A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

June 4, 2022

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

On the moon called Panga, long ago robots put down their tools and walked out of their factories. They wandered off into the wilderness, never to be seen again. Centuries later, they are a legend to tell children.  After being a tea monk for years, traveling from town to town to perform tea ceremonies, Sibling Dex is tired of their normal routine and decides to go off grid into the wilderness. To their surprise, they encounter a robot named Mosscap (who is a wild-built robot, constructed from the parts of earlier generations of robots). Mosscap has been sent by its people to find out what people need. This raises the question for both Mosscap and Sibling Dex that if people have everything they want, do they need more?

This is an homage to taking comfort in another's presence, that it's okay to want to not feel alone. I love Becky Chambers' writing. I loved her Wanderers series and was sorry to see it end. This is the first book in what I hope will be a new series. Mosscap and Sibing Dex are great characters, like all of the characters in Chambers' books. The story is comforting like a cup of tea at the end of a cold or troubling day. Love the cover picture of Dex sitting on his wagon with a steaming cup of tea and Mosscap coming down the road.

Ruins like the ones that Dex and Mosscap find at the wilderness monastery