Re: [OT] Starship Troopers

On Wed, 20 Feb 2002 09:50:59 +0000 Jeremey Claridge 
<jeremy.claridge@kcl.ac.uk> wrote:

> Morning
 
> I've finally got round to reading Starship Troopers. 
Interesting... not so much a book on future warfare as an social 
observation on the state of the human race. <

Or, according to some "commentators", a book describing a war that is a 
thinly-disguised re-hash of WW2 interspersed with right-wing 
propaganda. I don't necessarily agree with that (and I enjoyed the 
book anyway), but ST is nothing if not controversial and has spawned a 
lot of "rebuttals" (Forever War being probably the most famous) and 
even a few imitations.
 
> Was a thought provoking and enjoyable read, but is that it? Is there 
more on the M.I. and the war with the bugs? Other books, short stories? 
<

None that I'm aware of. Remember, ST dates back to the late '50s 
(1959?), when SF novels were mostly stand-alone books rather than part 
94 of 2-bl**dy-many. <g> And the Bug War is just about over by the end 
of the book. I don't think Heinlein ever went back to that universe.

> And why is it that we always have the Bugs as close combat only in 
our wargames. The book says the fighting bugs have something like in 
built lasers as well as sharp claws! <

Don't think they're in-built, IIRC; they're _weapons_ -- y'know, 
tool-users and all that? <g>

Phil
----
"Sic Transit Gloria Barramundi"
   (Or, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!)
   -- not Douglas Adams, but me: Phil Atcliffe