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A Psalm for the Wild-Built
(Monk & Robot #1)
by
Hugo Award-winner Becky Chambers's delightful new series gives us hope for the future.
It's been centuries since the robots of Earth 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 arriva ...more
It's been centuries since the robots of Earth 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 arriva ...more
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Kindle Edition, 160 pages
Expected publication:
July 13th 2021
by Tor.com
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Start your review of A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
Becky Chambers's writing feels like home to me.
Comforting and inclusive while making you rethink what you know through sci-fi.
The main character is non-binary and a monk so they were referred as "Sibling" (instead of "Brother" or "Sister") which was great.
If you're intrigue to read a "slice of life" with a monk and a robot trying to make sense of their lives... read this!
I already can't wait to read book 2! ...more
Comforting and inclusive while making you rethink what you know through sci-fi.
The main character is non-binary and a monk so they were referred as "Sibling" (instead of "Brother" or "Sister") which was great.
If you're intrigue to read a "slice of life" with a monk and a robot trying to make sense of their lives... read this!
I already can't wait to read book 2! ...more
Jul 18, 2018
Sana
marked it as to-read-so-bad-it-hurts
ALL THE BEST SFF AUTHORS WRITING FOR TOR.COM IS THE REASON I'M ALIVE
Also, solarpunk ...more
Also, solarpunk ...more
you will never find me complaining about how much Becky Chambers has me completely enthralled with anything she writes okay??
Feb 19, 2021
Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
physical-book-from-publisher
Just got this one and can't wait to see what all these fab reviews are all about! My first by this author!
...more
Feb 28, 2021
Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
science-fiction,
2021-release
3.5 Stars
This was a typical cute and optimistic story that I have come to expect from Becky Chambers. While this is technically science fiction, it read more like a fantastical fable. The narrative was quaint and sometimes funny, but lacking plot. I generally enjoyed this one even though I have a preference for darker stories. This will be a must read for any mega fans of this author.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This was a typical cute and optimistic story that I have come to expect from Becky Chambers. While this is technically science fiction, it read more like a fantastical fable. The narrative was quaint and sometimes funny, but lacking plot. I generally enjoyed this one even though I have a preference for darker stories. This will be a must read for any mega fans of this author.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Content warnings: insects, blood, discussion of death
This is so cute and it makes me so happy! Sibling Dex (29, agender, they/them) and Splendid Speckled Mosscap (agender, it/its) are the only travel duo I need, aka the burnt-out cleric and the impossibly inquisitive robot.
This novella reads like a prequel as we are introduced to the world Panga, a moon of planet Motan, as well as the human religion Sacred Six (Parent Gods: Bosh, God of the Cycle, Grylon, God of the Inanimate, Trikilli, God of t ...more
This is so cute and it makes me so happy! Sibling Dex (29, agender, they/them) and Splendid Speckled Mosscap (agender, it/its) are the only travel duo I need, aka the burnt-out cleric and the impossibly inquisitive robot.
This novella reads like a prequel as we are introduced to the world Panga, a moon of planet Motan, as well as the human religion Sacred Six (Parent Gods: Bosh, God of the Cycle, Grylon, God of the Inanimate, Trikilli, God of t ...more
This book was a fantastic read! The somewhat prologue was confusing for me and I almost dread reading the book until I started chapter 1 and liked Dex a lot! I loved following Dex's view and seeing them stumbled through their first day on the tea service. (The use of they/them/their for Dex immediately made sense to me because I just learned about Gender Non-Binary from my last read, The Love Square). This story definitely reeled me in, as soon as I read the first person who came with a problem
...more
May 13, 2019
Tucker (TuckerTheReader)
marked it as not-released-tbr
Shelves:
fantasy,
science-fiction
This book is a warm cup of tea made by someone who loves you. It's a soft hug of a book that says, "It's okay if you're not okay right now."
...more
4.75 stars
A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a beautiful, poignant novella exploring what it feels like to lose you purpose and the search to find it again. Set in a solar-punk world where many years ago robots disappeared from the world into the wilds after gaining sentience, and humans have had to take drastic action after realising their way of living is unsustainable.
We follow Sibling Dex, a monk who at the start of the book is feeling unfufilled in their life, despite having a seemingly perfect ...more
A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a beautiful, poignant novella exploring what it feels like to lose you purpose and the search to find it again. Set in a solar-punk world where many years ago robots disappeared from the world into the wilds after gaining sentience, and humans have had to take drastic action after realising their way of living is unsustainable.
We follow Sibling Dex, a monk who at the start of the book is feeling unfufilled in their life, despite having a seemingly perfect ...more
Becky Chambers could step on my neck and I wouldn't even care
...more
I think this was a little more philosophical and cerebral, definitely existential, than I expected it to be. But in hindsight, a series about a robot and a monk? How didn't I see this coming. That's on me.
This is definitely a gentle, wholesome, novella, not unlike we are to expect from this author, that simultaneously makes you think while also taking you out of your head a bit -- as the dedication goes, this is for all of us who need a break (boy do we ever). Much like the art of choosing a tea ...more
This is definitely a gentle, wholesome, novella, not unlike we are to expect from this author, that simultaneously makes you think while also taking you out of your head a bit -- as the dedication goes, this is for all of us who need a break (boy do we ever). Much like the art of choosing a tea ...more
A short novella set in a future world that's gone very right - humans acted in time to stop climate change, giving land back to nature and building green, adaptive cities with vertical farms. Out in the wilderness, the descendants of robots from the 'factory-age' live in freedom, after developing sentience. This is sci-fi I've been craving for years, as a climate fiction writer, and it was such a breath of fresh air to read about goodness and human kindness, while addressing our flaws and failin
...more
Feb 23, 2021
Justine
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
novellas,
science-fiction,
favorite-authors,
hype-train,
2021-haul,
netgalley,
read-in-2021
I really enjoyed this! Full review coming closer to the publication date.
I am a huge fan of Becky Chamber's Wayfarers Trilogy, but this has a sweetness and some thought provoking phrasing that I think are very good for our times. Essentially, Dex is a human with no gender who performs a service to communities in the from of a tea monk, they are really a therapist. A little like a bartender listening to problems and offering a drink to help you relax. Dex lives in a simple society, people do jobs that service the community, there is very little in the way of technolog
...more
Becky Chambers has yet to disappoint me with her books and this carries on that trend. It's a beautiful little novel of friendship and optimism that feels so desperately needed after this shitshow of a year. My only complaint is I wantedto spend more time with Dax and Mosscap. Hopefully not too long to wait until we get part 2!
...more
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
If you took a Mary Oliver poem or a Studio Ghibli movie and distilled their essence into a science fiction novel, you would get this book. If you took an early afternoon ray of sunlight, a hot cup of tea against your cheek, cicadas buzzing in high summer, and turned them into words, you would get this book. If you took every time you’ve ever felt aimless, lost, or uncertain, and multiplied that by a ...more
If you took a Mary Oliver poem or a Studio Ghibli movie and distilled their essence into a science fiction novel, you would get this book. If you took an early afternoon ray of sunlight, a hot cup of tea against your cheek, cicadas buzzing in high summer, and turned them into words, you would get this book. If you took every time you’ve ever felt aimless, lost, or uncertain, and multiplied that by a ...more
This is a wonderful comfort book! Perfect for a time like this— it let me escape for a few hours into a more hopeful and harmonious world. Part science fiction and part self discovery, this story is every bit as wholesome and calming as the tea they brew and the places they go. It left me thinking hard on meaning, purpose, and the nature of humanity. It also left me with a strong feeling of optimism about these things! These characters are an unforgettable unlikely pair and I can’t wait for more
...more
Imagine a world with many, many cups of tea. Doesn’t this world sound amazing? Doesn’t it calm you just to think of it? Sibling Dex makes people tea as a way of life, but they are still struggling to find meaning in the world. Just when they think they’re about to figure it out by seeking out the supposedly-extinct cricket song, they stumble upon a wild-built robot, Mosscap. Mosscap exudes childlike wonder and an untainted way of seeing the world. Together, Dex and Mosscap exchange thoughtful co
...more
A huge thanks to Tor for the arc!
I am always a bit iffy when reading a novella. I have a tendency to get invested in a story so much that when it ends after a hundred pages or so, I feel a sense of incompleteness. Thankfully, that wasn't the case here.
Meet Sibling Dex, a cleric who brews tea for those who are emotionally exhausted. Originally a garden monk, he switches jobs to become a tea monk, hoping it would fill the empty spaces inside of him before finally saying, "BYE," and leaving society ...more
I am always a bit iffy when reading a novella. I have a tendency to get invested in a story so much that when it ends after a hundred pages or so, I feel a sense of incompleteness. Thankfully, that wasn't the case here.
Meet Sibling Dex, a cleric who brews tea for those who are emotionally exhausted. Originally a garden monk, he switches jobs to become a tea monk, hoping it would fill the empty spaces inside of him before finally saying, "BYE," and leaving society ...more
I've had to think on this one a bit. I think if you enjoy Chambers' Wayfarers books, you'll adore this. The action level is much more muted -- practically non-existent -- but you'll get that same sense of acceptance. This is really a story about discovering that sometimes it's not about the journey OR the destination, but rather about sitting down with a cup of tea and just being at peace with a moment. You can have companionship if you desire, or stay solo in your soothing bubble of lovely tea
...more
I love this tiny beautiful story so much. And apparently I am working through some stuff because the end made me cry a lot. Anyways, here’s a quote: “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 is all most animals do.” This book made me wish for a lot of small and big things at once and did it in less than two hundred pa
...more
pleasant robot book. made me want to go look at some moss
Oct 16, 2019
leo | 飛べ
marked it as to-read
Becky Chambers could write about H and He atoms in space and I’d still want to read that book.
(She’s probably make the atoms queer and incredible, too)
(She’s probably make the atoms queer and incredible, too)
Nothing really happens in this book about an agender monk pedaling an oxcart through the wilderness. There are cups of tea, scrumptious meals, and conversations about existentialism with a forest-dwelling robot. At times it gets a little boring, but overall it is a thoroughly cozy and relaxing read and I got major Redwall vibes at the start. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is just the kind of thing you want to read a year into a pandemic, especially if you're a frontline worker exhausted with the evi
...more
Don’t you just love when the right book comes to you at the right time? This was a lovely, soft, whimsical book that completely swept me away. It was not at all what I was expecting - apparently I didn’t really read the synopsis before I downloaded this! - but it was what I needed in this season of life.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are, as always, my own.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are, as always, my own.
this lil book was like a perfectly packaged satchel of tea. it was like sitting with a friend, reminding you that it is okay to simply just be. it is okay to take shelter in the small comforts, because they always grow to something bigger.
Sep 21, 2020
Sapphic Shelves
marked it as to-read
NEW BECKY CHAMBERS HELLO
sure why not - I'll give Chambers another try
...more
This book establishes Becky Chambers even more firmly as one of my favorite authors. Her books are insightful, intelligent, and full of far-from-empty comfort.
(Read as an eARC from Edelweiss)
(Read as an eARC from Edelweiss)
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Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most
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