TJ Klune does it again with this book! I love how he crafts a blend of fantasy and romance. It's very entertaining to see human life from the perspective of a robot . It's such a sweet love story mixed with an adventure!

Review in Dutch, published in national newspaper de Volkskrant in The Netherlands

-- ‘In the Lives of Puppets’ van TJ Klune is een sympathiek feelgoodverhaal over de toekomst van AI --

Het thema van In the Lives of Puppets kan in deze tijd van slimme chatrobots bijna niet actueler zijn: de toekomst van kunstmatige intelligentie. In zijn nieuwe roman vraagt de Amerikaanse schrijver TJ Klune zich af wat het voor de wereld zou betekenen als er straks ‘levende’, mensachtige robots bestaan.

Hoofdpersoon Victor is de enige mens in een familie van robots. Zijn adoptievader Gio is een android – een mensachtige robot – en een briljant ingenieur. Samen met een grofgebekte zorgrobot en een kleine, angstige robotstofzuiger wonen ze afgelegen in het bos. Van de rest van de wereld krijgen ze niets mee, totdat Victor op een schroothoop een beschadigde android vindt, die hij opknapt. Deze android blijkt een gewelddadig verleden te hebben – een waarin, tot Victors schrik, ook zijn eigen vader opduikt.

Het onderwerp is klassieke scifi, maar TJ Klune (1982) is zeker geen klassieke scifi-schrijver. Zijn boeken hebben steevast een queer liefdeskoppel in de hoofdrol, een boterzachte kern en een happy ending – zoals in de bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea. Met In the Lives of Puppets zet hij een stap in een nieuwe richting, met aandacht voor wetenschap en techniek en een dystopisch toekomstbeeld. Maar echt wetenschappelijk wordt het niet, daarvoor komt er te veel magie bij kijken. Androids kunnen bijvoorbeeld echte emoties voelen door een mechanisch hart met mensenbloed. Verwacht dus geen doordachte AI-theorieën, maar gewoon weer een sympathiek feelgoodverhaal dat lekker wegleest. En dat je toch ook een beetje aan het denken zet, over onze toekomst met AI.

Once again, another great book by TJ Klune. I don't know how he does it but he just makes me love his characters so so so much that my heart hurts. This story was beautiful, the characters were great and the world was just so delightful. I will be rereading this many many times.

A wonderful sci-fi retelling of Pinocchio full of rich characters, whimsical humor, and heart wrenching moments. I would recommend this book to any sci-fi/fantasy fans or anyone looking for a feel good story.

I am obsessed with anything TJ Klune. This story is a retelling of pinocchio but with robots. It is a lovely story about humanity, and the robots/AI we share so much of our lives with. This isn't what happens when the robots take over, but rather what happens when they already have and it's been years since they took control.
Warning, this will make you feel for the characters and expound your definition of family.

My third TJ Klune and it won't be my last. This was probably my least favourite of the three, but I still enjoyed it. He has a bit of a formula and I like it, although you would not want to read them too close together.
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There's always a queer main character, usually a male, adorable side characters, a love interest, and a wise character. And not all characters are human/alive. All also have deep reflections on humanity.

This one is a queer retelling of Pinocchio, and to me felt a little Wizard of Oz'y too. It took me a good while to get invested, but then I was and kept worrying that someone was going to be killed off. I was thinking it was very middle grade, until one weird section in Part 3, and now I think it could be but you would just need to skip some pages (and honestly it would not effect the story).
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It was nice. I liked it. Not a forever fave, and it's no Cerulean Sea, but still enjoyable.

I received an e-galley of In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed a few of TJ Klune's titles because of the way they make me feel and think about the world at large. In the Lives of Puppets followed along in that way but in a different way from TJ Klune's previous books. In this story, we start deep in the forest where Victor, a human, lives with his android father and two robots with hilarious personalities. Gio is hiding a lot of secrets - including the one in which will greatly affect Vic as he discovers more about the world that has always been kept from him; hints of which he explores through the salvage yards. When Vic's curiousity brings danger to the forest and their home, all secrets begin to be exposed and Vic must make decisions that will determine his and his family's fate. As always, TJ Klune writes these found family stories that you cannot help be drawn in by. Each character is so unique and as the story develops, so does your attachment to each of them.

THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by TJ Klune - This book is giving Pinocchio meets Wizard of Oz and for the majority of the time I liked it. The banter of the supporting cast is top notch and the beginning was really strong for me, but, once we got to the quest, my interest waned a bit. I was also very intrigued by his comments in his acknowledgements about his disappointment about this not being the story he wanted to tell. I think that impacted my feelings toward the book as well.✰✰✰

2.5 or 3/5 stars - This wasn't my favorite book, though there were things I enjoyed about it. Nurse Rached was funny; Gio was endearing; the concept of a world of machines and a hidden human, also interesting. But Vic was not so interesting to me, perhaps the most flat of the characters. Rambo was like an obnoxious toddler, sometimes cute but mostly annoying, and Hap was meh. The whole "Wizard of Oz" Emerald City thing was least interesting to me, and the odd Pinnocchio references didn't work for me either. I would have much rather stayed in the forest thinking about the world and what it means to feel and be a person rather than talk about machines who want to murder and have murdered all of humanity. And the Vic/Hap thing felt very forced and weird to me, just not quite the genuine connection I saw it was trying to convince me of. Idk, I'm glad I read it, but I also read "Psalm for the Wild-Built" simultaneously and that was an infinitely better exploration of robots and machines and humanity and life.

Love can transcend boundaries of time and memory.

Victor Lawson was raised in a happy home in the forest with his father Giovanni Lawson, who was not a human at all. Vic's best friends are Nurse Ratched and Rambo, two robots that he restored and brought to life. Vic and his father Gio are inventors and creators, turning scrap metal and junk into wonderful new inventions. Giovanni is an android, but his unique heart helps him be able to have love and affection for his son and his friends. When Giovanni is taken away one day by unknown forces, Vic must travel outside of his home for the first time to get him back. With his best friends and a new friend Hap by his side, he sets out on the adventure of his life.

This was a story that really moved me to tears. Found family is the family you choose for yourself, even if they aren't the same as you. The love between Vic and his friends and family who are robots was really heartwarming to see, and the first half was very wholesome. The second half was a bit hard to get through, due to the revelations of Giovanni and Hap's participation in the extermination of all humans, and I really felt for Vic, learning he is the last of his race. The other robots Vic encountered during his journey really showed how terrifying it would be to be in his position, and how alone you would feel as the last of a race. I definitely needed a day to recover from all of the despondent thoughts this book evoked in me. It made me think, and that is always something I appreciate in a book.

Vic is happy with his simple life. His days are filled with scavenging and inventing. When he stumbles apron a HAP and chooses to resurrect it, his entire life will be changed. Klune is a masterful with creating characters that will never leave you. The rag tag bunch in "In the Lives of Puppets" made this story come alive and questions what it takes to be a family. Vic as a leader allows for compassion and love as well as questioning a parents past. The reader will immediately become attached to the characters and need to find out how their journey ends. While Klune can craft gorgeous worlds and character interactions, in some parts it feels too drawn out and slows the pace considerably.

*Arc provided by Netgalley and Tor in exchange for an honest review.*

In the Lives of Puppets is best described as reverse Pinocchio meets I, Robot and Terminator. I've only read one other book by TJ Klune and I bawled like a baby reading it. This book left me with mixed feelings. The overall story of Gio and Vic was heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. Vic and HAP's relationship though made me slightly uncomfortable. There were times when I was cringing heavily even with Nurse Ratchet. I guess I just wasn't expecting sexualized or sexually aware robots. I don't know I guess I'm just not at a stage in my life where I'm prepared to think of my vacuum having sex or if any of that was genuinely necessary for plot. Perhaps I'll reread it at a later date and it will resonate differently, but right now this one just wasn't really for me.

TJ Klune is quickly becoming a must buy author. Although this book didn't live up to Cerulean Sea or Whispering Door, it was still wonderful and heartfelt.

This felt very different from the last few TJ Klune books I've read. We have moved into a futuristic world loosely based on Pinocchio. Here there are no traditional puppets, but a found family (like so many in Klune's works) of various robots and androids. Our human boy is very human but also has a lot to learn as he tinkers with his "father" and inventor, and with his machine friends that he has rescued and repaired.

I thought the voices in this were hilarious and overall it was a touching meditation on what it means to have free will and cut our own strings. Good sci fi makes us think about our world, and this does that beautifully. Four and a half stars, with a special nod to the inclusion of a whale, a blue fairy, and many other Pinocchio elements in a new and inventive way.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this one. TJ Klune has a simplistic magic quality to his writing.

Klune is one of my favorite authors. They have been on my auto buy list for awhile. This one was amazing. Well Written, enthralling. Beautiful.

TJ Klune’s latest is set in a dystopian future where robots have taken over. Vic is a human raised in isolation in the woods by a robot father with two robot best friends, but when he finds another robot in the junk heap and tries to repair it, everything in his life changes.

This book is nominally a Pinocchio retelling, though it has elements of Frankenstein and Wizard of Oz too. It’s funnier than Klune’s other two books I’ve read (House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door), but touches on many of the same themes of found family, LGBTQ+ representation and positivity, mental health, capacity for change and forgiveness, etc. It’s very weird, and definitely not for everyone - indeed, for everyone I know who loved it, I also know people who didn’t like it and/or DNFed it because they just couldn’t deal with the weirdness. However, I enjoyed it in its own weird way, especially the hilarious antics of the robot vacuum and nurse robot. I did like his other two books better though.

3.75 stars

Ok so robots are not my favorite to read about, but I really enjoyed this story. No one writes found family like TJ Klune. The comedic relief of Rambo and Nurse Ratched were perfection and they were easily my favorite part of the story.

TJ Klunes captivating story telling skills is no doubt evident again in this book. Did not realize It was a Pinocchio retelling when i started but i was pleasantly surprised, as It didn’t do anything for me as a kid but i was still entrapped in the story. His good light hearted humor and lovable characters can once again be found in this. The house on the cerulean sea is still my favorite, but this now takes second place before under the whispering door.

Brilliance!!! Simply utter brilliant. TJ Klune can do no wrong. This Pinocchio retelling was simply amazing. I loved the adventure we went on together. I felt I was a long for the ride the entire time.

Victors found family! Chefs kiss!

His "ensemble" in robotic form were.everything. I was laughing so hard I cried at times.

Top it off with Klune's captivating lyrical prose. Yes, and thank you!

Tor, this is a good one. Thanks for the readers copy!