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Mike Wilder (20 KP) rated Starship Troopers (1997) in Movies
May 30, 2018
It is a great film and in the category of action Sci-Fi one of the best.
Contains spoilers, click to show
Starship Troopers is a great Science Fiction movie. It is based on a book by Robert A. Heinlein. In the future, mankind is exploring the universe and encroach upon the territory of alien bugs and war begins. The insects are only responding to a threat of their territory and are trying to fight off the invaders. The clever use of insects as the aliens makes this film stand apart from other space movies.
The cast is great. It is made up of great actors, many of who at the time were relatively unknown including Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Jake Busey and Denise Richards, mixed with established stars like Clancy Brown, Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Ironside, taking minor roles. The star of the movie is hard to choose between Dina Meyer, Casper Van Dien (both of who suffered injuries while making this, Casper broke a rib and Dina suffered a concussion) and the bugs! However I am going to have to say the bugs are the stars. The use of real and CGI in this film is great. The bugs are a formidable foe and a very creative one. They are numerous and relentless. Cleverly the use of different species of bugs makes for some great surprises.
The battles are epic and bloody. This is not a film for the squeamish, every battle is like a futuristic opening scene to Saving Private Ryan. People die in horrific ways, bodies and limbs are ripped apart and even main characters don't always survive, something I always appreciate in a film as it keeps the viewer guessing.
But it is not all about war, there is a good amount of comedy and even romance in this movie. It is a great film and in the category of action Sci-Fi one of the best.
The cast is great. It is made up of great actors, many of who at the time were relatively unknown including Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Jake Busey and Denise Richards, mixed with established stars like Clancy Brown, Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Ironside, taking minor roles. The star of the movie is hard to choose between Dina Meyer, Casper Van Dien (both of who suffered injuries while making this, Casper broke a rib and Dina suffered a concussion) and the bugs! However I am going to have to say the bugs are the stars. The use of real and CGI in this film is great. The bugs are a formidable foe and a very creative one. They are numerous and relentless. Cleverly the use of different species of bugs makes for some great surprises.
The battles are epic and bloody. This is not a film for the squeamish, every battle is like a futuristic opening scene to Saving Private Ryan. People die in horrific ways, bodies and limbs are ripped apart and even main characters don't always survive, something I always appreciate in a film as it keeps the viewer guessing.
But it is not all about war, there is a good amount of comedy and even romance in this movie. It is a great film and in the category of action Sci-Fi one of the best.

David McK (3562 KP) rated The Four Feathers in Books
Jan 28, 2019
'Every man would be a coward where he but brave enough' is a quote that I thought came from this novel.
Turns out I was wrong on both counts - the actual quote is 'For all men would be cowards if they durst', and was actually written by John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester in his poem "A Satyr against Reason and Mankind" roughly 2 centuries before the publication of this novel.
It's also a line that Mason, ad the others of his generation, would have had absolutely no understanding of and would (probably) have been vehemently against, as depicted in the events of this story.
This story starts on the eve of his regiment sailing off to fight in Sudan, when Harry Feversham resigns his commission, having just gotten engaged to his fiancee. When his 'friends' find out they send him three white feathers - the symbols of cowardice - which he receives in the company of that fiancee, who adds a fourth.
In a bid to retain his honour - valued above all else by the Colonial British of the time - Harry hatches a plan to go under-cover to Sudan, looking for opportunities to prove his bravery to those friends and (finally) his fiancee so they will take their feather back.
(Personally, I don't know why he didn't just do the same as Nobby Nobs in [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg]'s [b:Jingo|47990|Jingo (Discworld, #21)|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327921813s/47990.jpg|1128623], and save said feathers for a mattress ... )
The result is very much a book of its time, very much a 'boys-own' story of Harry and his daring escapades in the Sudan. It's also very much so a novel that needs read with that in mind: to modern minds, the entire premise might seem a little rickety (would someone really go to those extremes just to 'prove' their bravery?), but such was the mores of the day.
Turns out I was wrong on both counts - the actual quote is 'For all men would be cowards if they durst', and was actually written by John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester in his poem "A Satyr against Reason and Mankind" roughly 2 centuries before the publication of this novel.
It's also a line that Mason, ad the others of his generation, would have had absolutely no understanding of and would (probably) have been vehemently against, as depicted in the events of this story.
This story starts on the eve of his regiment sailing off to fight in Sudan, when Harry Feversham resigns his commission, having just gotten engaged to his fiancee. When his 'friends' find out they send him three white feathers - the symbols of cowardice - which he receives in the company of that fiancee, who adds a fourth.
In a bid to retain his honour - valued above all else by the Colonial British of the time - Harry hatches a plan to go under-cover to Sudan, looking for opportunities to prove his bravery to those friends and (finally) his fiancee so they will take their feather back.
(Personally, I don't know why he didn't just do the same as Nobby Nobs in [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg]'s [b:Jingo|47990|Jingo (Discworld, #21)|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327921813s/47990.jpg|1128623], and save said feathers for a mattress ... )
The result is very much a book of its time, very much a 'boys-own' story of Harry and his daring escapades in the Sudan. It's also very much so a novel that needs read with that in mind: to modern minds, the entire premise might seem a little rickety (would someone really go to those extremes just to 'prove' their bravery?), but such was the mores of the day.

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Explorations: First Contact (Explorations #2) in Books
Nov 13, 2019
Science Fiction has always been at home with the short story. The science fiction magazines from the mid 20th Century onwards was frequently the only way of writers to get their work published. As a bonus the concept of science fiction - taking an idea and seeing where it goes - is a really nice fit for short stories.
This collection is more than just a selection of tales from up and coming science fiction writers; all the stories are set in the same universe and are in some way on the theme of first contact. The introduction sets this up, with a damaged alien ship discovered on the moon. It is able to transmit details of nearby inhabited star systems - and a terrible warning about a dangerous foe - before it shuts down. Mankind learns all it can from the message and the wreckage before setting out for the stars.
Each story then follows the fate of the mission to one of the star systems. This is the point where any similarity in stories ends as each writer brings their own style and ideas for their contribution (although there are some neat nods to the other stories now and again). The result is a satisfying mix of different ideas but all within a consistant whole.
That's not to say that every story hit the spot for me, but that's inevitable given the range of authors here, but every story was interesting to read. There are also the occasional one that felt a little rushed, the idea either too big for a short story, or too many ideas vying for the limited word count. But these are minor niggles and the standard of all the stories is very high.
Overall a really good collection showcasing the talents of current science fiction writers. If you like interesting ideas and gripping stories about aliens and space exploration you won't be disappointed.
This collection is more than just a selection of tales from up and coming science fiction writers; all the stories are set in the same universe and are in some way on the theme of first contact. The introduction sets this up, with a damaged alien ship discovered on the moon. It is able to transmit details of nearby inhabited star systems - and a terrible warning about a dangerous foe - before it shuts down. Mankind learns all it can from the message and the wreckage before setting out for the stars.
Each story then follows the fate of the mission to one of the star systems. This is the point where any similarity in stories ends as each writer brings their own style and ideas for their contribution (although there are some neat nods to the other stories now and again). The result is a satisfying mix of different ideas but all within a consistant whole.
That's not to say that every story hit the spot for me, but that's inevitable given the range of authors here, but every story was interesting to read. There are also the occasional one that felt a little rushed, the idea either too big for a short story, or too many ideas vying for the limited word count. But these are minor niggles and the standard of all the stories is very high.
Overall a really good collection showcasing the talents of current science fiction writers. If you like interesting ideas and gripping stories about aliens and space exploration you won't be disappointed.

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