The follow up to A Psalm for the Wild-Built (review), A Prayer for the Crown-Shy continues Mosscap and Dex’s adventures together. They have left the wilderlands and are visiting cities, Dex’s family and more. Let’s take a look.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
By Becky Chambers | Goodreads | Monk and Robot #2
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?
They’re going to need to ask it a lot.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy – Review
It is so easy to fall into the world of Sibling Dex and Mosscap. Lauren and I share a love for this series and they told me that this book brought them much solace, I got a hold of it right away. It’s such a good audiobook too!
The Human Society
After the events of A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Siblings Dex and Mosscap have reached the edge of the forest and it is now time for Mosscap to meet the humans, to finally ask them the questions that he is questing for. Dex is worried that while humans will welcome Mosscap, they will also use him as they used machines. The first day at the village sees numerous people asking for Mosscap’s help, taking his question of ‘what do humans need?’ literally and assigning all sorts of tasks to him. Mosscap, being Mosscap, happily completes them and sends Dex on his way to relax after a long time in the wilderness.
This gives Dex the chance to reflect on where they are on their journey. What are they doing with Mosscap? They set out to be a tea monk and were really good at it but, now, they aren’t making tea for anyone right now. They are feeling burnout and also aimlessness as they travel with Mosscap. There is anxiety about introducing Mosscap to humans and helping it with its mission.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy through Dex, once again offers commentary on knowing ourselves and pursuing what we love, challenging the societal ideas of being good and productive. There are also nuanced conversations about why we lie to our family members and who we choose to be open to. Dex had difficulty enjoying leisure without doing something for the people in return. Community service is ingrained deeply in the society of Panga. Becky Chambers beautifully expands the world by introducing the peg system that replaced money on Panga, a communist approach. There are so many times in the book when I am awestruck like Mosscap at the human society. It truly is more advanced and serene than ours. It counts on how we feel to drive us to do things rather than material pursuits.
As Mosscap spends more time with humans, it is integrating into a brand new culture. I was reminded of my early days in Canada. How everything was shiny and I was curious to try it out. Mosscap wanted to experience all shades of humanity.
Mosscap and Books
Mosscap discovers books and that is one of my favorite parts of the story. As a machine, it does sleep and becomes very restless when it has to give Dex time to get their rest.
It is so hard to contain the love of a book. That is why I pursue writing about them. Blogging, staging, all these are ways to be longer with a book and Mosscap knows.
Other little things
- I love the gods in this book. Especially Sibling Dex’s Alaleyah, the god of small comforts. It is a reminder to enjoy the little things like a hot shower.
- Dex and I were surprised by the Mosscap’s take on death and dying. In the robot society, there is no remaking parts, there is only reusing what is good for making new robots. I loved Dex’s patience with Mosscap and the lengths to which they were willing to go to keep Mosscap healthy.
- Mosscap started this journey to ask humans one question: What do humans need? In its discussions with humans it found two kinds of needs. The question seems like it is asking what we lack but in reality, the beauty of the answer is that the need may already be met. It may be a need that one wants to continue to be met. I thought about it from my point of view: What do I need? I need Clinton, my hobbies and my cats. I have them all. And hopefully I will continue to.
Have you read this book or are you going to? If you enjoy audiobooks, this whole series has been a great one to listen to!
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was a finalist in the 2022 Nebula Award. Add it to your Goodreads.
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