Remy Rose reviewed Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Review of 'Starship Troopers' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
This book started out so well, and then nosedived. Twenty or thirty pages in, I was sure this was getting five stars. Dean McLaughlin stated it best when he called it "a book-length recruiting poster." Whether or not you agree with Heinlein's military sentiments, he could have gotten them across without wasting an awesome premise. I guess maybe if I'd been aware of this, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. This sort of didacticism is fine, provided you weren't expecting a great story to begin with. Some people don't like how little Rico's character is fleshed out, but my problem is really the entire lack of world-building. The bugs, for instance, are about as ambiguous as he could get away with. I got the impression that the only reason they're not human is so he didn't have to be empathetic towards them. When the bugs are occasionally discussed in depth, …
This book started out so well, and then nosedived. Twenty or thirty pages in, I was sure this was getting five stars. Dean McLaughlin stated it best when he called it "a book-length recruiting poster." Whether or not you agree with Heinlein's military sentiments, he could have gotten them across without wasting an awesome premise. I guess maybe if I'd been aware of this, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. This sort of didacticism is fine, provided you weren't expecting a great story to begin with. Some people don't like how little Rico's character is fleshed out, but my problem is really the entire lack of world-building. The bugs, for instance, are about as ambiguous as he could get away with. I got the impression that the only reason they're not human is so he didn't have to be empathetic towards them. When the bugs are occasionally discussed in depth, it's primarily to contrast them with Heinlein's ideal military.
