History Literature / ThePuppetMasters

-->Fundamentally the slugs must be too stupid to keep slaves; perhaps that was why they moved from planet to planet -- they spoiled what they touched. After a while their hosts would die out and then they needed new hosts.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Sam and Mary, though it's not clear whether the red color of Mary's hair is natural or not.

-->'''The Old Man''': ''Listen, son. Most women are damn fools and children. But they've got more range than we've got. The brave ones are braver, the good ones are better -- and the vile ones are viler, for that matter.''* FlyingCar: Present in the novel and used fairly extensively. At one point, Sam is sent to do some recon in parasite territory, he flies in, then decides to try and be stealthy and drive overland the rest of the way. He realizes his problem on this time-sensitive mission when his one hour flight to Kansas City will take three hours overland, commenting that if he decided to stop the car a mile out and walk the rest of the way, he'd ''still'' be three hours away! A mention of "triphibs" implies some of these vehicles can also function [[AmphibiousAutomobile on or under the water]] as well as [[CoolCar in the air and on the land]].

* FlyingCar: Present in the novel and used fairly extensively. At one point, Sam is sent to do some recon in parasite territory, he flies in, then decides to try and be stealthy and drive overland the rest of the way. He realizes his problem on this time-sensitive mission when his one hour flight to Kansas City will take three hours overland, commenting that if he decided to stop the car a mile out and walk the rest of the way, he'd ''still'' be three hours away! A mention of "triphibs" implies some of these vehicles can also function [[AmphibiousAutomobile on or under the water]] as well as [[CoolCar in the air and on the land]].

* PositiveDiscrimination: Mary is the single most effective individual in the book; the bravest, the most lethal, the keenest mind, the first to detect the slugs, and she even provides the ultimate means of defeating the invasion. In summary;
-->'''The Old Man''': ''Listen, son. Most women are damn fools and children. But they've got more range than we've got. The brave ones are braver, the good ones are better -- and the vile ones are viler, for that matter.''

* ThatWasNoDream: Sam burns himself and Mary while removing a slug from her, then watches over her unconscious body until morning.

** Sam goes through several false identities. Only late in the novel does he go right up to his father and asks, "Dad, why did you name me Elihu?"

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: After Mary's feminine wiles fail to work on the men at the fake saucer site, she states that they can't be "normal male men".

* AndImTheQueenOfSheba: The Old Man captures one of the titular parasites in a film can and orders an analysis be performed on it.

* AuthorAppeal: Sam is a cat lover and has a thing for redheads, much like Heinlein himself. Then there's humanity's first response to the alien invasion being to institute mandatory nudity. . .

* FlyingCar: Present in the novel and used fairly extensively. At one point, Sam is sent to do some recon in parasite territory, he flies in, then decides to try and be stealthy and drive overland the rest of the way. He realizes his problem on this time-sensitive mission when his one hour flight to Kansas City will take three hours overland, commenting that if he decided to stop the car a mile out and walk the rest of the way, he'd ''still'' be three hours away!

* WeWillAllFlyInTheFuture: As noted, many cars in the setting are ''flying'' cars--or "duos", capable of being "roaded" after flight--rather than mere "groundcars" (although those do still also exist). There are even "triphibs", which presumably can fly, drive, and also go on the water. Cities have "launching platforms" and "landing platforms" as a matter of course. In rural areas there are "farmers' copters and suchlike local craft".

* SocietyMarchesOn
** The novel was published in 1951 and set in 2007. Although the heroine is just as tough and capable as the male lead (sometimes more so), the moment gender roles or romantic relationships come up she turns, hilariously, into June Cleaver. Aaand then switches back if threatened or dismissed.
** People complained about having to walk around bare to the waist (or in bikini tops for women) far more in the book than they probably would have in real life 2007. Though this is explicitly mentioned to be the case in America. The narrator does mention cases where the opposite is true, like in Iceland, where a man who won't strip naked and get in the hot tub with his friends would be instantly regarded with suspicion.

* ForegoneConclusion: When Sam's cat is introduced, the reader already knows it will meet a bad end, as San states in b the beginning of the book that he wants revenge on the aliens regarding a specific cat.

* FlyingCar: It's past 2007 and we still don't have them!

* AuthorAppeal: Sam is a cat lover and has a thing for redheads, much like Heinlein himself.

* AliensAreBastards: The aliens claim they are freeing humans from TheEvilOfFreeWill, but it's obvious from the way they treat their slaves that they're simply expendable {{Meat Puppet}}s to them.

* AliensAreBastards: The aliens claim they are freeing humans from TheEvilOfFreeWill, but it's obvious from the way they treat their slaves that they're simply expendable meat puppets to them.

* AliensAreBastards: Though it may also be an example of BlueAndOrangeMorality, as the aliens claim that they want humans to be truly free, and the reader is never told whether they are lying. Or, it may be an allusion to DirtyCommunists.

* HelloNurse: A metal neckline and a white sash across her breasts is everything the nurse taking care of the main character wears up from her waistline.

** Mary is able to "detect" the aliens because their hosts show zero sexual interest in her. Everyone seems to take it as given that every man would lust after her in some way that would be apparent to her.