TheNamelessOne
12-13-2012, 03:12 AM
Upon opening this book my first impression was that the writing style was very awkward. I'm not exactly a great writer myself, but even I can recognise sloppy writing and S.S. Troopers is full of it. It's somewhat excused by the fact that the novel is narrated from a troopers point of view and ostensibly the trooper is kind of a moron to put it harshly. Perhaps the one redeeming factor of the writing is that the author invented some very cool phrases, such as "on the bounce". That kin of thing gives a book soul.
My second impression was that the action sequence at the start was extremely well done. It's intense, believable and eloquently introduces me the reader to the setting. There isn't much action afterwards, but that's fine because contrary to what the book's description implies action isn't the focus of the novel.
The focus of the novel is, in my amateur interpretation, concerning such things as camaraderie, sacrifice, suffrage and more that I'm forgetting. There are some interesting views put forth by the characters, often through blatant exposition dialogues, but interesting nonetheless. Indeed it is so interesting that apparently the USAirforce recommends it's enlistees read the book. Some might say it's chauvinistic or even outright fascist, but I wouldn't take it that seriously. In the end, while the viewpoints are interesting they're also rather silly especially so when inserted into a war between space marines and alien arachnids.
All things considered I'd say that the book was worth a read. It's not amazingly good. It's merely enjoyable. And what's more it's one of those famous books that you see referenced everywhere (heck there's even a funny satirical movie series loosely based on it), so it would pay to read it if only to understand those references.
My second impression was that the action sequence at the start was extremely well done. It's intense, believable and eloquently introduces me the reader to the setting. There isn't much action afterwards, but that's fine because contrary to what the book's description implies action isn't the focus of the novel.
The focus of the novel is, in my amateur interpretation, concerning such things as camaraderie, sacrifice, suffrage and more that I'm forgetting. There are some interesting views put forth by the characters, often through blatant exposition dialogues, but interesting nonetheless. Indeed it is so interesting that apparently the USAirforce recommends it's enlistees read the book. Some might say it's chauvinistic or even outright fascist, but I wouldn't take it that seriously. In the end, while the viewpoints are interesting they're also rather silly especially so when inserted into a war between space marines and alien arachnids.
All things considered I'd say that the book was worth a read. It's not amazingly good. It's merely enjoyable. And what's more it's one of those famous books that you see referenced everywhere (heck there's even a funny satirical movie series loosely based on it), so it would pay to read it if only to understand those references.