A sweet cozy sci-fi that was wholesome and reflective and just a treat. Sibling Dex is at a crossroads. They have everything they could possibly want and need. but waking up each morning is a slog. They feel unfulfilled. Dex decides to leave his monastery and go out into the wilds and be a tea monk - hoping to find more fulfillment there. They never expect that they will run into a robot. Humans haven't seen robots in centuries and Dex is the first human to have the honor. What develops between Dex and Speckled Mosscap is a genuine curiosity and adventure. Short and sweet and wholesome. I'll have to read more in this series! ( )

What a fantastic book. Just a wonderful story that jumps right in with two main characters that really come to life. It wraps up with perfection and thought. I just loved this book. ( )

This slim work of science fiction is set on Panga, a moon of the planet Mondat, a few centuries after the transition from the Industrial Age to a more sustainable way of life. Details of how this transition was effected are few; apparently, there was a consensus that things couldn’t continue as they had. Nor is there much on how this civilization could wean itself from oil other than using casein (milk protein) and mycelium (a fibrous fungus — I had to look that up) as building materials. Buildings no longer needed simply remerge with nature. All very nice, but it had a magic wand feel about it.

Apparently, the transition was provoked by the robots’ development of consciousness (as opposed to intelligence). It was an amicable divorce, part of an overall division of the land between human settlement and wilderness. The robots chose the wilderness.

The story centers on one of each. Sibling Dex, a member of an order devoted to Allelea, one of the Sacred Six (the Pangan Pantheon), had tended gardens in a monastery of the order but dreamed of crickets. Dex decides to change vocations and do tea service, apparently also one of the activities of their order (the description of it is a fitting metaphor for pastoral counseling). Dex’s wish is accepted by Sister Mara, the Keeper, since this is “not some rule-locked hierarchy like the pre-Transition clergy of old.” In just two years, Dex becomes the best tea servant on Panga but still misses crickets. Without telling anyone, Dex veers off one morning into the wilderness.

Dex meets Splendid Speckled Mosscap (robots take their name from the first thing they see when they become conscious). It is the first human/robot encounter since the Parting.

In keeping with the title “Sibling” rather than Brother or Sister for members of the order (although other monks in the order are called sister), Dex identifies as non-binary. This leads to an amusing exchange when Mosscap assures Dex that it has no problems self-identifying as “it.” This is one of a few moments when Dex has to unlearn some political correctness. This is treated in a light-hearted way.

Despite my sympathy with those who reject stereotypical gender and prefer the pronoun “they,” this was the first book I read with a non-binary protagonist. I understand the use of a pronoun other than “he” or “she” for those who self-identify as nonbinary, but it makes for awkward reading when “they” usually refers to Dex, even though Mosscap is also there. Come on, people, let’s come up with something better than this. Invent a new pronoun?

The book climaxes when Dex and Mosscap arrive at the goal of their quest, an abandoned monastery on Hart’s Brow Mountain, in an inaccessible part of the wilderness. In the closing days of the Industrial Age, it served as an eco-friendly retreat for those seeking an alternative life. Here, Mosscap turns the tables and provides Dex with a tea service that enables Dex to open up. Mosscap listens and asserts that existence is its own justification. Oddly, it seems that humans post-transition still hold productivity and usefulness in as high regard as in the bad old days; otherwise, why would Dex need to be told this?

At any rate, this scene marks both the conclusion of this book and sets the stage for the next in the series, for Mosscap came across Dex while it was on its way to the human world, having been sent by the assembled robots to find out how the humans were doing on their own and to see if they needed any help. Dex was prickly and resisted any offer of help. Now, as the sun sets on the monastery, Dex is willing to guide Mosscap and introduce it to the other humans.

Dex smiles and asks for another cup of tea, and the crickets begin to sing. ( )

A beautiful story where nothing much happens, but deep topics like life & death, our place in the universe and life's purpose are discussed in frank and profound ways. This was another book that found me at the right time. ( )

3.5 Interesting, but I miss the Wayfarers series. ( )