A Psalm for the Wild-Built

A Monk and Robot Book

By: Becky Chambers

Narrated by: Em Grosland

"Narrator Emmett Grosland conjures the essence of a troubled soul in search of peace in this gentle audio."—AudioFile Magazine

In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Hugo Award-winner Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk and Robot series gives us hope for the future.

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.

But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.

They're going to need to ask it a lot.

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

A Macmillan Audio production from Tordotcom

stunning

I hope this gets made into film. just wow. I was NOT ready for it to end.

Relaxing enjoyable romp into the Q of why we exist

Just what I needed to read right now. The author touched on all the things that we angst over as we go through life wondering why we're here. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Precious human, soul making is your art

This book is a beautiful journey into what it means to be human. It begins with devotion, moves through choice, and the responsibility that comes with the unlimitless lands in consequence where constructs are birthed and reaches the height of limits to arrive at acceptance.

This story is whole and incomplete. When I finished reading it, I felt all was as it should be. I fulfilled my purpose.

Philosophy with a Robot

Loved this book for a philosophy perspective and someone who has studies a bit of buddism. It was wonderfully performed and the gender neutrality was very well portrayed. I throughly enjoyed this book and look forward to listening to it time and time again to digest the conversations being had between a tea monk and a robot.

Reads Like a Studio Ghibli Film

A Psalm for the Wild-Built reads like a Studio Ghibli film placing an emphasis on the simple, mundane, every day aspects of life and tackling much more mature topics through fantasy - or in this case, science fiction.

The book examines humanity through a fresh new lens belonging to a very expressionate robot. Mosscap, the aforementioned robot, intends to ask humanity a question, "What do people need?". For Sibling Dex, a tea monk and our protagonist, this is a difficult question to answer and begs to be interpreted differently each time it's asked.

I really enjoyed the storytelling and worldbuilding in this book - utilizing the past and future to express the importance of striking a harmonious balance with a city's surrounding environment. It's probably the best example of Solarpunk I've seen since the Chobani Yoghurt ad, "Dear Alice". This is a book I've recommended to nearly all of my friends. The writing is comfortable and depicts a version of humanity that is idealistic - accepting, understanding, and respectful. If not for the references to sex and the abundant cussing, this book would be fantastic for younger audiences.

Peaceful robot human relations.

A wonderful uplifting read. I would fully recommend this to anyone at a turning point in their life.

Excellent book, decent narration, terrible recording

I love the story. It’s everything I wanted from a Becky Chambers book.

But that recording is the worst I’ve heard on audible. They clearly spliced in missing or reworked parts and it’s so jarring every time. It really makes a relaxing book feel irritating.

The narration itself is mostly fine, but at the beginning it felt very stiff and literally sounded robotic. For a while I thought the story was going to pull a trick on us and have the main character be the real robot all along. I’m not sure if that’s more recording problems or just a narrator not yet finding their groove.

Still giving it 4 stars overall because I was able to finish it and I still like the story very much.

Surprisingly good!!

I took a chance without even listening to the sample. I was immediately drawn in and addicted to the end. I just finished, and I’m checking now to see if there are other books in this series to continue this journey.

Beautiful Meaningful Story

Such a lovely, meaningful and also cozy story. The narrator was wonderful. In its simplicity, it leaves a big impression. I will continue to think about this one.

Like drinking a cozy tea

A heartwarming tale for the lost and the wandering, for the stable looking back, and the curious simply looking.