A Psalm for the Wild-Built: A Monk and Robot Book (Monk & Robot, 1)

Winner of the Hugo Award!

In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, bestselling 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?

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160 pages

Average rating: 8.16

421 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
Apr 02, 2025
10/10 stars
this book made me genuinely smile. dex is also so relatable.

““Then how,” Dex said, “how does the idea of maybe being meaningless sit well with you?” Mosscap considered.

“Because I know that no matter what, I’m wonderful,””
JL Reads
Mar 01, 2025
4/10 stars
“For anybody who could use a break.” Well that’s almost everyone right now…however this missed the mark for me. Dex was having an existential crisis that led the to leave the life they had known, twice. They embarked on a journey with a robot who lived in the wild. The lack of world building had me rereading pages trying to get my bearings and understand what was going on. The overuse of they as Dex’s pronouns was distracting. Sometimes the story would summarize years in just a few sentences but then spend pages lingering on just a few days. Book #21 in 2025
grldchz
Jan 26, 2025
6/10 stars
Funny, thoughtful, and humane. Downright cozy. Challenged a few of my expectations for science fiction.
katietopp
Jan 01, 2025
10/10 stars
What a lovely, poignant, beautiful book. Honestly I would give it 10 stars if I could. Sibling Dex, and Mosscap are delightful characters you cannot help but love. The meaning behind the story was so pointed in such a gentle way, and it hit me right in the stomach. I could read this over and over. Sent right to the top of my all time favorites list. Would easily recommend to anyone.
LydiaL
Nov 16, 2024
9/10 stars
Such a cozy, feel-good book. I was instantly enraptured by the world, and the characters felt so raw and real.

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