A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)

by Becky Chambers

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 honour 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.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

5 of 5 stars

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A Psalm for the Wild-Built, written by Becky Chambers, is a robot book that can easily touch the hearts of any of its readers.

Hundreds of years ago, the robots of Earth gained sentience and stopped working for humans. Unlike what pop culture would like to believe, the humans were willing to let the robots run off and have their own lives – and the robots were willing to leave peacefully.

This is the world that our main characters have always known, where robots and humans lived separately – in peace, but never really knowing how the other was doing. Or what they wanted going forward.

"Sometimes a person reaches a point in their life when it becomes absolutely essential to get the fuck out of the city."

A Psalm for the Wild-Built is the best of both worlds. It is imaginative and fun while somehow portraying a futuristic world that is simple and comforting. It is not a world that I would have ever considered imagining all one my own, and I love it so much.

The characters are an absolute highlight in this novella, and with good reason. They're so charming and inquisitive, trying to find what they want/need out of life. There's something so refreshing to see this discussion aired so openly.

Speaking of refreshing – I adore how inclusive A Psalm for the Wild-Built is. That is half the reason why I felt this novella was a comforting one, as the characters seem to honestly care – and were always working their ways towards understanding.

I do not know if this will be the first in a series or if this was a standalone novella. I do know that I would love to see anything and everything else that Becky Chambers thinks up, primarily if it stems from this world.

Thanks to Tor.com and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 August, 2021: Finished reading
  • 2 August, 2021: Reviewed