Michael P reviewed A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)
Review of 'A Psalm for the Wild-Built' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Cozy Buddhist Science Fantasy
eBook, 160 pages
English language
Published July 2, 2021 by Tom Doherty Associates.
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?
Cozy Buddhist Science Fantasy
Despite living in a utopia, a dissatisfied monk embarks upon a journey of self-discovery, illuminated by a charmingly inquisitive robot. Felt like a perfect cup of tea, served by a best friend with a warm embrace. This is #solarpunk.
This novella felt like a warm embrace. It's cozy, cute and light. A traveling tea monk exploring the world coming in contact with a conscious robot. Robots were long forgotten by humanity, having fled to the wilderness to live their own lives. I loved the discussions about life purpose and consciousness. It made me want to continue reading the next one.
Simply lovely and delightful. It’s somehow as if Wendell Berry started writing sci-fi short stories. I will be coming back to this one for sure.
My god, this was a delightful book. The only bad thing about this book is that now I really want to be a tea monk who travels around on a tiny home ebike. Everything else was splendid and fantastic.
Becky Chamber's works are rare among science fiction stories because instead of action-adventure plots they're about people talking about what it means to be alive.
The first couple of chapters felt like the plot was jumping around a hell of a lot, because they're really just backstory/preamble for the actual story
It's good that there will be a sequel because I do want to know what both Mosscap and Dex will do next
A gorgeous poke at a plausible, palpable, provocative world. Also: a timely addition to the "sad-happy speculative fiction" corpus.
Read this in Teixcalaan recovery mode and loved it. I think I was supposed to find it optimistic and cozy etc etc and I did. But I also found deep sorrows hiding in its slant looks at how we live now. So: it's about stopping to rest but it's also about getting the purpose to do better.
A short work delivered with wit, insight, and a hopeful vision of the future. Sibling Dex and Mosscap are characters that bounce off each other wonderfully, as the book peddles along at an easy clip.
If ever a work felt like a breath of fresh air, this is it.
https://www.ebooks.com/en-nl/searchapp/searchresults.net?term=9781250236227
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