There are times in life when it beats you so thoroughly, waking up feels like a punishment. I have been having a very rough time, with untreated mental health issues and my country speed-running towards a recession, it's just ugh. What was worst, outside of the struggles, I just lost my love for reading. I'd start a book and be unable to finish. Sometimes I'd find a rhythm then 50 pages in my mind just decides against concentrating on it. I have started so many interesting titles from Sky Full of Elephants and Buffalo Hunter Hunter. These are AMAZING books and I WANT to read them but I just COULDN'T. Until I remembered a thread I once saw for SFF books for when you just can't anymore. And one of them was the Monk and Robot duology by Becky Chambers. All I knew about it was that it's a sci-fi utopia, literally, that's all I knew.
I started it yesterday and the only reason I haven't finished the remaining 70 pages is because of a deadline. Otherwise I'd happily ignore it as it whooshes past me.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built follows Dex and Mosscap's journey as they go to find out about the wilderness and humans respectively. Dex wants to hear crickets again and Mosscap wants to know more about humans who it hasn't been around since the great robot exodus. As a utopia, it eliminates discrimination, capitalism, or any struggles humans were stupid enough to create. There's a bot whose entire purpose is to watch stalagmites and stalactites form. As for Mosscap, he has an interest in all kinds of creepy-crawlies without expertise… He's a generalist. And that's just like me and I'm so happy to see myself in a sentient robot. Plus the book is dedicated to
anyone who could use a break
If you too are wriggling through the pits of despair, I highly encourage you to join Monk and Robot on their adventure.
by Queasy_Fish6293
2 Comments
I’m not quite in the pits of despair yet, but I’ll look these up! Thanks!
A psalm for the wild built? No, no, no. I can’t understand why this book is so popular. This was definitely the worst book I read this year, and the sequel was just as bad.
The main character is incredibly dislikeable. They’re a creep, but the author seems to think this is cute or quirky. If the main character was a man doing the kind of things they’re doing over women, it’d be rightly looked down upon, but as they’re gender neutral and doing it over men, it seems to just be accepted by a lot of people. They’re meant to be a supportive figure, but someone comes to them for advice and they’re just salivating and objectifying his body – no thank you, it’s gross.
I’m not particularly sensitive to swearing, and I swear openly occasionally, but this book is just filled with swearing to the point it takes away from the story. It doesn’t fit with the “cosy” vibe at all.
And this is just putting aside the fact that the story is so linear and boring, it’s like listening to a bunch of 12 year olds play dungeons and dragons.