A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers, Can be read in a few hours depending on your speed, Adult Science Fiction
“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.” ~Robot
In honor of the Trans Rights Readathon hosted by Sim Kern, I will be posting a few reviews of books with trans and/or gender nonconforming and/or gender nonbinary characters, starting with the Monk and Robot books!
These two books follow the adventures of Sibling Dex, a gender nonconforming tea monk, and Speckled Mushroom Mosscap, a genderless robot. It has been centuries since humans and robots not only encountered each other but also interacted with each other. So the meeting of these two characters is both a surprise and a lucky happenstance. Sibling Dex is in search of the unknown. Robot sets out to honor a long-lost promise of checking in on humans and helping them get what they need. Together, they search for that answer, but it’s not always clear what that is.
I absolutely adore these books. If you follow my reviews, you’ll notice I’m not a big fan of science fiction. These books are an exception in large part because they are part of the sub-genre of cozy sci-fi. These are low stakes books where every character is lovely and live in a gender affirming world. Reading these books (especially A Psalm for the Wild-Built) felt like reading a warm hug. By the time you’re finish reading both or either book, you’re left with a sense of hope of what the world could be like.
When you need a quick read or a read to lift your spirits, I highly recommend these two. I will be reading them over and over for a long time to come.
And, if this an indication of what cozy sci-fi books are like, then I will finally be reading more science fiction.
The Rita Reads 