starship troopers
Starship Troopers is an American military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published (in abridged form) as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (October, November 1959, as "Starship Soldier") and published hardcover in December, 1959.
The first-person narrative is about a young human soldier of Filipino ethnicity named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit of space marines equipped with power armors and involved in an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnid alien species known as "the Bugs".
This book is notable because it was one of the first works of science fiction that introduced the concept of power suits. It influenced many sci-fi anime creators and helped to create the Real Robot genre of piloted mecha (The creators of Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979 have cited Starship Troopers as an important inspiration).
In 1988, Sunrise and Bandai Visual produced a 6 episode Japanese OVA adaptation locally titled Uchuu No Senshi.
The most famous and well known adaptation of the book is the 1997 movie adaptation directed by Paul Verhoeven and staring Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards and Neil Patrick Harris. The movie has a mixed reception: some criticized Verhoeven as he never fully read the book and viewed its themes of militarism and patriotism as resembling fascist rhetoric, which influenced the movie's portrayal of the human government; others have praised it as a prescient satire of nationalism and military propaganda.
See also
- Marauder
- Carmen Ibanez
- Dizzy Flores
- Helldivers: Game series heavily inspired by the movie