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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Non avevo mai letto un libro “di vibes”, ma il suo ritmo, il racconto, la sua atmosfera mi hanno incantato
Mild spoilers throughout I guess? Idk this book is so quiet and tone-driven I feel like technically everything is a spoiler and nothing is.
I have rather mixed feelings about this book, although I think most of my issues probably come down to pacing so I'll probably pick up the next one.
To start with, I loved all of the robot stuff. Everything to do with Mosscap and robot culture and all of that was gorgeous and I loved it. This book is also beautiful and soft and gentle in the way Chambers' work so often is. There is a very good chance that if you like her other stuff, you'll like this.
That said, while I liked Dex, they didn't super work for me. The way that Dex's frustration and dissatisfaction with their life and work was framed felt very 2020s. I had a hard time understanding how a person raised in the culture and family Dex came from would tie their worth to their work in the particular way that is so common in our society (and honestly I often didn't feel like Dex was doing that throughout the story, but they embraced that explanation at the end so apparently they were). Dex just didn't feel quite of their world in the way that I would want.
Additionally, the society in this story felt very utopian to me but also felt off. For example a world in which everyone subscribes to the same theology feels super creepy to me, as does a world where generations have been essentially banned from going into the wilderness to such an extent that Dex doesn't realize wandering off into it is basically a death sentence (a mistake people seem to make semi-regularly and then die from). And these things aren't necessarily seen as not-problems, but there's just such a warmth around the society without any real critique (and so much of the society does seem really, genuinely good) that it feels a bit uncanny valley. I think a lot of that has to do with the book spending a good quarter of its page time in the society without actually having that be a focus, so it might get improved in the future, but it felt creepy to me here.
That said, Chambers is still a very thoughtful, empathetic writer and I think this book will probably vibe with lots of folks. And all of the robot stuff is so good I'll likely pick up the next one.
I have rather mixed feelings about this book, although I think most of my issues probably come down to pacing so I'll probably pick up the next one.
To start with, I loved all of the robot stuff. Everything to do with Mosscap and robot culture and all of that was gorgeous and I loved it. This book is also beautiful and soft and gentle in the way Chambers' work so often is. There is a very good chance that if you like her other stuff, you'll like this.
That said, while I liked Dex, they didn't super work for me. The way that Dex's frustration and dissatisfaction with their life and work was framed felt very 2020s. I had a hard time understanding how a person raised in the culture and family Dex came from would tie their worth to their work in the particular way that is so common in our society (and honestly I often didn't feel like Dex was doing that throughout the story, but they embraced that explanation at the end so apparently they were). Dex just didn't feel quite of their world in the way that I would want.
Additionally, the society in this story felt very utopian to me but also felt off. For example a world in which everyone subscribes to the same theology feels super creepy to me, as does a world where generations have been essentially banned from going into the wilderness to such an extent that Dex doesn't realize wandering off into it is basically a death sentence (a mistake people seem to make semi-regularly and then die from). And these things aren't necessarily seen as not-problems, but there's just such a warmth around the society without any real critique (and so much of the society does seem really, genuinely good) that it feels a bit uncanny valley. I think a lot of that has to do with the book spending a good quarter of its page time in the society without actually having that be a focus, so it might get improved in the future, but it felt creepy to me here.
That said, Chambers is still a very thoughtful, empathetic writer and I think this book will probably vibe with lots of folks. And all of the robot stuff is so good I'll likely pick up the next one.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
a quick thoughtful read that I can see myself coming back to when I get a bit lost in life.
I will say that the world building is a little hard to follow though.
I will say that the world building is a little hard to follow though.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This novella is the perfect read for when you wanna snuggle up on the sofa with a cup of tea. <3
I really enjoyed this! Mosscap is so sweet and its dynamic with Dex is lovely. I love how tender the world they live in is. It was a truly touching story that made me tear up at times. I’m going to start reading the second part immediately!
I really enjoyed this! Mosscap is so sweet and its dynamic with Dex is lovely. I love how tender the world they live in is. It was a truly touching story that made me tear up at times. I’m going to start reading the second part immediately!
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
A nice and cozy audiobook. I really enjoyed the emotion presented through the voice of the narrator. The singing at parts was a bit weird, haha.
Generally I really liked the story and characters. I have to admit I struggled with Dex's pronoun at the start, which is probably due to the audiobook format, since the singular "they" was never a problem when I was reading a text before. But I got used to it pretty quickly. At some points the language felt a bit forced too,especially with the cursing. Also, them thirsting for that one dad all of a sudden seemed weird.
Dex's way of first fumbling and then learning was nice,though it felt a bit too sudden with the time skip. I also like the idea of a tea monk.
I liked the robot Mosscap. Even though it at times didn't seem very robot-like, the change to how robots are portrayed usually was very fascinating and fit well within the world.In general, the idea of robots going into the wild and then building new ones out of old parts, similar to a life and death cycle with other living beings, was an intriguing thought.
The pace towards the end seemed a bit too fast for me, though. I had to go back and listen to it again to see what I missed, because it felt like I didn't get all the info.
A quote I liked:"Nothing has a purpose. The world simply is."
Generally I really liked the story and characters. I have to admit I struggled with Dex's pronoun at the start, which is probably due to the audiobook format, since the singular "they" was never a problem when I was reading a text before. But I got used to it pretty quickly. At some points the language felt a bit forced too,
Dex's way of first fumbling and then learning was nice,
I liked the robot Mosscap. Even though it at times didn't seem very robot-like, the change to how robots are portrayed usually was very fascinating and fit well within the world.
The pace towards the end seemed a bit too fast for me, though. I had to go back and listen to it again to see what I missed, because it felt like I didn't get all the info.
A quote I liked: