

Chambers’ writing is very descriptive, and the world comes to life as Sibling Dex starts out as a garden monk, switches vocation to a tea monk, and decides to take a break altogether and embark on a journey to Hart’s Brow Mountain outside of human settlement. 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 the Threads Child Gods: Samafar, Chal, Allalae).

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. (Jul.A Psalm for the Wild-Built ( Monk & Robot #1) by Becky ChambersĬlick on the cover for my review on Goodreads. Fans of gentle, smart, and hopeful science fiction will delight in this promising series starter.

Their plans quickly go awry when they are approached by Mosscap, an inquisitive robot elected by its fellows to make first contact with humanity and find the answer to the question: what do humans need? Written with all of Chambers' characteristic nuance and careful thought, this is a cozy, wholesome meditation on the nature of consciousness and its place in the natural world. Seeking solitude, they venture into the protected wilderness zone, where no human has set foot in centuries. When Sibling Dex, a tea monk, leaves The City, Panga's only metropolis, to travel the countryside offering tea and a listening ear to anyone who needs it, they are forced to acknowledge a deep sense of dissatisfaction with their life. Hundreds of years ago, when the robots of Panga first gained sentience, they chose to retreat from human society rather than live in it as free citizens and they haven't been seen since. Hugo Award winner Chambers (the Wayfarers series) launches the Monk and Robot series with this contemplative, bite-size novel.
