TJ Klune: In the Lives of Puppets (2023, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom)
English language
Published Jan. 3, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
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 …
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?
Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.
The variety of perspectives at book club was surprising. Other than that; of all the books in the world, it is among them
The forest is home to three robots: Father figure Giovanni Lawson, sadistic nurse robot, and a vacuum robot looking for love. It is also home to Victor Lawson, a human. It’s a family, hidden and safe.
When Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android called “HAP,” he discovers that Hap and Gio share a dark past filled with human predation.
When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their location, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Vic's family must travel across an unforgiving, otherworldly country to save Gio from decommissioning or reprogramming.
Despite conflicting feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: is conditional love possible for him?
Perhaps this is the fastest book I have DNF’d. As hard as it is for me to do, I can’t avoid it. It took me six chapters to realize I wasn’t able to finish... …
The forest is home to three robots: Father figure Giovanni Lawson, sadistic nurse robot, and a vacuum robot looking for love. It is also home to Victor Lawson, a human. It’s a family, hidden and safe.
When Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android called “HAP,” he discovers that Hap and Gio share a dark past filled with human predation.
When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their location, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Vic's family must travel across an unforgiving, otherworldly country to save Gio from decommissioning or reprogramming.
Despite conflicting feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: is conditional love possible for him?
Perhaps this is the fastest book I have DNF’d. As hard as it is for me to do, I can’t avoid it. It took me six chapters to realize I wasn’t able to finish... When the book introduced Rambo and Nurse Ratched, it was fun at first, but repetitive and predictable. FAST. I shouldn’t be able to predict dialogue within the first few chapters. I felt nothing for any of the characters.
When I hedged on DNF’ing, I thought I was overthinking. I gave it a few more chapters, but the story never picked up. The characters were one-dimensional, and the plot was stale. I had to admit defeat and move on to another book.
Based on the reviews, I think I’m the odd one out here, but that’s fine), and I’m pleased to hear that it brings some people's joy. It just won’t work for me today.
Despite not reading the entire book (obviously), even in the beginning, I could tell there was something missing. I don’t know what it is. I wanted to develop a liking for it, but it was beyond my ability. I suppose it's just not my cup of tea.
Sadly, I didn’t feel as charmed with this one as I did with Klune’s previous books. This was compelling, but it had that air of being through the editor one too many times. I have to wonder what the previous version that he “felt the world wasn’t ready for” was like…
