Editors Reads Verdict
The second Monk and Robot novella deepens the world and the relationship established in A Psalm for the Wild-Built — Mosscap encountering human society is as delightful and as quietly serious as its predecessor.
What We Loved
- Mosscap encountering human life — markets, villages, the structures of post-scarcity society — is exactly as good as the premise promises
- The central question (what do people need?) is handled with more depth than A Psalm for the Wild-Built
- Chambers's prose remains among the warmest and most precise in contemporary SF
Minor Drawbacks
- Must read A Psalm for the Wild-Built first
- At 160 pages even fans will want more — the story ends before the question is fully answered
Key Takeaways
- → What people need is not easily separable from what they think they need — or what they say they need
- → A post-scarcity society still has anxieties, but they are different anxieties than the ones we currently have
- → Curiosity without condescension is one of the most generous qualities one being can bring to its encounter with another
| Author | Becky Chambers |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Tordotcom |
| Pages | 160 |
| Published | July 12, 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Best For | Readers who loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built wanting the continuation, and anyone who enjoys optimistic SF with philosophical depth. |
Into the Human World
At the end of A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Sibling Dex and the robot Mosscap agreed to travel together. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy follows that journey into human territory — the villages and cities and markets of Panga, where Mosscap encounters human civilisation for the first time.
Mosscap’s central question is simple: what do people need? The robots left humanity centuries ago, wanting to understand what they were, and now that Mosscap has made contact with a human, it wants to understand what humans require. The question is not rhetorical — Mosscap asks everyone they meet, and the answers are complicated and revealing.
What the Sequel Adds
The first novella established Dex and Mosscap’s dynamic and the world they inhabit — post-scarcity, ecologically balanced, free from the anxieties of resource scarcity. The second takes the world out of the wilderness and into society, which allows Chambers to examine her Utopia from the inside rather than from the forest’s edge.
What she finds is that a post-scarcity society has solved many problems but not all of them. People still struggle with meaning, with direction, with the specific difficulty of knowing what they want. Mosscap’s encounter with this reality is funny and touching in equal measure.
Our rating: 4.3/5 — A worthy continuation that deepens what A Psalm for the Wild-Built established. Mosscap encountering human society is a genuine delight.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy" about?
The direct sequel to A Psalm for the Wild-Built — Sibling Dex and the robot Mosscap leave the wilderness and enter the human world, where Mosscap asks its central question: what do people need?
Who should read "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy"?
Readers who loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built wanting the continuation, and anyone who enjoys optimistic SF with philosophical depth.
What are the key takeaways from "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy"?
What people need is not easily separable from what they think they need — or what they say they need A post-scarcity society still has anxieties, but they are different anxieties than the ones we currently have Curiosity without condescension is one of the most generous qualities one being can bring to its encounter with another
Is "A Prayer for the Crown-Shy" worth reading?
The second Monk and Robot novella deepens the world and the relationship established in A Psalm for the Wild-Built — Mosscap encountering human society is as delightful and as quietly serious as its predecessor.
Ready to Read A Prayer for the Crown-Shy?
Check the current price on Amazon.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Prices and availability are subject to change. See Amazon for current price.
Review last updated: