It was later made into a film by [Paul Verhoeven]? in 1995. An animated television program was also made from it in 2000.
The novel deals with a platoon of future soldiers defending humanity from an intelligent race of creatures collectively known as "bugs", a repulsive alien enemy sharing many characteristics with social insects such as ants or termites.
For science fiction fans, the novel popularized the concept of the exoskeleton? in the form of the powered armor suits of the Mobile Infantry soldiers. These suits were manipulated by the wearer's own movements but also powered to augment the actions. The soldier could, for example, jump upwards, and the powered leg joints would launch him off the ground while rockets kicked in for further propulsion. Dropped from orbit in individual egg-shaped heat shields, the troopers would parachute into enemy territory for quick hit-and-run operations. Armed with a significant arsenal including high-explosive rocket launchers and flame throwers, the Mobile Infantry soldier was a one-man tank.
Politics is a significant subject in the novel, taking up a greater part of the story than the scientific or technical aspects. The novel presents a very favourable view of the purposefulness and order of military life and disgust with the slack, individualistic, and purposeless life of "civilians". Many fans regard the book as one of the best literary descriptions of the positive aspects of military service (notably the strong bonds between soldiers).
In the future world of the novel, only those who have volunteered for federal service (which includes military service) are permitted to vote and hold political office. These aspects of the novel make it highly controversial, with numerous detractors interpreting the book as thinly-designed, expertly-written propaganda for fascism.
Paul Verhoeven's 1995 film takes up these political themes by satirizing the book's attitudes mercilessly, using references from propaganda films such as Triumph of the Will and wartime news broadcasts, but wrapping this satire in slickly-produced action sequences with clever special effects such that the satire went unnoticed by a mostly teenage male audience who treated the movie as a simple gung-ho "action flick".
The animated series [Roughnecks: Starship Troopers]? (released in 2000) was closer to the events of the book, such as including the war with the Skinnies, and included more of the characters. However, it focused mostly on combat, and didn't address the political aspects at all. Verhoeven was also a producer for the series, and it used the creature designs from the 1995 movie.
Starship Troopers was clearly influential on many later science fiction stories, setting a tone for the military in space. James Cameron's Aliens movie incorporated themes and phrases right out of the novel such as "the drop", "bug hunt", and the cargo loader exoskelton. [Chris Carter]?'s TV series ''Space: Above and Beyond'' also appears to follow many of the same themes.
On the other hand, [Joe Haldeman]?'s The Forever War is an antiwar statement sometimes thought to be a direct reply to Troopers.
Starship Troopers was also made into a strategy/simulation board game by [Avalon Hill]? in 1976.
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