The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein

            This novel was a first of its kind. No, not the “alien attack” story, rather the “alien adaptation” story. What I mean by that is that this was the first story (that I know of) to feature the idea of aliens taking over the minds and lives of humans in a more passive and subtle way as opposed to the direct and aggressive style as featured in The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Yes, even before Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, there was The Puppet Masters, which featured pretty much the same themes. In fact, since the novel's release, its ideas have been ripped several times by other authors, most recently by hack writer Stephenie Meyer with her release of The Host.

            The Puppet Masters follows a secret agent named Sam, who investigates and fights the alien menace which seeks to control the human population. We see an interesting perspective, in that we see Sam as both himself and when he has succumbed to alien control; we get to see how both Sam and the alien think, since the story takes place using first person perspective. Sam, from what I can tell by how Heinlein wrote the character, is designated as a lovable jerk, or he's supposed to be lovable. I didn't entirely dislike him, but I sometimes just thought he was too much of a jerk, or at least didn't have the proper charisma set to make him out to be likable. Gives him more humanity, but considering this story was set in the first person, reading some of his thoughts and actions was a bit irksome, especially in association to his relationship with Mary.

            Speaking of which, there's Mary, who Heinlein just seemed to write out as the ultimate badass (except in that awful relationship she has with Sam). Heinlein did sometimes show his feminist side, which is definitely neat considering this novel was written in the nineteen fifties. However, he still felt the need to sexualize her a decent amount, as he usually does with his female characters, and she still exhibited some submissiveness. This novel was one of those times when sexualization was annoying. I understand inserting carnal desires, because I've done it, too. Plenty of authors do. Heinlein, however, just tends to go a little overboard sometimes and just shoves in a scene that's sexual in nurture without necessity, and he's usually not subtle about it. There's a time and place when it makes sense and when it doesn't. I'm not even talking about the fact that people eventually walked around naked in this novel, because that did make sense. I'm simply talking about Mary.

            The other problem with Mary's character comes later on in the novel, and I'd rather not spoil that. Not like what happened didn't make any sense whatsoever, but I didn't think it was entirely needed for understanding. Speaking of spoilers, the ending was a tad disappointing as well thanks to its militaristic aspect, but I won't be spoiling that here, either.

            Besides sexual expression, this novel features themes typical of Robert A. Heinlein's work: libertarianism (Heinlein is a professed libertarian), conformity, freedom, communism and the Cold War (but of course), etc. The aliens are mainly symbolic of conformist mentality, and that is what this novel points out is the fear in free people of a shift to sameness and normality. Keep in mind again that this novel was written in the nineteen fifties, a time when the level of conformist behavior was quite high. For that reason alone, I give this novel plenty of appreciation despite its flaws.

And I will admit, despite the fact that I was able to configure the puzzle faster than the characters in the story, it is a generally exciting adventure with plenty of action and attention to detail. It's not something I recommend skimming over despite its predictability.

            But in comparison to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I'll be blunt and just say the film has none of the flaws The Puppet Masters has. No unnecessary filler, no character flaws, no somewhat ridiculous plot points (relates to that thing I won't spoil), and has a better ending. So frankly, I will admit, this is one of the few times I'd recommend a film adaptation over its source. I don't do that often, not simply out of fear of breaking a general rule held by many, but because that's how I tend to feel. Whether you like Heinlein or not, that film was just generally superior. The only thing Invasion of the Bodysnatchers lacks is the alien perspective featured in the novel, but it's otherwise worth taking Invasion of the Bodysnatchers over The Puppet Masters if you absolutely had to pick between one or the other (who knows, you might die from the deus ex machina effect or have an alien take control over your body tomorrow).

            Either way, I do recommend reading this novel, even if you end up disliking it or despise Robert A. Heinlein, because it's an interesting and noteworthy release in the field of science fiction.

Additional super fun fact: This novel has two versions: a shorter version with all of the wild sex stuff chunked out, and the original, longer version with it all intact. The latter is the one I picked up. If you want to be able to tell which is which, check the dates of publication. 1986 is the shorter version, 1990 is the longer version. You can also tell by reading from the start. The longer version starts with, "With the Soviets..."

            Another additional super fun fact: Damon Knight selected this novel as one of the best science fiction novels released in the nineteen fifties. I wouldn't go that far, but it is the best that I've read from Heinlein so far (no, I haven't read Stranger in a Strange Land yet, but I have the uncut version and plan on getting to it soon).

            EDIT: I have made a big mistake. The Puppet Masters was indeed the first story (that I know of) that featured aliens taking over the minds of the populace via attachment, but not the first alien adaptation story in general. That would be a little gem called "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell. I apologize for the mistake.