T J Klune’s In the Lives of Puppets- an LGBTIQA+ Story That Will Be A Forever Favorite
by Jeneane Vanderhoof
In the Lives of Puppets is a lovely fantasy tale, akin to those we read about a group of unlikely characters forging together, on a journey, to reach a united goal of some sort. TJ Klune, a wonderful LGBTIQA+ writer, in this tale, keeps to his norm (writing about gender in his own fluid way), while tackling a certain aspect within- the asexual individual.
And I guess in a world devoid of humans when you are the only one that no one really knows about (and isn’t allowed to know about- your existence)- and all the interactions you have had in the past are with personalities devoid of sexual knowledge- the fact that sex is not a big deal, the fact that the little information that remains about it may be interpreted as something you may not want to engage in. It is completely understandable that not wanting to have anything to do with the act of sex would be seen as the best course of action. Klune also includes some funny sidekicks for his main character, that come up with so many jokes and puns during the story about this (sex) and many other things- that make In the Lives of Puppets humorously entertaining for readers.
It is an unforgettable tale- one that will remain on my “best of the best read shelf” and demand to be reread throughout the rest of my life- if not just for the world TJ Klune brings to the page- one in the throes of terrible discord, but also filled with unique characters who still have hope and love in their lives- even though almost all the characters are artificial beings- and the one human, surrounded by the AI’s that he, himself, finds, repairs and then connects with- as family.
As the book opens we find a world in which humans are so rare that- to others- they are instinct, wiped out (those who don’t know the only human that is left- personally). It is a world run by robots- at least, those who have survived- the other robots. Here is what I like about Klune- that it can be, at times, implied that machines, robots, have this finite amount of time on the planet, the robots in Klune’s story, while admitting they will most likely outlive a human, machines can run down, break, and, without the right parts, cease to function- cannot live forever. There could even be other robots that deem another “useless”- and take their “life” away.
But, the robots in Klune’s story belong to Vic, the main character, and a human- and are quite unique, I think, in part because of the person who brought them back to life (whether this was Vic or his father). All the AI characters close to Vic in the story came about even after the “authority” said they were no longer useful- hence they were once destroyed and brought back, found in a large garbage heap that Vic and his father like to find things in though it is often monitored and can be a dangerous place (so far Vic and his father have been lucky “the authority” his not caught them there). The world is now only for robots with a purpose, what is called a “destination” and without function, the authority deems useful- there is no point for a robot to be functioning. And they end up in that garbage pile for Vic and his father to hopefully save (if they can- because if the parts are there, they will try).
Vic is the son of his father, Geo Lawson who is an inventor and the teacher of his son. But Geo is a robot and has told his son that one day, two humans were running through the forest, as they fled, saw Geo and asked him to keep their son until they could come back for him. But, they never did. However, Leo has grown up happy and loved. He even has two playmates- Rambo and Nurse Ratched. The two are robots, made whole again to be a part of this small family. And oh boy, will they make you laugh with their creative, unique, robotic ways- and how they look at life because of who and what they are.
Klune, In the Lives Of Puppets, takes a Disney tale, Pinocchio, twists the story so that there is a real boy who doesn’t want to be real (a human boy who wants to be a machine?), ages the story so that adults can be entertained and presents one like Grimm’s Fairy Tales- more real than ever. I hope readers agree that the fantasy genre is T J Klune’s wheelhouse- because I have never read a more engaging, heartfelt, warm, and hopeful story than I did with this author and this tale. Klune has really proved to be a versatile writer, one that can move about through many genres- while always bringing a reader a story they will love and remember.
Happy Reading!