The village members naturally take this literally and have Mosscap running around doing all manner of things to help out around the village. Mosscap is quickly introduced to Panga’s currency system when it poses the question, “What do humans need?” to members of a nearby village. This novella also explores the economy of Panga, which is something I was curious about after reading the first book. It takes a clever solution by Dex, and time to allow Mosscap to make up its mind about what to do, to solve the problem. For example, Mosscap has a part break and believes it is time for it to die because robots chose to forgo immortality by allowing themselves to age and break without replacing their pieces and parts. Threads of this quest are still woven throughout the story, but now, Mosscap also experiences some dilemmas of meaning and personhood. The story in Crown-Shy focuses a lot on Mosscap and its interactions with more people, whereas A Psalm for the Wild-Built focused mostly on Dex and their quest for a meaningful life. As soon as Dex has a satellite signal, they send a message to those in authority, and the news that a robot has made contact with humans for the first time in centuries is quickly spread throughout the communities on Panga. Dex and Mosscap have made their peace with one another, and now, they are working their way back towards civilization from their time in the wilderness together. Needless to say, I devoured this book in one sitting.Ī Prayer for the Crown-Shy takes place a few days after the events in its predecessor. I also bought it for my Kindle, so I could read it anywhere, anytime. As soon as it was available at my local bookstore, I purchased it. I fell absolutely in love with that book, so I was eagerly awaiting its sequel, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.

The first book I read by her was A Psalm for the Wild-Built, which is the first book in her Monk and Robot series of novellas. I first heard of Becky Chambers last year. They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.īecky Chambers’s new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter? A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a story of kindness and love from one of the foremost practitioners of hopeful SF.Īfter 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.

A prayer for the crown shy release date