I liked Armor better than Forever War. Just my opinion.

Snap!

I thought that Armor was great fun, despite the spelling mistake in the title I think that Starship Troopers had so little action in it that it was more a study of a system of government than an adventure. Armor had some great fight scenes, whereas The Forever War was a bit drippy

Do you think it's =filmable=, Gerald? I just don't see how. The story takes place over a =long= time, and so much of the action takes place in William's head. My second favorite scene: Mandala watches Marygay's ship torch and go away. And ponders, "Should I jump?"

My favorite? If you're a romantic like meself, it's yours too: When Mandala is in the bar with Charlie and gets the letter from Marygay..."We've bought a starship, and we're using it as a time machine..."

I can see what you mean, Blues. But I don't think it's unfilmable... it'd just take a lot of special effects to get the different eras of Earth to look good. The main character doesnt age a lot in the story - it's just everything else around him.

Uhhh, not only have I not read that book, I've never even heard of it. I wish I could contribute something real to the conversation.

It's about a war in the future, and the soldiers all travel in spaceships at near-light speeds to get from battle to battle. Becasue of Relativity, their journey of a few months actually takes hundreds of years in real time. T

his means that in a military careers spanning thousands of years they only ever fight 3 or 4 battles, and each time they arrive their enemies are a hundred years or so more technologically advanced than they are!

It's a good read. milewinkgrin:

Snap!

I thought that Armor was great fun, despite the spelling mistake in the title I think that Starship Troopers had so little action in it that it was more a study of a system of government than an adventure. Armor had some great fight scenes, whereas The Forever War was a bit drippy



I can see what you mean, Blues. But I don't think it's unfilmable... it'd just take a lot of special effects to get the different eras of Earth to look good. The main character doesnt age a lot in the story - it's just everything else around him.



It's about a war in the future, and the soldiers all travel in spaceships at near-light speeds to get from battle to battle. Becasue of Relativity, their journey of a few months actually takes hundreds of years in real time. T

his means that in a military careers spanning thousands of years they only ever fight 3 or 4 battles, and each time they arrive their enemies are a hundred years or so more technologically advanced than they are!

It's a good read. milewinkgrin:

It's a =great= read, bones!
And I must disagree with you about STARSHIP TROOPERS action. There was big mucho =plenty=, to meself. The First Battle of Klendathu. The hit-and-run raids, while Terra was rearming. (Wasn't Heinlein really describing the Pacific War?)
BUGS, MR. RICO! ZILLIONS OF 'EM! I'M A-BURNIN' 'EM DOWN!

It's a =great= read, bones!
And I must disagree with you about STARSHIP TROOPERS action. There was big mucho =plenty=, to meself. The First Battle of Klendathu. The hit-and-run raids, while Terra was rearming. (Wasn't Heinlein really describing the Pacific War?)
BUGS, MR. RICO! ZILLIONS OF 'EM! I'M A-BURNIN' 'EM DOWN!

It's been a couple of years since I read it, so you're probably right. But what I remember of the book wasnt the battles, it was the classroom stuff about political theory and junk.

Would you agree that there was more action in Armor? :confused:

It's been a couple of years since I read it, so you're probably right. But what I remember of the book wasnt the battles, it was the classroom stuff about political theory and junk.

Would you agree that there was more action in Armor? :confused:

Yes, there was. But I think Heinlein's raps about =why= men fight, and why it is sometimes necessary, and the responsibility of men and women for their civilization, were as interesting and as necessary to the book as the combat scenes.

=Any= sf writer worth his or her salt can write a war-in-space novel. RAH went deeper.

Yes, there was. But I think Heinlein's raps about =why= men fight, and why it is sometimes necessary, and the responsibility of men and women for their civilization, were as interesting and as necessary to the book as the combat scenes.

=Any= sf writer worth his or her salt can write a war-in-space novel. RAH went deeper.

Same applies to Armor. Felix's battles with bureaucracy and superior officers who throw away the lives of the troops.

I put Armor up there with Gates of Fire, Starship Troopers, Hard Contact and Night Watch on my must read list for people in warrior occupations.

Same applies to Armor. Felix's battles with bureaucracy and superior officers who throw away the lives of the troops.

I put Armor up there with Gates of Fire, Starship Troopers, Hard Contact and Night Watch on my must read list for people in warrior occupations.

Lawdawg, have you read WE ALL DIED AT BREAKAWAY STATION?

Lawdawg, have you read WE ALL DIED AT BREAKAWAY STATION?

I have not. Author?

I have not. Author?

Richard C. Meredith. It's long out-of-print, but good used copies are easily available and cheap from bn.com.

Lawdawg, if you get it and don't like it, I will give you your money back. That's how sure I am. It ranks =easily= with STARSHIP TROOPERS and THE FOREVER WAR.

If I am lying, lawman, I am dying. Check it out. You will =not= be disappointed.

Amazing book, one of my all-time favorites.

I think it's filmable. Maybe because I've mentally scripted out the scenes so many times over the years. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I think the Sci-Fi channel tried to film it as a miniseries a while back, but it fell through (that actually might be the best format for it - with each jump forward in time a different episode.)

BTW, you'd all probably enjoy reading the book "The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made" :

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Sci-fi-Mo...351&sr=8-1

It details the history of famous SF novels and scripts that never made it to film, as well as the tangled history of some that did, such as I AM LEGEND and THE FANTASTIC FOUR. I had no idea until I read this that people have been trying to make CHILDHOOD'S END and THE STARS MY DESTINATION for decades...

It's been a couple of years since I read it, so you're probably right. But what I remember of the book wasnt the battles, it was the classroom stuff about political theory and junk.

I actually enjoyed those parts a lot. It's a political/philosophical novel as well as a war novel. As a Cold War-era novel, we can also assume the Klendathu are communist surrogates. As were the aliens in Heinlein's THE PUPPET MASTERS, which you should also check out if you haven't already. It is probably the most plagiarized novel in SF history. I can think of at least 3 or 4 cinematic rip-offs (one of which Heinlein won a law-suit against.) It's also a really, really good read.

STARSHIP TROOPERS is required reading in at least one of the U.S. service academies, by the way.