Starship Troopers is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1959. The story follows Juan "Johnny" Rico through his military service in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit equipped with powered armor suits.
The novel is set in a future society where citizenship and the right to vote are earned through federal service, typically military service. It is told through flashbacks of Rico's training and experiences during an interstellar war between humanity and an alien species known as the "Bugs" or "Arachnids."
Themes
Starship Troopers explores themes of civic virtue, the relationship between citizenship and service, military training, and the nature of warfare. The novel focuses on starships as they are encountered in science fiction, and influenced many subsequent military science fiction works.
Influence
The book had an enormous influence on science fiction and military fiction. The concept of powered armor suits inspired many later works, including the Space Marines of Warhammer 40,000 and the power armor in the Halo video game series. The 1997 film adaptation directed by Paul Verhoeven took a significantly different satirical approach to the source material.