Becky Chambers

In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Hugo Award-winner Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk & Robot series gives us hope for the future. 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? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

I bet you could travel that road for days and never see another person, they thought. The wagon's got all you need.

They pulled out their pocket computer, as was their habit first thing, dimly aware of the hope that always spurred them to do so-that there might be something good there, something exciting or nourishing, something that would replace the weariness.

Clara Schweiger

Before long, Dex was no longer nursing something as simple as an odd fancy for a faraway insect. The itch had spread into every aspect of their life. When they looked up at the skyscrapers, they no longer marveled at their height but despaired at their density-endless stacks of humanity, packed in so close that the vines that covered their engi- neered casein framnes could lock tendrils with one another. The intense feeling of containment within the City became intolerable. Dex wanted to inhabit a place that spread not up but out.

Sometimes, a person reaches a point in their life when it becomes absolutely essential to get the fuck out of the city. It doesn't matter if you've spent your entire adult life in a city, as was the case for Sibling Dex. It doesn't matter if the city is a good city, as Panga's only City was. It doesn't ter that your friends are there, as well as every building you love, every park whose best hidden corners you know, ev- ery street your feet instinctively follow without needing to check for directions. The City was beautiful, it really was. A towering architectural celebration of curves and polish and colored light, laced with the connective threads of el- evated rail lines and smooth footpaths, Alocked with leaves that spilled lushly from every balcony and center divider, each inhaled breath perfumed with cooking spice, fresh nectar, laundry drying in the pristine air. The City was a healthy place, a thriving place. A never-ending harmony of making, doing, growing, trying, laughing, running, living.

Alli

You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.

“That's something I'm doing. Thats not my reason for being. When I am done with this, I will do other things. I do not have a purpose any more than a mouse or a slug…”

The place ahead was simply the world, as the world had always been and would always be. Dex was, presumably, a part of it, a product of it, a being inextricably tied to its machinations. And yet, faced with the prospect of entering the world unaided, unaltered, Dex felt helpless. Hopeless.

Naomi J.

Mosscap considered. “Because I know that no matter what, I’m wonderful,” it said.

Elizabeth

, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just 

We don’t have to fall into the same category to be of equal value. 

sage

Marisa S. Pan 

Hugo Award-winner Becky Chambers's delightful new series gives us hope for the future. 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?

yk those speedup videos of plants getting watered and you can see the leaves starting up, the color getting more vibrant, and the soil looking moist and satisfied? this is how this book made me feel 

gigi

i really struggled with the book until the robot was introduced, but it felt like the perfect book for the current period in my life. 

as i find myself struggling with identity and purpose, this book was a warm hug and a way of finding peace in nature, in each other, and an appreciation on how we're all connected. 

one of the passages in chapter 7 hit me right in the heart, i never expected to find my internal monologue, word-for-word, in a book. 

Mitul Shah

For anyone who needs a break

i really struggled with the book until the robot was introduced, but it felt like the perfect book for the current period in my life. 

as i find myself struggling with identity and purpose, this book was a warm hug and a way of finding peace in nature, in each other, and an appreciation on how we're all connected. 

one of the passages in chapter 7 hit me right in the heart, i never expected to find my internal monologue, word-for-word, in a book. 

the most beautiful book ive ever had the pleasure of reading, i want to be absorbed by the words 

only half way in i was recommending this book to anyone who would listen. what a salve. 🤖🌱🫖 

mira lee

An inspiring solarpunk short about a nonbinary monk and a quirky robot, Psalm was such a warm, inviting, and cozy read that I couldn't help but feel sad that it was over by the time I'd finished. 

This is a book that challenges the reader to imagine a hopeful world and I am desperate for more. 

Krys C

An inspiring solarpunk short about a nonbinary monk and a quirky robot, Psalm was such a warm, inviting, and cozy read that I couldn't help but feel sad that it was over by the time I'd finished. 

This is a book that challenges the reader to imagine a hopeful world and I am desperate for more. 

~Anna~

The feral urge to escape into the wilderness and not to come into contact with another human being is a relatable one. 

Even though I can’t relate to Dex on all levels, I think the story in and of itself is one where all humans could appreciate its message and the perspective of another. 

I will be thinking about its story for years to come.

Katy Watkins

A cozy and beautiful little sci-fi adventure about life and our purpose in all of it. 

Ahhh what an utterly adorable story about what it means to be human— sorry, a person— sorry… sapient? What it means to be us! And do we have an ADHD robot from a society of autistic robots here? Either way, I love Mosscap. Rather fond of the monk who makes tea for people, too - a true spiritual calling. I need more of Mosscap and Dex in my life immediately.

Totally and definitely understand why this won the Hugo Award. A heartwarming sci-fi utopian story and that dives into the meaning of life and just being, in general. Super fitting that it came out during the pandemic, too. Can't wait to read the next one!

(Bre)anne✨

TW to be added later

Totally and definitely understand why this won the Hugo Award. A heartwarming sci-fi utopian story and that dives into the meaning of life and just being, in general. Super fitting that it came out during the pandemic, too. Can't wait to read the next one!

I’m honestly not sure how to put my feelings into words for this book. I want to live in the world that Chambers has crafted, I want to know the characters. I want more. 

Floofyflower

Wonderful book to read! Eye opening and really changes my view on how I see purpose in life and the cycle of living. Very philosophical!!

Teo Orlando

jackson neher

such a lovely little story. chambers writing feels like home. a simple story with such a wholesome depth.

Louise 

*3.5 rounded up

First Becky Chambers book I've read and I enjoyed it..by the end. 
Dex takes a while to warm too imo and this book is too short for you to not enjoy the characters 🫠 I enjoyed the world building, the plot and the connection between the characters by the end.

Having read my fair share of cyberpunk, I appreciated Becky Chambers guiding me into my first solarpunk experience. I found her premise refreshingly simple and surprisingly original: robots have become sentient, are offered their equal place in human society ... and refuse the invitation, taking off to enjoy nature instead. I did not mind the many philosophical conversations between the book's protagonists, but I also wouldn't have minded a bit more of a narrative arc, or burning platform.

Frederik De Bosschere

I listen to this book narrated by Em Grosland. In a tumultuous world, this is a salve for the soul. It is mostly an atmospheric story that discovers the new world (sometime in the future) by a monk and a robot. The book has a lot of observational things about the world and philosophical questions about being in and living and finding your place in it.

I loved that the Monk had they/them pronouns and the Robot it.

Suzanne

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Monk & Robot #1

Becky Chambers with Em Grosland (Narrator)

I listen to this book narrated by Em Grosland. In a tumultuous world, this is a salve for the soul. It is mostly an atmospheric story that discovers the new world (sometime in the future) by a monk and a robot. The book has a lot of observational things about the world and philosophical questions about being in and living and finding your place in it.

I loved that the Monk had they/them pronouns and the Robot it.

dija

I didnt know a scifi book could be so gentle. Mosscap and Dex my little meow meows

Shona Tiger

Updated review: I really wanted to love this book. Instead, I found it fairly light and not very memorable. I did like it, because it’s partly about a rather unusual robot. It also has a lot of angst in it (the monk’s), and that got a little disconcerting, given how light the rest of the book was.

I would hold off reading this, and wait for the next book to come out, and the reviews for that. I think it lays the foundation for an interesting story; but one may as well wait for the series to really get going. Life is short.

Rated: 5/10.

Wow this book was so well-written. I can totally see how Becky Chambers is a Hugo Award winner. I’d heard about some cozy fantasy books before, but I wasn’t sure about cozy sci-fi. This cozy sci-fi wasn’t just like a warm hug, it also dealt with pretty heavy and interesting concepts in a gentle, informative way. I read this all in one sitting and I think I will be returning to it many times in the future. 

Katie Allard

I think I read this exactly when I was meant to. I think a lot of people can relate to the feeling of having no purpose - and this novella really challenges you to be okay with that.

Skyler Blue

Jay Harris

Might be my favorite book so far this year. Really beautiful and comforting.

A few of the Goodreads reviews mention something along the lines of "I read this at the right time in my life," and I felt that way too.

becky chambers is the queen of cosy sci-fi. this is was short and heartwarming in a way that i have only seen her achieve.

Dave | Storyphoria

Get subscribed to the Storyphoria podcast where you can hear my full thoughts, SPOILER FREE, on this and many others! Or subscribe to the newsletter if you prefer to read them!

https://solo.to/storyphoria


I’m not sure I’ve ever read a science fiction/fantasy story that feels quite so cozy and warm while also tackling the heaviest of all heavy themes that result in a ton of existential introspection.

When all is said an done this is a very quick read, warm and inviting, that asks some big questions without being abrasive or inducing panic. Chambers seems to enjoy giving us a safe and welcoming world to explore through Dex and Mosscap while giving us a gift bag on the way out inviting us to further think about our own life.

It’s a cozy palette cleanser perfect for anyone needing a break from a more intense reading schedule. While it isn’t perfect, largely due to the only plot being a journey, both physically and inner psyche-wise, into the wilds for Dex and Mosscap to find themselves, it’s still an enjoyable read worthy of space on your shelf.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Reviews

Highlights