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I may have mentioned I'm working on a long story, I want to say novel but it would be unofficial. This story is futuristic and about someone in the military. He lives on Mars and joins th army without the support of a father and the fear of a mother. Anyways if you have read Starship Troopers then you'll understand. I want to borrow Heilein's suit idea for my story and I have two questions. If you found out I borrowed that idea would you be mad and decide not to read it because of that? And also do I need to ask permission from heinlein? Since I want to really borrow his suit idea almost entirely. What do you think?
Posts: 59 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Servo-Powered Combat Armor is a long standing science fiction tradition, and is not going to be thought of as borrowed from Heinlein unless you call it 'Powered Armor al la Starship Troopers' or something equally inane.
In fact, if you depict futuristing infantry combat in hostile or inhospitable environments and do not use combat armor, then informed readers will wonder why not.
Don't limit the suits to what Heinlein imagined, though. Think of what you would want in such a suit and decide whether you can make it plausible.
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I think asking Heinlein's permission would be difficult -- he passed a few years ago.
I don't think that it would be a bad idea. I think that one of the Honor Herrington books talks about something that something and they refer to it as the heinlein maneuver or somesuch. And certainly, in other books, I have seen or at least felt that someone got their idea from someone else I wrote.
However, his stuff is obsolete. Very good, it is just that it is much bulkier than is currently necessary. When he wrote that suits had to be bulky and big, or so it was thought, and today we know that that is no longer the case. - and science has altered our opinions of what is needed.
In the book "Engines of Creation" by K. Eric Drexler - on nano-technology, it isn't fiction - he talks in there about suits built and controled by nano-machines which are essentially like putting on a wetsuit, but they have nanomachine muscles, which allows you to exert more force on the outside than on the inside. but they are completely selfcontained. working in outer space they can probably get their power from solar. so you might want to take a look at that. (You can find a copy on the net if you can't somewhere else)
In John Ringo's books, "march up country", "march to the sea" and "march to the stars" they talk about combat armor and reactive armor. Also take a look at "a hymn before battle" also by John Ringo. In that book the battle armor is closely related to Heinleins battle armor. - strange book, but well done. (John Ringo's books are available directly from the publisher in pretty much any format you want.)
depending on how much you will be using the suits during the story, you might want to check out the books by Ringo anyway even if you end up going in a different direction, as he does a fairly decent job on going into the limitations of the suits.
drop me an email if you are need help finding any of the stuff that I mentioned.
[This message has been edited by mags (edited February 27, 2003).]
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I want to say thanks guys, and um.... Heinlein died? I had no idea, damn he's a great writer. Anyways, I didn't know the idea was so widespread. I want to call the certain branch my character in something that won't look remotely mirrored to Mobile Infantry, I call it the mechanized infantry (I need a new name ). I always thought it was possible, after all the improvements, but think of the recources! can you imagine how much that would cost in reality! Posts: 59 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I haven't read Starship Troopers but of course I've heard a lot about it. As I understand it, Heinlein's suit wasn't particularly original; it was the relationship between the suit and its wearer that was unique. As long as you don't try to tell a story about such a relationship then I think you're safe.
Posts: 976 | Registered: May 2001
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This information taken off "Robert A. Heinlein: A Biographical Sketch" by Bill Patterson.
quote:Robert Anson Heinlein was born on 7 July 1907, in Butler, Bates County, Missouri. On May 8, 1988, he died peacefully in his morning nap.
A selection of his letters, heavily edited by Virginia Heinlein (who passed away in January), was released in 1989 as Grumbles From The Grave, a title Heinlein thought up in the 1970's.
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). I always thought it was possible, after all the improvements, but think of the recources! 
can you imagine how much that would cost in reality! 
