Book Review for: In the Lives of Puppets
By: TJ Klune
Setting
This book takes place in a world of robots. We are introduced first to Giovanni, who has built himself a tree-house settlement deep in the woods, and there he lives with two other robots, Nurse Ratchet and Rambo, and his human son Victor. The fairytale-esque opening gives us a good overview of a world where humans are both rare and facing some sort of persecution, and a sense of the threat that the wider world may pose to this family. I found the setting instantly legible and explicable. It had a logic to it that made it both exciting and yet pleasantly predictable. That logic was coherent throughout the novel, and so there was never any moment where I felt like I truly did not understand this world or where it was taking me, and as such I was eager to carry on with the journey.
Plot
The plot takes liberally from the most prominent plot points of the Pinocchio story, as well as some seasoning from Shelly’s Frankenstein. The plot follows a fairly typical hero’s journey model, with a couple of twists which are in no way obtuse and more a revelation of a building suspicion than an actual twist. On the whole I really enjoyed how Klune managed to hit all the major allegories with Pinocchio, although some seemed a bit on the nose. The Monstro-Whale/Terrible Dogfish-Dirigible analogy was there but felt more wedged in than placed with consideration, unlike the tension within Victor, who at various times takes on the role of both Geppetto and Pinocchio, Victor Frankenstein and his Creation in ways that are skilfully woven into the plot of his journey.
My main problem with the plot is that it follows a trend in storytelling where the Hero makes large, world changing decisions on the behalf of whole nations or races and then… dips. Just leaves, and we get no more than a few lines where he hopes that the revolution has turned out well but no actual insight into what this post-revolutionary world is going to look like or how it is going to be built. There is some thematic justification to this decision in this book, it parallels decisions Vic’s father made at the beginning of the tale, but I still find it somewhat unsatisfying that in a book about how everyone deserves to be fixed in the end we only really care about two specific people being fixed and everyone else is on their own.
World Building
The world building in this novel is done organically and in a way that consistently adds to the feelings of foreboding that Klune skilfully builds throughout the novel. Klune is also very good at using his worldbuilding as an opportunity to draw parallels with, and make commentary on, our current culture. The Coachman, who runs a Museum of Human Curio’s and Curiosities, tells the Hero and his companions of the ancient human tradition of gender reveals. His utter misinterpretation of both the form and the function of gender reveal parties is a wonderful way not only to make a commentary on how history gets distorted by the victors in a conflict, but also to expose the artifice that lies in the gender reveal party as a concept.
The worldbuilding in this novel was not necessarily new, we have seen similar worlds in many sci-fi films and books such as Robots (2005) but the whimsy and charm with which it is built makes this an inviting world to spend time in.
The worldbuilding also felt purposeful, particularly when done through conversation between the characters. As we learned more about the world, we also learned more about the main thesis of the book; that everyone deserves a chance of redemption. Again, it’s not so much that Klune does anything new with the worldbuilding, but that he uses the worldbuilding as a way to talk very directly about the morality of the story, and to engage in meaningful meditation on the nature of humanity and forgiveness and individuality and so on.
Characters
The characters are the real highlight of this book. It is incredibly character driven, and it is delightful how Klune treats each character with a tenderness and empathy that is deeply compassionate towards their flaws without ever excusing them. All of the robots can be read as representative of some form of disability or neuroatypicality, and Victor is quite clearly meant to be understood as autistic. I felt this worked well, particularly as an overarching analogy for how disability is context dependant and how often the experience of disability is more to do with how society lacks accommodations necessary for a life fully lived, than it is to do with the material fact of the disability itself. I also think this worked well as a way to explore how individuals can work to maintain healthy relationship despite conflicting needs.
The dynamic between Nurse Ratched and Rambo reminds me a lot of the dynamic between Scamper and Brian in Igor (2008), and I found the way they both bounced off of each other delightful. They were a wonderful example of a relationship that is fully accepting of the other, warts and all. The fierce loyalty between these two and Victor was a strong theme throughout the novel, which worked well as a supporting thesis for the main themes of forgiveness and redemption. Ratched was well placed as a nurse droid to explain concepts like asexuality in a dispassionate manner.
That said, I did find towards the end that Ratched and Rambo’s continual conjecture of the nature of the relationship between Vic, who is canonically both asexual and somewhat sex repulsed, and Hap to become more and more uncomfortable as it became clear that this aspect of their behaviour was never going to fully be addressed. I had hoped that there would be some sort of commentary on the intrusive and voyeuristic nature of looking at real relationships through the lens of “shipping” but we didn’t really get any thing in regard to a resolution of the conflict there.
Hap is an interesting take on the Creature from Frankenstein. It is lovely to see what might have happened if the Modern Prometheus had been met with love and admiration rather than fear and shame. I really appreciate that Hap is allowed to still be a generally grumpy person, right through to the end of the novel, and that this is seen as a character expression, rather than a character flaw.
Vic and Hap have a very tender relationship, which is a joy to watch develop.
Vic himself is a thoroughly enjoyable hero to read. He grapples with deep emotional and ethical questions which are hard to resolve, without ever tipping over into either self-pitying or self-aggrandising. His reactions feel very natural and his motivations and insights are intelligent.
The supporting cast of Gio, Vic’s father, The Coachman and The Blue Fairy are all well drawn characters whose conversations with Vic offer some very poignant and insightful meditations on the main themes of this book. The only somewhat disappointing character was the Coachman, who’s motivational 180 was a bit too convenient and just bugged me for a few chapters after it happened.
Prose
The actual prose of this book is delightful. It flows incredibly well; it’s well paced and it was easy get into a groove of reading it. The only point where I was fully thrown out of the text was early on when there was mention of a “camming device” with no explanation of what that was. I don’t think this is a particularly ubiquitous piece of climbing equipment outside of the climbing enthusiast’s world and so could probably do with some explanation.
The main criticism of the prose I would give is that Klune has a habit of introducing motifs he then doesn’t really do anything with. For example, the Authority (the robot overlords) use the symbol of the cat and the fox, which is immediately identifiable as an allusion towards the Disney cartoon but doesn’t do anything beyond being that allusion. It gives no deeper insight into the Authority and if one were not aware of the Disney cartoon then there would be no clear reason why this symbol is being emphasised repeatedly. When he does use symbolism, like the motif of the clockwork heart that works its way throughout this novel, he does it spectacularly well. There is a richness to his use of symbolism that is so enchanting that it is even more disappointing when there is then such empty symbolism alongside it.
Finally, I would add that the first part of the novel could do with a few paragraph breaks. I did not find the long run-on nature of the opening to be particularly ADHD friendly and that was the only part of the book where I regularly found myself going back to reread a passage to make sure I had the right of it.
Conclusion
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it engaging and charming and thoroughly enjoyed the dialectical explorations of personhood, forgiveness, redemption and friendship. I found the meditations on these themes insightful and inspiring and had more than one flash of insight into my own WIP as a result of reading this.
That said I was somewhat dissatisfied with the ending. This may be a personal thing as a bit of a policy wonk, but I really would have appreciated even just a little more about how society was going to move forward after the hero’s completed their quest. That is not to say that the ending was not beautiful, it was a wonderfully understated and tender way to end the story, but I could not help but be distracted by thoughts of all the others whose lives were impacted and the uncertainty of their fate.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy imaginative retellings of classic literature, as well as anyone who enjoys somewhat whimsical sci fi settings. I think this would be a marvellous book for a 14–16-year-old, although it does have some strong language and sexual references that not all parents will be happy with, and it is the sort of book a weird little 12-year-old who already reads beyond their reading level (like me) and hides copies of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere under their bed (like I did) would absolutely devour and obsess over for years to come.

I was absolutely delighted to receive an early copy of In the Lives of Puppets as I absolutely adore TJ Klune’s writing, and this book was no exception.

When I read the synopsis for this I was a little apprehensive because it sounded very different than Klune’s other standalones. However, I had faith and it was not misplaced. I absolutely adored the cast of characters in Puppets. We have Vic, the human boy raised by his android father Gio, and his two rescued friends: the aggressive and sarcastic Nurse Ratched, and absolute cinnamon roll Rambo the robot vacuum cleaner.

The book is split into 4 parts. Part 1 was probably my favourite. Setting the scene, meeting the characters, generally very wholesome and cosy.
Parts 2 and 3 are our adventure, which I thoroughly enjoyed - getting to see more of the wider world was nice, and the characters came into their own when forced into a different situation, plus it have the opportunity for relationships to develop - and part 4 is our conclusion, which nicely rounds off the story.

I don’t want to go into more detail for fear of spoiling the plot, but I really loved everything about this book. The characters, the world - clearly a dystopian future of our own, the relationships - which were heartwarming and delightful, and the overarching message of love despite differences, and changing the way we treat the world before it’s too late.

Overall, I very much enjoyed In the Lives of Puppets. Like Klune’s other standalones it’s a story I can see myself coming back to, and one I would recommend without hesitation.

Thank you to NetGalley for proving an arc in exchange for an honest review.

After the hype of The House Under the Cerulean Sea, when I found out the publisher sent me an arc, I might have squealed and then immediately told my mum who looked extremely jealous she had to wait so many more months to get her hands on this book.

A feel-good book filled with humour, emotion, empathy, compassion and inclusivity. Similar to T J Klune’s books, this is light, yet thoughtful. Almost philosophical in a world of robots and humans and what makes us an entity, what makes us free, what is choice in a world where we all feel like puppets of someone’s making.

“I'm also good," Rambo said.
"Unbearably so," Nurse Ratched said.
"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.”
“Hurray!” Rambo squealed. “We all have things!”

Portraying a wonderful friendship between a sociopathic healthcare robot, a hyperactive, keen and adorable vacuum robot, a murderous, angry robot, and a human trying to hold himself together, this is a delightful tale. Filled with fairytale whimsy and descriptions, this is perfect for any and all readers.

”White lies are often spoken to make one feel better. I will assist Victor in this process. Here is my white lie: you are a wonderful machine beloved by many."
"Leave him alone," Vic said as he knelt at his father's feet.
"Do you feel better?" Nurse Ratched asked.
"Yes," Rambo said promptly. "Tell me more white lies."

This is like Pinocchio and Wizard of Oz meets Lifelike by Jay Kristoff and the Mortal Enginges.
If you enjoyed this, I would recommend The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi.

This book is a twist on Pinocchio but with robots. It’s packed full of Klune’s signature banter, queerness and wholesome, found family vibes - it was a delight!

It’s very character driven and I did find the plot to be a bit lacking but overall an enjoyable, quick read.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it and read it in 3 days but compared to previous books it just did not catch me the same way.

The characters were good and I enjoyed the development of the robot characters although I felt the book as a whole did not give me the same deep feelings as the house in the cerulean sea and under the whispering door. Still a very good offering and would recommend reading.

If you liked other tj klune books. You'll love this.
Really makes you ponder the nature of humans and human emotions
Family is about what you choose and this shows it and shows a quirky endearing side of nature
The world building is gorgeous and all the different characters and personalities play off each other so well its a joy to read, and the emotions it make you feel are everything.
It's a bit of fantasy, a dash of sci-fi, some romance and a whole ride of emotions.

4.75/5 stars! Umm...this premise is the weirdest thing ever...and I LOVE it! Here's the thing. you have to suspend reality if you are going to appreciate the mastery that is this book. If you can't do this, I don't think you'll enjoy this story. There's an almost sci-fi steampunk vibe to this tale. Once you get into the storyline, it was absolutely epic and fulfilling. It did take a bit for the pace to pick up but this was due to the level of world-building Klune was performing. Highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the next book by this author.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily