Member Reviews

There is something so beautiful in this book, the discussion of humanity and agency over your actions. Nature vs nurture. This is book is also hilariously funny and heartwarming at once.

Giovanni and Victor’s relationship is so deeply developed, we see how Gio’s role as a father impacts his own growth, not just Vic’s. Vic’s own growth then with Hap is then not only mirrored but further explored. Every character is distinct and individual and I love them all but I have to say there is something about Rambo that I love so much.

The last part of the book might be my favourite, the return to normality or rather creation of a new normal shows that it isn’t always easy to adapt after trauma but bit by bit you get there. This might be a new favourite.

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I absolutely adored this book. I actually wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did as I wouldn’t usually go for books with robots in them.

It’s such a warm, fuzzy-feeling kind of book. I loved each of the characters, they connect so well together and are extremely funny - which I wasn’t expecting! Their friendship is just adorable and I loved their character developments throughout the book.

As much as I loved it, I do have a soft spot for THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA which is my favourite thus far - though I haven’t quite finished UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR yet which I’m also really enjoying.

TJ Klune is now 100% one of my favourite authors and definitely an auto-buy author.

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I love TJ Klune, and this latest is no exception. A loose retelling of Pinocchio, it has all the humour, loveable characters and heartfelt moments you'd expect from Klune.

Compared to Cerulean Sea and Whispering Door, this book didn't make me sob as much as those did, and instead reminded me much more of Becky Chamber's novellas. I still love those and this book, but it was definitely a different reading experience to what I expected!

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When I requested this book I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I never expected to be so moved by this beautiful story and I loved everything about it. When I finished reading tears were streaming down my face it was for me a perfect story from beginning to end and a joy to read. The story is a loose retelling of Pinocchio and has some similarities but I actually think it had so much more and the writing was amazing.
There are many funny moments in the book mostly from two of the robots Rambo and Nurse Ratchet and I found myself laughing out loud many times but the book also a much deeper feeling at times and that was done brilliantly well.
I feel this is a read that is better to go into with no preconceptions I did and I think that worked well and I cannot stress enough just what a stunningly beautiful story it was and one that I would highly recommend. Many many thanks to the author TJ Klune it was an amazing experience and a 5 star read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Tor for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I don’t know where to start. How do you review a book that describes the best and the worst of humanity? It’s utterly magnificent.

On the page, Victor Lawson is the son of an inventor, Giovanni Lawson. His only friends are bots. A nurse bot, Nurse Ratched, who wants to kill everything or at least examine their stools, and Rambo, a vacuum cleaner robot who loves singing and never stops talking. Then he gets a new friend, Hap, a robot so damaged that he needs a new heart. They live in the forest but have to make a journey to the City of Electric Dreams (queue Giorgio Moroder music).

A book with 5 main characters (some extras do appear later). One is human the rest are robots and I flipping loved it. It stirs up some many thoughts and feelings about humanity; the good - caring, acceptance of others no matter that they are different, forgiveness,perseverance, and the bad - destruction of our planet, greed, bigotry.

At the heart of this wonderful story is love.

“I know it seems hard, but we have to be brave. Your brain is telling you that you can’t, but you don’t always have to listen to it. Sometimes, it tells you white lies. I know it does to me.”

“We do not fight with swords. We do not fight with guns or bombs or biological warfare. To fix what is in disrepair sometimes means breaking it completely and starting over again.”

If I had the money, I would buy the film rights. Please someone buy the film rights.

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I have a complicated relationship with TJ Klune's books. I will laugh out loud, be visibly moved, and mostly have an amazing time - but there's so often a little niggle that just stops me from enjoying them fully. In the case of In The Lives of Puppets, the pacing was uneven - I felt myself getting less invested as the plot progressed, rather than more: the opposite of the way round it should be. There are some wonderful characters in the book - however, their characteristics are sometimes overplayed to the point of caricature. A queer, scifi adaptation of Pinocchio is a really intriguing idea, but it perhaps could have been done with a lighter touch. That said, I enjoyed the experience of reading this for the majority of the time - there were some settings in particular which were really vivid and interesting, and some of Rambo and Nurse Ratched's one-liners made me laugh out loud. I'll definitely pick up the next TJ Klune book, I just perhaps won't keep my expectations as high.

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My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The story is set in of a post apocalyptic world rules by robots and machines. Our protagonist is a young man who grew up among machines, and is now discovering the world, himself, friendship, and love. At its core, this is a story about forgiveness and family, and what forms it can take. It is also a story of hope, and what it can do move people and groups.

As with the author's previous work, one can't help but fall in love with the characters and their interactions. There is something almost familiar about them - the intimacy that the dialogues instill is one of a kind. There is also the finely balanced tragicomedy permeating the writing, bringing together levity and humour (sometimes Disney-like), and the grim realities of human kind and its creations.

While I can't say that the story is super innovative (more below), it's brought together in such a fine way, using emotions and humaneness, that it's hard not to like and get excited by. This overall view might surprise you, in light of what I will write below, but at its core - this is a great and highly enjoyable novel, and I highly recommend it to lovers of post apocalyptic literature, robot stories, and explorations of the travesties of human actions.

A few words about the flaws (which, again, did not make the book unenjoyable - simply flawed). First, while the story mostly moves organically and has a natural and logical progression, there are a few occasions where a seemingly illogical event changes the story's trajectory in such an obvious way, that it feels almost lazy. The worst offender was the Coachman waving the hand at our protagonists, which is neither here nor there in terms of consistency with the story or indeed the character's prior actions. Another related issue is inconsistencies in the book's internal logic - why would a city of robots have organic effluent in its alleys?

Second, the story has a bit of a fairy tale quality to it, which, I assume, is quite intentional. That being said, this makes the story's evolution somewhat predictable and linear. Few (if any) things surprised me, and it all kind of ends well (the insanely unlikely quest, the chance meetings with characters that essentially help rather than hurt, etc etc). It's just a bit cloying. A would have expected a bit more grimness.

Third, the AI is really described in an uninspired way. I understand the allegorical nature of the story, but the resulting robots and AI are plainly dumb and are far from being well performing computers, even by today's standards. Why would robots with complex AI not be able to replicate a specific function of a previously made robot? Why would robots obsessed with dealing with humans not have / use basic sensors to test for humans everywhere, including, e.g., in their visual sensors?

Lastly, there were just too many echoes of other books in the story. In no particular order: Children of Men, Sea of Rust, The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Cyberiad, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

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3.5
Android inventor Giovanni Lawson finds an abandoned building in a remote, old forest and transforms it into somewhere to live but being so isolated he’s lonely. One day a distraught couple appear, the woman clutches a bundle of rags which proves to be a swaddled child. They beg him to keep the child safe which he gladly does and Gio grows to love him. He names the human boy Victor and there they live in safety with a somewhat sadistic and well named robot Nurse Ratched (Nurse Registered Automaton to Care, Heal, Educate and Drill) and a fearful and anxious vacuum cleaner glorying in the name Rambo. One day, Vic, Nurse Ratched and Rambo visit a graveyard/scrapyard of robots and find a decommissioned android that seems awake. This is Hap (Hysterically Angry Puppet) and Vic soon realises that Gio and Hap are connected in some way. Unfortunately, shortly after Hap’s arrival at their home their safety is compromised. Victor, Rambo, Nurse Ratched and Hap are forced to undertake a perilous journey that will decide their future.

This is a very twisty tale that is loosely (very loosely) based on the story of Pinocchio and there are some clever allusions to it which pays tribute to the inspiration. The premise is good as the ‘heart’ of it examines what being human and humanity means. Love and friendship are also central themes. At times it is very funny, the source of it is usually the androids and there is some excellent banter. The dynamics between this disparate group are really intriguing and they are strangely endearing especially Rambo! There are some vivid descriptions which brings some fantastical, weird scenes alive with a smidgen of the macabre from time to time which is definitely in keeping with the original story.

Although I do admire what TJ Klune has done here, somehow it doesn’t hook me in as his other books do. It’s too long, the plot is distinctly on the thin side and there’s way too much dialogue for my taste. From time to time some of Nurse Ratched’s references make me cringe, I’m sure that’s the authors intention! The ending is a bit of a let down too.

Overall, yes, it’s an original, creative, clever story which many other readers rightly love but I don’t fully connect with it.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan McMillan for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

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Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. An interesting and quirky read, very enjoyable.

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I love Klune’s writing, imagination and approach to story telling. This was no exception.
Wonderfully weird and queer, whilst being very moving!
An absolutely joy to read with fascinating characters.

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There's a reason TJ Klune is my favourite author and it's characters like Victor, Gio, Hap, Rambo and Nurse Ratched that make me a die hard fan.
There is so much humour, love and adventure in this Pinoccio retelling that make it an absolute joy to read. Perfection.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

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All the way through this book was giving me queer pinnochio vibes and I’ve just discovered that was the point. I’m a huge T J Klune fan so I knew I was going to love this! It was just so heartwarming and lovely, it honestly was like a cup of tea in a book.
This is a book about family, love and the freedom to choose who you want to be.

‘Above all else, be brave’

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC of 'In the Lives of Puppets' by TJ Klune.

'In the Lives of Puppets' is a Pinocchio retelling but make it sci-fi. However - for me - it missed out on the heart of Pinocchio and as much as I loved the whole concept of sci-fi retellings and how it would be written, the execution wasn't good for me. I got stumped a lot and a bit confused by the characters over who was who and my brain just felt fried. Is that a me issue? Probably, but we continue. The middle to the end picked it up much easier and I slowly got more into it but I still didn't feel warm and cosy from this story - I just felt happy it was over.

Gutted I didn't enjoy it but someone else will find this book an absolute blessing.

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I went into this book blind. It wasn’t what I expected. However, Klunes writing style made it enjoyable.

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I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

In the Lives of Puppets is the latest book by T J Klune and I've got to say, he smashed it again! With a host of adorable and fun, quirky characters, this was an adventure story you won't forget. The book begins with Gio (Giovanni Lawson) who after leaving the City of Electric Dreams, comes across an abandoned house which he expands and builds additional buildings to to start his new life. He cares for and brings up a human boy, Victor. Victor is the last human on the planet after humans built robots so advanced that they hunted and killed the human race (this part really made me think about how we are constantly upgrading technologies and using robots and machines to do things for us). Victor has two companions, Nurse Ratched (who's sense of humour cracked me up so many times), adorable Rambo who melted my heart, and finds a new robot companion - Hap, in the junk yard. When Gio gets taken,Victor and his quirky group of friends go off to rescue him and bring him home. But this isn't as straight forward as they hoped. Victor has much to contemplate and must understand, come to terms with and deal with so many different things on his journey. This book was so much fun to read and so tender in places too. I've yet to read a book by T J Klune that I don't love with my whole heart. He really does have the most amazing gift of making you feel so much during such imaginative and heartfelt stories.

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'What do you do if you’ve forgotten all you know?'

So here we have what this author writes superbly....our found family: Gio (Dad), Nurse Ratched (hilarious), Rambo (the vacuum!!) Victor - human and Hap - warrior!

They all live in a house in the woods built high in the trees. All is well until one day bad guys turn up and take Gio away and the rest of the gang go off in search to find him.

They journey through the forest, to a curiosity shop, to the City of Electric Dreams, to the Blue Fairy and to the Benevolent Tower and what they find (and find out) blows their minds!

'Stick together
Run if we have to
No dallying.
No drilling.
And above all else, be brave.'

This was so sweet! It was heart-achingly beautiful! There were so many quotes I highlighted and I found myself so immersed I could've lent in and hugged Victor on many occasions!

Nurse Ratched was my utter favourite though. She is sassy, rude, inappropriate and totally hilarious!

'Though you seem to be suffering from an intense anxiety disorder . But that is fine. We are all unique. Victor is asexual. Giovanni is old. And I have sociopathic tendencies that manifest themselves in dangerous situations.'

Another hit from this author and I'm finding myself humming 'heaven, I'm in heaven' all the time!

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I didn’t get the Pinocchio connection at first, it thought it was going to be a tenuous link made for the blurb. But then you get it. Little things that alone don’t make up Pinocchio, but together - wood, inventor, father and son, a whale, the blue fairy, the coachman - then you get the connection and it’s nicely done. He’s not gone down the complete retelling route, or a like for like, it’s somewhere in between. Familiar and comforting but new and exciting.

This isn’t an adaptation of the Disney film. Whilst the film did have some darker moments, it’s ultimately a nice family, child friendly film. This is an adaptation of the original book by Carlo Collodi, which is dark. Darker than you may expect. Therefore this adaptation is not all sunshine and light.

What I love about Klune’s books are they are so full of love and full of being comfortable about love, being allowed to love who you want and that’s so warming and so needed in society.

I’ve read some reviews - and not just of this book - where readers get annoyed that it’s depicting a romance between two men. And besides that being a stupid opinion to have, I don’t think it matters. And I mean that in the best way. I don’t sit here and read Klune’s books focussing on two men being in love. I sit here reading about two characters in love. Does the queer element matter to me? Not particularly, but that’s because I’m lucky enough not to have been prejudiced against because of my sexuality. But to me, it’s a love story. End of. Everyone deserves to be in love.

They may just be stories. They may just be fiction. But they are important stories. They are powerful fiction. To know you’re not alone. I just hope he realises just how vital his storytelling is.

It’s a wide world with several different characters, but the main ones we have are Victor, Gio, Hap, Nurse Ratched, and Rambo. Victor is a fabulous main character, and I think being the only human in the mix, you can really see his humanity, and the vulnerabilities that come with that. His father Gio is a complex character who I won’t go into too much detail about for fear of spoilers. Hap, the handsome android. Nurse Ratched, a wonderful pun of a medical machine. And then Rambo, is above and beyond my favourite character. He is a vacuum cleaner and a hilarious one at that. And he’s obsessed with the movie Top Hat, which meant I constantly had Cheek To Cheek in my head. 🎵 Heaven. I’m in heaven. 🎵

The level of detail is extraordinary. From the trees to the machines, to the friendship and the love, everything is given it’s own time to shine, and shine it does.

Under The Whispering Door was my first Klune book and it was unlike anything I’d read before. He has this tenderness within his words that was so unique and with so much heart. And he’s done it again with this one. It’s just so beautiful. It’s going to take a lot to beat Under The Whispering Door for me, but this is pretty darn close.

Out of his books that I’ve read, there’s only been one that I didn’t feel was for me, and even with that, I still get excited when I see a new one is coming, as he just has this unique ability as a storyteller. There really isn’t anyone quite like him writing today, in my opinion.

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I was never a fan of Pinocchio, at least not the Disney film. I know that this is, in many ways a retelling of the original on which that film is based, and while I could see similarities, in the introduction of the Blue Fairy, for me it was about the characters.

Gio weaves a story around his son Victor, giving him the fairy tale of a mother and father who loved him, who would do anything to come back to him, but the truth is so much more beautiful, though strange. I can honestly say that it never clicked for me that he wasn’t human. The realisation that the pain in his heart was loneliness was so beautifully written, it tugged at my own heart as I read in the dark of my quiet flat.

Victor is, for all that he has grown up with robotic companions, a well-adjusted adult. He is driven, ambitious and caring and this is so well reflected in the way that he wipes aside any concerns for his own safety when he comes across a one-armed android in the scrapyards.

This ragtag crew that Gio and Victor have created are both hilarious and emotional at the same time. Little Rambo is cute and I wanted to hug him even though he was a vacuum cleaner and for some reason when I hear the sarcasm and snide remarks before she switches into her comfort mode, Nurse Ratched has a look of Marvin in the original TV series of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

It feels as though parts of this book were a message to everyone not to rely on technology, a somewhat Matrix-like warning that computers could turn on us, but at the same time it was a story of friendship and love and learning, of change and adaptation.

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea and didn’t think that a story about robots could give me similar feelings, but in Hap and Rambo, Nurse Ratched, Gio and Victor I have found a lovely story I will be recommending to anyone I can get to listen.

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Ohhhh, WOW. This book sounds pretty bonkers ... but it's ... just. blooming. fabulous.
Adorable characters on a wondrous quest. Description compares it to Pinocchio and indeed it features quotes from Pinocchio at each chapter. I would draw a strong parallel with the wizard of Oz and Frankenstein especially seeing the protagonist is even called Victor.
I loved it. Especially nurse Ratched.

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Every time TJ Klune releases a new book, he manages to give me all the feelings. On the surface, a book about robots and puppets should have me feeling so emotional but I was weeping by the end. It has a 'The Wizard Of Oz' vibe that had me feeling nostalgic as they went to find Victor's father, reminiscent of going to the Emerald City. This was such a joyous novel that had me wanting more when it ended.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

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