Rating: 
Summary: A Cold War classic for all time
Review: "The Puppet Masters," in its fully restored version, is one of the best science fiction novels of the fifties. Fast-paced, exciting, and chilling, the novel whips us through the alien infestation of Earth, while creating a running commentary on the Cold War mentality of the fifties. Today, it may be hard to understand why everyone was so frightened of the Communists; what with the Soviet Union's collapse and the chumminess we seem intent on pursuing with other so-called Communist governments. But reading this novel makes a reader feel the genuine terror of a species that robs humanity of their free will and liberty, which is precisely what the totalitarian government tried to do in the Soviet Union. Along with George Orwell's "1984," this book needs to be read as a constant reminder of what can be lost if we do not stand vigilant against those who would rule us. Heinlein, as always, drives us with his plotting and narrative surprises; as always, when we're done with one of his works, we have ideas buzzing around our heads for weeks and years afterwards.
Rating: 
Summary: Something different from the Dean
Review: ---a note about the "6" ranking. This is a good book. It's just not as meaningful, IMHO, as other Heinlein works. ( Most notably Stranger in a Strang Land)
A taunt Sci-Fi thriller, this book could have been a great movie. Too bad they screwed it up. That shouldn't hold one back from reading the book. This was, when I first read it 9-10 years ago, one of the most frightening alien invasion stories ever. It still is. No space wars, no super laser guns, just a silent enemy that can, in most cases, walk amongst us undetected. Heinlein was brilliant in his analysis of how fast an invader like this could spread and the ending...wow! It's a shame the American movie public wasn't ready for what the Dean had in mind. The police-state mentality of the vigilanties sounds like the current anti-terrorist rehetoric taken up just one or two small notches. A good read all-around.
Rating: 
Summary: A reminder that blind faith is not in itself a good thing
Review: A dated story? Yes, but one that can be related today. Alien invasion or commies or the fact the invasion may come from a group within your own kind when motivated by an ouside force. I have been reading Heinlein for 30 yrs and I can say that this is far above the Sci-Fi of the time and although not one of his best. ( I leave that place for " The Moon is a Harsh Mistress") it is easy the say that it should be palced near the top. I have been collecting his works for years and can be safe in saying that if you want to really know the mans motivations, and some of his background. You must read REQUEIM.
Rating: 
Summary: Sci-Fi James Bond
Review: After the gritty realism (relatively speaking) of Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troupers," "The Puppet Masters" was something of a disappointment. The story is not nearly as memorable, and the hero seems to have stepped out of a James Bond film. The old chauvanist James Bond, that is. Overall, I found the tone of the novel entirely too lighthearted to take seriously. And it is not remotely scary, which perhaps explains why the horror film of the same name was such a flop. Unlike the classic "Starship Troupers," this is science fiction that has not aged well.
Rating:
Summary: 5 squashed slugs for classic Heinlein
Review: Alien possession of human bodies is one of the oldest stories in science fiction. It had been done before The Puppet Masters and it certainly has been done since. However, nobody has done it any better than Heinlein. The Puppet Masters is classic science fiction from one of the genre's great masters. The Puppet Masters is told in the first person and the narrator lets the reader know early that a war has been won but at great cost. The reader does not learn until the novel is over what those costs were and herein lies the suspense. It is only as the novel proceeds and reaches its climax that the reader learns the full power of the enemy and the devastation that they have caused. Imagine a World War II novel in which 90% of it is set in the first 6 months of 1942, defeat and frustration are at every turn. The heroes of The Puppet Masters go through the stages of their own disbelief, growing awareness, trying to convince others what is happening, and finally getting a response. Every effort to check the invasion is frustrated and the end is in sight before a solution is found. The tension builds steadily to a thrilling climax. The world in which The Puppet Masters is set is not our earth. The reader has to imagine a world that had a small-scale nuclear war, had space travel earlier than we did, and in which communism still survives. It is a solar system in which Venus is not a hellhole and on which man could live. All of these were possible when Heinlein wrote The Puppet Masters some 50 years ago. Diversion from our history is a common problem with reading older science fiction but if one can make the adjustment, the novel works very well. The Puppet Masters has some of Heinlein's ongoing themes; his distrust of government and politicians, his strong belief in the military, and even a hint of a positive view of free love. Stronger yet is the theme of succession i.e. a son meeting his father's demands and continuing the next generation. However, the overpowering theme is the right of individuals to make their own choices be they good or bad. Heinlein uses metaphor and foreshadowing in the novel. I wondered if the masters were a metaphor for communism or the bomb and Heinlein rather clumsily confirmed my hypothesis. The war against the masters might also be a metaphor for WWII or the cold war. Alternately, it could be any war in which people have to fight for freedom against an oppressor. The Puppet Masters may be morally simplistic in this regard but it definitely has an uplifting message. It is also a cautionary tale. Once Pandora's Box is opened, it cannot be closed. I did have a couple of bones to pick with Heinlein as the novel is set almost exclusively on the American East Coast and mid-west. His knowledge of geography beyond that appears poor. For example, he refers to the "tractless Canadian forests". The area of Canada referred to is the prairies where trees are few and far between. Was Heinlein using artistic license or cliche? This and other minor examples of chauvinism don't detract significantly from the novel. Some of Heinlein's later novels got silly. The Puppet Masters requires some suspension of disbelief but it is one of his best. It is a true classic. The following comments refer to the audio version only. The tape was one of the best organized of any tapes I have heard. At the start of each side the reader announced what the story was, what tape it was and what side of the tape it was. He also repeated the last line from the previous side. The reader had an out of breath style and occasionally I could hear the pages turning. The reader did sound like he was the right age for the narrator and his style suited the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Top-Notch Heinlein
Review: Another early Heinlein masterpiece. This book is signifigant for several reasons. First, it has a standard type plot (alien invasion) but is told with a twist, and from a different viewpoint than are most novels of this type. Also, this has the most believable cast of characters that I have ever encountered in the Heinlein universe. Out of all the RAH's I have read I think this one would make the best movie (actually, there is a movie of it, but I've never been able to find it). This is seamless science fiction (though it is rather light on actual science): tight plot, believable characters, exquisite dialogue, and a sense of suspense. What more could you ask for? Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: another Excelent heinlein novel
Review: At first, the story of aliens parasites invading earth and seizing power by controlling human hosts may sound trite, with movies such as the 1956 classic "invasion of the body snatchers" up to the more recent "the faculty", but Heinlein a visionary as always did it first, and without a doubt did it best. As with many of Heinlein's books this was a bit slow getting started. But within the first 60 pages I found I could not put it down (not that I could if I wanted too, because I only had 48 hours to read the book and do a report on it). Once the story gets started the excitement doesn't slow down until the very end. The ending, for that matter is very un-characteristically upbeat, not that Heinlein is notorious for sad endings, but many of his books just sort of end and the characters move on. Now, a few reasons why I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. When compared to books by any other author I would without hesitation give this book 5 stars, but when compared to Heinlein's own works, by which I mean the classics, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", "stranger in a strange land", "Starship Troopers", etc., in some aspects it just doesn't match up. If you haven't read any other novels by Heinlein, I strongly suggest that you do not start with this one. at first the concept of "future history" can be a bit hard to grasp. The story is written 1951 looking back on a war that happened in the early 21st century. This concept is made all the more confusing by the fact that it is no longer future history, but more present history. Its just kind of hard to wrap your mind around, and it would be a pity to waste such a great story trying to understand when everything is going on. All in all I thought this book was an excellent read. Thought I know all the others copiers followed Heinlein's example, I was exposed to their versions first, and thus the story does seem a bit tired by the time you read the original. "Imitated, but never copied" I believe is how the saying goes, and this more than holds true for this book, any imitators could never have copied Heinlein's quick wit, and subtle socio-political preaching's, all Heinlein fans have come to know and love.
Rating:
Summary: another Excelent heinlein novel
Review: At first, the story of aliens parasites invading earth and seizing power by controlling human hosts may sound trite, with movies such as the 1956 classic "invasion of the body snatchers" up to the more recent "the faculty", but Heinlein a visionary as always did it first, and without a doubt did it best. As with many of Heinlein's books this was a bit slow getting started. But within the first 60 pages I found I could not put it down (not that I could if I wanted too, because I only had 48 hours to read the book and do a report on it). Once the story gets started the excitement doesn't slow down until the very end. The ending, for that matter is very un-characteristically upbeat, not that Heinlein is notorious for sad endings, but many of his books just sort of end and the characters move on. Now, a few reasons why I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. When compared to books by any other author I would without hesitation give this book 5 stars, but when compared to Heinlein's own works, by which I mean the classics, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", "stranger in a strange land", "Starship Troopers", etc., in some aspects it just doesn't match up. If you haven't read any other novels by Heinlein, I strongly suggest that you do not start with this one. at first the concept of "future history" can be a bit hard to grasp. The story is written 1951 looking back on a war that happened in the early 21st century. This concept is made all the more confusing by the fact that it is no longer future history, but more present history. Its just kind of hard to wrap your mind around, and it would be a pity to waste such a great story trying to understand when everything is going on. All in all I thought this book was an excellent read. Thought I know all the others copiers followed Heinlein's example, I was exposed to their versions first, and thus the story does seem a bit tired by the time you read the original. "Imitated, but never copied" I believe is how the saying goes, and this more than holds true for this book, any imitators could never have copied Heinlein's quick wit, and subtle socio-political preaching's, all Heinlein fans have come to know and love.
Rating:
Summary: Scary and thought-provoking
Review: Going in to this book I was skeptical because I had only read one of Heinlein's other books (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) and absolutely hated it. But from the very first chapter "Puppet Masters" had me hooked. The idea - aliens taking over the world by controlling human beings - is by now a cliche, what with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the Faculty and other similar tales out there. But even if the idea seems tired I know that you can like this book, because I thought I was tired of it too. As I said, you get hooked early. It really was hard for me to put this book down in a lot of parts. But what is truly scary about the subject matter is how realistically Heinlein portrays it. The way the aliens move their forces outward, how the characters react, and even the final resolution are all reasonably plausible enough to make you paranoid about crowds of people (but then perhaps I'm just gullible). Outside of the story itself, "Puppet Masters" makes a lot of intelligent statements about our fear of assimilation, and ties in to the Cold War effortlessly. Being far too young to know firsthand the paranoia and fear that people must have lived in, "Puppet Masters" becomes all the more intriguing because it helps show the reader the hysteria that our nation must have felt.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: Having read three other Heinlein novels, I found this one to be good, but quite dated, as has been mentioned below. (It was originally published in 1951.) Some of the dialogue is silly and unbelievable, and some of the references are obscure. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this fun, quick read that is very creepy in parts! (Probably more of a 3.5 stars though, but I'll round up because of my respect for the author!) It's also clear to see that modern sci-fi novels have Heinlein to thank for some of its content and direction. I recommend Tunnel in the Sky, The Door Into Summer and Double Star.
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