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alesia_charles's review
3.0
143 pages is a quick read, and what I actually have is the Berkeley Medallion edition from 1966, which originally cost fifty cents but we paid forty-nine cents for.
Anyway, this is a parody of military SF, in which the "hero" is literally drugged into signing up for the army and the war is going on because humans are naturally warlike. The ship that Bill winds up on is called Christine Keeler, and I looked her up: she was a model and showgirl, and in 1963, her affair with a British government minister severely embarrassed the government. Bill loses his left arm in battle, and it's replaced with someone else's right arm (as a resul,t he could shake hands with himself). ... And further weird stuff, such as the capital planet, Helior, that's covered with gold-tinted aluminum so it'll look like gold, and which is such a three-dimensional maze that when Bill loses his (paper) floor plan, it takes him eight days to get back to his billet - and then there are more absurd complications.
I particularly enjoyed the 1960s tech in which the spaceship's electrical systems employ 90-pound fuses. And then there's the bit on Helior where there are so many spies in the "revolutionary movement" that in fact they're all spies (including Bill), though I kind of saw that coming.
Anyway, it was fun in a very anti-war, anti-totalitarian, anti-bureaucracy, anti-stupidity way. Kind of a weird cross between Starship Troopers and Catch-22. But it also ends on a full-circle, depressing note that all by itself elevates it above mere ridiculous humor and, I think, into the realm of satire.
Anyway, this is a parody of military SF, in which the "hero" is literally drugged into signing up for the army and the war is going on because humans are naturally warlike. The ship that Bill winds up on is called Christine Keeler, and I looked her up: she was a model and showgirl, and in 1963, her affair with a British government minister severely embarrassed the government. Bill loses his left arm in battle, and it's replaced with someone else's right arm (as a resul,t he could shake hands with himself). ... And further weird stuff, such as the capital planet, Helior, that's covered with gold-tinted aluminum so it'll look like gold, and which is such a three-dimensional maze that when Bill loses his (paper) floor plan, it takes him eight days to get back to his billet - and then there are more absurd complications.
I particularly enjoyed the 1960s tech in which the spaceship's electrical systems employ 90-pound fuses. And then there's the bit on Helior where there are so many spies in the "revolutionary movement" that in fact they're all spies (including Bill), though I kind of saw that coming.
Anyway, it was fun in a very anti-war, anti-totalitarian, anti-bureaucracy, anti-stupidity way. Kind of a weird cross between Starship Troopers and Catch-22. But it also ends on a full-circle, depressing note that all by itself elevates it above mere ridiculous humor and, I think, into the realm of satire.
plaidchuck's review
4.0
This book was just a hoot from start to finish. What is most interesting however is both the satirical and dystopian aspect of the book. Harrison takes a bite out of everyone in the book, the hawks and the doves, the officers and the enlisted men, the government bureaucrats and the dumb joes just doing their duty, and probably some of the pulp sci fi he saw in his day.
The dystopian aspect I found is that once Bill learns the "ropes" of one of his predicaments, whether it be a solider recruit, Fuse Tender military specialty, a garbage "G-Man", or revolutionary turned double-spy, he is never allowed to become comfortable. His life is a constant struggle by the skin of his teeth hopping to one misery to the next that is disguised as a Potemkin village.
Add to that some military humor (if you're a vet you'll know) and some looney tunes shenanigans and you have a short and surprisingly pretty deep read if you're willing to look under the surface.
The dystopian aspect I found is that once Bill learns the "ropes" of one of his predicaments, whether it be a solider recruit, Fuse Tender military specialty, a garbage "G-Man", or revolutionary turned double-spy, he is never allowed to become comfortable. His life is a constant struggle by the skin of his teeth hopping to one misery to the next that is disguised as a Potemkin village.
Add to that some military humor (if you're a vet you'll know) and some looney tunes shenanigans and you have a short and surprisingly pretty deep read if you're willing to look under the surface.
khardan's review
3.0
Bueno, la verdad es que me esperaba mucho más de esta novela en tres partes. En cuanto a personajes, Bill es incoherente entre la primera y la segunda parte. A alguien a quien le tratan tan mal en la primera parte no puede sentirse tan especial en la segunda. Pero lo cierto es que me esperaba mucho más humor, cuando lo que me he encontrado es una comedia satírica, en el sentido más basto del término. Es un humor basto, que se pierde si no has tenido la suerte de leerte los libros de ciencia-ficción a los que hace referencia implícita. O visto las películas, porque claro, yo el libro de starship troopers no lo he leído (y sí, sé que debería por la crítica antimilitarista que se hace...) pero sí que me he visto la película y he podido relacionar el entrenamiento que recibe Bill con la película...
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lordofthemoon's review
3.0
Several of the quotes on the back cover of this book compare it (favourably) to [b:Catch-22|168668|Catch-22|Joseph Heller|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359882576s/168668.jpg|814330] and the comparison is certainly justified. This is a similar anti-war satire on bureaucracy and the military but for me, it didn't quite work. Despite [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg] claiming on the front cover that his is the funniest SF book ever written, it's not. His own are more laugh out loud funny, and Douglas Adams might be in there, or even Harrison's other series featuring The Stainless Steel Rat but this was too depressing, possibly because it's all too plausible, to be that funny for me.
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