this book isn’t about johnny rico. it could’ve been about anyone in the same position & that’s what i love about it. i found that the lack of detailed descriptions reflected the uniform (sorry for the pun) nature of the military as well as the first half of the book not quite feeling like a science fiction world at all. this makes it very easy to understand & has a grounding effect on the reader, connecting with the characters & story through recognition of their own reality. heinlein is very smart in the way he does this, being very methodical in the book’s omissions & therefore carefully choosing what to focus on feels very reminiscent of the repetition of military life. through this, he gets to prioritise the messages he conveys, whether a critical comment on politics, technical advancements or the dying environment of earth. this book is full of humanity, discussing morals, using humour in the hardest moments &  portraying the bugs as a blank palette for all of our ‘enemies’, whether a physical person or our own selves. i know this review is quite bleak but i wanted to be sincere in how the book treated difficult topics. ultimately, heinlein shows the cyclical nature of war in the story’s  beginning & end; no matter how long & hard you fight there will always be another battle. perhaps this was intended to be an extended metaphor for life?