Pages (2):    1 2
bones weep tedium   11-24-2008, 04:30 PM
#11
law dawg Wrote: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 Wink 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 Rolleyes

Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote: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.

GeraldRice Wrote: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. Confusedmilewinkgrin:


I accidentally dropped a load of worthless change in the street. I was going to just leave it there but a burly policeman lumbered towards me and said, "You'd better pick that up, son."

I hate coppers.

[Image: smile-test.gif]"DEMOCRACY IS TWO WOLVES AND A LAMB VOTING ON WHAT TO HAVE FOR LUNCH.
LIBERTY IS A WELL-ARMED LAMB CONTESTING THE VOTE."
Bluesman Mike Lindner   11-24-2008, 04:46 PM
#12
bones weep tedium Wrote:Snap!

I thought that Armor was great fun, despite the spelling mistake in the title Wink 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 Rolleyes



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. Confusedmilewinkgrin:

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!
bones weep tedium   11-24-2008, 04:51 PM
#13
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote: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:


I accidentally dropped a load of worthless change in the street. I was going to just leave it there but a burly policeman lumbered towards me and said, "You'd better pick that up, son."

I hate coppers.

[Image: smile-test.gif]"DEMOCRACY IS TWO WOLVES AND A LAMB VOTING ON WHAT TO HAVE FOR LUNCH.
LIBERTY IS A WELL-ARMED LAMB CONTESTING THE VOTE."
Bluesman Mike Lindner   11-24-2008, 05:01 PM
#14
bones weep tedium Wrote: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.
law dawg   11-24-2008, 07:25 PM
#15
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote: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.

It's an 88 magnum. It shoots through schools.
Bluesman Mike Lindner   11-24-2008, 07:29 PM
#16
law dawg Wrote: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?
law dawg   11-24-2008, 09:32 PM
#17
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote:Lawdawg, have you read WE ALL DIED AT BREAKAWAY STATION?

I have not. Author?

It's an 88 magnum. It shoots through schools.
Bluesman Mike Lindner   11-24-2008, 10:10 PM
#18
law dawg Wrote: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.
Mick C.   11-25-2008, 01:32 AM
#19
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...

"Flow with the Go."

- Rickson Gracie
Mick C.   11-25-2008, 01:38 AM
#20
bones weep tedium Wrote: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.

"Flow with the Go."

- Rickson Gracie
Pages (2):    1 2
  
Users browsing this thread: 5 Guest(s)
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.
Made with by Curves UI.