Book Review: The Killables by Gemma Malley - 4thwallfly

Welcome to the Fly on the 4th Wall. Today's book review is set in a dystopian future, a world where Order (with a capital O) has prevailed over the chaos that had preceded it, but at a terrible cost.
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The Killables by Gemma Malley

Cover art copyright of Jonathan Minster

'EVERYONE ACCEPTED THAT PEOPLE WERE DIFFERENT PHYSICALLY.
BUT INSIDE?
INSIDE, THEY WERE DIFFERENT TOO. YOU JUST HAD TO KNOW HOW TO TELL, WHAT TO LOOK FOR.

Evil has been eradicated. The City has been established. And citizens may only enter after having the 'evil' part of their brain removed. They are labelled on the System according to how 'good' they are. If they show signs of evil emerging, they are labelled a K... But no one knows quite that that means. Only that they disappear, never to be seen again...' The Killables, Gemma Malley [2012]

The Killables is a brave new glance at the conceptual ideas raised by Aldous Huxley's novel 'Brave New World' that shares some similarities to George Orwell's '1984.' This is the story of Evie, citizen of the City. The City is the only remaining bastion of civilisation in a world ravaged by the scars of a long-past disaster. The City protects its inhabitants from the disorder beyond its walls, provided that its citizens continue to repress the evil amongst them. They have all undergone surgery to remove the evil parts of their brains at birth. A City's citizen can easily identify one another thanks to the identical scar they bear on their heads as a result. But Evie is different. She has nightmares. She isn't happy with her lot in life and she's all too aware that she's deviant. She isn't the ideal the City demands. Most importantly... she's not in love with the man she's promised to.

The Killables is set in a post apocalyptic future where most of the world is recovering from the wars that had raged across the planet. However, the City stands as a bastion of peace and calm in a world of survivors. It does so by maintaining a controlling System that grades the citizens within the City, rating them in a series of ranks that denote a citizen's potential for evil (i.e. an "A" is considered the safest and most selfless type of citizen while a K is someone to be shunned for their evil). Though Evie comes to realise there is more to the City than there appears at first glance. The majority of the book is told from Evie's point of view with occasional switches.

The Killables is part of a series called the same name and will continue with 'The Disappearances.'


Click below for the full synopsis (click to open/close):

The beginning of the novel is preceded by a short excerpt from wikipedia that discusses the influence that the left amygdala of the brain has upon the human psyche, before opening with a dream sequence. A little girl is being coaxed along by a man who is taking her somewhere. She's being carried by him, and finally the man announces that they had arrived in a place that was warm and bright. Evie then wakes up, it is a dream that has been haunting her. She jumps out of bed to repeat a calming mantra. Her sheets are soaked with sweat, this and the dream tell her that she is impure, she is deviant to the City, a shameful fact for her. She is confronted by her mother, who informs her that she had shouted in her sleep again, something that angers her mother because it was a sign that Evie wasn't pure. Evie longs to be able to settle in to the restrictive rules placed upon her. She knows that beyond the City is nothing but chaos and her enjoyment of the peace within the City relied entirely on obedience to the established rules. It is established that the City is in fact a portion of what used to be London. Evie works in Unit 3 within the City. Unit 3 performs label-changing which involves changing the designated labels of citizens to reflect their status. As Evie makes her way to the building, ever mindful that loitering was bad, something that would promote evil, she meets Lucas, the man she is promised to marry and his brother Raffy. They exchange greetings before heading inside.

The City's workplaces are always segregated by gender, from the age of eight, boys and girls are separated, expected to be educated and work separately. Marriages such as the one between Lucas and Evie are arranged by their parents. Evie feels ashamed that she isn't happy at the idea of marrying Lucas, something that she feels continues to highlight her status as a deviant amongst the City's citizenry. On entering her workplace she says hello to Christine, a colleague though not truly a friend. Not truly a friend because the City does not encourage friendship. Friendships create loyalties that might interfere with the City's priorities. Evie's work as a label-changer is considered quite a success as working for the government requires numerous interviews and tests. She, herself, is a B (not an A but certainly a good label). An A is a citizen of high moral standing and selflessness while a C is someone who is easily misled though at heart a good person. Cs in the City have to be vigilant as they are in danger of slipping into evil behaviour. The majority of the citizens in the City are Cs and it was Cs who had been tricked by their leaders during the Horrors. However, below C is the D label. Ds are dangerous, deviant. Whenever the System processed a D label it was an unbearable shame for those who receive it, often resulting in a shunning of that very citizen.

Evie leaves work late, something that was usual for her. After all, Evie has taken to heart the Great Leader's Sentiments (a philosophical work expounding on the duties and model behaviours of the good citizen). Busy minds are happy minds. Productive individuals mean a happy society. To Evie's shock, their Brother is waiting with her father and mother at her home. The Brother is the Great Leader's chosen representative for the Great Leader is old and rarely seen these days. The Brother works in his stead, ensuring that the evil that had graced the land before never came to enter the City. He has come to talk to Evie about her dreams, the dreams that have been troubling her. He tells her that he and the Great Leader have been discussing the meaning of her dreams and have determined its true meaning. She is not to fear the figure she thought was the devil. This figure represented the City, taking her from away from evil and bringing her to a good, peaceful existence. She is not the lost soul she believes herself to be. A lost soul within the City though receives a second New Baptism, this being the euphemism for the surgery undertaken to remove the portions of a person's brain responsible for evil. Evie thanks the Brother and repeats what appears to be a prayer for the City to watch over her and the System to reward and punish as necessary. The Brother goes on to mention that the System was more interested in reprimanding Mr. Bridges though, a man who has received a label change to D. He urges them to stay away from him lest he infect the rest of their community. Evie's mother promises to cease selling her wares to the newly labelled Mr. Bridges. However, once the Brother has left the household Evie's mother returns to scald her, berating her child over her various deficiencies, from her failure to attend to the dishes to her choice of a job with the government and even her general disposition.

That night, while her mother and father sleep, she sneaks out of their house and makes her way to a hollowed tree in the middle of the green (here being the British term for an open grass area). Once there she meets with Raffy, who is delighted to see her, having been worried that she might not have turned up that night. Should the System ever become aware of her and Raffy's dalliances they would be marked as Ds, their futures torn asunder.

The next chapter gives some exposition about the setting's history. The Great Leader had been a doctor originally, a brain specialist. He had identified that the amygdala was bigger in the brains of psychopaths and criminals. Therefore, he had taken the logical leap that the amydala was the reason behind mankind's evil and that this portion of the brain had a potential to grow. It is believed that it was this innate evil within mankind that led to the Horrors. Evie, who grew up in the City, doesn't understand how the Great Leader's discovery didn't change the world there and then, that it took the Horrors for the City to develop. The Great Leader's idea had in fact been mocked and derided by the international community prior to the Horrors. Before the Horrors, the Great Leader's work ensured that he was struck off the medical registers but after the Horrors, the Great Leader founded the City and ensured that every citizen of the City was treated to the very same New Baptism by having their amygdala removed. Within the City, Ds are watched vigilantly because a D might be a sign of the amygdala growing back. The label a citizen received as a result of a regrown amygdala was K. Ks are taken away immediately for reconditioning at the hospital in the City and are never allowed back amongst the citizens again. If the evil came back once, it would do so again. This is why Raffy was treated with suspicion as his father had been a K. Evie had been four years old when she was saw Raffy's father taken away. Both the children, Lucas and Raffy had changed, but where Lucas had become a model citizen of the City, Raffy had become disobedient and sullen. Evie had been forbidden to spend time with Raffy, but when she eventually ended up talking to him again, she discovered that it had been Lucas who had reported his father to the System.

The next day, Evie heads off to work and while there, chats with Christine who announces that her parents had arranged a marriage for her. She is delighted that his man is an A like Lucas. Evie looks enthusiastic for Christine, agreeing with her when she states that As were supposed to be heartless people, they should be the very best of husbands to have. As they work, suddenly the computers power off, leaving the staff within utterly confused. A manager arrives and tells them this is part of a drill and that they should assemble outside immediately, resulting in an orderly exodus of the building. By the time she gets outside, rumours are abound that Raffy was involved, that he had found a glitch within the network. As Evie forms up with the rest of the Unit, the same manager tells them that the System was rebooting shortly. Christine shares with Evie that she couldn't believe that Raphael (Raffy) was a B, that he had no doubt caused the glitch rather than found it. Evie tries to defend him, but Christine adds that Raffy was a K waiting to happen. Lucas arrives as everyone is being sent back inside with the warning not to speak about the drill that had just occurred. Lucas mentions that Raffy would be fine after Evie asked after him, going on to mention that the System would keep a closer eye on him. Evie becomes aware that Raffy is watching them as Lucas tells her he would ask her father for permission to come to his house for dinner. Giving Evie a kiss, Lucas leaves.

The next chapter cuts to the Brother as he surveys the city from his room. He clearly is experiencing a very different lifestyle to the puritan-esque citizens of the City. He had been a religious preacher once, though after the Horrors he decided to team up with the Great Leader and help found the City. The Great Leader had been living in what was once Manchester, though then he was Mr. Fisher, formerly Dr. Fisher. Mr. Fisher had decided he did not want to get involved, the time for his work to change the world was over, but the Brother had managed to convince him. Through their combined efforts, the City arose like a phoenix out of the ashes of the Horrors. The Brother's thoughts are interrupted by Lucas' arrival whom he greets warmly before asking about Raffy. Lucas informs the Brother that Raffy was still clinging to his fantasy that the glitch had connected to an outside system. Lucas asks the Brother to give him a week to deal with the issue, that Raffy was simply concocting wild stories to avoid any punishment. Once Lucas departs, the Brother returns to napping on a couch 'for meditation purposes.'

Evie, in a fit of worry over the System now that Raffy is being watched more closely, decides not to visit Raffy that night. She decides it was time she gave up on every little evil in her life and focus on remaining good. The next day is the day of the Gathering where the citizens of the City meet for a weekly communion (not in the Christian sense though). Within the City's Meeting Hall the various peoples gather according to their labels, with As sitting at the front, then Bs and so on. The book has something of a mistake around here because Evie spots Raffy labelled as a C (as if that were the norm, not the B Christine had mentioned earlier). Families with mixed labels congregated together, separate of the broad groups of labels. The Brother arrives and begins to lead the congregation in a series of prayers for their Great Leader, followed immediately by a form of meditation. During the meditation, Raffy starts whispering to Evie, asking her why she had not come last night to meet him. Evie tells him she can never meet with him again, she's to be married to Lucas, something that earns Raffy's anger. As the sermon continues, led by the Brother, the cult-like nature of the City's belief in the System comes to the fore. At the end of the Gathering, Raffy accosts Evie and begs her to reconsider, quietly telling her that he can't bear to be without her. However, Evie tells him that what they had is over, must be over.

Later that night, in the midst of being tortured by her thoughts on having to turn her back on Raffy, Evie is interrupted by a knock on her window. Raffy is waiting outside her window, looking so sad to Evie that she lets him in. He begs Evie to reconsider, telling her that she is making a mistake, that Lucas didn't deserve her, he was like a machine. Evie replies that perhaps that is what they need to be, for their own good, she doesn't want to become a D, let alone a K. Raffy grows angered, telling her about the way Lucas had destroyed all of their father's items because it was 'evil.' Raffy mentions his father was not an evil person, but Evie quotes that the System is always right, that maybe Raffy's father hadn't meant to be evil but had ended up that way. Raffy insists that the System must have been wrong, how else could his father have gone from A to K in a single leap? Raffy laments that he thought Evie would have understood, that she was different. Evie still loves Raffy and says as much.
Raffy goes on to explain that he had found a glitch that had been sending information to an outside System, something neither of them had heard of before, prompting Raffy to suggest that they run away from the City and live together, outside of their home. But Evie is not to be convinced so easily, telling Raffy that had been a child's dream, and that it was time they grew up and stopped trying to be evil.

As they talk, they suddenly hear a noise outside and find Lucas standing below their house, waiting. He calls up to Evie, asking her to tell Raffy to come down to him. Raffy calms her down and tells her that he would explain to Lucas, that it was all his fault. However, Evie tells Raffy that Lucas knew, he had seen it all. Raffy leaves with Lucas who steers Raffy away from Evie's home. The next day, Evie fails to see Raffy throughout the entire day and on her way back from work, she freezes when she sees men behind her, shouting accusations of deviancy. Instead of attacking her though, they pass her and move onto their intended target, who Evie realises belated is Mr. Bridges. The men surround him, angered at his very presence within their City, one of the men Evie spots (Mr. Adams) had once been a D himself, like Mr. Bridges is now. Terrified, Evie crosses the road and rushes to a bakery to try to distance herself from the violence that was unleashed upon Mr. Bridges. Attacks such as these were an accepted part of life, the police would turn their heads at such actions and even the Brother had been known to say that sometimes evil had to be met on its own terms. Even the baker tells Evie that it just goes to show how little you could trust people, the baker herself unaffected by the sight.

As the men start to set about Mr. Bridges with sticks they are stopped by Lucas who demands to know if the Great Leader had authorised this attack on Mr. Bridges. Lucas tells the group to stop what they were doing, that their actions are clearly driven by anger, one of the corrupt values to guard against. The System exists to ensure safety and order, not them. One of the ringleaders lunges at Lucas only to be pinned and held by Lucas, shocking Evie. Lucas manages to disperse the mob, quoting the Great Leader's Sentiments back at them before helping Mr. Bridges up. However, when Mr. Bridges thanks him, Lucas points out that he only acted to stop those other men from being corrupted by Mr. Bridges. Evie spots Lucas pass something to Mr. Bridges, his card she thought. When Lucas spots Evie he heads over and asks what she was doing. She responds promptly that she had been trying to decide on buying some bread but wasn't sure whether her mother would approve. Lucas tells her that she shouldn't waste the bakers time then before adding that he had spoken to her father, who had allowed Lucas to visit Evie again.

That night, Lucas arrived later than expected for an after-supper coffee, something the City did as a tradition. Evie's mother hurried to get Lucas a cup of coffee while Evie herself reflected on the day that Lucas had announced his desire to marry Evie. The look on her mother's face hadn't been excitement or pleasure but surprise, and then relief. Evie would no longer be her responsibility. Her father asked Evie whether she wished to marry Lucas, but this was a mere formality, a nice gesture that was otherwise meaningless as Evie had no choice but to agree. Lucas reveals that his brother was ill, currently quarantined, explaining why Evie had not seen Raffy all day. When Evie's mother asks him about Mr. Bridges, to Evie's surprise, Lucas responds that he felt evil should be fought wherever it was found. Evie mentions that she had seen an attack on Mr. Bridges, her mother stating that the attack was done by right-minded people who were showing Deviants that they did not tolerate them within the City. Lucas agrees with Evie's mother and even flirts with her slightly, calling her by her name (Delphine). Evie asks Lucas if he then thought that violence had a place within the City, causing Lucas to reply rather frostily that he understood and sympathised with the stresses of the City's citizens when a Deviant was found. He then asks to be shown the bathroom and once he is out of earshot, Evie's mother rounds on her and begins lambasting her for being impolite to their guest. Her father suggests that perhaps Evie's active mind was one of the reasons Lucas was interested in her, causing her mother to relax slightly. He then tells Evie that she should go upstairs and wait for Lucas, perhaps show him parts of the house.

As Evie goes upstairs, she finds Lucas in her father's study rather than in the bathroom. Lucas explains he had been admiring her father's trophies. The City didn't have competitive sports or games with winners and losers, such things were disallowed because they implied a subjugation in the idea of having a winner and loser. Evie's father had won alot of medals for his contributions to the City, through hard work and determination and it is these medals that Lucas appears to be viewing, though Evie can sense an undercurrent of nervousness from Lucas and uses it to press him about Raffy. They are both caught by Evie's father in his study though, who asks them what they were doing. Evie surprises herself by lying for Lucas and telling her father that Lucas had brought her there to ask her an important question. Her father leaves with the impression that Lucas had been setting a formal date for their marriage. As soon as her father leaves, Evie demands to know what had happened to Raffy. Lucas repeats his message that Raffy had been quarantined due to a sudden illness. When Evie threatens to tell her father about what Lucas was doing in the room, Lucas counters with the threat of telling her parents about her midnight visits with Raffy.

The story switches to the viewpoint of the Brother once again as he stands to receive Lucas. In the Brother's mind, Lucas is his best citizen, a model exemplar of the standard that the City should attempt to reach. The Brother asks Lucas about the glitch to which Lucas informs the Brother that the glitch was a non-existent bug, a nothing to be dismissed. As the Brother receives the update from Lucas, he comes to think about how Lucas' excellent loyalty could have been used as head of the police, but the technology Unit was the best place for him as Lucas ran the System flawlessly. The Brother then raises the issue of Raffy to Lucas, causing Lucas to respond rather sharply, asking what evidence the Brother had. The Brother reasoned that he is merely projecting his fears onto Lucas's words, Lucas was practically a machine, after all. He goes on to add that the System would judge Raffy a K, that he would be taken for the second New Baptism in the quiet of the night. To the Brother's surprise, Lucas asks for a favour from him, to grant him one last day with his brother for his and his mother's sake. The Brother accepts, pleased with the first human reaction he has ever seen from Lucas.

The next day Evie arrives early at work to see if she would see Raffy, though he fails to appear. She hears rumours that Raffy wasn't ill at all but under supervision from the City's police. She blames herself for not being stronger, for not standing up to Lucas. Returning home, she is surprised by her mother who asks her to help with the seamstress work she has (due to one of her colleagues falling ill). As they work together, her mother raises a discussion with Evie about her marriage with Lucas. She tells Evie that she was very lucky to have been matched with him, though Evie isn't sure she sees it the same way. She's shocked when her mother tells her that she should be thankful she was marrying an A, not having to settle for her father. Evie tells her mother that she should be happy, her father loved her and was a respected individual, a holder of the key. In a fit of anger she leaves her mother downstairs and stays in her room, not coming down for dinner.

Her father comes to her room later that night but waves aside Evie's apologies for fighting with her mother, telling her that the System had discovered evil within the City and that there had been a candidate for the second New Baptism. Evie is sick with worry that it would be her, that they had finally named her as a K but is equally dismayed when her father tells her that Raffy had been labelled K by the System. Her father leaves, telling her not to worry, that he would not look down on Lucas because he had been tarred by association. He adds that Lucas had been pivotal in collecting the information for the System. After her father leaves, she hears a knock on her window and is relieved because she knows it is Raffy, only to find herself opening the window for Lucas. Lucas climbs in and immediately clamps his hand on Evie's mouth, forestalling any attempt at a scream. Lucas tells Evie to listen to him carefully, he needed to know where her father's key to the City gate was. She responds by telling him she would never help him because he had betrayed Raffy, who could never have been a K. To her surprise, Lucas agrees with her and goes on to tell her he needed the key to help Raffy escape the City.

Lucas continues to tell her that K stands for Killable. Every K was not given a second New Baptism but instead was left outside the City for the Evils to kill them. The Evils always came the same night a K was revealed, and Raffy would be revealed tomorrow. Lucas adds that the Evils were brought to the City by the City itself. Lucas tells her that it was his fault Raffy got labelled a K, but not in the way she understood it though he fails to explain further, telling her instead that there was no time. However, when Lucas tries to get Evie to come with her to get Raffy out, Evie demands to know the reasons why. It was the glitch. Raffy had really found a communication device. Lucas, alarmed, immediately questions Evie whether she'd told anyone else about the device, though she admits she hadn't. Lucas had been pretending the entire time, donning a mask to confront the City while looking out for his brother, and even Evie to some extent. He explains that he had arranged a marriage to her because it was a way to keep her and Raffy safe, because she and Raffy could never have been arranged to marry. She goes to her father's study and begins to open the safe after removing the painting it had been hidden behind. Assaulted by some doubt though, she stops and returns to Lucas, telling him she didn't trust him, that she wouldn't do it. She goes on to tell Lucas that after everything he had done to them, how could she trust him? Lucas replies that it was he who had ensured that Raffy and her were never picked up by the System, who had helped ensure that nobody knew about the midnight meetings she'd been having with Raffy. Evie remains unconvinced, forcing Lucas to come clean about another issue. Evie was an adopted child. He presents her with papers admitting the same. It had been a policy after the Horrors to accept children into the City to boost the population. They would take children and give them to families that had none... though Lucas cannot bring himself to comment on what happened to the original parents. Evie goes to get the key after telling Lucas that she would leave the City with Raffy, she had no desire to remain if Raffy left.

There is another City out there, though the world outside is not plentiful in resources and remains scarred from the Horrors. Lucas' father had built the communication device into the System's coding to allow contact with outsiders, something Lucas had been utilising. As they head over to Lucas' house, he tells her how she should effect her escape once outside the City walls. They go together to free Raffy who is tied up inside Lucas' house. Raffy and Evie tie up Lucas for good effect before making their way out of the City. They manage to reach the swamp mentioned by Raffy's brother and continue through it. As they make their escape, they are chased by a dog and then one of the City's watchmen through the swamp. Raffy manages to dispose of the dog and the watchman does his very best to shoot them with a rifle (something that was not supposed to exist within the City), but the two manage to clear the City.

As Raffy and Evie relax slightly outside the City, they argue about which direction to go. Evie wants to go North as Lucas had told her, but Raffy still doesn't trust his brother and doesn't intend to go towards the other City. Later, as Raffy returns from foraging some blackberries, the two of them are suddenly and forcefully subdued and captured. Evie wakes up before a stranger who apologises for having to harm them, noting that they had removed Evie's 'chip' to be safe. She is afraid for Raffy and afraid of the stranger, who she recognises as an Evil. The man though indicates that Raffy is fine and seated behind her, if slightly more injured than her. Raffy makes a lunge at the man only to be beaten down by the man and his accomplices. They start to interrogate the two, promising to harm Raffy if Evie failed to talk. They demand to know what they were doing outside the City and don't believe Evie when she tells them they had escaped. As far as they knew, nobody ever escaped the City. Raffy and Evie protest their innocence in the face of the accusations levelled at them. The strangers think that the two are spies for the City, however, when Evie mentions that they had found a communication device, that this was the reason Raffy had been made a K (something the strangers know of), things change. Instead, they are brought along with the men.

Evie manages to anger Linus, one of the men, when he tries to explain what the concept of law was and she mistakenly equated it to the New Baptism. Later, they are given a meal, something that delights them as the two of them experience foodstuff and flavours they had never encountered within the City. Linus goes on to explain that the chips they had told Evie about were implants Raffy and Evie had in their heads, designed to track them. He removed them so that the City police could no longer find them. They don't believe Linus. Raffy tells Evie that they would escape from these strangers too. From there, the story switches to the perspective of the Brother again. He is talking with the chief of police. At times he is frustrated with the rules of the City because his police force only carried batons, with the exception of the watchman near the swamp who was a drunkard and didn't enter the City proper. The Brother cannot understand how the two of them managed to escape, and he finds himself calling in Lucas, asking him how they had managed it. Lucas tells the Brother that it was likely that the two had planned the escape for months. He apologises for not realising his brother's potential, especially when he tells the Brother that Raffy had no doubt been able to manipulate the System into being blind around Evie and Raffy's meetings. However, on a hunch, the Brother decides to keep the case involving the glitch open.

By this time, Raffy and Evie are only one day away from this other City, and it is here that they decide to effect their escape as soon as night falls. She tells Raffy that wherever he went, she would go too. However, as they settle down at a campsite, Linus approaches Evie and tells her that she was Raffy's protector, not the other way around. That protection wasn't about strength but intelligence. He goes on to tell Evie that Raffy was going to get himself in trouble unless Evie stepped in to stop him. His words chill Evie as she realises that Linus knew that Raffy wanted to escape. Their attempt to escape is accosted by Linus who threatens to kill them if they try to escape again. He adds that he wouldn't let them go because of a promise to Raffy's father long ago. They arrive at Base Camp to see that it is not a City as they imagined. Linus explains that this is actually an army headquarters. No one around wore labels and all the people they saw seemed to be 'alright,' allowing them to realise that what they had been told by the City was untrue. Kept within Base Camp, safely locked away are the Evils... Though Linus reveals that they are in fact, brain-damaged people. Linus sits them down and begins to explain about the origin behind the City, the story being an odd mirror to the one Raffy and Evie knew. Their Great Leader had been ridiculed for his theories, but even then had still pushed on, attempting to prove that his theory worked. Instead, his experiments got him into court, escaping with a plea of insanity. It was when the Great Leader joined underground communities that he met Linus. Linus had a dream, but his dream was to establish a System. Unlike the City's System though, he intended to create an electronic system that could preempt any desires and wants of the people living under it. Linus had built the City's System too, though he had not intended it to become a creation that punished people for their behaviour.

Linus continues, explaining that the Horrors weren't a horror by virtue of there having been a war. They were called the Horrors because the morality of war had degraded, children as soldiers, civilians as targets. Linus and Dr. Fisher (the Great Leader) established the City, though Raffy objects to this, asking why Linus wasn't mentioned in the Great Leader's Sentiments causing Linus to laugh and deride the Sentiments as a complete falsehood. He adds that they need not be afraid, the City's System couldn't overhear them anymore before continuing on. While Linus built the System, Dr. Fisher began his operations. However, every single person put under the knife was left damaged. Dr. Fisher refused to accept the results though, blaming his helpers, the equipment and even the patients themselves. The Evils that the City spent their time fearing were in fact the victims of Dr. Fisher's surgery. The New Baptism was a placebo effect for Dr. Fisher's believers, a small incision on the forehead to create the impression that the work had been done. Linus ended up confiding with the Brother. It was the Brother who came up with the idea of the placebo and of developing a social structure designed to enforce the placebo effect (the Gathering). It was the Brother who introduced the labels into the System. Linus tells Evie that part of the deal the Brother made to take power from Dr. Fisher was for all adults who came to the City to be given to him for experimentation in his quest to develop the New Baptism, this giving the Brother the army of Evils required to scare his citizens into compliance. Linus decided to leave after two things. The first being the 'disappearance' of the Great Leader, though Linus suspects the Brother had killed him, and secondly when he discovered the truth of the New Baptism. The New Baptism was being used by the Brother to insert tracking chips into people that linked directly to the System. The day Linus left was the day the Brother invented the K label as a means of targeting and removing those who threatened his power. He was left to die at the hands of the Evils before being rescued by Raffy's father. Raffy's father had worked out the truth behind the New Baptism by himself and worked to undermine the system.

Linus is shocked when he discovers that Raffy's father had been made a K when he was four years old. Something that had to be impossible because Linus was still in contact with him. Someone continued to send messages from the City letting Linus know when anyone was made a K so that they could be rescued. They had even been told that Raffy and Evie had escaped the City, to which Evie objects, asking why they'd beat Raffy. Linus replies that that had been done to ensure that he didn't try to escape. The two of them realise that Lucas had taken the role of his father, continuing to send messages in his absence while putting on a show for the City. Linus contacts Lucas and after confirming that Evie and Raffy were safe, Linus mentions that they now had a City key and that they would act on it soon.

As Evie sleeps she is troubled by a new dream, not the one of her fleeing towards a paradise with the man she realises is her father but instead a memory of her childhood. She recalls meeting her faux-parents and being adopted before she wakes up. She talks with Raffy who professes his love to her just as she wanted to tell Raffy about being kissed by Lucas before they had gone to rescue Raffy. When she does tell Raffy, he overreacts, pushing Evie away before going out of their tent. Evie remains in the tent for a long while before she manages to convince herself to walk outside and explore Base Camp. She stops at the holding area for the damaged individuals, her eyes drawn to a woman she feels she recognises, before being drawn to breakfast with Linus and a woman named Martha. Linus explains that the City was simply too large to be self-sufficient on the fields of produce within the City walls and that they used the Evils to cultivate foods for them under the supervision of guards.

Meanwhile, the Brother is furious. He has finally managed to piece together the truth of the matters, realised that he had been fooled by Lucas all this time, realised that Lucas had been contacting Linus. He calls in Sam, a technician for the System and tells him that evil can strike in unusual places, giving him a System change that he is to make without alerting anyone, a System change that would mark Lucas as a K. He tells Sam that completion of the task might even lead to the System rating the technician as an A.

It is almost 3pm, Wednesday, the time when Linus and his band intend to tackle the City once and for all. They intend to free the Evils at the prison camp and then use them to sow panic within the City, giving them free-reign past the City's police to shut down the System. Evie is rather affronted at the idea of using the brain-damaged people, but Martha explains to her that sometimes tough decisions needed to be made and in doing so, they would ensure that the City could never again abuse those people. As the meeting breaks up, Evie heads over to the holding area for the Evils and tells the guard that Linus had been asking for him, mentioning that she could stand watch for him. The guard leaves, allowing Evie to enter the area where she goes to meet the woman, telling her that Evie thought she was her mother. Instead though, she finds herself attacked by the woman and used as a hostage as the woman demands to be taken to the City. She is sedated, freeing Evie. Linus tells Evie that even if that woman was her mother, she was in no state to be that person anymore. The removal of the amygdala created individuals without any moral code, the woman had simply used Evie in an attempt to get to the City.

As the band of armed men led by Linus march towards the City, they prepare their plan. They intend to send the Evils through the East gate of the City, creating enough of a commotion that they could enter the West gate where Lucas would be waiting for them, allowing them access without any trouble. As they march though, Lucas is being arrested by the Brother, Sam and two policemen. The Brother leaves Lucas in a holding room with two guards, instructing them not to listen to anything he might try to say. Lucas was to be labelled as a K by the System. Linus' men and, Evie and Raffy are all at the West gate, waiting for Lucas as they begin to hear the disturbance at the East gate kick off. However, Lucas is unable to go to them, being able to hear the commotion even from his cell. Fortunately, Mr. Bridges arrives to open the West gate after a long and nerve-wracking period, having been sent by Lucas. They enter, spotting the brain-damaged victims leading the police on a merry chase, enjoying what appeared to be a game to them. They continue on to the government building, freeing Lucas. Evie leads Martha up to the City's labelling Unit, where she had worked before. They decide to implement label changes for everyone to A except for the Brother, who they decide they would make a D if they found his report code. While Evie and Martha work on label changes, Lucas confronts the Brother, entering his private chambers. He tells the Brother that he had used the System's recordings of his voice to dismiss the Brother's guards. Lucas forces the Brother to ring the Gathering Bell and to come with him to the City's Meeting Hall. Evie and Martha, finished, head to Raffy who has just finished editing the System so that it could no longer track any of the City's citizens, however, to their concern, Linus (who told Raffy he would be back) had been missing for twenty minutes. Martha decides to look for him, giving Evie the chance to apologise to Raffy, telling him that she only had eyes for him, that she'd kissed Lucas not because she loved him, but because Lucas was going to save Raffy. Raffy apologises to and the two make up, their spat ended before they are greeted by the arrival of Lucas. Martha returns shortly after, admitting that she hadn't been able to find Linus at all. They reason that perhaps Linus had headed to the Meeting Hall where they had gathered the City's citizens.

They find the Brother had escaped from his holding place without Mr. Bridges' knowledge (who had been guarding the entrance to the room). Their search ends when they find Linus and the Brother. Linus has changed the plan, wanting to seek some measure of revenge from the Brother but when he reaches for his gun he finds it missing. The Brother taunts Linus' inability to focus on practical matters before pointing at the baton-armed police who have arrived. Evie draws a gun, shocking the Meeting Hall as she points it at the Brother. He first tries to cajole Evie into putting the gun down, then pleads and begs... Then to the shock of the City's citizens, he demands that the police draw their guns, he didn't care if people saw the guns. However, as Evie argues with Linus, demanding her right to kill the Brother, a shot is fired. The Brother is shot in the leg by Lucas who had taken a gun from one of the police during the moment. Linus takes the very same gun and decides to hold the wounded Brother hostage allowing the others to make their escape. Lucas decides to remain in the City though, to help Linus pick up the pieces that would inevitably need picking up once the citizens discovered the System was no longer functioning for them.

The epilogue is another dream sequence like the nightmare Evie had suffered from at the beginning... Except this time it is not a nightmare, it is a good dream, one where the man encouraging her forwards to a new haven is her lover, Raffy.

Food for thought:

This is a story where the main theme, like the Puppet Masters, is about information, the effect that control of information can have and the price of freedom. Admittedly, being a 'teen'-fiction (where the principle characters are 'young adults') it doesn't go quite as far as Heinlein's story. For example, no one actually dies in the book, sure there are people who were labelled K and left to die, but Linus reveals that all those people had been saved. The only deaths that really occur in the entire novel happen as part of the story's setting, during the Horrors.

The citizens of the City in this book live in what they perceive as the last bastion of civilisation in a world left ruined by wars. Their lives are set and run entirely by the System that governs them and by the Brother that governs the System, though of course, they don't realise it. They are like the proverbial frog at the bottom of the well that looks up and sees the entirety of the world. The sky, the walls of the well and the land the frog stands on, totally unaware of the existence of a larger world beyond the wall's exterior. Just like that frog, the City's citizens live a peaceful but ignorant lifestyle. Their behaviour and lives have been controlled not by any harsh implement or physical force but by the simple fact that they have been told that their world is all that there is. To all intents and purposes they experience a closed understanding of the world that is enforced by the cult-like behaviour.

However, freedom is not necessarily better. It is a powerful concept and evokes strong emotions because as individuals, we all consider ourselves masters of our own destinies. To have freedom is something many people take for granted, but sometimes what is perceived as freedom can actually be another form of control with the illusion of free will. For example, if I asked you to pick between a blue or yellow item. I've given the illusion of freedom by granting a choice, but I have presented only two definite options without alternatives, thereby controlling the response.

Moving back to the concept of freedom, freedom is not inherently competent or even 'good.' You see elements of that in the chaos caused at the end when they have overridden the System. The citizens are not jumping up and down with joy at their new circumstance, they are mostly confused and none of them actually show direct support for or against the Brother after the accusations. Life is easier without freedom, less effort is required to exert one's desires upon the world. The Killables, like last week's The Puppet Masters, highlights the danger of never questioning the world you live in.

It also features a small link to the nature of the soul. The soul is a subject that is often separated from our 'chemical' selves. From the neurological perspective, our morality, logic and personality is linked to the chemicals received in our brains and the reactions of various parts of it to that stimuli. However, such a clinical understanding degrades the concept of the soul, something which is seen as indefinably human, this idea that our personality (what makes us 'us') is sacrosanct. You see it in the form of the experiments to remove the amygdala. Instead of resulting in human beings who are now 'good' the operation results in morally bankrupt individuals (who also appear to have lost some of their intelligence too), giving rise to this idea that you cannot clinically remove 'evil' without destroying the 'soul' of that person.

Finally, as a little something I noticed, Linus' dream for his ideal System is not unlike the dreams of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The idea that a computing system could be developed to optimise the life of the Union's citizens was part of 1959 in the USSR where slogans such as "Soviet scientists! Raise the effectiveness of scientific research, strengthen the connection between science and industry!" could be found. In some ways, The Killables can be said to be analogous of the USSR. Like the USSR, the City claimed to be an utopia for the masses within its walls but in truth was an autocratic and oppressive regime. The City had itself a wall designed to keep the outside world away from itself, much like the Iron Curtain that descended (to quote Churchill again).
Mind you, only in a minor way, does the analogy fit, but nonetheless, Linus' dream of optimisation through a computing system is remarkably similar to the Soviet dreams of the late 1950s where the long sought 'utopia' was due to arrive (much as Linus' dream was built to provide utopia) only for both dreams to collapse on themselves.

Book Review: The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein - 4thwallfly

Welcome to the Fly on the 4th Wall. Today we're going back in time to review a book that is somewhat dated but reflects the period very well, xenophobes and McCarthyists be warned, we're looking at you, in:
The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein:

Cover art copyright of Bob Eggleton

'PUPPETS, MEET YOUR MASTERS

First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was just a hoax. End of story. Case closed. 

Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the U.S. 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 sluglike 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 humans 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...' - The Puppet Masters, Robert A. Heinlein [1951]

The Puppet Masters is a book about mankind's struggle against an extraterrestrial invader that can not only hide itself from humankind but also take control of human beings. It is told from the perspective of Sam Cavanaugh, an agent of the Section (a secretive intelligence agency above that of the CIA) and set in a 'future' that holds very few similarities with our present. Sam's world, for example, still features the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) as a world power that hides behind the Iron Curtain (from Churchill's famous speech). He has a mobile phone in the form of a surgically implanted phone in his cranium and drives an aircar (an old term for a flying car). The world itself has recovered from the Third World War which was implied to have been between the USSR and the USA. In this future, mankind has already spread to parts of the solar system and encountered the Venerians (Venus-inhabiting aliens). Despite this though, the tale takes place almost entirely on Earth.

A very enjoyable tale, though as a reader, you can't help but feel a bit of detachment from the book's language and setting. There's alot of slang that frankly isn't used anymore at all which adds to the sense of confusion within the story because it can be hard to tell when something is slang and when it isn't. For example, Heinlein uses the word 'burn' when describing Sam's use of a gun, which at first had me thinking (because this story was in a future setting) that the weapons involved were some sort of laser (or thermal induction weapon for the boffins), however, a single reference to an Owen gun suggests that it is just slang for 'shoot' (an Owen gun is a 1939 era sub-machine gun), which is verified by the use of the word 'heater' to refer to his gun (slang for a handgun).Unfortunately, this can make reading the book something of a struggle. Despite that though, this is still a very entertaining read and a fascinating insight into the conceptual ideas of the 'future' that were had in the 1950s. However, the book's setting is only glimpsed at through occasional remarks from the characters (acting as if the reader would be already familiar with these events).


Click below for the full synopsis (click to open/close):

The story begins with an agent receiving a confidential call through his phone, implanted in his skull. Despite having 72 hours of leave accumulated he's being called by the Old Man (military slang for a commander) to report in immediately. He enters a secret facility located under the MacArthur Station, the Section's headquarters. As he travels, he is lost in his thoughts, allowing the insight that his boss, the Old Man, is not a soft boss. The Old Man is capable of making hard calls if the situation required it. Sam's inner thoughts also reveal that the Section has neither a name, nor phone book listing. It is not known to the United Nations, nor the President, nor even the CIA. His work is strictly off the books at all times.

He meets the Old Man, who addresses him as Sam (this being the name he will adopt for the 'vacation' that the Old Man has planned with him) and introduces himself as Uncle Charlie before indicating another agent as his sister Mary. Mary is described as quite the looker for Sam and so it is to his disappointment that Uncle Charlie informs him rather pointedly that there was no incestuous relationships in the Cavanaugh family. Sam Cavanaugh was to be an 'All-American boy.' Sam is then put through the Cosmetics department and made into a red-head to match his 'sister.' The Old Man asks Sam if he'd ever heard of flying saucers, to which Sam replies that they'd all been proven as fakes since before the Disorders. However, the Old Man assures Sam that it was real, that one had landed in Iowa, a disc shaped object approximately 150ft in diameter and more worryingly, the agents sent in seventeen hours ago hadn't reported back barring a short message about 'little creatures.' Shortly after that, the Des Moines News reported the flying saucer as a hoax, firing the newscaster (news - broadcaster) responsible for the original story. The Old Man wanted he and his team to investigate why the Des Moines News had shut up for a period, why the photographs of the saucer from the space station and the Des Moines News didn't seem to match locations and why six agents disappeared. Sam is a little apprehensive that he'd been told by the Old Man to be protective of his sister meaning that of the three he was considered the most expendable.

On arriving at the UFOs location, they discover a rather obvious hoax ship rather than the one observed by the space station.  As they leave the Des Moines site, Mary confers with the group, telling them that the people they had met at that site were like 'harem guards' (meaning here devoid of a libido, an indication of both Mary's physical appearance and the uses of it by the Section). They decide to head to the Des Moines broadcast station and meet the manager, Barnes. Mary gives the Old Man a signal that Barnes picks up, forcing Sam to shoot him dead. They examine the body to discover their fears proven correct, to their revulsion they see a strange, slug-like creature detach from Barnes' back. The Old Man quickly coaxes the creature into a tin and leaves with the other two. They race back to the Section only to discover the creature had expired. After alerting their scientific team about the possible ramifications that direct contact might engender, Sam decides to make a pass at Mary and fails. Both of them are then called to the Old Man again to brief the President. Unfortunately, they are unsuccessful in convincing the President that the situation was a genuine problem and the Old Man is formally requested to take a 'vacation' leave.

A rather dejected Sam finds himself given leave once again but rather than choosing to sink into a drug-soaked haze, he decides to go out and do research on the phenomenon, heading to the Library of Congress and pulling out whatever he can from their catalogue that matches or relates to UFOs. He discovers that most of the books he wanted had already been taken by Mary no less. The two of them work together and to Sam's surprise he finds himself invited to Mary's apartment (rather than his after another attempt to flirt with her). As soon as Sam is within the apartment, Mary demands he strip so she can see if his back is clear. It is very apparent that Mary is taking the threat of the alien parasites very seriously. Through this entire period though, no news has been reported from Iowa about the flying saucer.

Having observed a roughly thirty year trend between UFO arrivals, they quickly contact the Old Man and convince him to get involved again, pulling him out of the funk he had been in since having his information dismissed abruptly. Sam comes up with a daring plan to simply bull his way into the landing site with two other agents to take a live shot of the alien invaders that they could stream directly to the President for proof, galvanising the Old Man. The Old Man then decides to appoint Mary as the President's bodyguard, with instructions to take whatever necessary action that might be required if the President ever became a victim of the aliens, including any action that would have Mary shot for treason.

Their immediate outing goes wrong from the start, the first person Sam investigates isn't afflicted by the aliens at all, a rather embarrassing moment, especially when coupled with the fact that he was broadcasting straight to the President. It only gets worse as they raid the WDES news station (the same station he had investigated with the Old Man earlier) where after rushing in and being attacked by the people ridden by the slugs they discover that their camera had blown a fuse and hadn't recorded a single image since before they were even inside the building. However, after making it back to the Section, the President having long since stopped watching the broadcast, they discover that Jarvis (the agent with the broadcasting gear) had been afflicted by the alien menace. They manage to subdue Jarvis, giving them the proof they need but the President's aide refuses to let them contact him directly, having been disheartened by the unsuccessful attempt to bring forward information. They also discover from one of the science team that the separated slug had died of asphyxiation and have no choice but to give Jarvis to a rather uncomfortable scientist as their only live alien captive.

The next morning, Sam is woken by the sound of alarms ringing throughout the Section and spots the Old Man directing everyone to obey the anti-gas and anti-radiation drills before congregating in a central point within the Section's interior. Once everyone is collected, the Old Man explains that the parasite had escaped and was no doubt amongst them even as he spoke. He forces the assembled crowd to individually approach him and strip down, male or female. By this process of elimination he finds out that his own private secretary, Miss Haines is the only person not yet checked. Miss Haines demands to know if the Old Man was the one carrying the parasite and when the Old Man decides to comply first, she makes a run for it. Sam follows in quick pursuit and finds himself knocked down for his troubles. As he lies there, he hears a struggle and the various sounds of the other agents managing to subdue Miss Haines. Sam picks himself up and begins running towards the Section exit. He makes it out, seen only by one person who calls his name (who he later identifies as Mary). On the streets, Sam mugs a passerby before making his way away from the Section.

Sam has been made a puppet out of by the alien but seems to believe on some level as if it were him in charge, even though on a deeper level he is aware that he is not. He makes an order through Western Union for a crate of children's books, though this is merely code for a crate of the actual parasites themselves. Using the best of his training he begins by spreading the parasites through the apartment he has leased in the interim. From there, he 'recruits' the building owner who happens to be a member of the Constitutional Club, a great success for the parasites due to its prestigious and well connected members. The parasites takeover the Club and manage to score a success with the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (the department that was charged with the President's safety). Sam feels little in the way of jubilation though, the effect of being 'ridden' by a parasite seems to take away alot of his drives (hunger for example) and worse, he seems unaware of his master's intentions, knowing almost nothing right up until the urge to act was given to him. One day, without warning, Sam finds his rider deciding to take him to New Orleans. He finds himself in an argument with an elderly man who convinces him to head to New Orleans with a stop off at Memphis for him. Once he's in the car though, the elderly man reveals himself as a disguised Old Man. The Old Man injects him with a soporific

Sam comes to, restrained to a bed. He is released by the Old Man and finds out he'd had his parasite removed. He panics, telling the Old Man that they needed to evacuate because he'd told the aliens where the Section was hidden, but the Old Man points out that as soon as Sam had escaped the Section's interior, he'd ordered the area evacuated and had set up a new headquarters for the Section. As Sam's memories come back to him he finds himself throwing up in revulsion. The Old Man reveals that quite a number of cities are being controlled by the aliens through their careful selection of victims. Sam freezes when he discovers that the parasite that had been riding him had been captured alive before demanding to know where it was being kept. Sam harbours a deep need to kill the alien that had been riding him, although the Old Man cautioned him about how badly they needed it for their own studies. Sam manages to share the names of those he had helped recruit at the Constitution Club and warns the Old Man about the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury before passing out.

He wakes up in the care of Doris, one of the nurses working in the Section. Davidson, the other agent besides Jarvis who had gone with Sam to the Des Moines news station arrives and shares with Sam what had happened. He himself had been shot in the arm when they apprehended the Assistant Secretary, the President was unharmed fortunately. However, Davidson shares that Jarvis had never recovered from being ridden by the alien, sinking into a coma before dying. After a few days spent recovering, the Old Man puts Sam back on active duty and takes him into the Section's science wing to see an ape that had had the alien parasite attached to it, though it becomes clear that Sam's time being ridden has traumatised him for the agent doesn't even want to get into the same room as the parasite. Eventually he gathers the strength of will to go through with it, the sight of the parasite developing an innate hatred for the slug-like creatures in Sam. To Sam's surprise, the Old Man presents his pistol to him and offers Sam the chance to kill the parasite even though the Section has no other captives. Sam manages to decline, though was sorely tempted.

As Sam and the Old Man examine the alien, it becomes apparent that the entire Section has banned all use of coats within their building to allow them easy checks to determine if an individual was being ridden or not. The Old Man begins to talk about obtaining a volunteer so that they could communicate with the aliens, although Sam is dismayed when the Old Man reveals that he intended Sam to be that volunteer. Sam declines, causing the lab techs to bring in a smaller rig for their 'prior' volunteer. The rig turns out to be a chair designed to hold the volunteer immobile while presenting their backs for the alien to be able to ride and to Sam's shock Mary arrives. She's shocked to see Sam but sits down at the chair anyway. Sam tries to pull Mary away from the chair only to be threatened with being tied up and removed. In response, Sam volunteers to take Mary's place, earning the Old Man's thanks (who addresses him for the first time as 'son', something that turns out to be literal rather than figurative). Once possessed, Sam still sees himself as 'himself' but now is opposed to the Old Man. His refusal to answer the Old Man's questions result in his being electrocuted by the Old Man's 'tickler.' Sam is tortured for the answers the Old Man seeks, discovering that the parasites intended to make slaves of mankind though the parasites saw it as doing a favour to mankind, granting them contentment through their ownership. When the Old Man begins pressing Sam for the location of their home, their nest, Sam's rider lies earning another shock, this time though, the shock is too great for the rider and it dies. Sam recovers but is furious with the Old Man, storming out of the room. He meets Mary in the corridor who seems genuinely confused at his presence in the room, she had thought she was the only volunteer, but Sam doesn't believe her. He slaps her and calls her 'bitch' before storming away from her too. Sam is filled with disgust at Mary because her presence had effectively forced him to volunteer, which he attributed to the joint machinations of the Old Man and her.

He returns to the medical ward and shares his anger with Doris, who also becomes rather incensed at the abuse of his trust that Mary and the Old Man had taken advantage of. Some time later, Mary appears, sporting a red mark on her cheek that was just about the right size to be consistent with a slap from Doris who was hovering rather angrily around her. She begs Sam's forgiveness, stating that she hadn't realised what the Old Man had intended, however, despite Sam's icy attitude she manages to get through to him before he sends her off... though Sam is still not entirely convinced of Mary's innocence. The Old Man visits him to berate Sam for his treatment of Mary, explaining that she really had been unaware of Sam's presence inside the room and had volunteered freely to be ridden by the alien without expecting a last minute reprieve. He even goes as far as saying that between the two of them, Mary was the real hero (having volunteered of her own free-will) while Sam had required a fire to be built under him (i.e. that he'd had to be pressured into it). The Old Man goes on to tell Sam that following hypnosis treatments, they'd pulled out some useful information from him about where the aliens originate from, namely Titan, one of Saturn's moons.

Later, Sam finds himself looking for Mary to apologise only to be taken with the Old Man outside of the Section. He learns that the President has not yet managed to implement any firm action yet because he had yet to brief Congress, shocking Sam to the core by the fact that even with a crisis as severe as they faced, partisan politics still had their say. Agent Sam finds himself watching his own interrogation with the US Congress though the Congress members present find themselves unable to believe both the President's and Sam's testimony, choosing instead to view the evidence as the work of a skilled actor rather than an agent. Things come to a head when one of the senators begin to give a speech that would lead up to a formal request for the impeachment of the President! However, Mary hurriedly passes a signal to the President who requests Senator Gottlieb to take the central rostrum for his speech. Under the Old Man's direction, Sam tackles him and forcibly strips the Senator, revealing an alien riding on his back. The Old Man takes control, glad that the hearing was a closed hearing with guards and locked doors, ensuring that each and every other senator was clear of the Titan menace. Sam reveals that the result was successful vote for the emergency powers to be given to the President and that thirteen were found with Titans riding them. Although, Sam makes a wry comment about the nature of bureaucracies and their inability to move with any great or immediate speed.

The first part of the human counter to the Titans amongst them is the implementation of Schedule Bareback, a nationwide initiative to require every citizen to go about with their backs bare. A broadcast is hurriedly prepared that would demonstrate Congress and the President adopting the very same scheme they were proposing. However, they discover that Congress had decided not to follow through and halt the broadcast, hurrying over with the President in tow. The President himself makes a point of standing before Congress and stripping himself before announcing he is clearly free of the Titan influence, before denouncing the Congressmen, demanding to know if any of them were working for them. Senator Gottlieb stands up and follows the President's example before drawing a gun on the crowd, demanding that they follow suit, because he had experienced being ridden by the Titan and he would be damned if he'd allow one of those parasites to live amongst them. The broadcast resumes with Congress' first 'bareback' session.

To Sam's surprise though, Schedule Bareback fails to clean up the country in one fell swoop, instead the situation continues without much change. Sam comes to realise that this is because the infected regions were simply not broadcasting the President's warnings about the Titans living amongst them. Flights over Iowa are cancelled despite the Governor of Iowa's broadcasted assurance that they had complied with the order. In an assembled meeting with the Old Man, President and the Supreme Chief of Staff, the Old Man points out that the Titans had won this round because they'd been able to out think them. The Governor of Iowa, who stripped himself on a public broadcast had cut off the footage in the act of removing his clothes and cut to a bareback. He also challenges the authenticity of footage of bareback civilians walking about Des Moines, arguing it was possible that they were simply re-broadcasting another city's 'Main Street' seeing as most Main Streets in America were homogeneous. Eager to prove the Old Man wrong, the Supreme Chief of Staff, Air Marshal Rexton opens a video-communication with a military base operating within Iowa and is greeted with the sight of a bareback man. However, when asked to turn around for the camera, the soldier in question fails to display his upper back on screen correctly before they lose the signal being told rather brusquely that there had been some 'technical difficulties.' Air Marshal Rexton confirms the next day, having worked through the night, that all of the military sites within the occupied zones were suffering the very same technical difficulties.

Sam finds Mary and apologises to her, though Mary tells Sam that he need not worry, she understood entirely. She gives him a gentle tap, telling him he was forgiven for his slap, before she punches him hard, that one for Doris' slap. After the too make up, Sam decides he can take advantage of the current meeting they had been excluded from to rush out and get himself married to Mary, who has admitted her love for him (his already having been known). However, Mary tells him it would be better to wait until the Titan issue was resolved and Sam grudgingly accepts. They are met by the Old Man who tells them that the next phase would start soon, Schedule Counter Blast. Schedule Counter Blast is a plan to raid every single news station, broadcast tower and newspaper office inside Zone Red (the occupied zone) and set to start that very night. The Old Man is unsettled and directs Sam to infiltrate Kansas City and return before Schedule Counter Blast began, his worries growing on the fact that there had been no change at all within Zone Red since Schedule Bareback had begun.

Sam makes use of an aircar to race his way towards Zone Red, through Zone Yellow (where there had been some sightings of Titans but not many). Turning on the stereo as he drove, he became aware that none of the Zone Red programmes had complied with Schedule Bareback at all. In order to avoid attracting too much attention, he decides to ground his aircar and drive into Kansas City. At a toll gate, Sam is asked to leave his vehicle for a safety test, to check his reflexes and reactions as the guards take him towards a small building beside the road. It becomes clear to Sam that this was just another way for the Titans to continue recruiting people. A doctor would request Sam to look through an eye-testing device and while he was busy looking, they would attach the Titan to him. Using some subterfuge, Sam approaches the doctors and grabs the Titans on their backs, squeezing them, resulting in the deaths of the aliens and the spasm-filled collapse of the two doctors. He then proceeds to destroy all of the Titans that were kept in stasis awaiting a host, slips the eye-tester's dust cover under his jacket and makes his way out of the building. From there, he gets waved on by a cop and drives on into Kansas City, pressing a button to switch the number plates on the Section-modified aircar.

As he drives through Kansas City he notices that despite the hot weather, the vast majority of people are not choosing to go bareback, something that alarms him as he comes to realise that around 90% of the population must logically be possessed by the Titans. He is unsure how that could be possible though, as they were aware of one flying saucer landing near Kansas City, but to recruit the entire city would require far more parasites than one saucer was capable of delivering. His suspicions are verified when he spots a closed swimming pool. For a swimming pool to outright close in summer was one thing, but for that swimming pool to declare they were closed for the season was another. Sam reasons that this must be because the city is almost entirely owned by the parasites and that they would therefore close the pools (because swimwear is by its nature more revealing) to prevent the few remaining humans from becoming suspicious of the rest of the city's Titan-ridden people. Sam is all too aware though that he had nothing in the way of concrete evidence and decides to continue his scouting of the city until he is stopped by a policeman and asked for his licence. Using the same 'grabbing technique' as earlier, he quickly disables the policeman and speeds off. Slowing down in a suburb he attempts to take a Titan captive by stopping near a man walking on the street and telling him he needed to discuss with him immediately, that he'd come straight from City Hall and needed to have a direct conference (the Titan terminology for communication between each other when two of the Titans are touched together). The man instead backs away and Sam lunges for him, aiming to grab the Titan riding him, only to have his fingers close on human flesh. He quickly escapes the scene before trying to find another person to kidnap. He strikes success the second time and is invited into the man's home to have the direct conference, though as he enters he is attacked from behind. Once more, Sam fights his way out but this time, he drags the limp man into his car (though he had already killed the man's master).

He makes his escape by driving away from the scene, activating the launching units in the aircar to get airborne and making speed for Zone Green. His reckless use of the aircar's launching units turns out to be his saviour as the car rocks from an impact delivered by an 'interceptor' (presumed to be some form of anti-air weaponry). Sam discovers that the impact had damaged one of the impellers on his aircar, preventing him from getting to Washington in time to report before Schedule Counter Blast.

Schedule Counter Blast is a disaster. As Sam indicates with a brief mention of the National Zoological Gardens, it is apparent that the Titans have a method of reproducing and very rapidly. If the Old Man had been alerted of this, the Schedule might have been cancelled and disaster averted. Twenty five minutes after Schedule Counter Blast had begun, reports stream in that location after location had been captured and secured. By the next morning it became apparent that not a single location had actually been secured, instead, the reports sent back by their soldiers had been directed by the Titans riding them. Later, Sam is sent by the Old Man to meet Dr. Vargas and Dr. McIlvaine and is subjected to a discussion between the two about the nature of the Titans and their respective biology. A live test featuring two parasite-bearing apes and a single free ape reveals the truth. The Titans are capable of cellular division when they reproduce and by doing so are able to infect other victims, and in a meeting with the Old Man, the two of them become unsure if the Titans need to attach themselves to a human back. If not, then Schedule Bareback was not enough of a countermeasure and the American people might find themselves asked to go naked which would be a difficult measure with the winter approaching. In response to his failure to obtain information from Kansas City in a timely manner, the Old Man puts Sam on sick leave.

On sick leave, Sam discovers that Mary is also on leave. She invites him over to her apartment for a drink but Sam instead begs to take her to be married. She gives in eventually, and the two head over to the City Hall to get themselves married. In this setting, marriages appear to be very unusual, no major ceremony is required for example, it is simply a matter of registering with the City Hall and deciding whether they want a renewable contractual marriage or not. Sam and Mary decide on a lifetime marriage without any contractual or renewal terms. Sam takes Mary to a cabin in the Adirondacks Mountains, away from the city, the Titans and the Section. Mary meets the Pirate, a large cat that belongs to Sam (or perhaps it is Sam that belongs to the Pirate), who is taken care of by an 'Old John' while Sam is away. He discovers that it was largely thanks to Mary that he had been rescued when he'd been ridden by the Titan and Mary tells him that her 'original' name was Allucquere (much like Sam's name, given to him by the Old Man had been Elihu). The name tells Sam that Mary must have been a descendant from the Whitmanite cult, a cult that had failed to prosper on Earth proper and moved to Venus.

As their week reaches a close, Sam manages to convince Mary to take some 'tempus fugit' (lit: time flies), a drug that decreases the passage of individual's subjective time (therefore turning a single hour into many). He finds out rather quickly though that the happiness brought on by being with Mary is dulled by the euphoria that the drug induces, causing him to rather regret suggesting they take the drug.  Mary accidentally scares the Pirate away and decides to go out of the cabin to find him after the drug had worn off. However, to Sam's shock she returns being ridden by a Titan. His attempt to grab and crush the Titan that had worked before meets failure this time, the Titans seem to have developed a hard, leathery coating to prevent such a thing happening to them. He manages to force the Titan off Mary by holding her over the coals of the fire in the cabin but as he starts to see to Mary, the Pirate ends up touching the alien and being ridden. Sam catches the Pirate and this time ensures that the Titan is burnt to death before finally tending to the Pirate. His cat dies from the wounds, though Mary manages to pull through while Sam himself has badly burnt hands.

The next morning, Mary thanks him for saving her but tells him they ought to leave the cabin and discover what had been happening while they had spent the week away. They could clearly not expect to be able to ignore the Titan issue anymore. Following up on something Dr. McIlvaine had told him, he explains to Mary that the Titans may possibly be a single organism, that the 'direct conferences' were a method of ensuring that the data the Titans had was synchronised with each other. Sam points out that this meant Mary ought not to return to her apartment in the city, it was too likely to be booby-trapped. As they enter town though, they discover that things have changed greatly since they left. They discover that Schedule Bareback had been replaced by Schedule Sun Tan when they are stopped by two cops, identified by badges attached to belts, wearing nothing more than briefs. Mary and Sam are ordered to strip down to the skin as the cops explain that they could wear fur coats for all they cared, but they wouldn't get arrested for indecent exposure, they'd be killed by the Vigilantes. Sam explains the events of the night to the cops after they are cleared and to his dismay the cops explain that they had known about dogs and even horses, but cats was a new phenomenon. One of the cops remarks that he had a cat at home, but now he'd have to deal with it which his kids would find hard.

Sam's suspicions that the Titans didn't need to be located on the upper back of a human had been proven correct while he and Mary were away on their honeymoon at the cabin. However, this information had not been shared with the general public which had nearly resulted in mankind's loss against the Titans. In the Eastern US, within Zone Green, there were fake air-raid alerts put out to which the populace responded to, shuffling to shelters. Apparently, Titans were hidden inside the air-raid shelters and after the lights inside the shelters failed, the ridden humans began to spread the Titans amongst those trapped within. The air-raid wardens were the first people to organise the vigilante movements and so, by the time Sam has returned to the Section with Mary, they discover that the Vigilantes shoot first and ask questions later if they spot any unexplained lumps on an individual. As a result of the changes in the Titan's methods of infiltrating Zone Green, dogs were hardly ever seen (and usually shot by the Vigilantes) while no citizen dared travel alone at night. He is able to see from Zone Red's broadcasts that the Titans seem to be thriving, while Zone Green is being steadily infiltrated, piece by piece. Sam is also horrified at the revelation of individual humans who were happy to serve the Titans even without being ridden by them. Sam's catching up tells him that the United Nations had voted to provide 'whatever support might be requested', though the US itself was unsure exactly what they could call for that would help their situation as the ridden victims were essentially hostages rather than an 'enemy' to be defeated militarily.

The next day, Sam finds himself in a meeting with the Old Man, discussing the viability of infiltrating Zone Red, though Sam expresses his doubts at success. The Old Man admits that he had sent in four agents already, all of whom had failed to report back. He then goes on to outline a potential plan to send Sam behind the Curtain (as in the "Iron Curtain" i.e. the USSR). It is either that or attempting to infiltrate Zone Red, and both Sam and the Old Man are certain that that option will meet further failure. He takes a course of hypnosis to refresh his knowledge of Russian and the Party Line while being told that his mission is to ascertain whether the USSR had been infested by the Titans like America was as the secrecy inherent in the USSR's system was prime material for the Titans to spread effortlessly in. Sam never gets the opportunity to enter the USSR though thanks to the landing of the Pass Christian saucer. A UFO that had landed near Pass Christian, Mississippi had been spotted by a submersible cruiser who immediately reported it and then sent a dispatch indicating that he had chosen to send a landing force to secure the saucer. The Old Man immediately scraps his prior plan and takes Sam and Mary with him to the saucer.

They arrive at the saucer, passing through a warzone in order to do so, where they spot the airlock that leads into the UFO's interior blocked by an amphibious tank, the vehicle's hull caught between the doors. Sam, Mary and the Old Man reach the mobile command centre where they are warned about coral snakes, a subtle reminder of the problems faced by Schedule Sun Tan. As they talk with the field commander, they are attacked by a tiger, though the four of them manage to kill it before the beast could close with them. The field commander explains that the first transports from the Titan lines had carried a 'regular Noah's ark' of ridden animals. They continue on into the saucer though and discover the first 'Titanian', here Sam is referring to the native humanoid species from Titan that the alien parasites had been riding, though the Titanian is dead, the Earth atmosphere being incompatible with its physiology. Within the saucer proper, they discover human being floating in tanks. The sight causes Mary to suffer a traumatic flashback and it becomes apparent that this was precisely why the Old Man had brought her to the saucer, questioning her to think back on her past, to remember those events that had traumatised her so.

At the Section, Sam, the Old Man and a Colonel Kelly discuss the merits of using a biological weapon against the Titans, though from the research that has been performed already, it is clear that any lethal virus that would kill the Titans would also kill the hosts. After the meeting with Colonel Kelly, Sam asks how Mary is doing, to which the Old Man replies that she is recuperating from the hypnosis treatment she was receiving as part of the Old Man's information gathering. From this conversation, Sam impresses the Old Man when he tells him that he had figured out that Mary had been part of the Whitmanite Cult, but the Old Man explained that she had been a child when the Whitmanites had left Antarctica in 1974. This should have put her age at around forty years old points out Sam (giving us the first clue that the date is somewhere past the year 2010). The Old Man replies that she'd spent ten or more years floating in an animation tank like those they'd found on the flying saucer at Pass Christian.

Mary was found in Kaiserville on Venus, as a child, some two hundred miles from the original landing site chosen by the Whitmanite Cult. From Mary's memories, the Old Man learns that the Titans had found the Whitmanite settlement in the 1980s. The Titans were not presumed to have been hunting for human beings on Venus but rather scouting Venus (as they had scouted Earth). When the Titans came, Mary saw her loved ones and fellows turned into uncaring slaves for the Titans, though she herself was not ridden. It is presumed that this is because she had not been considered worth bothering with at such a young age. There are many gaps in her memory due to her period within the animation tanks, however, of great interest to the Old Man was the fact that she had been removed from suspended animation (and undoubtedly infested with a Titan), yet Mary had managed to outlive the alien that had possessed her. Somehow, the Titans had failed to conquer Venus and somewhere in Mary's memories they believed the answer to their problems on Earth was hiding.

It is clear to the Section that the Titans had contracted a Venerian (Heinlein's term for 'native to Venus') disease but there were problems inherent with a Venerian solution. Firstly, there are a large number of diseases that could be contracted on Venus and secondly, the cultures maintained on Earth were nothing like the total amount and it would probably take around one hundred years that mankind didn't have available to explore and research Venus entirely, especially as Sam notes that winter is coming, which would jeopardise Schedule Sun Tan. In addition to the coming winter, the Section receives another reminder that time is not on their side in the form of the news reports coming out of the USSR. A continent-wide epidemic of the Black Death had broken out in Asia, informing Sam that the Titans had managed to infest the USSR, because having been ridden himself, he was aware that the Titans had never bothered to practice any form of hygiene at all. The collapse of the USSR to the Black Death is a warning to Zone Green what may be about to befall the possessed citizens in Zone Red.

Sam decides to attend Mary's hypnosis sessions despite the Old Man's disagreement. He overrides the Old Man before Mary and Sam watch the tapes of her memories as lifted from the various sessions. To everyone's surprise, Mary reveals that they hadn't needed to probe her for answers in this manner, that she had always known the disease that had afflicted her and killed the Titan, something she refers to as "Nine-day fever." This news is greeted with despair from the attendant doctors as Nine-day fever was a Venerian disease that carried a 98% mortality rate in those infected. Later, the Old Man meets with Sam and tells him that he is going to step down as head of the Section. The Old Man feels that Sam had bucked his judgement call and that he had been justified in doing so when they obtained the answer they'd been searching for, but the Old Man has taken this as a sign that he is no longer fit to lead the Section.

Nevertheless, a plan is put forward the utilise the Nine-day fever against the Titans, something that was decided as viable thanks to the documentation of the "Nivens vector" (a result of a discussion between Sam and Dr. Hazelhurst). The name is chosen to reflect credit to Sam who had helped Dr. Hazelhurst consider the use of the Titan 'direct conference' to pass on the Nine-day fever. Sam develops Schedule Fever, a plan to release animals ridden by Titans into Zone Red that had been infected with the fever and then to follow up with antidote treatments before the nine-day fever had run its course on the surviving human population (as Mary's memories had confirmed that the Titans had succumbed to the fever faster than she had). Testing at the National Zoo on Titan controlled apes proves that Schedule Fever is a viable tactic to deal with the Titans. Sam's pride is damaged after he talks with Colonel Kelly as Kelly points out that Schedule Sun Tan would not disappear once the Titans in America were defeated. It would be an aspect that would have to be lived with because mankind could never truly be sure that the Titans were totally wiped out, there were too many places on Earth for Titans to hide, especially with their ability to ride animals. Kelly's point is that, the world would have to remain under constant vigilance even after their victory, and that even after victory, things could not and would not go back to the way things were.

The next chapter jumps ahead to Schedule Fever, where Sam himself is present on the frontlines as he storms his assigned building and begins injecting those he can find with the antidote. Not everyone can be saved though, as evidenced by a man he finds with his wrists cut in a bathtub. Sam discovers that the man had killed his wife (indicating that his wife had not been infected at the same time as he had been). As he is helping the man's daughter he receives a call for help from his father (the Old Man). He decides to help the daughter first before racing to the park where his father had been situated. His father prompts him to hurry one more time before Sam manages to find him sitting in a Section-modified aircar. As Sam ducks to enter the car the Old Man knocks him out. Sam comes to in the aircar, tied up. His father is directing the car towards the south, revealing that he must have found the only healthy Titan left in Jefferson City. He plans to head towards Yucatan, outside the US to hole up and help his master recover from this most recent setback. As the car settles at altitude Sam spots his father suddenly growing still as the Titan on his back begins to divide. Taking advantage of his father's immobility during the process, he uses his feet to kick the car into a dive, the resulting g-force crushing the Titan between the chair and his father's body. However, the car is locked in a dive, the controls jammed. The two of them manage to survive the crash, though Sam passes out shortly after his father thanks him for rescuing him.

The last chapter is something of an epilogue, jumping ahead who knows how far as Sam indicates that he has joined the U.N.S Avenger, a starship that would undertake a twelve year journey to Saturn. He is travelling with Mary, having said goodbye to his father, for it is time for mankind to take revenge on the Titans. 'Puppet Masters - the free men are coming to kill you!'

Food for thought:

It is important to remember that this book is a product of the late 1940s, printed in 1951. Much of its content derives from events surrounding this period and the book itself is a reflection of the taste of the period. The concept of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) and their classical 'saucer' shape is a dated one. Today, the flying saucer is usually seen as a sign of parody rather than a 'serious' take on science fiction. However, during the late 1940s, UFOs were a new, exciting and popular topic. From the crash of an Air Force surveillance balloon in 1947 at Roswell, New Mexico, to the 1948 hoax at Aztec, New Mexico and from stories of 'foo fighters' by pilots who served in the Second World War, the American populace was hyped, primed and entranced at the ideas of visitors from outer space. The Puppet Masters is simply a play on those fears and wild speculations by presenting a tale that not only has a genuine UFO crash but also a sinister reason for the 'coverups' that occur shortly afterwards.

The 'enemy' is a mix of the two enemy ideologies that the American populace of the time could easily identify with (though leaning heavily left). The first being the spectre of fascism, that enemy only officially overthrown in 1945, six years before. The jackboot marching and blind obedience that the concept of fascism invokes (or ultra nationalism as it is known today) is conjured in the effortless control that the Titans (the aliens) have over their victims while the sense of secrecy and the fact that the Titans are, in fact, one connected organism creates the spectre of Communism, a unified society that seeks the improvement of the human race and the ushering in of an 'utopia', although it is an utopia that benefits the Titans first and foremost.

In some senses, this book is a play on the differences between autocracies and democracies. It makes a play on the power that control of information can have, something that was quite well known at the time. Our conception of the world around us is entirely derived on what we can find out about it. This is the story of democratic society defeating autocratic, of people who question defeating a people who don't (or in this case, can't).

On the topic of the power of control of information; for example, everyone knows that the Earth orbits the sun. Why? Because we have been informed that this is factually correct. As an individual, I have never been into space (so I've never been able to directly observe the Moon's orbit, which would prove that smaller objects orbit larger ones) and I've never touched a telescope (which would allow me to view the phases of Venus or Jupiter's four biggest moons). Effectively, this means that I have chosen to take the fact that the Earth orbits the Sun on faith, I can't really claim to know 'better' just because my view is shared by the rest of the world. The very nature of the Titans is part of that play on the power of information. Had mankind understood the threat that was arrayed against them when that UFO first landed in Iowa the war would have been a short one. Instead, the Titans manage to extend themselves not by outright dominion but by careful selection, starting with the channels of communication, the broadcast networks, then moving on to local administration, such as the police force and politicians.

The Puppet Masters makes the point throughout the book of the folly of simply accepting what we're told by the media. Heinlein was sounding a warning in 1951 of the dangers inherent in a system that controls information (such as for example... the only other major economic and military competitor after the 2nd World War; the USSR). In today's society, there's a large amount of scepticism and cynicism. We're used to the idea that the media has a slant. However, unless direct evidence reaches us, we're inclined to believe whatever the majority believes (usually the majority belief is factually correct, but not always). Remember the adage: "Knowledge is power." This is the main theme throughout the novel!

There is a subtle take at the reactionary power of a democratic government. When the Section discovers the threat of Titans, the President fails to act immediately on it, choosing to try to pick the most politically advantageous time to reveal this information. An autocratic society would have acted faster and more decisively, but democratic societies are not designed in any way or form to be 'efficient' (in a ruthless sense), they are instead designed to counter the power given to the elected officials. A system of checks and balances exist to ensure that the leader of a democratic society cannot choose to act autocratically.

There's also the whole 'public nudity' take. Schedule Bareback and Sun Tan are not very shocking in today's society. Sure, most people aren't comfortable with dropping their trousers in the middle of a street, but intellectually, we know about nudist colonies and beaches, we know that there are some people who do actually do that. It's not such a great shock. However, in the 1950s, Schedule Bareback and Schedule Sun Tan would have come across as big shocks. Naturally, there is a small point made about what we are willing to sacrifice for the promise of greater security. Initially, Sam notes that quite a few places in Zone Green expressed confusion and uncertainty about the need for Schedule Bareback, but as the Titans go from being an incorporeal fear to an actual, living, breathing fear (sometime after the air-raid shelter incidents) then the majority of resistance to Schedule Sun Tan disappears. It is a fact in life that citizens will happily give up their rights if they are convinced that the security offered will counter their fears.

All in all, the Puppet Masters is a great tale. An enjoyable story despite its quirks, though there are a few. Many of these quirks are just a reflection of the times in which the book was written. There's a very clear anti-Soviet tone throughout the book, but this should not be so surprising. America was under threat by the growing strength of Communism (and in the 1950s it certainly was growing). From the American perspective, alot of the world was arrayed against them by the late 1940s. Russia had spread Communism to Eastern Europe while Western Europe was struggling to rebuild. In 1949, Chiang Kai Shek's fascist government (supported by American equipment and funds) was forced to flee to Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party, never to return and in 1950, the wealthy, industrialised and Communist North Korea declared war on the poorer, more agriculturally based South (with huge initial successes). At the time of the publication of The Puppet Masters, Communism was in the ascendancy. In addition to these external political factors, internally, America was still gripped by Senator McCarthy's 'Red Scare.' As such, the Titans in the book are a clear 'enemy' that any American reader of the time could immediately identify with and reject as evil.

There's nothing wrong with this. British novels (for example) tend to use the Nazis for inspiration when it comes to finding some big, evil entity for a novel (look at Harry Potter and Voldemort's SS Death's Heads sorry, Death Eaters, complete with skull motif, black robes and questionable ethics regarding the purity of the master wizard race). What is wrong is the idea that the world is so black and white. There's them and us. There's the USSR in the book that dropped atom bombs on America, and US (the United States). There's the United Nations not really doing much to help and US. Black and White or Blue and Red, your choice. That in itself I felt was a disappointing aspect of the book, the fact that the villains lacked any real complexity. There wasn't even a suggestion of survival there, the only interview with the Titans had boiled down to 'we do it because we like it.' If the Titans really do steal culture as much as they steal bodies, why then did the Titans fail to develop anything mentally more challenging than spreading themselves? Culture is more than just a single boxing match. Yes, Sam questions on numerous occasions whether the Titans were actually sentient or just had an animal level of instincts, but when he himself is possessed by them we can see that the Titans are using his intellect and training to their benefit. Human beings are complex creatures, and Sam himself is able to develop complex plans to benefit his master. It is almost disappointing that the Titans never then develop a successful or complex strategy against Zone Green beyond endless attempts to infiltrate the zone.

The other quirk is the language. It is an understandable issues, but is still jars from time to time. Slang is a good way to reach your contemporary audience, as they will understand the terms you use and identify (empathise) better because they themselves use those very terms. However, once the language changes (and language always does evolve), it remains within the text awkwardly, no longer able to create a common bond of empathy and instead invokes confusion. As mentioned at the top, I spent the initial chapters assuming that Sam was armed with a laser on the assumption that 'heater' and 'burn' were words that would apply to a weapon of that sort. However, the Internet has kindly informed me that burn and heater are slang for shooting and pistols respectively.

One last quirk is Mary. Mary is portrayed initially as a strong, fierce woman. Note I didn't say she was independent. Yes, modern feminism and concepts of gender equality were still being developed in the 1950s, but nonetheless Mary comes across as an innately depressing character. Here is the female lead to Sam's male lead. She's tough, a competent agent, but cannot for the life of her think for herself. With only one or two exceptions she ends up just being an echoing device for Sam's wishes and desires, most notably around their marriage.

That one final issue I had was the ending. Robert A. Heinlein pulls a 'Deus Ex Machina' in the form of a very convenient biological solution to the Titans. It's not a big deal, since Heinlein usually writes quite optimistic tales (even a book with a premise such as The Puppet Masters ended on a cheerful note). Earth was in the clear, though the planet must remain vigilant as mankind takes to the stars to exact some rather old fashioned revenge. However, despite all that, I reiterate that I enjoyed the story. It's a nice insight into the thinking of the 1950s, the language is hard to understand at times when the slang appears but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the story.