SF. Dean R. Koontz - "The Flesh in the Furnace", as description

Puppet Power - a race of living puppets, bound to the puppet master, fearing him, hating him, planning...                          Petros was a god, of sorts.  Aided only by an idiot who nutured a dark secret, Petros created living puppets from the Furnace. Puppets complete with intellect and emotions, lusts and fears.  It was not easy to be a god.  THe puppets had to go back into the Furnace when their task was done.  If one created, one also had to destroy.  But what if one's creations did not wish to be destroyed.

A Bantam 1972 paperback in very good to fine condition based on the Hancer Standard.