Hey bookworms, how was your weekend? I recently finished listening to the audiobook for A Prayer for the Cown-Shy and it’s been on my mind a lot. I want to share my enthusiasm for the series so here are 10 things I loved about The Monk & Robot Duology!
Please note that mild spoilers might be included so if you care about that sort of thing, you’ve been warned.
Information About The Monk & Robot Duology
Book 1, Published 2021
Book 2, Published 2022
Author: Becky Chambers
Genre(s): Cozy Science Fiction
Publisher: Tordotcom Publishing
Format Read: Physical For Book 1, Audiobook For Book 2
Narrator: Em Grosland
Source: Library Borrows
Duology
Cover Artist: Feifei Ruan
1. A World I Want to Live In
Panga is basically the world of my dreams:
- They have recovered from an industrial revolution and rejected a money economy
- It’s a queernormative world
- Humans’ lifestyles respect the environment
2. The Pantheon
I love worlds with their own pantheons! A story’s world-building is more robust when authors consider what types of beliefs would exist in their world. I feel like Chambers really succeeded in this by imagining a healthy spiritual outlook on life that’s believable for Panga but still retains religious diversity with various schools of thought.
“‘It’s not my place to debate different flavors of belief in the places I visit,’ they said.”
A Prayer For The Crown-Shy, Becky Chamber
3. Its Overarching Message of Kindness
Dex and Mosscap’s conversations of self-discovery always come back to being as kind to yourself as you are to others. This brings so much comfort and validation to readers, and especially to those who have gone through an existential crisis (which, let’s be real that’s all of us).
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”
A Psalm For The Wild-Built, Becky Chamber
4. It’s Anticapitalist
The Monk & Robot duology offers a view of life where human value isn’t connected to end products, labour, and profit—I’m in love with that.
“You’re saying that instead of a system of currency that tracks individual trade, you have one that facilitates exchange through the community. Because … all exchange benefits the community as a whole?”
A Prayer For The Crown-Shy, Becky Chamber
5. It Epitomizes The Power of Listening to Others
Through Dex and Mosscap’s journey, as well as their conversations with various characters, we understand that community is built by being open to learning from those who are not like us.
6. The Robots 😭
I would give my spleen for Mosscap (not that it needs it or would even want it). But it has my whole heart. I’m obsessed with the culture the Robots have set up for themselves deep in the forest, away from humans. Their desire to live as much like organic beings as possible is so endearing to me. The way they eschew immortality, instead choosing to create new generations of robots from functional parts even though they know this cycle can’t go on forever is both admirable and panic-inducing. I’d read way more about just the robots in the forest 🌲.
7. Awkward Mosscap
I love the trope of non-human characters learning what it’s like to be human because there is so much potential for situations that are both heartwarming and hilarious. Mosscap being extremely curious about Dex’s ✨Intimate moments✨ made me laugh out loud several times.
8. Mosscap’s Zeal Is Infectious
Are you tired of me rambling on about Mosscap yet? If so I’m sorry but I need you to know how much I love it! I’m inspired by it’s enthusiasm for the world around us; I want to be more mindful about appreciating nature as well as the small technological conveniences that we take for granted.
“You and I—we’re just atoms that arranged themselves the right way, and we can understand that about ourselves. Is that not amazing?”
A Psalm For The Wild-Built, Becky Chamber
9. It Taught Me What Crown-Shyness is
Crown shyness is a feature observed in some tree species, in which the crowns of fully stocked trees do not touch each other, instead forming a canopy with channel-like gaps. Um, excuse me, HOW COOL IS THAT?!
10. The Writing!
As I’m sure you noticed by the quotes I shared, Becky Chambers’ writing is evocative. Her main strength, I believe, is in cutting to the heart of what it means to be human. I often either chuckled or paused to ponder a line and I think that makes The Monk & Robot Duology so quotable!
Let’s chat in the comments!
Have you read these books? What’s your favourite thing about them?
I think I’d be interested in this, especially human behavior scaled to the environment. That’s a big part of Wendell Berry’s philosophy; he does essays about agriculture and culture, the consequences of industrialism for human society (not just the environment), etc.
This is definitely more philosophical conversations in a cozy sci-fi but Wendell Berry sounds interesting I’ve never heard of him I should look him up! I’m sure his writings would be fascinating and relevant to the themes of this duology for sure :)!
He’s varied! He’s mostly known for his essays, but I’ve also devoured his novels & short story collections that are all set in the same early 20th-century Kentucky village of Port William. They often reflect the themes in his essays — and then there’s his poetry!
Oh wow, that is super varied!
Well now I really want to read these!!
They are low time commitments and delightful so if you think you’ll like them I heartily recommend going for it!
I finished Crown Shy this morning! Came for the solarpunk theme, of course, and enjoyed learning about the way sustainability is baked-in. Imagine computers surviving an entire lifetime! The worldbuilding was interesting: at first I was trying to figure out if this was our world but far in the future, like Luna had been terraformed and was now the home of humanity, but there’s never a mention of Earth-that-was (to borrow from Firefly and Asimov), so I don’t think that’s the case. Mosscap was wonderful all around: its joy at learning, the perspective it gave Dex, etc. The ‘pebs’ currency reminded me a bit of the ‘obs’ used by the Gandians in Eric Frank Russell’s “The Great Explosion”. (Review here, if you’re curious.
Will definitely be reading more of Chambers! I’ve got one of her books on hold right now, something to do with a spaceship.
Oh hi, I am so glad you finished the second one now too! Oh my gosh if computers lasted for a whole life time, we would be so much better off than having to replace everything every 0.5 seconds 😂. Yeah no I think it’s just it’s own world too 🤷♀️ Mosscap is such a delight, I loved its relationship with Dex a LOT more this time around because I felt there was less animosity from Dex to Mosscap here now they’ve gotten to know eachother a bit more. Yes I am curious, I have never heard of the Great Explosion but I loved the idea of an economy that’s just based on doing what you can for the community and not needing to feel like you’re leeching because you trust that everyone does their parts in ways that make sense for them (what a dream, honestly)! I’ll be reading more Chambers too (this was my first series by her and am impressed!) I can’t wait to see what you think of this next one you’ll be trying out 😄!