In a world of technology, ‘In the Lives of Puppets’ considers humanity

“Humanity was lost. And lonely. I don’t think they even realized just how lonely they were. And so, they began to build again, making machines that looked more and more like them. Even surrounded by so many of their kind they still searched for a connection. They were like gods, in a way, in the power of their creation. At first it was Hubble. Then Discovery. And Curiosity. Explorer and Endeavor and Spirit. The humans gave them names and sent them away beyond the starts in search of that connection they so desperately wished for.” — “In the Lives of Puppets” by TJ Klune

The first book I read by TJ Klune was “The House in the Cerulean Sea,” which ended up being a bestseller that I highly recommend. The found family trope and lovable characters are what Klune is known for. Klune’s books are feel-good books, but they also make you think, and “In the Lives of Puppets” is definitely one of those novels. 

This story is quasi-fantasy, quasi-science fiction that is based off the book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” but the setting is in a post-apocalyptic world. He uses some of the same characters as “Pinocchio” like the Blue Fairy, the Coachman and the Terrible Dogfish, but in this new world where only one human exists.

Victor is the main character, who is the last human “boy” left on earth. He is out of place in this land of robots and machines, although he doesn’t quite know it. He was raised by Giovanni Lawson, who is an android inventor. Victor spends his days scavenging scrapyards from another civilization for spare parts and hiding away from the detection of machines that roam around trying to find humans to kill. He has two other robot friends: Rambo, a Roomba-like vacuum cleaner, and Nurse Ratchet, a medical robot. While they live happily in their treehouse in the wilderness, they love to go to the scrapyards to find and rebuild things around their home. One day, Victor and the robots salvage a defunct and amnesiac android thrown out in the graveyards. Without telling his father, Victor repairs the android and names him HAP (Hysterically Angry Puppet). He builds him a functioning heart that breathes life into HAP.

One day, Victor, Rambo, Nurse Ratchet and HAP are discovered by the machines in a scrapyard. They run away but, the machines discover Victor’s father, taking him back to the City of Electric Dreams (formally Las Vegas, Nevada), a futuristic, robotic-run city void of humanity, free will and the near-omnipotent power of The Authority, to be decommissioned. Victor and his friends set out to rescue his father, and this is where the adventure of the story begins.

This story is relevant for our time. In this world where AI and robots are on the way to replacing some jobs that have been long held by humans. This novel allows readers to consider what humans have to offer: happiness, laughter, forgiveness, compassion, the ability to feel the warmth of love and friendship from those who we surround ourselves with. While technological advances are beneficial to progress, they will never replace the warmth and connection that encompass us as human beings. Machines will never replace the amazing things that make living here on earth with others beautiful. 

The main characters in this story have a few little rules they recite to each other:

1. Stick together.

2. Run if you have to.

3. No dallying.

4. No drilling.

5. And above all else, be brave!

It’s the final rule that I think is so important as the new year approaches: Be brave! Always, be brave. 

Happy holidays, to my readers.

Deborah Condit is the owner of Books on the Bosque, 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane, Suite A-2 or at booksonthebosque.com.