ARC Review: In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

Author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

Title: In the Lives of Puppets
Author: T.J. Klune
Publisher: Tor Books
Expected Publication Date: 4/25/23

Review:

I want to thank NetGalley and Tor books for providing me with an eGalley of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I learned about TJ Klune in one of my book groups last year when I picked up The House in the Cerulean Sea. I tore through that and Under the Whispering Door. So I had high hopes for this book when I saw it for review.

Let me start by saying I did not even read the blurb. Often times, I just want to dive into a book by an author I love without any information about it. I don't want to have any preconceptions. I'm glad I read this one without looking at it.

I loved the idea of this one. Another magical book with futuristic undertones. But I will say this one did not keep my interest as the last two did. And I was actually disappointed to not like it more.

I liked the characters enough but I really didn't connect with any of them as I would have liked. I didn't feel the emotional connections between the characters and I didn't feel an emotional connection to any of them. 

I did love the humor imbued in the book. Specifically Rambo the anxious vacuum. The scenes with him are probably what kept me reading along. Lots of banter with him and Nurse Ratched.

The robotic aspect of the book was interesting and fun. And I liked the parallels to the story of Pinocchio. And there's definitely a Star Wars vibe with the scenery and setting.

Overall it was enjoyable enough but not nearly as entertaining as his last two. That's not to say I would not pick up future books by Klune because his writing is excellent. But this would also not be my first choice to recommend to a friend.

TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.