Science Fiction

The Puppet Masters

The Puppet Masters

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  • Create Date：2022-04-15 04:19:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Robert A. Heinlein
  • ISBN：B09VXVBSKG
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Summary

First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa。 Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax。 End of story。 Case closed。

Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the U。S。 government were on the scene and disappeared without reporting back。 Then four more follow up agents also disappeared。 So the head of the agency and his two top agents went in and managed to get out with their discovery: an invasion is underway by slug-like aliens who can touch a human and completely control his or her mind。 What the humans know， they know。 What the slugs want， no matter what， the human will do。 And most of Iowa is already under their control。

Sam Cavanaugh was one of the agents who discovered the truth。 Unfortunately， that was just before he was taken over by one of the aliens and began working for the invaders， with no will of his own。 And he has just learned that a high official in the Treasury Department is now under control of the aliens。 Since the Treasury Department includes the Secret Service， which safeguards the President of the United States， control of the entire nation is near at hand。

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Reviews

Philip Johnson ，

I was in a bit of a reading rut so I needed something "popcorny"。 This is 50's/60's sci-fi paperbackisms at it's finest。 Heinlein's best attribute is that you get a really really good sense of his personality with the way that he writes。 Unfortunately， he is a bit chauvinistic， for sure - and that comes through in all of his works - but aside from that he's funny， he's creative， and he's a good storyteller。 The Puppet Masters doesn't try to do anything that will blow your mind - it could be a re I was in a bit of a reading rut so I needed something "popcorny"。 This is 50's/60's sci-fi paperbackisms at it's finest。 Heinlein's best attribute is that you get a really really good sense of his personality with the way that he writes。 Unfortunately， he is a bit chauvinistic， for sure - and that comes through in all of his works - but aside from that he's funny， he's creative， and he's a good storyteller。 The Puppet Masters doesn't try to do anything that will blow your mind - it could be a response to any of number of sci-fi prompts。 But this doesn't stop it from having fun moments， fun characters， and a fun central idea。 。。。more

Andy Davis ，

A possible prototype for Invasion of the Body Snatchers （Donald Sutherland was in film versions of both interestingly）。The alien bugs attach themselves to their human hosts to control them。 The narrative sprawls a bit in Heinlein style but is actually sharper than for most of his novels。 The pace moves nicely from the discovery of a hoax spaceship to the full scale invasion。 The relationship between the head of secret service father head and agent son works well。 The romance between male and fem A possible prototype for Invasion of the Body Snatchers （Donald Sutherland was in film versions of both interestingly）。The alien bugs attach themselves to their human hosts to control them。 The narrative sprawls a bit in Heinlein style but is actually sharper than for most of his novels。 The pace moves nicely from the discovery of a hoax spaceship to the full scale invasion。 The relationship between the head of secret service father head and agent son works well。 The romance between male and female agent is nicely handled early on but after they are married the feisty female agent becomes a very sappy "yes darling， whatever you say darling" wife that I imagine says something about Heinlein's attitude to women。 There is an interesting thematic about human attitudes to nudity， the best defence against being taken over being exposure of any skin the limpit aliens might be clinging to。 。。。more

Sidney can't stomach drivel and deplores the bots here ，

Relatively-early Heinlein， but with his hallmarks: rapid storyline， memorable characters， and compelling sci fi and sociological concepts。

Martin Jovanovski ，

I can say that Heinlein is a master entertainer。 Problem is， we can be entertained by bad stuff too （looking at you， shit youtube content）。 Its extremely fast paced and it has a good idea （for the time， i thing innovative， but done million times since）。 The first 1/4 i leaned towards 4。4/5。0 rating。 Then chapter 11 happened and i throw the book across the room。 Literally。 It went down to 3。6 in those few lines。 I just hate too many stupid "revelations" that doesn't serve the story。 Ended up with I can say that Heinlein is a master entertainer。 Problem is， we can be entertained by bad stuff too （looking at you， shit youtube content）。 Its extremely fast paced and it has a good idea （for the time， i thing innovative， but done million times since）。 The first 1/4 i leaned towards 4。4/5。0 rating。 Then chapter 11 happened and i throw the book across the room。 Literally。 It went down to 3。6 in those few lines。 I just hate too many stupid "revelations" that doesn't serve the story。 Ended up with 3。3/5。0 rating。 Not bad， but for me， not good either。 。。。more

Asia ，

This was quite funny。 I really enjoyed the story and characters（minus the romance）。 I picked it up cause another book I had read mentioned this book and I'm glad I took the time。 From the very beginning you know there are alien parasites， so the whole book is the human race trying to stop the invaders。 It's crazy how accurately the description of certain things in the book are compared to real life。I do look forward to my next read from this author。 This was quite funny。 I really enjoyed the story and characters（minus the romance）。 I picked it up cause another book I had read mentioned this book and I'm glad I took the time。 From the very beginning you know there are alien parasites， so the whole book is the human race trying to stop the invaders。 It's crazy how accurately the description of certain things in the book are compared to real life。I do look forward to my next read from this author。 。。。more

Katie Jacoby ，

I like the scene at the end when the old man tells that they’ll never truly be able to be clothed again bc they’ll never be rid of this virus。 Just reminds me of something。 Hum…never without a mask。 To people saying this is schophonistic， yes。 So is King and I love him。 Also this was written in 1951。

Artguy ，

Engrossing book that， in true Heinlein form， keeps you locked in and engaged throughout。 What I love about Heinlein is his attention to detail， and the fact that he does not gloss over the "science" part of "science fiction'。 Written in 1951， and seemingly taking place around the present day （it never says a specific year）， as all great science fiction does， it astutely predicts the future。 No， we have not been invaded by gelatinous slugs from a moon of Venus， but we have a pandemic， and there i Engrossing book that， in true Heinlein form， keeps you locked in and engaged throughout。 What I love about Heinlein is his attention to detail， and the fact that he does not gloss over the "science" part of "science fiction'。 Written in 1951， and seemingly taking place around the present day （it never says a specific year）， as all great science fiction does， it astutely predicts the future。 No， we have not been invaded by gelatinous slugs from a moon of Venus， but we have a pandemic， and there is a battle over taking the threat seriously or not。 Red states of today pretty much line up with infected states of the book， places that refused or ignored the entreaties from the government to take measures to prevent the spread of the nearly invisible foe。 Yes， there are many parallels to what is happening today。 It is rather astounding， in fact。 Worth the read just for that aspect。 I thought， wow， this would make an interesting movie-- complete with lots of nudity-- when I saw it was made to little fanfare in the 1990's。 My guess is they left out the nudity part。 。。。more

cool breeze ，

I am not sure how this notably good entry in Heinlein’s catalogue missed my attention all these years。 It shows him to be already a skillful writer in 1951， long before his more famous works。

John ，

It was okay - very dated and rather sexist in places。

Greg ，

I have to count this as abandoned。 It just didn't hold my interest。 Which is sad because I really like Heinlein。 But， when it was over 6 weeks since I had returned to read any of it， I knew I just didn't care。 So I put it down。 I have to count this as abandoned。 It just didn't hold my interest。 Which is sad because I really like Heinlein。 But， when it was over 6 weeks since I had returned to read any of it， I knew I just didn't care。 So I put it down。 。。。more

Daniel Kukwa ，

I really should award this a 2。5 star rating。。。but I'm going to round it up for its sheer ambition。 It's a great plot -- a very 50s style mash-up of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "War of the Worlds"l and the pace is surprisingly unrelenting and intense。。。I can see as an influence on a great many future SF stories， especially on TV and in film。 Unfortunately， the characters and the dialogue are outrageously bad -- the future "slang" fluctuates between hilarious and incomprehensible， while I really should award this a 2。5 star rating。。。but I'm going to round it up for its sheer ambition。 It's a great plot -- a very 50s style mash-up of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "War of the Worlds"l and the pace is surprisingly unrelenting and intense。。。I can see as an influence on a great many future SF stories， especially on TV and in film。 Unfortunately， the characters and the dialogue are outrageously bad -- the future "slang" fluctuates between hilarious and incomprehensible， while the male/female interactions go beyond any uncomfortable 1950s cliches。。。leaving me to wonder about the psyche of Robert Heinlein and the way he looks at women。 In the end， I'm giving it extra points for its epic scope and its surprisingly ambiguous ending。。。but you've been warned， if you intend to give this a try。 。。。more

Art ，

It's been a while since I last read this。 I still love it。 It is dated in some places， but quite a lot still holds up。 It's been a while since I last read this。 I still love it。 It is dated in some places， but quite a lot still holds up。 。。。more

Alan Sharp ，

An interesting thing about coming back and re-reading a novel more than forty years later， is not only remembering plot points as you go along， but spotting all the things you could never possibly have noticed the first time around。 That the novel is dated goes without saying。 It was published in 1951， and as such the casual sexism and racism of its leading male characters is a given， and even though credit must be given to Heinlein for also including a capable self-reliant female lead who can t An interesting thing about coming back and re-reading a novel more than forty years later， is not only remembering plot points as you go along， but spotting all the things you could never possibly have noticed the first time around。 That the novel is dated goes without saying。 It was published in 1951， and as such the casual sexism and racism of its leading male characters is a given， and even though credit must be given to Heinlein for also including a capable self-reliant female lead who can tough it out with the boys， the truth is that we only really know this because we are told it is the case。 For the most part she is simply set decoration， and in typical Heinlein fashion she and the main male character of course instantly fall in love。 But for a novel set in the year 2007， it’s also always interesting to see what the author got right and wrong。 Heinlein manages to predict mobile phones and satellite imaging， but not GPS。 We have the ubiquitous， for the time， flying cars and ray guns， but no computers or even electronic calculators。 Of course， from a current point of view we also have to contend with the alternative history。 In this version of events， there has been a third world war， the Soviet Union has swallowed up China， and we have colonies on both Mars and Venus， on both of which life has been found， albeit long dead in the case of the former。 What makes it most worth reading， though， is its place in science fiction history， introducing a new sub-category which persists regularly to this day， the mind-control alien invasion novel。 A spaceship lands in the mid-west， the agents that go to investigate find that parts of the local population have ugly slug-like creatures on their backs that have taken over their bodies and are now controlling them。 From there， it’s a race against time to prevent them from taking over the whole world。 It’s a concept which would form the basis for many novels to come， as well as episodes of television series including Star Trek， Doctor Who and Babylon 5。 Given the time of writing， of course it is a thinly veiled allegory for the cold war and reds under the bed。 It also may have been a conscious effort by Heinlein to push the limits of what he could get away with， censorship-wise， something he continued to do throughout his career。 One of the main weapons used against this enemy is forcing everyone to strip naked to ensure they do not have an alien creature attached。 What is interesting is that， as probably the best known of his early works， you can see elements of the ideas that would turn up in his later classics， particularly Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress。 It’s influence on future writers is also clear， several scenes will be familiar from later works by other well known names in the field。So for all those reasons， it’s definitely worth a read， or a re-read。 Whether as ticking another one off the list， or because of its important place in the history of the genre， it’s a fast paced read with plenty of ideas and suspense， as well as not a little gore， and while it may feel a bit dated today， you can see how ahead of its time it was at the time。 。。。more

Heather ，

Life’s too short to read ridiculously sexist fiction， whether written by allegedly otherwise brilliant and prescient authors of the mid-20th Century or not。 Abandoned early on。

Patrick ，

Solid Sci-Fi entry of the list I found of the top 100 Sci-Fi books。 Good characters and pacing， very much enjoyed this one。

Casey Cho ，

Creative alien invasion novel by Heinlein using a twist on the "Body Snatchers" theme-what if aliens could mind control your body。 Eerily relevant today with conflict over government mandates to control the spread of the aliens， the spread of misinformation， and biological warfare/mass vaccination。 Very 50s feel （though its set in 2007） and some of the dialogue may seem dated， if not offensive to some。 Creative alien invasion novel by Heinlein using a twist on the "Body Snatchers" theme-what if aliens could mind control your body。 Eerily relevant today with conflict over government mandates to control the spread of the aliens， the spread of misinformation， and biological warfare/mass vaccination。 Very 50s feel （though its set in 2007） and some of the dialogue may seem dated， if not offensive to some。 。。。more

Rob Damon ，

Similar to The Bodysnatchers by Jack Finney this one has slugs from outer space landing on Earth and quickly taking control of local populations。 Our heroes must find a way of stopping them while avoiding becoming their puppets。 Well written and much more science fiction like than The Bodysnatchers。

Mark White ，

"At the beginning of a forest fire or an epidemic there is a short time when a minimum of correct action will contain and destroy。" The real strength of this novel is its insight into the way people react in an emergency， given real confirmation by the actions during the COVID epidemic。 Faced with a creeping alien invasion （secret mind control slugs） politicians deny the invasion is happening， encourage rejection of measures designed to stop it and are more concerned with garnering political pow "At the beginning of a forest fire or an epidemic there is a short time when a minimum of correct action will contain and destroy。" The real strength of this novel is its insight into the way people react in an emergency， given real confirmation by the actions during the COVID epidemic。 Faced with a creeping alien invasion （secret mind control slugs） politicians deny the invasion is happening， encourage rejection of measures designed to stop it and are more concerned with garnering political power than with the existential threat。 Experts are ignored and belittled。 Still others seem intent on furthering the infection。 Sounds familiar？ This one is an old favourite I am re-reading after maybe 20 years。 Be warned before you start it is a product of its time and contains many Heinlein standards - the main female character is statuesque， redheaded and super competent; the hero proposes to her within minutes of meeting and she promptly becomes a passive doormat; universal nudity ensues。 This is partly Heinlein indulging his fetishes， partly trying to be shocking in a quaint 1950s way。 These attitudes date it somewhat but to dismiss it on these grounds is like criticising Chaucer for his dodgy spelling。 It is one of Heinlein's earlier works and while it contains many familiar themes it is much less preachy than his later adult novels。 It is significantly more adult than his juveniles but has a lot of the same feel。 （For comparison of my opinions I love the juveniles and some of his late period adventures but really can't be bothered with the endless preaching of Stranger In a Strange Land et al。） While there are many right wingers who hold this as a manifesto for freedom of choice and the slugs as a metaphor for government control， please note that the final victory is gained by forcibly vaccinating the entire population。 It is only by strong government and by everyone following the rules - enforced if necessary - that freedom of thought can be protected。 It is also a solid action novel with our secret agent hero （think Man From UNCLE or MIB） facing awful odds and a horrid fate。 His fear of being controlled by the slugs is well written and it is very believable that the competent， decisive and deadly agent can be almost immobilised in terror。 All in all one of the better efforts from a great writer。 。。。more

Pierre Eklöf ，

DNF pga kass

Matthew Holloway ，

Classic sci-fi expertly crafted。 If you can， I also highly recommend the audiobook， read by Bronson Pinchot。 It would then also be expertly delivered too。

Soo ，

Notes:Yay for libraries！For a book that was written in 1951， the story held up well。 A story full of suspense， irrational fears， psychological trauma and hectic defense against an alien invasion。 The narration was not the best， but I still managed to envision the story as it unfolded。

Devin ，

4。25 / 5

Viviana ，

[Audiobook]1-2 stars

Kevin Findley ，

Although it is in his Juvenile Fiction era， The Puppet Masters is not for kids。 There are themes here dealing with politics， social mores， and even （in my opinion） PTSD， or 'shell-shock' as it was called back then。 It is a particularly interesting book after having just gone through the recent spread of COVID and the changes that it brought to the planet。 Not bad for a book published seventy years ago。Find it！ Buy it！ READ IT！ Although it is in his Juvenile Fiction era， The Puppet Masters is not for kids。 There are themes here dealing with politics， social mores， and even （in my opinion） PTSD， or 'shell-shock' as it was called back then。 It is a particularly interesting book after having just gone through the recent spread of COVID and the changes that it brought to the planet。 Not bad for a book published seventy years ago。Find it！ Buy it！ READ IT！ 。。。more

rick ，

tbh i give the puppet masters a solid 6。5/10 or a 3/5 it was pretty good although it suffered from same issues that basically every book from the 50s suffers with the misogyny moments it has briefly。 i really liked the science stuff and the worldbuilding， it was very well done and detailed， which is something that a lot of "alien invasion" media doesnt do。 it felt less of like an invasion of the bodysnatchers fear of the unknown invader situation and more of like， a real alien media that can be tbh i give the puppet masters a solid 6。5/10 or a 3/5 it was pretty good although it suffered from same issues that basically every book from the 50s suffers with the misogyny moments it has briefly。 i really liked the science stuff and the worldbuilding， it was very well done and detailed， which is something that a lot of "alien invasion" media doesnt do。 it felt less of like an invasion of the bodysnatchers fear of the unknown invader situation and more of like， a real alien media that can be compared a little bit to real world pandemic scenarios （one paragraph specifically reminded me of covid stuff。 sorry lol） but it was very interesting and unique especially for 50s science fiction。 it is a real bummer that its not as popular as invasion of the body snatchers。 the virgin invasion of the body snatchers thats red scare propaganda and a watered down version of the puppet masters vs the puppet masters which is detailed scientifically and actually has an engaging plot for the most part。 the romance element of puppet masters at first i thought was stupid and shoehorned in （and it still kind of it to me？） but what they do with it is interesting and ends up having a point with the alien stuff after all。 i found a lot of stuff in it that im taking as inspiration for my own work with alien parasites in fiction bc its super cool conceptually。 this is another book， though， that i was hit with the "is this meant to be funny or am i really bad at reading tones" bc it was genuinely very funny at times when i dont think it was supposed to be。。。 but tbh it just adds to the entertainment value。 would i recommend it？ yeah。 i would。 but dont ask me about what they do to Pirate I'm still in mourning。 。。。more

AVANTI KUMAR ，

The positive aspects: the story moved along nicely。Politics aside， this book has not dated well in several respects。 But an solid entertainment of its time。

Gr1972 ，

4。5 out of 5

Tim McGuire ，

One of the first Heinlein novels not targeting the juvenile market。 Very good。

Ian Lewis ，

This was a very well written， exciting book。 Although， it gets knocked because of the pretty horrible sexism。 I've read a lot of Asimov and Clarke。 My impression of them is they couldn't really be bothered with female characters， let alone characters in general。 Heinlein was a much better author， populating his stories with interesting characters。 Which is all great and good， until he deals with women。 In The Puppet Masters it's even more startling than his other books or compared to contemporar This was a very well written， exciting book。 Although， it gets knocked because of the pretty horrible sexism。 I've read a lot of Asimov and Clarke。 My impression of them is they couldn't really be bothered with female characters， let alone characters in general。 Heinlein was a much better author， populating his stories with interesting characters。 Which is all great and good， until he deals with women。 In The Puppet Masters it's even more startling than his other books or compared to contemporary SF。That being said， if you think you can stomach that， I would recommend this book。 If it was just quality of story and writing it would easily be a 5 star book。 So it was hard for me to rate。This was a well-written， exciting story that fully realized it's theme。 As I said above， I think Heinlein is a much better writer that Asimov and Clarke （at least in the 50s and before。） It shows in the Puppet Masters。 He populates the story with interesting characters and relationships that are much better realized than many of his contemporaries （except maybe Sturgeon and Bester。） The Puppet Masters is brimming with ideas。 Heinlein manages to flesh them out in his story and fully incorporate them into his world/plot in such a way that they seem natural。 You almost don't notice how well he's thought out how such an alien invasion would play out。 The reactions of the puppet masters and freemen are completely believable。 Heinlein doesn't even shy away from some of the more unsavory aspects you might expect。 While he's not explicit， it's completely clear what he's describing。Now to the sexism （this part contains spoilers）: The main character Sam is clearly a womanizer， with little respect for women。 In and of itself that's not such a problem。 However， some of the opinions espoused by characters other than Sam about women （and taken at face value in the book） are pretty abhorrent。 Mary is the major female character。 She's dealt with very poorly。 At the beginning she was fine， a little too much of a "perfect woman" of the fan-boy variety。 Although， she has opinions and can take care of herself。 As soon as she gets with Sam， she pretty much subsumes to all of his impulses and more-or-less becomes his servant。 She has no personality outside of being a 50s housewife。 It was pretty grating。 。。。more

Andy ，

Prescient analysis， from 1951， of why modern-day Americans facing COVID can’t get their shit together and sacrifice some personal freedoms in the name of the greater good。 And it’s a great yarn。 Bit dated in the male-female interactions， but that’s to be expected。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Puppet Masters

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Puppet Masters&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Puppet Masters&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0