Book Review: A Psalm of the Wild-Built

A Psalm for the Wild-Built looked like a nice and breezy read when I saw it laying on a shelf in the bookstore one day.  The cover caught my attention, as did the premise. A positive spin on a potential future we may one day have and a deep dive into what defines our very worth.  All from a sci-fi writer who seems to understand the genre better than most, having won a Hugo Award for her prior written works.  So after all the initial allure behind this book, what was the end result?  Did it leave me feeling hopeful for a future we may one day have? Or did it leave me disappointed and pessimistic? More so the former, but let’s dive into the why of it shall we? 

Written by Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild Build is entry number 1 in a series of books titled Monk and Robot.  The premise behind the book follows a Tea Monk called Dex, out on the habitable moon of Panga. Dex has decided to venture out from his city-based monastery to travel and serve tea to all he comes across the wilderness in hopes of finding a new purpose in life.  His travels across the Borderlands brings him into contact with a travelling robot of all things.  Robots on Panga were at one time subservient to humanity, they however left their masters on peaceful terms and ventured deep into the wilderness to define their own purposes.  This robot, titled Splendid Speckled Mosscap, is on a mission to figure out what humans need in life and after an awkward enough introduction both Dex and Mosscap agree to travel together to help answer the robot’s larger than life question. 

As far as premises go, this books setup is wonderfully imaginative. Chambers clearly pulls on all the prior experience writing science fiction to construct such an intriguing world for this story to utilize as well as inhabit. The futuristic setting being a positive reflection of what our own world could potentially be one day helps give the book a lot of relatabilities to help ground the reader in it too.  I’ve been debating on whether the fact that there is no core crisis or objective is a good thing in this story’s case or not.  The fact that the books core plot beats come from natural progression of events and conversation has value in itself, though I felt it meanders about a bit because of that.  The idea behind this story is fundamentally about purpose.  Both Dex and Mosscap are striving to define a purpose between one another and despite being an amalgamation of parts and code, it’s actually the human in this relationship who comes off as the more complex.  It’s a nice subversion of the typical concept of robot-human interaction and Chambers uses Mosscap’s basic and rudimentary interpretations to help breakdown Dex’s more nuanced strive for purpose.

That’s not to say this book is without its issues though.  The lack of a proper plot means the pacing is also hindered notably by the story’s requirements.  The important elements that aim to break down how we determine our purpose is greatly written, but I feel it’s shoehorned in a lot near the end.  I think Chambers could have benefitted by giving this story more room to breath; as I feel it’s messaging becomes too overbearing near the end and it loses its sense of naturality. 

Despite its minor issues A Psalm for the Wild-Built is still a great book I would happily recommend for anyone looking for a bit more introspection in life. I think it really utilizes its creative future setting in a way that many will find rewarding.  The dialogue and interactions set between Dex and Mosscap serves are the core crux of the books quality and while it can come off as overbearing at times, it still has a lot of relatability people will more than likely take inspiration from; I know I did.