This here is the sequel to A Psalm for the Wild-Built which I read and reviewed last month. I picked it up because I enjoyed the first so much and it looked like another quick read.
This book picks up almost almost immediately after the first volume. Dex, the tea monk, is trying to shepherd and guide Mosscap, the robot, around the human settlements. Mosscap's goal is to answer the question, "what do humans need." Dex doesn't have an answer for this question but finds themselves facilitating Mosscap's interactions in the human communities nonetheless. Slowly they wind their way through the various outlying communities as they slowly progress towards the central city.
I honestly have a hard time describing this book. On it's surface, it is a simple travel narrative. Dex and Mosscap go from community to community where they run into various people and some lowkey problems. Mosscap or Dex (or both) deal with the issues and they move on. It's a pretty straightforward premise, yet it doesn't really cover what the book is truly about. This is a deeply philosophical book that explores what it means to be friends or have direction. What mortality means and how identity works. We get to meet Dex's parents.
As much as I like this volume and found it an easier read, it is a much different book than A Psalm for the Wild-Built. These are deeply thoughtful books and worthy of a read.
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