A review by squidgy_ish
The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Peak 50's sci-fi. I read The Puppet Masters for a paper on Cold War paranoia, and for that purpose it was perfect. However I started regretting some life choices about 5 pages in and it didn't get better.
Heinlein certainly has some thoughts about gender, sexuality, and society, and boy does he not let it rest. It! is! Constant! How did he make it plot-critical that this one woman is so hot that she can literally detect aliens? NEVER in her life has she encountered a man who didn't "respond" to her - how spooky! Must be the slugs! Then of course she falls for the protagonist (who is just SO cool you guys. SO competent and strong and masculine. He's like, smarter than the President OMG), they get married (hello there, Heinlein's "futuristic" views on marriage), and she loses any remaining speck of free will about halfway through. Oh, and in case you were waiting with bated breath for another one of Heinlein's ever-present "things" to come in, never fear! The U.S. President executive-orders everyone to go topless. And then nearly full nude. And then more countries follow suit. For the alien emergency, of course. No other reason. Thanks, Heinlein. Really cool of you. Very necessary.
Disregarding Heinlein being Heinlein, the horror is cool. The gross and squishy bits are gross and squishy, and it successfully evokes that terror of neighbor fearing neighbor. The little pieces sprinkled in about how the world has changed after nuclear World War Three (it's set in 2007) are thought provoking. Washington, D.C. is all egg-shaped now, flying cars and ray guns, etc. And yet no communications satellites! It's always interesting to see that "proper" retrofuturism.
Anyway. I was looking for a source on Communist paranoia and this book fulfilled that purpose. I would put The Puppet Masters firmly in its category as a product of its time, through and through. I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone put themselves through it. I guess come prepared with the mental equivalent of a spray bottle against the ghost of Heinlein.
Heinlein certainly has some thoughts about gender, sexuality, and society, and boy does he not let it rest. It! is! Constant! How did he make it plot-critical that this one woman is so hot that she can literally detect aliens? NEVER in her life has she encountered a man who didn't "respond" to her - how spooky! Must be the slugs! Then of course she falls for the protagonist (who is just SO cool you guys. SO competent and strong and masculine. He's like, smarter than the President OMG), they get married (hello there, Heinlein's "futuristic" views on marriage), and she loses any remaining speck of free will about halfway through. Oh, and in case you were waiting with bated breath for another one of Heinlein's ever-present "things" to come in, never fear! The U.S. President executive-orders everyone to go topless. And then nearly full nude. And then more countries follow suit. For the alien emergency, of course. No other reason. Thanks, Heinlein. Really cool of you. Very necessary.
Disregarding Heinlein being Heinlein, the horror is cool. The gross and squishy bits are gross and squishy, and it successfully evokes that terror of neighbor fearing neighbor. The little pieces sprinkled in about how the world has changed after nuclear World War Three (it's set in 2007) are thought provoking. Washington, D.C. is all egg-shaped now, flying cars and ray guns, etc. And yet no communications satellites! It's always interesting to see that "proper" retrofuturism.
Anyway. I was looking for a source on Communist paranoia and this book fulfilled that purpose. I would put The Puppet Masters firmly in its category as a product of its time, through and through. I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone put themselves through it. I guess come prepared with the mental equivalent of a spray bottle against the ghost of Heinlein.