Becky Chambers continues to set a high bar for solarpunk science fiction with the second installment of her Monk and Robot series. The books—set in a future utopia where economic systems like capitalism are a thing of the past—are not only a pleasure to read, but are a great exercise in imagining better and more sustainable futures.

Ever since her novella, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, came out last summer, I’ve been telling people it’s the best book I’ve read in years. Book one itself is a wonderful adventure that, with important themes about the value of therapy and the relationship between people and nature, will likely be counted among the classic examples of comfort literature. And while there’s no hyperbole in that opinion, I’m also no longer able to say that book one is the best book I’ve read in years.

I just read the sequel, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, which is scheduled for release on July 12, 2022 from Tordotcom, and I have to say, this second installment of the Monk and Robot series blew straight through my already high expectations. It didn’t stop there though; it kept going, and I was grateful. Together, the two books tell a tender, hopeful story of empathy and healing, like a soft blanket that keeps you warm on a cold night.


Like book one, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy follows the tea monk Sibling Dex as they travel the tiny moon of Panga with Splendid Speckled Mosscap. Mosscap is the first robot to make contact with Pangans since robots attained consciousness and departed for the rewilded half of Panga countless years before. Whereas book one has Mosscap guiding Dex through an exploration of the mysterious wilderness, book two flips the script and brings the unlikely companions out of the wilderness. Sibling Dex now guides Mosscap from village to village, navigating their newfound fame while the robot seeks an answer to its primary question, “What do humans need?” which is the question he has been tasked with exploring and answering by the robot population.

As the pair travel from place to place, they encounter folks who have adapted—over what are presumed to be millenia—to the absence of robot labor in a variety of different ways, leading to the development of unique communities. Aside from meeting new people, having new experiences, and seeking the answer to its question, in each new village they visit, Mosscap—through its interactions with the villagers and its reflections on those interactions—is presented and faced with a philosophical question. From the nature of existence and consciousness, need and want, to experiencing and contemplating the reality of entropy and decay, the philosophical musings and ponderings often lead to some kind of existential dilemma, presenting Mosscap and Sibling Dex important opportunities to make choices as they as they learn about themselves, each other, and the communities of Panga.

Particularly relevant examples of this come when a small but vital piece of Mosscap breaks, and when the robot meets a baby for the first time. Through both encounters, Mosscap’s reflections and conversations with Sibling Dex reveal engaging ponderings on the realities of entropy and decay. In the same way, conversations in both book one and two about the history of the robot population lead to fascinating musings on the nature of sentient consciousness and how it develops.

Reading like an intimate and heartwarming adventure filled with philosophical exploration, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is at the same time fun, contemplative, and touching. I’ve enjoyed very little over the past year more than following the relationship between Sibling Dex and Mosscap as it has developed throughout their adventure. I feel like they’re my best friends, and I already miss them.

I think it’s time to make a cup of tea, sit back, and listen.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built was one of my favorite 2021 books, and I hand sell it absolutely any chance I get. I have bought so many copies to give to friends who I thought could use something soft and gentle.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was a lovely book, but I can't say it had quite the same gentle magic that its predecessor contained. Books with lessons and commentary are important, but I didn't expect there to be so much of it packed into this one.

However, the finish was strong and lovely and broke my heart with how tender and hopeful it was.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy follows Sibling Dex and Mosscap the Robot as they travel the human portion of their moon to ask what it is, exactly, that humans need.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a balm and a joy. This book confronts a particular kind of despair for the future that is so easy to fall into in our world. The friendship between Dex and Mosscap offers hope and belief that isn't simple or strained, but nuanced and complicated.

This series is a love song to platonic, life-altering relationships and to the real possibility of a better future after apocalyptic selfishness.

I want to thank Becky Chambers for these books because they heal something in me.

This series is so wholesome, a prayer for the crown shy is just as perfect as a psalm for the wild built. This is one of those books everyone needs to read! A prayer for the crown shy is uplifting, encouraging, and a warm hug in a book.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is the coziest little communist book.

In the second of the Monk and Robot series, Sibling Dex and Mosscap continue their slice of life adventures. Sibling Dex, a human/Tea Monk, and Mosscap, a kind Robot, became best buds in A Psalm for the Wild-Built. They search for any meaning in life and why existence matters. In this follow up, Dex shows Mosscap the rural inhabitants, life on the road, camping by the coast, and the joy of spending time with loved ones.

I find some sense of comfort as a depressed person with life anxieties within these pages. I’m reminded to take the joy in the quiet, calm little moments. Becky Chambers reminds me why it’s ok just to exist and enjoy life. Mosscap’s outrageous enthusiasm for the little things sparks something in me I don’t want to forget.

Becky Chambers really wants us to think about the idea of fulfillment in these books. This isn’t simply a cozy speculative novel. It’s a novel about our society. Capitalism warps our ideas of what we find fulfilling in life. In order to be successful and happy, apparently we need to show the numbers in our overworked lives. Day in and day out, we give and give and die for companies that feel no sympathy for how we feel. We are easily replaced. We’re nothing but a machine putting in the numbers to increase their wealth. That mindset works as one and impacts the whole.

But in Becky Chambers’ world, the robots left the factories to live in the forest. Mosscap wants to discover what humans need. Have the human’s improved? What makes them feel good about themselves, what they enjoy in life, and the joy in little quirky habits of humans. Dex is such a kind person, always trying to help others and never themself. They feel lost in this world. Dex feels empty in the way many depressed people in our society feel.

That’s what’s so enjoyable about Mosscap, though. A robot, an object, gives hope to humanity. It reminds us of happiness and brings us further away from this depressing need to have a reason to live.

Feeling happy and enjoyment in something is enough. Taking time in between things for yourself is necessary to be fulfilled. There doesn’t need to be some grand epic adventure for something to be important. That, essentially, is what Becky Chambers does so brilliantly.

This is the type of book I like to read in between the dark, gloomy fantasy books so dear to my heart. It gives that balance in the in-between. The same way this book resembles the little in-between moments of life, it’s a great book to pick up in between the chonky epics. It’s short, cozy, and makes you want to go on a little gay camping trip.

So much of this book is intelligently thought through. When looking at these books, I notice this one isn’t as structured. The plot isn’t as tightly organized. I felt like wandering for most of the time, unlike A Psalm for the Wild-Built. There’s more of a ‘where are we going precisely?’ aspect that could have been clarified into a tighter purpose. No matter the intent, books still need some structure so it doesn’t feel like they’ve been chopped up into different pieces. I enjoyed this a lot but just because I love something doesn’t mean I should ignore the flaws. Chambers is saying something really brilliant here, but it lacks editorial work that could have made it look more like a single thing.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers is a great big smile of a book. Soft, comforting, and full of brilliant philosophical ideas but not as impressive and structured as the first.

Thank you to Tordotcom for an ARC for review.

In keeping with Chambers' other work, this is cozy sci-fi. It is the sequel to a book I haven't read, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, which I did not realize when I started reading it, but it made sense anyway. The author imagines a society that has moved beyond petroleum dependence, but still bears the scars of that previous era. The gentle interactions of human Sibling Dex and sentient robot Mosscap as they travel though their world are full of hope and understanding, and not much tension. A worthwhile imagining of a future constrained but not grim.

This is a sequel that stands on its own. That always seems hard to do in todays book world if you will. Ms. Chambers did a great job on this book and I cannot wait to read number 3 (assuming she’s writing another one). I like to think of this book series as a sci fi meditation series.

This was a great second book in the monk and robot series; I love the mix of existential philosophy and characters finding their way in the world and being kind even when they feel aimless. Relationships and kindness are key to this series as are the deeper questions of purpose and spirituality. And behind it all is an example of a solarpunk world, a society that, in the days of headlines of ocean extinctions and food shortages, gives us something to strive for.

How do I summarize this book and do it justice? I don't think I can. If you've read "A Psalm for the Wild-Built," you already know you want to read this; if you haven't read the first book, go read it now, don't wait another moment! There is something life-changing to this duology - it will make you think about what you have and question what you need, and you might discover how close these two things are. It will make you wish traveling tea monks were a thing in our world, and you'll wish for a robot friend like Mosscap. And while I didn't want the book to end, the ending was perfect. These books are a big, long hug from a dear friend, put them on your list of needs.


#APrayerfortheCrownShy #NetGalley

Another stunner from the ever-lyrical and mindblowing Becky Chambers, fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I plan on rereading this again and again to fully soak it up.

Of course this is just as beautiful as "A Psalm for the Wild-Built." I can't really articulate how moving these novellas are, I just think everyone should read them if they like quiet, chill stuff. No real conflict, no overt trauma, just speculative utopian vibes and a gorgeously queer-normative, ecologically-centered world. I need 1,000 sequels, if at all possible...

There's this type of video game that I was briefly into in the early 2000's that I think is called 'slice of life' where, in a particular game, you would essentially wander around town and could explore the shops and buildings and things. There was an overarching storyline and THING you were supposed to be doing, but I kind of never did the thing. I would just explore.

This book gave me a similar feeling and I really enjoyed it. The pacing is nice and slow, in a cozy sort of way. We're getting to explore this world that is charming and (mostly) inviting and rich with natural imagery. It's feel good and wholesome with a welcome edge of sparsely used cursing and sex. This book is a lovely and thoughtful comfort read.

I opened A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, read the first sentence and felt my shoulders lower and my jaw unclench. This is a difficult book to review because my response to it is a blend of intellectual and emotional that’s hard to capture. It’s easy to describe one or the other and harder to get communicate “I’m thinking deep thoughts and feeling feelings all over the place!” So just assume that all the thoughts and responses are happening at once. And if I were the type of person to join a cult, I’d probably join Becky Chamber’s Tea Monk cult, which sadly does not exist.

In the sheer delight category, Mosscap meets a dog. It is perfect.

With Mosscap and Sibling Dex so engaged in human society, A Prayer for the Crown Shy has a very different rhythm than A Psalm for the Wild Built. They travel from community to community on their way to the City. The human communities that Mosscap and Sibling Dex visit are like crown shy trees in a forest – inter-connected, interdependent, but not touching. The humans within those communities can also be like crown shy trees – interdependent, but not touching.

Yes!” Mosscap said, as if remembering where it was and why. The robot spread it’s arms before the crowd. “My question is: what do you need?”

This is the central question, what do you need? The answers are simple and complex, satisfactory and unsatisfactory. Sibling Dex’s internal conflicts make an interesting backdrop to Mosscap’s mission to understand how humanity is doing a few centuries after the robots woke up and decided to leave.

I initially thought the journey is more important than the destination, but it’s more accurate to say the emotional destination is more important than the physical destination.

I received an advance reader copy from Tordotcom via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is one of my most anticipated books for 2022. Its predecessor, Psalm for the Wild-Built, was one of my favorite books I read in 2021 because it came to me just at the right time.

After Sibling Dex and Mosscap completed their adventure in the wild, Mosscap wants to travel with Dex to ask people one question: what do you need? As the duo travels around Panga, Dex still grapples with some of their burnout from the first book and Mosscap gets varying answers from the people it meets.

What fascinates me the most about this series is the way humans have built their society on Panga itself, from their use of technology to their economic system. I think it's oddly comforting that even in a world that feels much more stable than our own, people still experience similar things. The bottom line is that it should be okay to rest without any guilt, because a person's value is not intrinsically tied to what they can produce for others.

Don't get me started on the dedication, because I fully relate to it. "For anyone who doesn't know where they're going."

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge (Tordotcom) for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful, meditative conclusion to the Monk and Robot duology. (At least, I assume it's a conclusion.) Dex and Mosscap are such a lovely pair, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them explore civilization and society together. And the ending was so perfect. It's another soft, comforting sci-fi read.

LOVE THIS!!! I really loved the first book in the duology, but A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a favorite in a whole different way. This has more consistent pacing and feels like a hug in book form, combined with a therapy session.

I adore the way Becky Chambers does sci-fi that is soft and feel-good, with an underlying backbone of hard science. This is no different. It's a hopeful vision of humanity after a near apocalypse, where they have finally learned to co-exist sustainably on earth. Sibling Dex continues their journey of showing Mosscap (a robot) around human settlements. Dex is experiencing burnout and must learn to accept it's okay for them to rest and that their value isn't derived from their production. Mosscap is learning about what it means to be sentient and making choices about themselves and their future. It's just the most lovely, vibrant, cozy book and I adored it. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Similar to the first title in this series, sweet and simple with a very uplifting and comforting message. I love the affirmation that we don't have to earn rest or comfort, that we can just be.

Screw chicken soup for the soul! Give me the cup of tea that is a Monk & Robot any day of the week. I loved the first in the series, but it's possible I loved this one even a little bit more. Becky deftly navigates Mosscap's education of the human world in what can very much be seen as an allegory for the neurodivergent experience. This book is peaceful and questioning all at once - a story that holds you tight and lets you know you're never truly alone.

A sweet, soft story for the weary. I adore these characters—Dex and Mosscap—with all my heart, and Chambers does them justice yet again in this next instalment of 'Monk and Robot'. It is tender, it is powerful, it is a gentle confrontation of all our mixed fears and worries. The first book was so comforting, the philosophies therein so touching and heartfelt and genuine—it felt as though I was sat with Dex and Mosscap, listening and thinking and wondering all of these things about myself, too. What does it mean to be? Are we more than the sum of our parts? Is it enough to just exist and to find purpose in that existence? Must there be a bigger purpose? Chambers' philosophy is one that can resonate with everyone these days, ravaged by the world events as we are. And it's so refreshing to come across philosophy in a way that is not condescending and is entirely accessible through reading. This isn't just a whispered prayer for the weary or a murmured hope for the future—it is a profound and deeply needed introspection on humanity, on need, on purpose and more.

I cannot sing my praises for this book enough. It's short and sweet—I finished it in less than two hours—but it sticks with you. I'm still thinking of this and the first book in this duology, and likely I will continue to think of it for longer. It's not meant to be a grand and sweeping epic tale, and that is one element that I love so much. It's a small, close-up look at two characters in the big wide world they live in, and their journeys to understand their place and purpose in it. Needless to say, this (A PRAYER FOR THE CROWN-SHY) and its predecessor (A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT) are books I will continue to go back to and re-read over and over again. They're comforting, confronting, and deeply human, asking for nothing in return but simply for you to read.

Sibling Dex and Mosscap continue their adventures, this time making their way out to various villages to allow Mosscap to ask the ultimate question, "What do you need?" to the people they meet along the way and find a surprising variety of answers. Another wonderful Monk and Robot story by Becky Chambers.