchy and Scratchy" cartoons have to do with textbooks on veterinary medicine.

And there was me thinking it was a satire on fascism and militaristic societies.

Andrew

[ApK]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

And there was me thinking it was a satire on fascism and militaristic societies.

Andrew

Oh, I'm sure Paul Verhoeven would say the same thing, except by using the book as his source material, he is lumping every form of military service in with "fascism and militaristic societies."

To borrow from "A Few Good Men:"
The book uses words like honor, code and loyalty as the backbone of a life spent defending something. The movie uses them as a punchline.

Indeed, before I read the book, I simply saw the movie the same way, and it was merely pointlessly ultraviolent just like Verhoeven's other movies, like Robocop and Total Recall, but then I read the book, and I happened to be in the Navy at the time, and I saw the movie as an insult to those who serve. Particularly to war-fighters (which I was not.)

[ametzler]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_ is essential reading to see where the newer authors are coming from.

Timothy Zahn's _The Blackcollar_ is an interesting twist on the mil-sci-fi genre.

Unsecond on Blackcollar: I really had problems with suspense on disbelief here. Future Supersoldiers using Shuriken and Nunchaku as main armament.

The Cobra Trilogy (also by Zahn) also features supersoldiers but in a (for me) much more believable way.

[charlesatan]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

And there was me thinking it was a satire on fascism and militaristic societies.

Andrew

Actually I thought it was a satire on fascism and militaristic societies because Heinlein's Starship Troopers arguably is fascist and militaristic by today's standards.

It was also propaganda for what Heinlein probably envisioned as the ideal citizen: you get a vote only if you've served in the military.

[DrNefario]

Not strictly true. The public service did not have to be military.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Not strictly true. The public service did not have to be military.

Correct. To be a voting Citizen you had to have done something that helped further humankind in some form and or capacity.
Apache