Robert A. Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of the genre.

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Did Heinlein invent the term “boot-chevrons” or did an actual military use it?

In Starship Troopers the recruits that are given leadership positions in boot camp are said to have boot chevrons. I've never seen the term used elsewhere until I read the Starship Trooper-esque A ...
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645 views

Was Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers modeled on the Marines or the Army?

A comment on this question got me thinking - was Heinlein explicitly modeling Mobile Infantry on US Marines? Or More the Army? I'll accept either a word-of-god answer (e.g. sourced from Heinlein ...
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Does the number 31 hold special meaning in Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers?

First, there's the 31 ways to get kicked out: About the only thing we noticed, if we noticed anything, was what we called "the thirty-one ways to crash land." ... The "crash landings" were a ...
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Was Verhoeven's Starship Troopers intended to be a satire on war or a parody of the book? Was it authorised to be such?

From WP's page on the film: Director Verhoeven says his satirical use of irony and hyperbole is "playing with fascism or fascist imagery to point out certain aspects of American society... of ...
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795 views

Did Heinlein intentionally hide Rico's ethnicity until the very end? Why?

Did Heinlein intentionally hide Rico's ethnicity in Starship Troopers until the very end? If so, why? Even his name is something of a slow reveal:
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What do we know about the Skinnies?

The Skinnies are allies of the Bugs in Heinlein's Starship Troopers. What do we know about them and their alliance with the Arachnids?
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Is there a generally accepted critical and/or feminist response to Heinlein's work?

I personally enjoy reading Heinlein, but the argument has been made to me that "All of his women are basically men." I have also heard it said that he basically tried to write forward-thinking ...
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133 views

Is there a summary/map somewhere of the geo-political breakdown of the world in Heinlein's Friday

I'm reading Robert Heinlein's Friday and having a little bit of trouble keeping all the geo-political breakdowns clear in my head, especially the North American ones. Is there a list or a map ...
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146 views

Does Lazarus Long have a beard?

I'm putting the finishing touches on a Lazarus Long Halloween costume, and I've run into a bit of a question. I have a vague recollection of one of Heinlein's books stating that Lazarus never grew a ...
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1k views

Did Heinlein advocate the apparently militaristic, if not fascist society of Starship Troopers?

In the classic 1959 Sci-Fi novel Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein lays out a view of the future where only the military is allowed full citizenship and suffrage. He presents democracy as ...
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153 views

Were there any “Starship Troopers” comics closer to the spirit of the book than the movie?

I know there there were several different publishers that put out "Starship Troopers" comics. Some of those comics seem to be full movie tie-ins (2 were actual "comicalization" of the movie). Since ...
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677 views

Classified project during WWII involving Asimov and Heinlein

During WWII, a group of science fiction writers, Robert Heinlein & Isaac Asimov prominent among them, were involved in a classified project for the US government. Isaac Asimov mentioned this ...
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294 views

Reasons for Mike's loss of personality at end of Moon is a Harsh Mistress

I re-read Moon is a Harsh Mistress over the weekend and remembered that I was always puzzled by Mike's behavior over the last pages. Prior to Prof's death, Mike was both a friend to Man and Wyoh as ...
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1answer
194 views

In 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' what are Garrison didos?

In numerous locations in Heinlein's Moon he refers to Garrison orbits or Garrison didos. Based on context I've always interpreted dido as DIrect De-Orbit but having searched for a better definition ...
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135 views

Was 'The Bad Place' inspired by -All you Zombies-?

In Robert A. Heinlein's -All You Zombies- involves time travel and some fairly weird paradoxes. One of which is the self-fertilization by an intersex individual, a concept shared by Dean Koontz's ...
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130 views

The fate of the crew of the Envoy in Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land

It's been a while since I have read Stranger in a Strange Land, but was the
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557 views

What is the complete list of all “Starship Troopers” comics?

Wiki states: Comics Dark Horse Comics, Mongoose Publishing and Markosia have held the license to produce comic books based on Starship Troopers. Over the years they have been written by writers ...
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1answer
276 views

Who was the “Starship Troopers” representative who appeared in “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls”?

From "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" Wiki article: During a meeting of the Council of the Time Scouts, representatives from every major time line and setting written by Heinlein appear, ...
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196 views

Is it ever specified why/how Mike (HOLMES IV) achieved self-awareness in “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress”?

In The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, is it ever specified why/how Mike (HOLMES IV) achieved self-awareness? (Since Mike also figures in "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls", the answer may come from either ...
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2answers
905 views

What exactly are the proposed influences of “Starship Troopers” on “Ender's Game”?

From "Starship Troopers" Wiki: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is also thought by many to have been either a direct response to or influenced by Starship Troopers. Card has flatly denied this, ...
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305 views

Is there any reference/mention of Ayn Rand/objectivism in Heinlein's books?

Heinlein is considered a fairly "libertarian-leaning" author. Were there many mentions or references in his his works of either Ayn Rand, her works/heroes, or Objectivism (explicit mentions, not ...
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508 views

In the Starship Troopers movie, what remains of Robert A. Heinlein's original novel?

I enjoyed watching the movie Starship Troopers and the issues it "addresses" (to use the term lightly). However, Wikipedia says: The film diverged greatly in terms of the themes and plot of the ...
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354 views

Have any of Heinlein's (then) fictional inventions been developed into actual ones?

I'm not a smoker, but I thought that Heinlein's self-lighting cigarette idea is a darn good one. Are any of his fictional inventions actually being produced or researched in the real world?
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143 views

Were Gnostics/Gnosticism a recurring religion in Heinlein's work?

Jelly glanced over at Sergeant Migliaccio, first section leader. "Five minutes for the Padre," he stated. Some of the boys dropped out of ranks, went over and knelt in front of Migliaccio, ...
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260 views

In Starship Troopers, why was the Surgeon NOT making a drop?

... He stopped by the man in front of me, pressed the button on his belt that gave readings on his physicals. "Fall out!" "But, Sarge, it's just a cold. The Surgeon said -- " Jelly interrupted. " ...
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256 views

Where did Heinlein get the name Podkayne?

Does the name have an origin prior to Podkayne of Mars? A meaning?
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297 views

What is the Recognition Code for the Howard Families?

It's been a while since I've read much Heinlein, and I'm sure some will say I should be ashamed for not remembering this, but I remember there was a recognition code or greeting for members of the ...
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335 views

Robert Heinlein story that begins with a card game followed by an alarm and a shelter

The story begins with a group of people playing a card game of some sort, I can't recall what it was exactly, but it had some sort of team aspect to it. There were three or four players. One of them ...
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Is there any evidence for the bet between Robert A. Heinlein and L. Ron Hubbard?

It is widely believed that L. Ron Hubbard and Robert A. Heinlein made a bet in a bar one night either than L. Ron could not create a religion, or to see who could create a religion first. (In the ...
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7k views

Reading Order for Heinlein's “World as Myth” Books

Starting with Number of the Beast Heinlein began the systematic incorporation of most of his great novels into a single multiverse. Additionally, he included works by other authors in this multiverse. ...
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Are there any movies based on Robert Heinlein's works? [closed]

Is there any movie based on Robert Heinlein's work? If so, is there more than one?
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On the personal relation between Phil K. Dick and Robert Heinlein

It's well known that Dick and Heinlein were friends. On Dick's wikipedia article there is an extract from the introduction to the 1980 short story collection The Golden Man in which Dick praises ...
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408 views

“Black Hats” in “The Number of the Beast”

Some years ago, I ran into a statement that the identity of the villains that start chasing the party in Heinlein's Number of the Beast could be figured out from internal clues. I completely failed. ...
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Heinlein book(s) with FTL travel?

I'm a new Heinlein fan and also an FTL (faster-than-light) fan. Did he write any books where FTL was possible? All the ones I've read so far have been intra-system (Sol) only.