Dex and Mosscap are back in the second volume of the Monk & Robot series (duology?), and once again I'm so grateful to Becky Chambers for gifting the world with these hugs in the shape of stories. They aren't the kind of book you can summarize because what matters most is the characters and especially their interactions. Both Dex, the monk-turned-tea-servant and Mosscap the sentient robot feel a little lost, like most of us do, and both try to find their way through life when what they thought was their purpose might not be after all.

This book's dedication is "For anybody who doesn’t know where they’re going".

With this duology, Becky Chambers has reached something very precious and pure, completely refined until its essence shines bright, and also effortlessly readable. It might sound like these are the books to end all books, because as a writer where to you go when you've reached the core of whatever writing goal you were pursuing? But actually the answer is in the books themselves, with these two friends asking themselves and others what people need and why do they keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I hope I don't make these feel more philosophical or theme-heavy than they are. Because they're more like bubbles, with infitinite reflections held in the lightest of touch.

Rep: non-binary MC.