Reviews

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

chibi418's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a cute and cozy sci fi read. Definitely not low stakes though! There were a few potholes but its cute enough that I was ok to ignore it. I did read this in one sitting and it did get tiring at the end, so do not reccomend that. Also Rambo has my heart! 

gabfat's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

bookswithlydscl's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Easily my personal favourite TJ Klune. I loved the elements that are classic Klune - humour,, love, queer romance, memorable characters and a found family but I also absolutely adored the more adventurous story. This is a loose retelling of Pinocchio but in a sci-fi setting - usually it's the 'machines' seeking to become 'real' but here its a reversal with the human seeking to save his family and understand what it is to be human.

I only read TJ Klune's books via audiobook because his narrators are fantastic. Daniel Henning (who also did House on the Cerulean Sea) is one of my favourites out there and brings the characters and words to life. I laughed at so many points and fell in love with the characters, especially brave little Rambo.
I know this didn't hit the heights for many other readers but for my tastes was exactly what I love.

archangelesq's review against another edition

4.0

What does it mean to exist?

This book is Pinocchio mixed with Blade Runner wrapped in an existential crisis. Vic is the last living human among machines, the rest of the population being eradicated by the “empire”. Vic and his comrades lead the reader on an insightful journey of whar humanity really is. Good, bad, and ugly. Seemingly, the most important traits we have are loyalty, love, and forgiveness. No human is perfect, but humanity is about moving forward.

This book also has a lot of great things to say about autonomy. Human or machine, we belong to ourselves at the end of the day, and our actions and choices are ours.

Another winner from TJ Klune. Only negative was it being a bit of a slow start, almost giving up on reading it in the first 100 pages.

sunny18554's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Confinement, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content

clawhorn15's review

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

reuben_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is truly hilarious, heartwarming, surprisingly dark, and at points even strangely erotic. It brought up really interesting moral questions about humanity and if 'bad people' can be rehabilitated:

"Was his father a monster. Or was he merely doing what he had been created to do? Was there a difference?"

However much I enjoyed it, it did keep reminding me of Chamber's A Psalm for the Wild-Built, and could not quite hold up to it. The ending also was a bit of a let down for me, it didn't feel quite as special as I was hoping for. 

However, still a beautiful and hilarious book I'm very glad I read. 

deitydad's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

weirdaltgrrl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0