The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein

The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein
Series: None
Genre: Light Sci-Fi
Published: 1951
My rating: Save It



I read this book for the 2nd annual Vintage SciFi Month. This event Andrea has been hosting since 2012. I sure do enjoy reading some good old fashion SciFi. It is also nice to see what the author(s) think what the future to them would be like and how off or right on their thoughts were as well.

This is the second Heinlein book that I have read now. My first was The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I liked that one. I thought that this one was a little better in my opinion. Getting this out of the way I thought that this book was quite a bit like Wells' War of the Worlds. I just cannot believe that this book was wrote 50 years ago. Heinlein was able to dream up cellphones,satellite relay, and other types of technology. I would like one of the cars though. Where can I buy one :)

This book starts off in 2007, and a flying saucer landed in Iowa...yes Iowa of all places.A Hoax. Two agents(Sam and Mary), however, of the U.S. Intellegence agency disappeared while on the scene. Four more agents are sent in, and they disappear. The head of the agency and two of his top agents are sent in and escape with their discovery. The earth is under attack and is being invaded by slug-like aliens who can latch on to a human and totally control his/her mind.

It is interesting to see how the government tries to institutes different "Acts" so the Agency can see whom is affected easier. I cannot imagine going around in the buff for LONG periods of time in public.

What I Liked:  This book was nonstop action and you were not sure what was going to happen on the next page. I was not sure if the solution that Sam's theory was going to work in the end. I thought that it was funny that the marriage license you could choose different durations for it.

What I Disliked:  The thing I did not like about the book was the RH portrays women, but that is where it shows its age.

I will be reading more of RH in the future.

Audiofiles:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Title: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Author:Robert A. Heinlein

Genre: Science fiction
Length: 13h
Audio publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Read by: Lloyd James
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people—a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic—who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.


My Thoughts:

It took me a while to get use to the Luna speak compared to earthly speak. I couldn't figure out what was going on or why the language was so rough and unpolished and choppy. Eventually, though, I found the rhythm of it and settled in just fine -- I didn't even notice it after a while. It makes sense; Luna started off as a penal colony and has since developed completely separate from Earth. Luna does trim down the language and use as efficient as possible. 


I will say this my favorite "character" in the book was Mike. Yes a super computer was my favorite. I was saddened to see what happened to him in the end of the book. Nobody was quite sure what happened to the super computer he did not respond back to Mannie after revolt was over. 

Throughout the book it was scary to see what knew about anyone and everyone on a drop of a hat. I think that Heinlein hit this nail right on the head. Considering that this book was published in 1966. It was like reading a Clarke novel. So close that it is scary. 

All in all, though, this is a novel about politics -- a very complex, deep, intellectual and sophisticated look at politics, government, revolution and war. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress has a very definite world-view and political philosophy, some of which I agreed with, and some of which I really, really didn't. My agreement (or lack thereof) with the politics espoused in this book didn't seem to have much bearing on my enjoyment of it. This is a book that requires the reader to think. This is something that some books these days are lacking. Look and some of the books that the teens these days are reading like the Twilight Series.

So if you need a book that make you think this you pick. I want to thank Andrea from Little Red Reviewer for recommending this book to me  to read.