That’s where they’ve remained, far from human life… until a robot suddenly turns up at a tea monk’s door. In this heartwarming story, we enter a utopian future years after the end of the Factory Age, when robots put down their tools and gave up their roles as human servants to disappear into the untouched wilderness. The result is a true balm for the soul, as comforting and wholesome as any of the personalized tea blends conjured and served with love by Dex, a tea monk at the centre of this story.Īt the heart of the book are these questions: What do humans really want? What does a meaningful life look like? And what about meaningful work? The first book in Becky Chamber’s Monk and Robot series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built is one of the most popular books at the forefront of hopepunk, a genre of optimistic and utopian sci-fi that’s grounded in human kindness, sustainability, and care for nature.

This book opens with a dedication to anyone who could do with a break. Just an hour or two to sit and do something nice, and then they could get back to whatever it was.” A Psalm for the Wild-Built Book review of A Psalm for the Wild-Built You could use a break.“Old people, young people. The only problem is that you can read it in an afternoon, and it will leave you wanting more… but that’s where the sequel comes in.Ĥ.5 cricket songs out of 5. It’s the fictional equivalent of a warm blanket. This book is so refreshing, from its dedication to its invention of a sci-fi world where you could happily live as a background character, as opposed to all the protagonist-and-laser-centric stories we’re used to. And when Dex meets a new friend, Splendid Speckled Mosscap, on a philosophical journey to discover what people need, they travel pretty far afield to find the answer. But that missing something isn’t quite so easy to find. So, Dex decides to become the best tea monk (a barista/therapist on wheels) in all the land. And Dex is a devotee to a goddess of comfort.

There’s a great respect for art and culture. Sibling Dex is a monk on Panga, which is a planet that’s a pretty swell place to live. My first exposure to her work was probably four years ago when I read A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which is a bit like Firefly if instead of doing crime the crew worked in infrastructure and really like hugs. While I truly understand the appeal of world-saving fantasy, super hero, and sci-fi stories, it sure is nice to have something a little lower-stakes once in a while. Dedication: “For anyone who could use a break”

A psalm for the wild built art