#robert a heinlein

[drunkenskunk]

So I've been playing a lot of Helldivers II, and it's really fun!

(at least, it is when the servers are working lmao)

However: there is one thing about the game that annoys me. It's the same thing that always annoys me whenever drop pods are mentioned in science fiction.

Nobody ever seems to get them right!

Whenever drop pods show up, they always seem to depict each pod as a single projectile rocketing towards the surface of a planet, usually behind enemy lines. They're the logical sci fi evolution of airborne infantry dropping in by parachute, because a lot of military sci fi tropes have trouble moving past WWII. And, y'know, that's fine. That's not the issue I have.

The issue is the single projectile part.

It's almost like every writer who includes drop pods forget that anti-aircraft weapons and SAM sites are currently a thing in the real world and would almost certainly still exist and be better in the science fiction space future. Those drop pods rocketing towards the surface would present the juiciest targets imaginable and would almost certainly get shot out of the sky before they even got close to impacting on the surface.

Annoyingly, the only sci fi that I know of to ever get drop pods right is the first one to ever do it: the Starship Troopers novel by Robert Heinlein.

Now, say what you will about Heinlein - and I do, quite often. For the most part, he's not that great of a writer, and his politics are terrible. The man was an asshole who loved writing wet farts of fascist porn, and the novel absolutely pales in comparison to Paul Verhoeven's 1998 masterpiece of satire, where he took one look at the book, rolled his eyes, and started making jerk-off motions.

But when I first read the novel when I was, like, 6 years old, I was a dumbass child and didn't notice (or care) about the... I mean, I'd call it "fascist subtext" except that it's literally just The Text. No, what drew me in was the one singular thing Heinlein was actually good at writing: technical sequences, written from an in-universe lens.

The way he described how the drop pods actually work in the first few pages of the novel - and, more importantly, how they don't immediately get shot out of the sky - is great! It makes sense, it's easy to understand (because Johnny Rico is, let's be honest: an idiot, he's not going to give you a complicated explanation), and it fills in a plot hole you never realized was there.

For as many faults as the man had as both a writer and a human being, and for all the many problems the rest of the book has, that first chapter - and specifically the drop pod sequence - is a great hook.

Like, this is the template for drop pods. This is The Thing that people are referencing whenever drop pods show up in sci fi, like in fucking Halo, or Starcraft, or Warhammer 40k. And everyone always seems to forget the single most important thing about this infantry delivery system: the countermeasures.

I dunno. This is just one of those things that's always annoyed me.

[geekynerfherder]

Showcasing art from some of my favourite artists, and those that have attracted my attention, in the field of visual arts, including vintage; pulp; pop culture; books and comics; concert posters; fantastical and imaginative realism; classical; contemporary; new contemporary; pop surrealism; conceptual and illustration.

The art of Peter Andrew Jones.

[docgold13]

book covers from the wild worlds Robert A Heinlein

[philosophors]

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”

— Robert A. Heinlein, “Stranger in a Strange Land”

[liquidlightandrunningtrees]

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Robert A. Heinlein

[offonaherosjourney]

Reading old sci fi books is such a wild ride because it’s like "we figured FTL travel but not that women are people"

[le-tas-d-art]

Boris Vallejo cover for To Sail Beyond the Sunset by Robert Heinlein

[ermwhatsup]

I watched the OSP video about Stranger in a Strange Land and felt compelled to make this

[dzgrizzle]

Here’s my DragonCon 2023 Report. I was especially happy to be part of the annual Robert A. Heinlein Pay it Forward Blood Drive at the con, since this is the first year I’ve been eligible to be a blood donor.

And here is my Linktree with links to all my other sites: https://linktr.ee/dzgrizzle

[swarm]

Best novels about cats?

[kimblestudies]

05.10.23

-> writing How Heinlein Writes Women: a Feminist Literary Criticism

-> Past my bedtime, probably. I'm skipping school tmrw to focus on ecs

-> have my mentioned before how much of a special interest i have in scifi?

-> use tabmerger!! genuinely the most productive site i've ever discovered for tab organization. plus it looks fuckin sick

[shortstorytournament]

Short Story Tournament

—AND HE BUILT A CROOKED HOUSE— by Robert A. Heinlein (1941) (link)

"Isn't there a place in architecture for transformation, for homomorphology, for actional structures?" "Blessed if I know," answered Bailey. "You might must as well be talking about the fourth dimension for all it means to me." "And why not? Why should we limit ourselves to the—Say!" He interrupted himself and stared into distances.

2 B R 0 2 B by Kurt Vonnegut (1962) (link) - tw: suicide, death

"This child of yours—whichever one you decide to keep, Mr. Wehling," said Dr. Hitz. "He or she is going to live on a happy, roomy, clean, rich planet, thanks to population control. In a garden like that mural there." He shook his head. "Two centuries ago, when I was a young man, it was a hell that nobody thought could last another twenty years. Now centuries of peace and plenty stretch before us as far as the imagination cares to travel."

[mesutbahtiyarolacak]

Aşk, başka bir kişinin mutluluğunun sizin için çok önemli olduğu durumdur.

[geekysteven]

[Image description Vintage science fiction novel cover showing two men putting on space suits while another man stands nearby looking at them. Text is from aKarate_Horse tweet and reads "I'm going to ask you 1 more time. Are you doing this just to fuck the moon?"]

[alfiiee]

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

-Robert A. Heinlein,

[mosie-b]

Has Sci-Fi gone woke?

I see all these wOkE stories around, can you imagine if the greats from the golden age wrote this kinda stuff? Like just for a moment, imagine if in the middle of Foundation Isaac Asimov wrote a scene with two naked men bathing together, and one lights the other's cigarette? Wait a sec, I'm getting a call...

Ok, so turns out that is a scene in Foundation, but I'm sure platonic naked bathing was exceedingly common amongst "very close friends" in the 1940s. It doesn't make them boy-kissers. Well, I suppose the issue today is less with gay people(I swear to god I'm not homophobic) but instead those pesky gender radicals. Imagine for a moment If Heinlein wrote a story about a trans and intersex character traveling through- Hold on another call...

What was that? Oh, 70 years ago, really? there's a movie version? Maya Hawkes dad? Well, I guess I'll check it out then...

Well, I guess I'm gonna put my nose back to the grindstone for more examples. At least they didn't feel the need to shove race into everything, ya know... Actually, I won't go there. I'd hate to have to answer another call...