In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a science fiction adventure with queer romantic elements (4/5 stars)

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is a science fiction adventure with queer romantic elements. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at fifteen and a half hours and is narrated by Daniel Henning.

A fatherly android inventor named Giovanni Lawson lives in the forest with his family: a sadistic but loving nurse robot, a tiny anxious vacuum robot, and his son, Victor, the only human in the bunch. After Victor salvages an unfamiliar android and repairs it, he learns a lot about his father’s past. When Gio is captured and taken back to his laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams, the motley crew band together to journey to get him back.

This was really an enjoyable read. I especially enjoyed the characters here. As I am a character-driven reader, this pleased me. My favorite was Rambo; if anyone puts a hand on my robot son, they will be decomissioned. Nurse Ratched was also phenomenal.

Klune has a talent for “cozy” speculative fiction, and showcases it again here–especially in the first part of the book.

As our narrator, Henning does an AMAZING job here. He does great voices for everyone! I’d highly recommend listening to the audio version of this book over print/ebook.

As far as representation goes, our main character Victor on-page identifies as asexual. He’s also queer. There’s a bit of a romance, but it’s not the main point of the story.

My main criticism is that the book felt a bit too long. It could absolutely have been tightened up a bit. But overall, I liked it.

CW: violence, kidnapping

I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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