If the recommendations on every streaming platform are any indication, I tend to gravitate toward things heavy with blood and light on, well, light. Maybe none of the algorithms would suggest me T.J Klune's latest novel, In the Lives of Puppets, but I feel more refreshed for having read it. Part reverse-Pinocchio, part science-fiction Stardust, Puppets is another entry into the growing cozy SFF genre that is a welcome change from the usual fare.

Victor is at once brilliant and so naive, and through his character, Klune illustrates that kind of divide between book smarts and an awareness of the world around you—or vise versa—that many precocious teens face but don't bridge until a while into adulthood, if ever. Victor is sweet and earnest, and sees the best in everyone. Gio may have been the one to start this odd little found family, but Victor is the one who grows and maintains it, wherever Gio is. In that way, Puppets is another warm addition to the found family canon like Klune has become known for since The House in the Cerulean Sea.

But the emphasis on this odd little found family is odd. Eventually, I came to love Nurse Ratched and Rambo, which was a pleasant surprise because in the beginning a discussion about Victor's vitals takes an unexpected and unnecessary turn into talking about robot penises or the lack thereof. The humor between the bots remains occasionally off-color, but they are charming enough in their own way. I'd bring Rambo home and spill dirt on my floors for him to clean up. (Not sure if I'd ever let Nurse Ratched attend to my health, but that's not because of the jokes.) Hap's personality takes longer to grow, and Gio is in precious few scenes before he's taken by the evil robots. However, all of them are easier to love through the fierceness of Victor's love for each of them.

Victor also believes in the best in everyone, even and especially when their programming is, say, to kill humans on sight. It is heartening to see this belief rewarded. There's a lot of cynicism out there in both real life and fiction, and most of it is earned. In his world, Victor goes against the grain, and often reason, with his conviction. In a way, Klune has done the same. It feels nice, like having a place to rest, to have a little cozy optimism, even if the characters bringing it occasionally fixate on robot penises.

(A longer version of this review will appear on 25 April 2023 at 3:36 p.m. MDT at https://ringreads.com/2023/04/25/puppets-a-refreshingly-light-read/)

••••Book Review••••
In the Lives of Puppets
By: TJ Klune
Format: kindle
Goodreads: 4.26
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

TJ knocked this book out of the park. After reading another one of his books I didn’t expect anything less! TJ has a way of writing the most lovable characters. Seriously, I don’t believe I’ll ever be the same and these characters will stay with me. Such an incredible book about the last human living amongst robots and some of those were created to kill him. I loved following Vic’s journey with his robot nurse, robot vacuum, and his hilariously angry puppet. You’re actually able to envision this world TJ creates and it’s so amazing because you see those places in Oregon or Las Vegas and know exactly where Vic and the crew are. The friendships that are created in this book are so authentic and I promise that you’ll be amazed at how much they tug at your heartstrings I love how there are so many important life themes in each of TJ’s book. They make the stories feel so relatable. I think what is most important about this book to me is that the end of the book isn’t exactly a HAE but it’s so real and feels how it feels to be living life as a human and that is so impactful. TJ Klune has made his space in my autobuy authors list and I will forever recommend his books!!

Thank you Tor Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC copy!

TJ Klune is the king of creative fiction. Each book is a world unto itself, fleshed out and fully realized, and that level of creativity is impressive. In the Lives of Puppets is set in a post-human world. The robots are in control. Humanity has been wiped out. Except for one special boy named Victor. This is a story about family. This is a story about growing into the person you're meant to be. This is a story about love and sacrifice and redemption. It takes found family to a new and literal level--Victor finds his family and builds them from spare parts.

Together with his AI inventor father Giovanni, Nurse Ratchet, and an overly anxious vacuum robot, Victor has grown up in a forest sanctuary, safe and hidden from the rest of the world. But the arrival of HAP, a robot Victor rescues from the junk yard, sets a life-altering chain of events into motion. Giovanni is captured and wiped--reset to his original programming--in order to save Victor from eradication. Victor and the rest set off toward the City of Electric Dreams to rescue Gio and bring him home.

This book is like if Pinocchio and Swiss Family Robinson had a dystopian baby. In a world where humanity is practically extinct, Klune manages to imbue each page with hope and all the things that make being human special. It's charming and bittersweet and hopeful and tender. Once again, Klune has written a book unlike anything else I've ever read.

Thank you so much to Tor and NetGalley for my advance review copy. The audiobook from MacMillan Audio is also FANTASTIC. The narrator does a fantastic job bringing the story to life.

*Full review to be added closer to publication!*

In the Lives of Puppets is an incredibly delightful new work from TJ Klune and I am so glad I decided to give it a read! I adored the creativity that was at play with this book, from the characters to the setting and the home in which our characters lives. The dialogue is full of wit, humor, and some really authentic moments, and I found myself absolutely falling in love with everything about the characters and their interactions. This is definitely a must-read for any TJ Klune fan, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, clever, and interesting read as well.

This is a Pinocchio retelling and Klune does an amazing job of making it unique. The characters are so lovable, Rambo and Nurse Ratched being the stand-outs! These two created some amazing and hilarious moments that truly had me laughing out loud!

Unfortunately, I think this one was a little too unique for my liking. I'm not a fantasy reader but I gave both The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under The Whispering Door 5 stars (they remain top reads for me even years later), and this one missed the mark for me a little bit. I felt the romance subplot was unnecessary and really didn't add to a plot that mainly (and wonderfully) focused on friendship and found family.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the digital copy. This review is honest and voluntary.

A gay scifi mashup of Pinnochio, Frankenstein, and The Wizard of Oz which is as intriguing as that sounds and way more moving and delightful than it might suggest.

Android Gio Lawson and his human son, Victor, live in isolation in a forest and have created a home and a family. They are both inventors and creators but Victor is much more adventurous, going out into the scrap yards to collect material for his work. On one visit he finds a dumped pile of androids which have all been stripped apart except one, which he takes home and is able to re-animate, but the advent of Hap into their home brings unexpected consequences: a mysterious delegation from the Authority arrives and takes Gio off to the City of Electric Dreams. Vic, Hap, and their two robot companions - the Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate, and Drill, aka Nurse Ratched, and Rambo the vacuum cleaner - set off on a quest to bring him home.

In what is quite a dark tale, there is much entertainment to be had in the banter between the robots with Nurse Ratched’s tongue in cheek toughness and little Rambo’s desire to please. The journey that the family undertakes is full of the sort of tests and pitfalls that any hero’s journey contains and the author is brave enough to leave the ending with a few ends untied.

This is a more sophisticated and nuanced novel than Klune's two previous adult novels, The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door and also more adult - literally, as it's way more overt about sex, as well as in tone. The world is much more expansive and open with a more complicated back story, though for me this didn’t work as well as the smaller more contained worlds in the other novels. The characters are more complex and ambiguous in their motivations while retaining charm and warmth. Klune’s enduring themes of humanity and what it means to be human, what it means to love and be loved, what it means to be accepted and offer acceptance are woven throughout.

While this is a marvelous and lovely scifi novel, I found I missed the uniquely pillowy sweetness of Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door but still highly recommend it, particularly to those who like a bit more edge than it seems I do in the case of Mr Klune.

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for the digital review c

TJ Klune has crafted another stellar, heartwarming tale with his latest novel. A story about a young man and his robot friends on a mission to rescue someone they love, In the Lives of Puppets may be TJ Klune’s most bighearted novel yet.

Victor, a rare human, lives deep in the woods with his android father, Giovanni, and their robot friends. They pass their time tinkering with new inventions, foraging for scrap parts in the junkyard and watching old movies. Their routine is peaceful, until the day that Victor finds a discarded android in the junkyard who hasn’t quite been fully decommissioned. Determined to fix the android and give him a new life, Victor brings him home and begins the repairs in secret, naming him Hap.

But this act of generosity will have consequences that Victor never imagined. Hap’s existence draws attention to their retreat in the forest - attracting the eye of a forceful authority that Victor didn’t even know existed. When the authorities leave with the decommissioned body of his father, Victor has no choice but to face his fears and start the impossible journey to rescue Giovanni.

But the world has changed, and it’s not a kind place for humans. Luckily, Victor’s robot pals are joining the rescue party. Disguised as an ugly android, Victor and the group set out on their journey. But in typical TJ Klune style, there are plenty of laughs and quirky characters along the way as they explore philosophical topics of purpose, free will, fulfillment, identity, love, and family.

By the end of the book, your heart will be bursting with such love and affection for these characters, you’ll forget that only one of them is "human." I love how TJ Klune always builds a world of characters who challenge us to love harder and be better, kinder people, and this novel is no exception.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for the arc!

Gio is a man but not like any other men because he's a robot living in the forest with his son The Inventor (Victor) , an anxiety riddled vacuum (Rambo), a sociopathic nursing machine ( Nurse Ratched), and HAP ( Hysterically Angry Puppet) together they shared a house built on trees.
Victor likes to create and play with robots and androids he's Gio's son but he is a human the only human in this house.
Every other day, Victor goes to the scrap yards to salvage some stuff the machines has dropped in order to repair, but one day he, Rambo, and Nurse Ratched come up on a robot that still has power and Victor couldn't stop himself from taking him back to the lab in order to fix and repair him. Now, HAP has joined this strange found family but what Victor didn't know that bringing him back and repairing him will cost him a lot.

In a world where humans don't exist anymore, where there's only robots and androids we will read Vic's story about his journey to discover himself, help his father, and face the unknown.

This is my first time reading a Sci-fi novel, it was good and a different experience I won't say I was overjoyed but it was nice for a change.
My favourite characters were Rambo and Nurse Ratched they made me laugh so much and they added the needed humour to the story while at the same being emotional and friendly.
So if you are into this genre, I would recommend you to pick up this book once its released.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #InTheLivesOfPuppets in exchange for my honest review.

Xoxo💋

A central theme of In the Lives of Puppets is freewill, the essence of humanity. Vic may very well be the last human left alive, and the robot he finds (HAP – aka Hysterically Angry Puppet) was specifically designed to eradicate the human race. We are treated to a textbook version of the events leading up to the robot apocalypse and the annihilation of humanity. And we are also shown that some of the robots have been able to break free of their programming and make their own decisions.

With all the recent discussions about Artificial Intelligence, the idea of robots developing emotions is one that should be considered. (And often is, let’s be real here.) The robots that make up Victor’s family experience sadness, loyalty, bravery, determination. They are every bit as human as the human they protect. It very much reminded me of Humans, in that it explores love and friendship between humans and androids and delves into how much humanity can be in a machine.

Like Klune’s other works, it features a queer romance, and a very non-traditional one. After all, Vic is human, and Hap is decidedly not. I like the idea of this more than the execution, primarily because I had trouble feeling the connection between the two characters. I suppose it’s because Vic has lived an extremely isolated life, and Hap’s memory was wiped so this is the only existence he knows. It’s a desert island romance; are the feelings genuine, or because they’re the only people they know?

Similarly, while I appreciate that Vic identifies as asexual – as asexual protagonists are not very common – it seems disingenuous that he lives set apart from the rest of society. He may be the only human left in existence. How could he possibly know that he doesn’t experience sexual attraction if he’s never been around anyone else? The book has an explanation, but the situation bothered me.

Nonetheless, Vic and Hap’s tentative exploration of something that is brand-new for the both of them is very charming. I will still count this as a win for ace representation because Vic is at least portrayed as having emotions, which a lot of ace characters are not. I didn’t expect to emotionally identify with robots, but I found myself weeping as I read the last few chapters. (Although, really, are you surprised?) The ending is bittersweet, but hopeful enough to be somewhat satisfying. I will admit that this isn’t my favorite book of Klune’s. But I do think it’s an enjoyable read.

Who am I to dislike a book starring an anxious Roomba? Clearly, Roombas are ALL anxious. The personification of one is something we all needed.

I thought it was a one off for me to love strange creatures and a sci-fi/fantasy combo when I read The House in the Cerulean Sea but Klune has done it again. I absolutely loved this story and its characters. I haven't laughed out loud at a book in a while but the quick-wit in this one is just perfect and the lines are delivered in such an endearing way. This one is heartwarming, challenging and sweet without being saccharine. The audio of this one is absolutely perfect...it adds even more to the already big personalities. Definitely recommend!

This is definitely the strangest of Klune's books so far, and I occasionally found it to be a bit much, but overall it was every bit as charming, heartwarming, and poignant as I expect Klune's works to be. The premise of a Pinocchio retelling was interesting, and it kept enough of the same basic elements to be recognizable, but recombined them in intellegent, relevant new ways that made the story wholly its own.
I highly recommend this book to young adults AND adults, sci-f/dystopia fans, and especially to geeks of all kinds (the many geek-culture references were one of my favorite parts). An excellent read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for an ARC of this book!

4.5 STARS

Available on April 25, this imaginative retelling of Pinocchio was just the heartwarming diversion my reading life needed. Deep in the forest, in a whimsical treehouse home, Victor Lawson, a human, lives with three robots: Giovanni Lawson, an extremely human-like android and the only father Victor has ever known, Nurse Ratched, a salvaged (and slightly sociopathic) healthcare machine, and Rambo, a sentient and very anxious Roomba. Their lives together are filled with generally safe adventure, camaraderie, and peace, but when Vic, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo reanimate a mysterious android (named Hap, or Hysterically Angry Puppet) they found in the scrapyard, their lives are turned upside down.

If you've loved T.J. Klune's other books, or are looking for something full of delight, love, and adventure, go ahead and preorder. Special thanks to Tor Books and Netgalley for the ARC! (FYI: Do note that this one is a bit more adult in tone than THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA or UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR, in my opinion.)

I found this book to be incredibly lovely and a fascinating take on the story of Pinocchio. I would call this book a combination of Wall-E and Pinocchio (with a dash of Frankenstein mixed in because you don't have a character named Victor who puts parts together and creates a man without that kind of connotation).

Victor, a human, lives with his father, Gio, an android, and two other robot family members, a sociopathic nurse droid named Nurse Ratched and the most adorable vacum in the world, Rambo. They live in a series of tree houses cobbled together in a forest in a dystopia where humans are hunted to extinction and machines rule the world. Klune has clearly given a lot of thought to the type of world this is and the mistakes that are repeated by the robot overlords.

When Victor discovers another android, HAP, and brings him home to his father, this triggers a series of events that has him and his found family traveling across the country to rescue his father.

Klune has such a way of writing found families. The characters here made me laugh and made me emotional and I had so much fun with this book that also made me think about the nature of humanity and this world and the nature of our relationship to machines. What is love and in what ways is it unconditional.

I would do anything for Rambo - he has my entire soul.

Thank you SO much to Tor books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited when I saw that I was approved for this ARC, even though I’ve had mixed feelings about T. J. Klunes’ other works. I loved Under the Whispering Door so much, but I couldn’t really get into The House in the Cerulean Sea and ended up not finishing it.

Overall, this book kind of has weird vibes and at the beginning I was pretty confused by the plot, but neither of those things were bad. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how Vic’s background was developed (without spoiling anything) but I know I’m probably the only one bothered by that. The general concept was really interesting and I liked the twist towards the end. I actually don’t think I’ve read a book centered around robots before and I’m not sure it’s something I’ll pick up again, it just wasn’t my favorite aspect of the story. I really liked the ending though, I’m always a big fan of a semi-ambiguous ending and this really worked for me. 3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Tor Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

All the stars! Just like the other TJ Klune books I’ve read, this felt cozy without being low-stakes. I laughed out loud and nearly cried several times. The characters are delightful, from an anxiety ridden vacuum to a slightly sociopathic robot nurse RATCHED. I now need to read Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio to fully understand the inspiration.

I love books with AI charactes and robots, and this Pinocchio-esque story of found family and survival was enchanting. Nurse Ratched, the snatky, slightly angry and violent med robot, was my favorite. Rambo is a gullible, faithful vacuum with an everlasting optimism. This would appeal to those who love Becky Chambers' Psalm for the Wild-Built.

I just finished the book I have lovingly been calling “The Robot Book” and my heart is full in ways I never expected.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book about creator androids. A Pinocchio retelling involving robots sounded interesting, but I didn’t expect to have half the joy or any of the heart feels that I do having now finished it.

First, if you are a found family lover, this book is your North Star. The found family and loving relationships had by these ROBOTS is endearing and magical in all the best ways.

We have our slightly angry Nurse robot whose empathy protocol is hardly ever enacted but yet loves anyway. We have a Roomba named Rambo who loves musicals, and throws trash into the air and calls it confetti. The creator, Gio who is a robot with a dark past who decided to create a different reality for himself.

And we have Vic. Our little human who we will tear down the world for.

This book is endearing, full of love in all of its complicated forms, and by the end I am finishing this feeling so hopeful.

I have so many thoughts, and honestly if you would have told me last week this robot book would be giving me an existential crisis I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are.

I’m in heaven.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune continues the heartwarming, quirky, found family, and romantic themes from The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door. In the Lives of Puppets is a fun retelling of Pinocchio and explores what it means to be human. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where androids and robots are sentient, the story focuses on an android, his adopted human son, and their robot friends. When one of the family is stolen away, the others set out on an adventure to get them back.
This book was an entertaining romp, and fans of TJ Klune's previous heartwarming books will also enjoy this book. While I enjoyed this book, of the three books, this one is my least favorite. The humor was more crude in a way that felt unnecessary, overdone, and inserted simply for shock value. And while sweet, I felt less invested in the romance from this book. Overall I still recommend it to fans of TJ Klune. I recommend reading Becky Chamber's A Psalm for the Wild-Built, which shares many similar themes with In the Lives of Puppets.

3.5/5

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune will be available on April 25, 2023.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

TJ Klune has done it again, y’all.

It’s hard to pinpoint a reason why many readers instantly add this author’s releases to their libraries. Between the heartwarming characters such as Gio and Rambo, the random punchlines perfected by Nurse Ratched, and the glorious world-building of Vic’s futuristic, apocalyptic world, Klune has created another masterpiece.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see In The Lives of Puppets next to modern classics within the next few decades. If it doesn’t win several awards, this reader will be shocked.