Starship Troopers

One of the most controversial works of speculative fiction, Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers tells of a war between Earth and two alien species, as seen through the eyes of a young soldier. First published in 1959, the book became an early sci-fi bestseller and won a Hugo award. The e-book version of the 2018 Ace Premium edition is the basis for this guide.

Plot Summary

Hundreds of years in the future, Juan “Johnnie” Rico goes against his family’s wishes and, on graduating high school, joins the Federal Service of Earth’s Terran Federation. He wants to earn the right to vote and hold office, as only those who volunteer for and complete a term of service and then return to civilian life can exercise the franchise.

Johnnie is selected for the Mobile Infantry (MI), one of the most challenging and dangerous military jobs. The MI wear heavily armed, powered flying suits and drop from spaceships onto distant planets, where they wreak havoc on enemy forces. Johnnie undergoes the rigors of Basic Training, nearly quits several times, but makes it through, guided by mentors like Sergeant Zim who recognize his potential. He bonds strongly with his fellow soldiers, and they become a brotherhood and a family.

By the time Johnnie earns his Private stripes, Earth is fully at war against two alien civilizations, the Bugs and the Skinnies. Bugs are insect-like creatures who live in hives and behave like ants or termites, with warriors and workers controlled by an elite brain caste. The Bugs bring the war to Earth, destroying Buenos Aires and, later, San Francisco. Skinnies are tall and slender humanoids allied with the Bugs but much weaker; the Federation manages eventually to turn them to Earth’s side.

Johnnie and his MI cohorts make their first drop onto the Bug’s central planet, Klendathu, but the effort is a disaster and the MI loses most of its attack force. The Federation learns quickly, and Johnnie’s platoon regroups and makes many more drops with much greater success. Still, the war drags on, and many Earth soldiers lose their lives.

Johnnie decides to apply for Officer Candidates School (OCS) and is accepted. His training, especially in math and sciences, is rigorous. A class in History and Moral Philosophy teaches that virtue involves putting other people above oneself, and that the highest duty is to risk one’s life for humanity.

His first field assignment as a cadet officer is to lead his men onto Planet P, an icy world where the Bugs control a staging area. The Federation wants to kidnap members of the brain caste for interrogation. Johnnie’s platoon gets caught in an ambush but manages to repel it. Sergeant Zim ventures down into a Bug hive and captures a brain caste member but becomes trapped. Johnnie leads a squad to rescue him; they succeed, but Johnnie suffers serious wounds during the skirmish. He recovers, completes his officer training, and returns to his platoon as their new leader.

The controversy around Starship Troopers centers on its idea that voting and civilian leadership should be restricted to those who have demonstrated a willingness to risk themselves for others. Despite his avowed support for freedom and equality among all peoples, the author was widely derided as a militarist, with some critics calling him a fascist. Still, the work proved popular: It won him the first of his record six Hugo awards for best sci-fi novel and was made into a motion picture.

Heinlein graduated near the top of his class at Annapolis, served for several years as a Naval officer, and became one of the premier authors of the Golden Age of science fiction. His book Strangers in a Strange Land was a 1960s Counterculture hit for its espousal of free love and spiritual awakening, and his later works continued to challenge readers with their unique combination of old-fashioned propriety and New Age beliefs. Starship Troopers, a “making of a soldier” tale and the first of Heinlein’s adult novels, contains brisk action, bright dialog, and thought-provoking ideas, and it remains a touchstone of speculative fiction.