uan Rico was a rich kid destined for Harvard and eventually the helm of Daddy's business. Oh, he toyed with the idea of joining the Federal Reserves just like everyone who turned 18, but he wasn't serious about it. Not really. He said he'd sign up alongside his best chum Carl, but even as they headed toward the recruiting station he was figuring on a way to back out. But things lead to other things and eventually "Johnnie" finds himself headed for Camp Arthur Currie with the rest of the boots.
Boot camp is the toughest place in the world outside of combat, especially for the grunts of the Mobile Infantry. It's made as hard as possible because the Army doesn't want cap troopers who aren't fit to make a drop into enemy territory. Boots can leave -- are encouraged to leave -- at any time, with no penalty. Deserters and AWOLs are ignored unless they make trouble, and all manner of discharges are handed out freely. For Johnnie, who's not even sure why he's there, basic training is a proving ground of both mind and body. It is where he will learn to become a soldier.
After boot camp comes active duty and, inevitably, war. This time it is the "bug" war, a struggle against an insect-like alien species whose hivemind mentality is utterly foreign to humans. The fighting is brutal, and humanity is losing. As always, the Mobile Infantry sees the brunt of the action. This is where Johnnie will learn why he is a soldier.
Come on, you apes! You wanta live forever?
Starship Troopers was originally to have been one of Heinlein's juvenile books, but the violence made it unfit for that duty. Instead, it is the book that earned Heinlein the mislabel "fascist." Understandable. Heinlein uses Troopers as a vehicle for his autocratic ideals, espousing public floggings and a nation where only service veterans can vote. Daring stuff for the standards of 1959 (when Troopers first saw print) and still so today.
But those potentially overwhelming ideals fit securely with the coming-of-age story that is Johnnie's. This is a story about a man unwittingly growing into a Leader of Men, not about Heinlein's vision of the world. And although Troopers has been credited as the role model for military SF, readers looking for out-and-out battle should look elsewhere. Heinlein uses his elegantly-drawn battle scenes as a part of Johnnie's story, and some complain a relatively small part. Don't listen to them. Heinlein knew better.
As always, Troopers finds SF's first grandmaster in excellent command of the language, mixing technical terms, "modern" slang and plain old words in the unstylish style that is his hallmark. It is a cross between eloquent and workmanlike and it does not just get the job done, it propels the story. Heinlein brings worlds alive with his prose, whether they are boot camps or bug holes.
Like most classics, Troopers has aged well over its 38 years of service, and, tellingly, nothing has come along that can match it. It is a credit to the men it is dedicated to, "all sergeants anywhere who have labored to make men out of boys."
