A Psalm for the Wild-Built

, #1

by

Hardcover, 160 pages

Published July 13, 2021 by Tordotcom.

ISBN:
978-1-250-23621-0
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
1240266570
Goodreads:
55077657

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5 stars (12 reviews)

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.

But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.

They're going to need to ask it a lot.

Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

4 editions

reviewed A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

So much beauty and hope in so few pages

5 stars

Becky Chambers makes me cry again, this time in a hope punk novella about existence and purpose. Long ago, humanity's Factory Age ended when robots suddenly gained consciousness and decided to leave. Humanity respected their agency and choice, allowing them to leave into the wilderness and legend while restructuring human civilization into a sustainable, solarpunk society.

Sibling Dex is a tea monk, going from town to town offering people their ear, their counsel and the perfect cup of tea to soothe their worries. But Dex themself feels an emptiness and pain; they feel guilty for not being happy in a life which - on the face of it - gives them everything it should. This inner conflict they keep from those they help really resonated with me from the very start.

Hoping to find an answer in anything but their routine, Dex goes off track into the wilderness. There, they …

reviewed A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

More philosophy than anything

5 stars

In reading more about this book after I finished it, which is a hint to it's unexpectedness, I learned the author is known for a genre called "Hopeful Science Fiction." The setup, roughly speaking, is that humanity has succeeded in it's transformation rather than entering a dystopian/post-apocalyptic phase.

That mindset makes this book a joy to read. It offers up a very rich and peaceful world to explore, with introspective characters who encourage reflection on the human condition.

reviewed A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

is it possible to be nostalgic for another world?

5 stars

sweet, beautiful, simple and short. this story came to me on the heels of a hard year, which itself was following a couple more hard years. sibling dex and mosscap were precisely the guides i needed to recenter at the end of this year and think about how to bring a little bit of tea monk energy into the next chapters of my life. i'll be rereading this one.

reviewed A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

A hopeful vision of the future

5 stars

It's easy to find dystopian science fiction. It's harder to find science fiction that provides a positive image of the future. It's not a blueprint, but you get the sense of a robust society that has overcome its most self-destructive tendencies. Very on-brand (in a good way!) for the author; if you've enjoyed her other books you will enjoy this one as well.