Dex is a monk who serves a bear god whose purview is comfort, rest, relaxation, and pleasure. Needing a change in their life, Dex decides to switch up their practice from working in a garden to being a tea monk. Dex goes from town to town, listening to people’s problems, and offering a kind word and personalized cup of tea to soothe them. Dex eventually builds a reputation for themself as one of the best tea monks out there, and yet they are still not satisfied. Their travels haven’t connected them to nature and the natural world in the way that they wanted. So, they decide to venture out to the wilderness, a part of the world that has been allowed to revert back to its natural, wild state with one exception. This is also where all of the sentient robots live after they suddenly and inexplicably all came to consciousness. The robots rejected the world humans had built and left for the wilds.
While trying to get to an abandoned monastery, Dex meets one such robot named Splendid Speckled Mosscap, or Mosscap for short. Mosscap has been tasked by the other robots to go and find out what the humans need. It is with this mission that it strikes up a conversation with Dex. Together, they travel to the monastery and talk about what it means to be alive.
This book is just so cozy. Reading this book felt like snuggling down into a warm, weighted blanket. The conversations that Dex and Mosscap had reflected my own beliefs about rest and the purpose of life while also still presenting new perspectives. Nothing felt forced or preachy at any point. This was just so great to read, and I can’t wait to read the follow up.