"It must have been such a relief to be free of predators and eat whatever the hell you wanted. But that was the exact opposite of what the ecosystem needed."

A comfy story of a utopia in which humanity awakened sentient robots and then made some nice decisions. Sad because there's no way we'd make those decisions.

I'd seen some quotes which resonated with me without realising that they came from this book. Bittersweet -it was delightful to discover them, but I felt like I'd cheated myself of the story a bit.

I find it soothing in the modern world to remind ourselves we are just animals. You are allowed to just live. I think if you can suspend cynicism you'll enjoy this glimpse at a possible future. It weaves themes of meaning and awe at the universe in an elegant way.

I'm reminded of an observation by Dawkins in Unweaving the Rainbow: "It is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here."

And maybe that's enough.