In the Lives of Puppets

Format read: hardcoverReading time: 7+ hoursTags: found family, scifi, fantasy, robots, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, quest, lgbt (ace, m/m)Own a copy: yesReread likelihood: 2/10SummaryIn a luscious forest, deep in Oregon, lives Giovanni Lawson, an inventor, father, and android. His son, Victor, is human; an aberration in the world since humans were completely wiped out by the robots they created. Victor is an inventor, like his father, but he is also enjoys tinkering and fixing up old, broken machines. Victor's robot friends, Rambo and Nurse Ratchet, work together to collect scrap metal to help with Victor's and Giovanni's inventions. One day, Vic happens upon a conscious android in a heap of metal and decides to fix him and add him to his family. When Giovanni is kidnapped right before his eyes, Vic has no choice but to travel crosscountry with his friends and the new android to save his father from a fate worse than death.ReviewBefore I jump into it, let me just put out a disclaimer that I love Klune's books. [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea 45047384 The House in the Cerulean Sea T.J. Klune https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg 62945242] was my favourite book last year, and I still think about it because it was just that good. [b:Under the Whispering Door 53205888 Under the Whispering Door T.J. Klune https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652374208l/53205888.SY75.jpg 67745728] was super imaginative, and while I didn't like it as much as Cerulean, it still holds a special place in my heart. By contrast, In the Lives of Puppets just didn't hit the mark this time, and here's why:I'm no stranger to sci-fi and android narratives. In fact, it's something I quite enjoy. My favourite book in this genre is [b:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 36402034 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507838927l/36402034.SY75.jpg 830939], which I can't help but think its title inspired Klune when he named his android city the City of Electric Dreams. This book was a mishmash of literary influences, starting with [b:Adventures of Pinnochio 568989 Adventures of Pinnochio Carlo Collodi https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png 2685281] as per the author's own avowal. However, what no one said is how much this book relies on Mary Shelley's masterpiece [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text 35031085 Frankenstein The 1818 Text Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631088473l/35031085.SY75.jpg 4836639] and Baum's [b:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 236093 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1) L. Frank Baum https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398003737l/236093.SY75.jpg 1993810]. Of course, the most glaring of all is [b:I, Robot 41804 I, Robot (Robot, #0.1) Isaac Asimov https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609035271l/41804.SY75.jpg 1796026] in how the world is constructed. Other reviewers have mentioned how there are also similarities with Terminator. All of these influences aren't a bad thing, only that they overshadow Klune's own brand of originality and whimsy. After reading his two other “cozy fantasy” books, I've come to be used to his distinctive form of weaving and storytelling. Puppets didn't have much of that because all I could think of was all the other books in the background that are, as sad as it is to say, infinitely better than Puppets.Puppets falls flat with its characters. Apart for early-book Giovanni and Nurse Ratchet, every one else was either incredibly annoying or just flat and lacking any defining characteristics. In the first category, I place Rambo, and in the latter, Hap. Rambo almost single-handedly made me DNF the book with his constant annoying, nagging chatter. I've seen that many reviewers here really love the vacuum, but I really fail to understand why. As for Hap, he is so one-dimensional that half the time I forgot about him entirely. If it weren't for the mildly creepy “imprinting” on Vic, Hap could have been just any other piece of metal in the book and there wouldn't have been much of a difference.Speaking of creepy, the ‘romance' this time was just weird, honestly. I've read other examples of human/android romances that worked and made sense in the universe they were set in, but Vic and Hap just didn't. To me, they had absolutely nothing in common, and Hap only liked Vic because he saw him as his saviour/creator. The ending kind of shows that again when Vic manages to bring Hap back. Even though he has forgotten almost everything about Vic, we are meant to believe that it's a HEA for this strange duo. Also, the fact that Vic's mortality is never addressed is a huge plot hole. There is no mention of what will happen to Gio, Ratchet, Rambo, and Hap once Vic dies–and he will eventually, obviously. Also, there's no mention of what this will do in terms of humanity. Will earth never be repopulated? Will it forever be a wasteland of rusting robots, devoid of feelings? Who knows.Finally, as many have mentioned, the book is rife with juvenile sex jokes that are really off putting and break the immersion. Whenever the characters face something serious, one of them (usually Ratchet) will randomly drop a sexual innuendo or ‘joke' that does nothing to break the tension (in fact, it ruins it). I don't know why a bunch of robots are so obsessed with sex, genitals, and bodily fluids, but every other page featured a poop joke or a sex joke. It was all very unnecessary and annoying to read after the first handful of times.Overall, it's not so much that I hate the book, but I'm just really disappointed because I expected more. I still maintain that Cerulean is one of the best cozy SFF out there, but Puppets doesn't match up in the slightest. Hopefully, Klune's next novel will be back on track with his signature style.