January 07, 2012

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

I love the film based on this book by Paul Verhoeven and will be honest that I was pointed in the direction of this book after over hearing a twitter conversation about a possible remake and a hope that it was closer to the book. Up until this point I had never heard that it was based on a book thought that it was a satirical look at war and American society but the book is a slightly different look from the film.

The book still has the same lead characters with you following Johnnie Rico who signs up for Military service and ends in the Mobile Infantry I think that the book gives a different impression as the main idea from the book is that they do not want you to sign up for service and make it as hard as possible for you to make it but  they do it with a smile and a no regrets if you do not make it.

The big difference between the film and book is that in the book there are no women in the infantry they are all pilots as women have better brains and quicker reactions and you therefore get to meet Carmen Ibanez, Carl is in the book but does not have the same storyline but all the main characters from the book are covered in the film and I have to say that I love the film but the book as is usually the case was a book that I could not put down, very enjoyable and very worth reading, especially if you liked the film, it does not have the satirical take the film did but works on a totally different level.