These were rereads for me but I likely wouldn’t have chosen to revisit this world if they hadn’t been the selection for the Buffering podcast’s book club for April. I like Becky Chambers but prefer her Wayfarers series, and I enjoyed these novellas the first time round, though i preferred the first to the second novella. This time, I read them in one weekend so it’s a bit harder to treat or view them as separate entities.
These novellas are perfectly lovely, taking place in a bit of a utopia where humans finally got their act together and figured out how to exist in a less destructive and more eco-friendly manner. Communities are warm and welcoming, people can easily try out different callings and while there is a type of barter/tracking, it’s also more or less anti-capitalist (I think the pebs system is still a bit too close to capitalism but I also think we are too close to capitalism to truly imagine a system without exchange and tracking). Many years ago, humans had robots who developed consciousness and left society. Since then, humans have stayed out of the wilderness zone, letting the robots live their lives.
While experiencing a bit of an existential crisis, Sibling Dex ends up off the beaten path and makes contact with Mosscap. Mosscap, a robot, is the chosen representative of its people to check in on humans and see how they have evolved as a society and how they are doing. Even though they live in a utopia where people can easily try new trades and explore, Sibling Dex is having a bit of an existential crisis. Something is missing or lacking, they don’t get the joy out of their life they once did, and their new friendship with Mosscap helps them see things in a different perspective, and find connection. Mosscap also makes its own discoveries as it meets humans and travels with Dex.
The message within in the novellas is nice and important to hear, asking why it is necessary to have a purpose or use, or if it is okay to simply exist among many other things, and yet … Sibling Dex is a hard character for me to spend time with. When we discussed the novellas in book club, some of the other readers described them as impulsive which is apt but my focus on the character is more on their internal struggle and their indecisiveness or lack of direction. While there is a range here, in general, I tend to struggle with characters who maybe ring a bit close to home (not the impulsiveness or lack of planning), especially lately. I have mentioned before that I have enjoyed novels that fit into the cozy fantasy category but I am also very hesitant to read them because in general, they are very hit or miss for me. My brain wants more action – cozy fantasy still needs to have stakes, even if they are low. While previously I think I had rated these as a 4 and objectively that is still true, they just felt more like a 3 for my current mood.
