Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers falling in the vain of Satire and Sci-fi, and being one of my favorite films pushed me to read the book that it was based on. Surprising I found the book was a very similar movie in plot and theme. The amount of metaphor and layers in this work in the commentary of fascist and totalitarian, creating a plot that is almost secondary with that mount of meaning and metaphor that exists throughout this work. This imagined universe is a world full of militarism and people brainwashed to an ideology. Almost feeling like a story written by such just such a society to push such indoctrination and ideology. Being so obviously and aggressive in its themes is where the commentary and satire come into play. The strongest points of this satire are in the descriptions of the combat, and when it comes to how violence is handled. For in this violence you see the blatant and aggressive nature of the fascist ideology being satirized. The aspects of satire don’t covey as much in the literary version as it does in the film adaptation. Either this is due to my rushed reading or it was the purpose in the translation.

The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut

Finally having the opportunity to read another on Kurt Vonnegut’s works is an absolute joy. One of my favorite books I’ve ever read is his other work “Slaughterhouse 5” which I believe is an essential read for anyone and everyone. Which why this story was such a nice surprise in reading because there are some familiar themes and even characters from Slaughterhouse 5, the Tralfamadorians being one of them. An Alien species that now has shown up twice in his works from my readings. Also, knowing more about his background and his mental and physical hardships whether its illness or his time in world war 2 all bleed into this work. This is important in my mind because of our class discussion question talking about “writing in genre or just using elements of a genre”. This being a very thin and blurry distinction The Sirens of Titan falls into very well. For from my understanding of Vonnegut the work is more of a metaphorical tool to convey his internal demons. The jumping around of the narrative, which is something that we see in Slaughterhouse 5, can be explained in a Sci-fi way but I also can easily be elements of PTSD or mental illness being conveyed in metaphor. This is why id argue that Vonnegut is writing using elements of Sci-fi and not writing a Sci-fi novel. For even in the basic structure of the work has to room for interpretation, just because there are aliens and space travel everything seems to be a metaphor. While reading the work literally is just as entertaining but turns into an almost “acid trip” at times if taken so literally. Which is the best part of Vonnegut’s work and why everyone should read him!

Lilith's Brood by Octavia E. Butler

In contemporary times the addition of diverse voices in any genre especially Sci-Fi is bound to elevate and heighten any new media being put out. Purely for the fact that new and interesting takes on existing ideas or even new ideas will be formed. Lilith’s Brood is no exception and parallels many ideas and themes while expounding and building upon all of them. First, pairing this work with her other work a short story named “Bloodchild” is a fantastic idea, for I truly believe it’s almost a condescend version of some of the key themes present in Lilith’s Brood. Both taking the form in an overlord Alien species that controls humanity for a surprisingly similarly purpose. For Breeding. While the Aliens in Bloodchild are parasitic in nature interest enough the aliens in Lilith’s Brood use humans to create a whole new multiracial group of alien-human hybrids. This is where I feel that the story's themes differ, where one can be seen as purely self-interested the other is symbiotic and argued by the aliens to be beneficial to all parties. Later on, we find that there are some complications socially which complicates matters more. Turns out mixing DNA with messy humans and their “humanish” ways lead to similar problems humans have, which is a great commentary on the issues that eternally plague human societies like our hierarchal predisposition and deviancy. Even in the act of attempting to help the humans these overlord Aliens still find the problems that have always been here, which is a cynical but reasonable take on the future of humanity.