Review | In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

Source: review copy provided by publisher. This is a review of my reading experience.

In the Lives of Puppets is the latest fantasy novel from 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.

My three star rating for In the Lives of Puppets hurts a bit. This really is a wonderful book, but my overall feelings land me somewhere in the middle.

I'll start off with some of the great things about In the Lives of Puppets. I love T.J. Klune's writing, and I love his messages on hope and kindness and just seeing the world through a Klune lens. In the Lives of Puppets reminded me of the Rampart trilogy (Book of Koli) by M.R. Carey in many ways. They are both about humanity, the destruction of humanity, Artificial Intelligence, and the world after AI. I loved and cared for the characters in In the Lives of Puppets - both human and AI. The world Klune created was fascinating, and I was in love with the first half of the book.

Now for the parts that didn't work as well for me. At the halfway part, In the Lives of Puppets went the way of Fairy Tale by Stephen King. To this day, I still haven't finished reading Fairy Tale. I have such a hard time reorienting myself when there is a complete change of setting and plot. It really bogs the book down and makes it a slog for me. I did eventually get 100% reinvested, but then I had to suffer my least favorite trope of all tropes. So this was a mixed reading experience for me.

Even when In the Lives of Puppets wasn't working for me, the beauty of it all was still there. I can see why people are head over heels for this story. I loved these characters. I won't forget any of them. I also loved Klune's thoughts on AI. There were just too many times I felt like I was having to push through.

⭐⭐⭐★★

3/5 stars

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Review | Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune - Review

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Under the Whispering Door is a fantasy novel by T.J. Klune.

Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.

And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.

But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

I've had T.J. Klune's books on my wish list for a while now. Thankfully, Under the Whispering Door was my local book club's pick for October. I went into Under the Whispering Door expecting a much lighter and more heartwarming (throughout) read. I wound up really enjoying Under the Whispering Door, but it was more focused on death and grief than I was expecting.

I enjoyed Under the Whispering Door a lot more than the other members of my book club. I feel like I need to point out the fact that there is no explanation for the way the magic works in Under the Whispering Door. This did not bother me in the slightest. I don't need rules for my fantasy, and I don't need explanations of how the magic works. No one understands how the afterlife works, right? But if you are the type of reader who needs rules for your fantasies and you want to know why things are the way they are and how things work the way they work, Under the Whispering Door might not work as well for you as it did for me.

In the end, Under the Whispering Door turned out to be as much of a romance as it is a fantasy. I think I really needed this type of read right now.

As I mentioned, there is a lot of death and grief and mentions of suicide in Under the Whispering Door so be prepared for that, but everything in Under the Whispering Door is handled with care. This is the first book I have read by T.J. Klune, and I would really love to go back and read The House in the Cerulean Sea.

One thing I have noticed in feel-good fantasies is there is a lot of tea, and I am here for that. I want feel-good fantasies, warm tea, found friends, love, kindness, and happy endings please. (These are all things you will find in Under the Whispering Door.)

If you are a fan of Becky Chambers or Travis Baldree, you might want to check out T.J. Klune's books as well.

 

4/5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

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