ENGAGING EMPATHY PROTOCOL

<i>”To love something meant loving the ghost inside, to be haunted by it.”</i>

Well I’ll be damned. TJ Klune has managed to do it again. However before I dive into my review, let me tell you that it would be absolutely CRIMINAL, downright OFFENSIVE, and an abuse of the acutest kind, not to read this (at least in part) through Daniel Henning’s masterful audiobook narration.

Every single voice (and there is <i>quite</i> the cast, this is a TJK book after all) is so absolutely perfect and distinct. From Rambo’s quirky, chirpy, anxiety induced manic voice, to Nurse Ratched’s calm, cool, and collected sociopath voice, to Hap’s stutter and scowling that you can just <i>hear</i> come across, this was absolutely genius. It truly made this feel like it was coming to life off the page for me and had me in a chokehold. You can tell Daniel really took each and every character and made them his whole world, every single one of them was important to him and he nailed all of them. Their quirks,their personalities — these are robots!, all felt so real and authentic. None of them bled into the other and the way in which the audiobook seamlessly moves from one character to another in quick succession is mind-bending, it brings the dialogue to life, it brings the emotions to the fore front, it makes the jokes funnier.

As someone who listens to audiobooks near daily and probably over 70 every year, this is one of the best. Daniel’s talent is simply top tier, and it certainly helps that he’s been a narrator for some of TJK’s other books, including Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door, so that intimacy, that innate <i>knowing</i> of just how these characters should sound, their cadences, their pitch and pauses, it all renders perfectly to faithfully capture and render Klune’s words. My eternal gratitude to MacMillan for my complimentary audiobook of this. It truly MADE my reading experience and I turned through the pages following along.

Phew— ok, now for the actual book review itself…

If you consider this within the context of TJ Klune’s most recent adult books, House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door, this will feel more like Cerulean Sea, in terms of the warm fuzzies. Whispering Door tackled death and grief, regrets and what comes after, and while some of that bleeds into In the Lives of Puppets, this feels on the whole more uplifting than the somber tones in Whispering Door. That said, when I think about Puppets, I like to think of it as its own thing, so I add the comparison above only in case its helpful in deciding how you may want to approach this and perhaps what to expect emotionally.

<b>“Absolutely nothing to it. I would be impressed except I do not find idiocy impressive. If I did, I would flirt with you.” </b>

In the Lives of Puppets sees Klune really lean into his sharp humor, bringing us the absolutely wondrous sociopathic nurse robot, Nurse Ratched, and the anxiety filled yet perennial golden retriever-esque roomba, Rambo. The comedic relief and sheer joy these characters brought me was insane.

<b>“You need to tell him the truth. I want to watch as you stare at the floor and give him flimsy excuses. ‘You’re supposed to be on <i>my</i> side.’ I know, I am a traitor. I feel terrible about it. I cannot wait.”</b>

I couldn’t stop actually laughing out loud at their exchanges and I would truly trade all of humanity for Nurse Ratched, my lady knows her worth & does not settle! Infusing such charm and personality into robots that still feel like robot friends is something I never knew i needed but man does it work so well here. You never forget that they’re robots, but you definitely come to see them as family, which is a feat Klune pulls off.

<b>”It’s going to be a bloodbath, I’ll have to try to clean up VIc’s remains. At least he’ll always be a part of me then. I love you, Vic, even when you’re in pieces, your flesh hanging from the ceiling—“</b>

Victor, our quiet human heart keeping them all connected is both a delicate, precious puppy I want to cuddle and also shows tremendous emotional resilience, maturity, and quiet strength that blew me away at parts. He added the balance needed from our rambunctious robotic duo above, and feels like someone the audience can slip themselves into.

Gio and Hap are in many ways very similar and in others so different. Without going into spoilers, I’ll just say that I loved their interactions because they always pushed each of them in different ways. Hap’s journey was hard fought and I couldn’t have been a bigger cheerleader for him. He’s grumpy, he’s gloomy, he’s confused and maybe a Hysterically Angry Puppet, but he’s OUR Hysterically Angry Puppet and I love him. Gio, ugh my heart broke for him in some moments, then in others I struggled to want to forgive him, and ultimately I think that’s the complicated point Klune is trying to tackle. What does our past say about ourselves and can people love the versions of ourselves we become later? Should they? While the conclusion on this front may perhaps feel unfinished, I think it’s fair and something Klune would have us determine for ourselves instead of through Victor.

<b>”’Stick together!’
‘Run if we have to.’
No dallying!’
No drilloing, though I will amend that proclamation should the need arise.’
And a-above all else, b-be brave.’”</b>

From the beginning through to the end you can feel the inspirations Klune had, Pinocchio, The Robinson’s, and the Wizard of Oz, and those inspirations and feels translate perfectly to make this feel like an enchanting adventure. While at times dark, this retains its air of whimsy, of a beloved rag tag crew just trying to save their friend and go back home. It will feel familiar in a comforting way that really just brought back all the childhood warm fuzzies.

<b>”’You’re my surviving family.’
‘Oh. Well. Engaging Empathy Protocol. That was very nice of you to say. You are wonderful. Disengaging Empathy Protocol. Idiot. I am going to sleep now. Do not bother me unless you are on fire. Even the, I will do little to help you.’”</b>

It might feel simple, it might not <b>feel</b> groundbreaking or revolutionary, and maybe it’s not in some ways— in it’s message, in some of the tropes and storytelling components or inspirations, but the ability to bring this all together adeptly, to create a story that sucks you in and holds you until the end, a story full of vibrant characters who are LITERALLY robots— even the roomba we all have and stupidly name, a story that is so wonderfully queer and normalizes that, that gives you the positive, loving HEAs you want, I think is shows true talent and is just as important and needed. This still blew me away and it’s a story I know I’ll return to again and again, a story I know I’ll want to share with friends.

“<b>” You g-gave me life. You gave me friends. You gave me p-purpose. My strings have b-been cut, and it’s because of you.”</b>

Thank you so much Tor and TJ Klune for my ARC and galley, this is everything I didn’t know I needed and more.

TJ Klune has become an author whose adult books are an auto-buy for me. The cover art draws me in and I honestly have a hard time starting them because I so badly want them to be amazing. Then once I get into the book, I fall in love with the characters so much. This books does this just as well as Under the Whispering Door and House in the Cerulean Sea even though the plot itself is so unique. Klune's inclusion of some of the more fringe personalities and character types is so wholesome and never for shock value or ticking off boxes of what's trendy. I relate so much to this character and it's so nice to feel seen.

The plot itself is interesting and fun. It has the same drama but heartwarming vibes that you see in his other books. I really don't have much to say other than I once again am left with a little hole in my heart where I wish this book could stay for longer.

Why does TJ Klune do this to me? In the Lives of Puppets is funny, sweet, adventurous, melancholy, and so emotional. It's about family, choice, and the power of love. Victor was perfectly messy and complicated, Rambo delightfully happy and innocent, Hap curmudgeonly but determined, and Nurse Ratched self-confident and sociopathic.

Nurse Ratched just might be my hero.

I've seen some mixed reviews, but I honestly enjoyed this book immensely. I love the way the inversion of the Pinocchio tale helps delve into what it means to be human, and the City of Electric Dreams was fascinating. I feel like there was a bit of Animal Farm themes, with the way the Authority ran the city.

The end of this book wrecked me, as I knew it would, while still giving hope. And showing that while things change, people change, we can still choose love. Yes, there were some questions that went unanswered, but I didn't mind them.

This was my first introduction to tj klune and I was pleasantly impressed. This was a fun and magical ride, I already ordered two copies because I’m that obsessed.

I am huge fan of this author, but this book left me not so impressed. I felt no emotions where I felt I should? The book felt long, and I could not get on board with the pyscho-nurse-robot or "falling in love" with a robot- honestly gave me more Stockholm syndrome than love at first sight?
I still got hooked in the story and wanted to keep reading, but there aren't many people I would think to recommend this to- it would take a distinct taste!

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. I love the heart in TJ Klune's writing and that shines through in this book. However, I felt like the beginning unfolds for more than half the book then the story has to come to a conclusion so the book rushes to finish. I found the scene in Heaven to be really strange and the ending left me wanting more because I wanted more time with the characters.

The Lives Of Puppets by TJ Klune
I give this book 4.5 stars

In a strange little home live three robots – fatherly inventor android Gio,a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for attention. Victor, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.
The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled ‘HAP’, things start to unravel.Gio is captured and taken back to the City of Electric Dreams. So together, Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country on a mission to rescue Gio.

TJ Klune has done it again!
I’m not a huge fan of sci fi but the author has managed to create robots that are such fully developed characters that they feel humanised and you can’t help but love them all. Nurse Ratched and Rambo are absolutely brilliant and the banter is hilarious. A truly quirky found family adventure exploring love and hope that is loosely based on Pinocchio.lve got to mention the world building as it was so vivid I could imagine being there.
With thanks to Netgalley,TJ Klune and Tor Publishing Group for my chance to read and review this book

This was a really interesting modern take on the Pinocchio story, My favorite character was the little robot vacuum with anxiety. The characters were relatable, even in mechanical form, which is always a sign of excellent character building. I liked it a lot, but I pretty much love anything by TJ Klune!

I loved jumping into another book by T.J. Klune. In the Lives of Puppets is another great addition to his catalog of already great books. The descriptions in this book are vivid and I loved the pacing. You get to know and love the characters. Loved following their journey through this forest and world.

4.5 stars
Man, these characters. They had my heart from literally the first page. Especially Nurse Ratched and Rambo. Just the things they came up with had me laughing throughout the entire book. It was so interesting to see how they reacted with Vic since he is the only human and everyone else are robots. It was just so heartwarming that they really tried to understand him and even took on some of his "humanisms."
I think I liked the first part of the book the best, I just loved getting to know the characters and their peaceful life in the woods except when they were at the Scarp Yards salvaging items. When they are found and Gio (Vic's dad/creator) is taken to the City of Electric Dreams, it was an exciting journey and I was really interested to see how if they would be able to get him back. There was an ENDING and there was an ending. The ENDING was so fast paced and exciting and thought provoking. The ending really wrapped everything up nicely. Though it was just snippets for the most part, it painted a fantastic picture of life after the ENDING. It didn't give us a perfectly happy ending, but it gave us a hopeful ending.

I want to be very clear, while this book is not for me, I 100% know that many people will love this book, so please take what I'm saying only so far as one person's review will go. I am not everyone. I am just one person with very specific tastes.

I tried really hard to like this book. And there are some really great things about this book that I did like, but even with those great things, this book just wasn't it for me.

Pros:
The writing itself was great.
Some of the characters were funny, well-written, and enjoyable.

Cons:
At 40% I still didn't exactly know what was the point of the book. It was very slow-paced, and if you've seen any of my other reviews or DNF's. you'll know that just isn't my thing.
The "character flaws" are pointed our so regularly one must assume they are a major point of the book but can it really be a flaw if it is so in your face and called out by name? I'm more of a subtle working through flaws kind of person.

I feel like there were more on both pro & con but that is enough for now to make my points.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune.

So, this is actually out of my comfort zone and I don't usually read books like this. I wanted to switch it up to see if I would fall in love with fantasy vibes. Well,..... unfortunately, I couldn't connect or get invested in this book at all.

The book was very long and I felt it was a bit repetitive especially in regards to what makes humanity and the importance of humanity.

A lot about kindness and just not my cup of tea at all. I'm a big fan of dark and intense books.

Well... yes so many enjoy this author and I'd give it a try if you're a fan of his.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 stars

Pub date: 4/25/23
Published to GR: 4/2/23

I've read several of Klune's book by now, and this follows many of the same beats that made his other books so widely appealing. There is a cast of quirky characters. and real love and friendship and family shared between them. There is also an over-arching theme of forgiveness and kindness and humanity. This, along with this being a loose retelling of Pinocchio, will make this very heartwarming book to offer to customers. I also felt like this book took many cues from The Wizard of Oz.

Klune is a really excellent story teller. His books are creative and immensely readable. I very easily soared through this in one evening.

The premise of this book is okay but I just couldn’t get into it. Not enough was really happening. Not enough action. Couldn’t connect with any of the characters.

This might be my favorite TJ Klune yet! Instantly, I fell in love with the characters and each for their own reason. Rambo the Roomba and Nurse Ratched the medical bot, especially. I laughed so many times and tabbed sections both large and small to look back on to remember later. Vic is asexual, and I can't comment on the representation since I do not identify as the same, but I would love to hear from those that do since there are not many ace main characters in the books that I have read. Loosely Pinocchio-inspired, but I definitely do not consider this a modern retelling of that tale, but rather something new all its own.

"'Tell me, Victor Lawson,' the Doorman said. 'What are you willing to do to get him back?' And Vic said, 'Anything. Everything.'"

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

3.25 stars

I really liked the premise of this book, and the side characters are so lovable. However, I did not care about Vic or Hap at all. It makes the story drag.

I found the first 30% painfully slow and almost difficult to get through. That being said, I am glad I stuck with it. I think that the journey and message of the story are worth it.

I just really wish Victor had a personality. I feel like there were parts of him I really related too but he fell short for me. It was disappointing since Klune usually has a completely loveable cast of characters.

Nurse Ratched and Rambo carry the story character-wise. The Blue-Fairy was interesting but parts of that was so cringe.

I was really excited for this one but it just didn’t meet my expectations after reading Ceridian Sea and Whispering Door.

I wanted so badly to love this one since I am a huge fan of T.J. Klune's most recent two novels (THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA and UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR), but this one just did not live up to the hype for me. It was a verrrrrry slow burn (something that is not atypical for Klune's books in my opinion), and it never really picked up.

I think the biggest problem for me with this one, is I didn't really connect with the Hap character - I'm not sure why, but he just never came "alive" as much as the other characters (no pun intended). I LOVED Nurse Ratched, Rambo, Gio and Vic; you can't deny that Klune does an amazing job of creating characters. Unfortunately, Hap's character fell flat for me and that was a key aspect of the overall enjoyment of the book.

I will say that the plot is completely unique and it was fun to read something fresh! I know my opinion is the minority, so I hope others enjoy this one more than I did. I will 100% be looking forward to reading future Klune novels.

Klune has a following so I will have readers who will be eager to read this book. I loved the concept and the parallels to Pinocchio but the pacing was slow for me and the book seemed too long for the story.

“It is as Gio said. Searching for a connection. Making something out of nothing so the spaces between us do not seem so far.”

This was a really unique and beautiful book!! The side characters are where the book really shines though, there were so many heartwarming and funny moments. The middle of the book dragged on a little long for me, which is why I took off half a star. Otherwise I loved it! 4.5 rounded up.


And some of my fav extra funny quotes:
—
Vic worked the circuit board like a loose tooth, back and forth, back and forth. He was about to let it go and try to dig around it more when it popped free. “Yes,” he said. “Yes.” He waved it down at the others. “I got it!”
“The joy I feel knows no bounds,” Nurse Ratched said. “Huzzah.” Her screen changed to confetti falling around the words CONGRATULATIONS IT’S A GIRL.
—
“You are the only one here with genitalia. There is nothing to fear about them, or the lack of them. It is what it is.”
“Do I have an anus?” Rambo asked.
“No,” Nurse Ratched said. “But you are one, so.”
Rambo beeped in confusion. “I thought I was a vacuum.”
“You are. An anal vacuum.”
“Huh,” Rambo said. “I like learning new things.”
—

I liked this one and thought it was very creative but ultimately I didn’t love it. I didn’t feel deeply connected to either Victor or Hap, which considering they’re the main characters was a detriment to feeling invested in the overall stakes of the plot. I was consistently amused by Rambo and Nurse Ratched and loved the found family dynamics they had going with Victor and Gio, and I thought the setting was interesting and had fun spotting all the Pinocchio allusions (some much more heavy handed than others). Not a fave for me but still pretty good! If there were half stars I’d go 3.5.