I did a comparison / contrast between Haldeman (The Forever War) and Heinlein (Starship Troopers) in college for an English class. It's not that The Forever War is a better book, it's that they present two different approaches to soldiers. Juan Rico is the soldier as imagined by Kipling - William Mandella (note the last name being a play upon Mandala, the circle) isn't a student, he's conscripted and doesn't fit the bill as regular cannon fodder.
Of course, this also relates to Heinlein having been a volunteer for the Navy (an Annapolis graduate) between WW1 and WW2, albeit kicked out when he picked up TB, while Haldeman was drafted for Vietnam and wounded there.
I could go on about this - my paper was only 60 pages long, and yes, I got an A on it - but I won't.
And Matt is exactly correct - go forth and have fun with Honor Harrington. Granted, about the time you get to the latest books, you'll not be having as much fun - but the space warfare up through about the 10th or so book in the series is all good!
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.