Mix robots with classic tales of love and family and you get in the lives of puppets.

I found this difficult to read, not because of the story but because of the writing style but that’s my own personal preference. The character are very lovable, but I found it difficult to keep track of what was going on.

Such a fun and thought provoking read. What is love? What is family? This feels like an homage to Pinocchio and Frankenstein with strong Wizard of Oz vibes. Can the tin man feel love? Does he need a heart?
My favourite thing about this book is the humour, it elevates the whole story into something really special. Rambo and Nurse Ratched have both earned their place in my heart with their very unique personalities.
A definite recommend.

This book! It’s a rich tableau of quirky characters, humanity in all its forms, and a dystopian android world. It questions what makes a human different from a machine, what happens if machines had a conscience and a heart? Is that what makes us human or is it more? Is it a soul that cannot be seen? I’m officially questioning everything and I’m obsessed with it.
I adored the characters in this book. They all had their own distinct personalities and were incredibly charming in their own ways. Humour is woven throughout this book and it kept me laughing throughout but it also had me crying and I never expect anything else from T.J. Klune. The world building was incredible and the imagination vivid. I devoured this book in a day and soaked up all the love from this unconventional found family of blood and wires, jumping into their adventures and anxiously waiting to see what happened next. There were plot twists and action, heartache and happiness, and everything balanced out so beautifully. It’s the best book I’ve read this year!

This is the first book I have read by this author and it will definitely not be the last. The retelling of Pinnochio but with robots and it works. Wonderful characters and I fell in love with all of them. A story with heart, funny and just so endearing. I was transported into this world and I did not want to leave. Masterful storytelling and great escapism. A must read, off to Amazon to find more of this very talented author's work.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Klune and have loved every book I've read so far. In the Lives of Puppets wasn't quite on the same level as Cerulean or Whispering Door for me but I did thoroughly enjoy it!

Nurse Ratched is a peach! She was by far and away my favourite character, she was hilarious and most of my highlights were hers. She was simply excellent. Rambo was notable also as the slightly adorable, at times slightly dimwitted, fiercely loyal, bouncy spaniel of the group, the perfect balance to Ratched's fiery, blunt, sociopathic nature.

There was, as always, the trademarks I have come to expect with Klunes work, the things that make me love them. Soft, sweet moments, hilarious one liners, a deep undertone, and found family (of sorts) This work was slightly different, it had a dystopian theme about it and, at times, dark and brutal moments.

Despite it not being my favourite Klune, it still holds a place in my heart and on my shelves, I look forward to reading it again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the early access

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I think T J Klune just has a way of writing such lovable characters, my favourite was definitely Rambo, and he’s just good at really showing you the bond that the characters have with each other. I loved how he didn’t just tell you that these characters had a strong family bond but actually showed you that they did through his writing and how the characters interacted with each other.

Also really enjoyed how the ending wasn’t super neat and tidy and everything was 100% fixed with the world. I think he gave it a realistic ending given what’s happened with these characters, which made me love the book even more.

I do, however, wish that the book was slightly longer just so we got more of a chance to learn more about the world and the aftermath of the key events in the book. I did feel that after the main event in the book, the ending seemed a bit rushed and I wish we had had an extra 50 or so pages to really explore the aftermath for the characters more.

But overall, really enjoyed this!

Having read this authors previous works I was interested to see what he would do with an adult retelling of Pinocchio.
I think he did the fairytale justice as it is retold with machines in place of humans and a human in place of the puppet. It was a tad slow to start with and I didn't feel myself engaged until around 40% but after that I really got into the book. I throloughy enjoyed the way the author played on aspects of humanity and how machines/robots don't have them, thus the MCs friends are constantly learning and adapting around his human self.
Around the last 20% it felt like it was coming to a close all too soon, I'd just gotten attached to all of the characters and it was quite an emotional ending.
I would read this again for sure and recommend to anyone else looking for a good retelling.

In the Lives of Puppets is a strange sci fi story that follows Victor, a human who lives secluded in the forest, and the ragtag group of robots that make up his family.

At its core it is a story about love, friendship and humanity, loosely inspired by Pinocchio. Unfortunately it did not hook me in, and I think the main reason was that I did not connect with the characters. Victor is interesting enough, but I was not enchanted by his trio of companions. I think their quirks were meant to be endearing and humorous, but honestly, most of the time I found them confusing and weird. T. J. Klune has had plenty of 'weird' characters in his other books that I have found charming in their own unique way, but for some reason that just didn't happen for me this time.

If you do connect with the characters, then I'm convinced this would be a beautiful, emotionally impactful book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for allowing me to read and arc of this book.

TJ Klune is a favourite author of mine and I enjoy his books so much, so I was so excited to get a chance to read In The Lives Of Puppets a month early.

I went in to this book not knowing much about the plot, just that it was a queer Pinocchio retelling. I wasn’t expecting the futuristic setting and apocalyptic feel, but it added a very cool element to the story and I really enjoyed it.

At first I did find a couple of the characters a bit annoying, but by the end of the story, they’d grown on me and I really liked the part they played in the adventure and journey.

Hap was my favourite character and I really loved the slow build of his and Victor’s relationship.

If you’re a Green Creek fan, like myself, you might spot a Joe and Ox reference thrown in the mix too.

I love T J Klune writing and this did not disappoint. A very loose retelling of Pinocchio that I enjoyed from start to finish. If you have read any of his previous books then I am sure this will hit the spot.
The characters are written so well and I felt like I was in the story with them. 100% recommend.

As always with Klune's books there is a whimsical edge to the writing and the characters are full of heart and so earnest and engaging. However, there was something lacking in this book compared to several others by Klune that I have read.

The main cast of characters was excellent, as was the plot and it moved along reasonably steadily. It's an engaging book and it flows along well.

This was a weird book but an endearing one and I enjoyed my time with Victor, Hap, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo. Some of the dialogue was truly amusing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Wolfsong last year, TJ Klune jumped up my list as one of my all time favourite authors, so naturally I’ve been very excited for this! I’m also a big fan of retellings and have yet to read a Pinocchio retelling, so I was so intrigued by this story!

We started off strong, I fell in love with the characters and the story immediately and wanted only the best for Vic, Nurse Ratched, Rambo and the others. Nurse Ratched and Rambo’s mannerisms and responses had me cackling, I love how much personality these little androids had.

I did find around the 50% mark it started to lose my attention a little bit. What I initially found endearing about Nurse Ratched and Rambo became a little repetitive and the journey to finding Gio got a little tedious.

The ending definitely pulled it back for me and I ended up enjoying it overall, but it’s not my favourite TJ Klune book. It has the quirkiness and found family of his other books, but the overall plot lacked a little bit for me.

TJ Klune is a master craftsman when it comes to creating unique, loveable characters ~(Please see Lucy et al in The House in the Cerulean Sea) and he's done it again with The Lives of Puppets.

A Sociopathic nurse robot and a neurotic vacuum cleaner called Rambo? What's not to love?

Together with Gio, the father figure and Vic, his son, they live an idyllic, sheltered lifestyle in the forest, residing high about the trees in a network of treehouses connected by bridges. One day something happens that forces them out of their home and out into the world to try to save Gio from a colony of robots whose sole mission is to rid the planet of humanity.

Ok, that sounds a bit bleak, but it isn't, I swear! I laughed my way through this book and loved every minute of it. There is definitely an element of social commentary about how we treat the planet, but essentially it is a fun, dystopian science fiction novel that had m wanting more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was weird and wonderful and i honestly do not know what I was expecting before going into this book because I didn’t even read the synopsis I just saw tj klune had a new book and knew I needed to read it, but it wasn’t robots and machines and yet I loved every second.

This story is full of whimsy and delightful characters that are chaotic, unique and full of heart. It’s thoughtful, full of love and family, much like Klunes other books, and is a great read!

Unfortunately upon learning T.J. Klune appropriated the sixties scoop and erased the history of natives I have a sour taste in my mouth regarding this book. I’m a true believer in people being able to be reformed and sometimes just need to be educated to then move forward. However Klune’s reluctance to acknowledge this is not okay.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: In The Lives of Puppets
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): TJ Klune
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Sci Fi
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 25th April 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5

“What humans failed to understand is that by making us in their image, we wanted to become more than them. How could we not?”

When I found out that TJ Klune was doing a Science fiction Pinocchio retelling I was VERY excited.

Now that I have read his science fiction Pinocchio retelling I am ecstatic! It was so much more than I thought it was going to be.

“And so there they stood, one man and one machine under an infinite field of stars, the desert flying by in front of them as they flew toward the unknown. Behind them, the road led back into darkness, the ashes of their home.
But home didn’t have to be a place.”

Klune’s typically wistful writing blended with a sociopathic robot nurse, an over enthusiastic hoover, a killing machine that doesn’t want to kill, a human who’s very existence needs protecting, and an inventor who gave them all a choice and a home, makes for a wildly heartwarming, funny, and entertaining story.

Nobody does found family like TJ Klune does.

The dynamics between the characters are my favourite part of this story, they could all be going to the supermarket and I’d have the best time simply because I was reading about them. Klune has created a cast of characters that are compelling, unwittingly hilarious, exasperating, and above all, lovable.

The plot itself was good, but I have to say it really is the characters that make this story shine.

“This is yours. You can do with it whatever you want. Make whatever you wish.”
“Whatever I wish?” He glanced over his shoulder at Victor, and for a moment, it was as if his father was with him again, whole. “What if I wish for impossible things?”
“Then you’re doing it right. It always seems impossible when you first start.”

𝑲𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉 @ 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒚
🧚‍♀️🤍

In the Lives of Puppets is a heart-warming and hilarious tale of acceptance, forgiveness and humanity. I laughed and I cried, feeling every emotion from shame to wonder. I adored it.

The story follows Victor, a man raised by his surrogate father, Gio in a world populated with robots. When Victor finds and fixes a robot designed to destroy humans, it triggers a train of events that leads Victor and his companions to the City of Electric Dreams and the mysterious Blue Fairy, Victor's companions were such incredible characters - Nurse Ratched, the psychopathic nurse robot, and Rambo, the delightfully naive vacuum. I don't want to reveal too much about the comparisons and links to Pinocchio for fear of giving spoilers but they are wonderfully clever.

I heard about T.J.Klune's book, The House in the Cerulean Sea, when it came out to rave reviews but this is the first book by the author I have read. I am now desperate to read the others they have written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance read of this glorious story.

If you want a book with strong characters and laugh out loud moments then TJ Klune is the author for you. If you read any of his other work such as the house on the cerulean sea, then you'll be familiar with his writing style. Klune makes captivating stories that challenge many human issues we have today, but does it in a delicate, emotive way. This story was at times tragic, sad but absolutely hilarious throughout, with Rambo being the best character. I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read an advanced review copy of this book, and it's definitely one I'll be purchasing.

My review is not for the book itself but the format it came in! As I only read on my kindle, the book was unreadable for me as the layout was all over the place. Only read a chapter or so but DNF since hard to read down to the poor layout.

“I think you’re full of garbage, Rambo said, beeping mournfully. Like me."

3 5 stars rounded up to 4. I love TJ Klune's writing and have really enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door and the Green Creek saga. This sci-fi Pinnochio retelling certainly has the usual Klune blend of unusual, charming, and loveable characters.

I think where this book fell a little bit flatter for me in contrast to some of Klune's other work is that it felt very plot driven, with an adventure style quest, rather than a stronger focus on character growth (with the exception of Hap) or quieter moments once we're out of the first third.

Part of that might be due to the fact that in this story we're not really inside the head of the character who has the most growth or is finding a new family, but rather Victor who has already found the family he wants, whom he is now trying very much to keep. The ending also wraps up a little too quickly and neatly for my liking. Still very much enjoyed and would recommend to anyone who wants a faster paced light sci-fi read.

Also 10/10 would die for Rambo :)