• A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

  • A Monk and Robot Book, Book 2
  • By: Becky Chambers
  • Narrated by: Em Grosland
  • Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (927 ratings)

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A Prayer for the Crown-Shy  By  cover art

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

By: Becky Chambers
Narrated by: Em Grosland
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Publisher's summary

2022 Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Long-listed
2022 Audible.com Best of the Year, Long-listed
2023 Nebula Awards - Nominee, Short-listed
2022
Washington Post Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

“Tender and healing... I’m prescribing a preorder to anyone who has ever felt lost. Stunning, kind, necessary.” —Sarah Gailey on book 1: A Psalm for the Wild-Built

"This hopeful listen, full of humor, illuminates a world listeners will yearn to return to." -AudioFile on A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a story of kindness and love from one of the foremost practitioners of hopeful SF.

After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home.

They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.

Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter?

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com

©2022 Becky Chambers (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

A Goodreads Most Anticipated Summer Read!

A Top Ten LibraryReads Selection!

“[A] lightly drawn but profound meditation on belief, entropy, and the nature of need and want that once again demonstrates Chambers’s prowess as both a storyteller and a thinker. Quiet and contemplative, empathic and warmhearted, this masterful sequel builds on the themes of the first volume to posit a more sustainable, more caring way of life. It’s both truly comforting and endlessly thought-provoking. ” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Thoughtful, with a gentleness that is as encompassing as any action-filled work.” —Library Journal, starred review “[A] hopeful glimpse at what our future might look like.” —Booklist

“As charming and heartwarming as the first.” —Buzzfeed

Featured Article: Best of the Year—The 12 Best Sci-Fi Listens of 2022


This year’s sci-fi didn’t shy away from heavy, timely topics like climate change, pandemics, and social justice, but even as the subject matter hit close to home, the listening reached to new heights. Several stunning multicast productions make up this list—as well as narrators we can’t hear enough of. In a world that seems increasingly science fictional by the year, the bar is only set higher for creators in this genre—and this year’s list inches it up a little more.

What listeners say about A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

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  • Overall
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A Great Followup to my favorite novella

absolutely blasted through this entry to the series. it is indescribably comforting and fills me with warmth. not sad it's over, glad it happened.
the performance is absolutely perfect and we'll cast, the world is wonderful and idyllic. I want to live in Penga.

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Thank You

Thank you, Becky Chambers. Thanks so much. I needed this book right now. I need to see a healed world. I'm so glad you're writing it.

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  • Overall
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Hope punk gives me life

A gentle reminder that it can't be enough to just BE in these times of fear and strife

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Heartwarming and hopeful

This series is sweet and thoughtful and deceptively philosophical. I think I would like to live in a future like this... even understanding that being human will always be mystifying

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it's so exquisitly written. it reads like prose.

Chambers is one of my new favorite authors. If you're looking for emergent writers, you've found one in Chambers. Thought-provoking yet simply executed.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Great story, love it! Audio quality is poor

Amazing second book, really thought provoking and deep. Loved seeing the character growth of the individuals and their relationship. However just like the first book the audio quality sucks, there are several times the narrator sounds like different people when it’s only the one person reading it. Not like a change up in the voice for a character

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love and simplicity

Absolutely beautiful story! I want to always be reading about these characters and they're friendship! It is one of the best feeling, easy to listen too, meditative books I've encountered

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Wholesome

I enjoyed the compelling and optimistic view of a possible far future. Would suggest for a mood lift

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Characters were believable

This was a sequel and I enjoyed it very much. The characters were believable and the World building left nothing more to be desired. Lovely story, thank you Becky.

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Lovely escape to a hopeful world

I read the first, but even more enjoyed being read this second installment. The narrator is great, really made Mosscaps personality come alive!

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