The Puppet Masters

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's 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 US government were on the scene and disappeared without reporting in. And four more agents who were sent in 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.

©1951,1979 by Robert A. Heinlein, 2003 by the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing

A retro futuristic exercise in patience.

it's a very interesting book with its own idiosyncrasies.
it will most certainly not be everyone's cup of tea but it's definitely worth the listen.
I didn't know whether I would give it three stars or not until the last 15 minutes or so.
but after hearing the ending I can't give it anything less than five stars.

Great book, terrible narrator

Of course it was a great book, it’s Heinlein.
The narrator however, was trash. So many characters, especially Mary, were voiced with tones too low to hear. I found myself turning the volume up full blast and rewinding the novel just to catch what was being said. Speak up, man!!

Still a great story.

I read this book decades ago. It is a well done alien invasion story first published in 1951. It's interesting to look at the technology described and compare it to modern technology, but you can see that Heinlein got some of it right and some of it wrong.

Bronson Pinchot does a nice job at reading the book and giving the characters differentiation.

The Puppet Masters

Heinlein’s sometimes oversimplified views of interpersonal relationships help to make this a timeless masterpiece that is easy to follow. While set in the future, it is not weighed down by being overly technical. It feels more like an old time detective novel set in the future. It is limited to three main characters and a handful of peripheral characters which makes it very easy to follow.
The reading makes it easy to differentiate between the characters. The narrator’s voice is clear and concise.

An outstanding story

Bronson Pinchot is one of the finest book readers available on audible.

I hardly recommend this book and other books read by him.

A bit dated but still a good story

Heinlein’s stories are still relevant because he is such a good storyteller. Change the inhabited planets of this solar system with faraway planets, add water, and you have a modern sci-fi story.

A flawed classic

The Puppet Masters is my third or fourth Heinlein title. All have been a mixed bag. Heinlein wasn't much of a futurist: the technology and society in his works are very much grounded in his time, from the A-bombs to the ever-present Comintern threat. In this story, the main character was simply not believable. Often a petulant fool and with the emotional maturity of a 14 year old, he's not the basis for an accomplished soldier and successful international spy - certainly not a "genius." The marriage subplot is mostly a bizarre distraction (why is Sam obsessed with a woman he's known only in passing over a few days?) and the female lead proves largely irrelevant. This said, the impact of Heinlein's work is hard to argue. Just a generation removed from H.G. Wells, Heinlein's prose is much less stilted and his stories more accessible. His impact is clear from how his ideas are stolen - The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the more recent The Faculty (etc.) are homages if not straight copies of The Puppet Masters.

Pinchot was a surprise, better than expected but... I vaguely remember him for flamboyant characters in bit parts from TV and movies. Fortunately, he doesn't voice any characters in the same way. However, his tone still seems a bit off. Voicing the main character in Puppet as a kind of male ingenue didn't help to make the character more believable. He's not a "bad" narrator, just often inappropriate for the tone of the story/character.

Overall, I'd recommend Puppet, just don't expect the best book you've ever read.

Classic

Heinlein masterpiece. The story is action based to describe social change in the face of a relentless foe.

What a great book

This was an absolute pleasure to listen and I wish there was another one after.

Very poor performance, story could have benefited from a female editor.

There are a lit of dated references to women. That is common to a lot of sci fi. But the voice of Mary was a poor choice , making this string , independent woman sound like an airhead. The way she is described as she falls apart is simply stupid. Unfortunate because there were some great concepts.