…and yes, she drives that boat too fast and befriends a robot! What else could I need?
Once again, I am utterly in love with the newest Becky Chambers. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, a much awaited sequel to A Psalm for the Wild-Built, was calling my name from the second that I finished the first entry.
I always need to point this out, but if this isn’t the place to do then what is; I would not have found myself in the cozy companionship of Becky Chambers if not for CBR- specifically, if not for Cannon Book Club! Way back in the olden days of 2020 I was drawn like a moth to a very pretty flame by the most excellent The Future is Queer theme. It gave me so much- new books to read, new authors to love, and new friends to share these worlds with! If you’re still on the fence about Cannon Book Club, I urge you to give it a go!
So, enough about me, onto the book!
We pick up right where we left off with Sibling Dex and Mosscap- they are on the road to a town that hotly waits their arrival. Do people often wait in anticipation for the Tea Monk to visit? Of course- but this time, something is different. That something is Mosscap – the first and only Robot humans have met since the Separation following the fall of the Factory Age. People are beyond curious, but so it Mosscap. It wants to answer a great question of humanity: what do people need?
Mosscap may be a construct, but it is learning that it has both wants and needs- so many, in fact, that now it has a satchel of items! There is a more pressing need at hand- well, foot, really. Part of Mosscap’s inner workings breaks, leaving it unbalanced and making walking difficult. Sibling Dex, local villagers (what’s up, Cat Lady!) and artisans (a hunky 3D printer with a turquoise beard and floral tattoos) want to help Mosscap, but Mosscap’s struggle goes beyond the physical – hence why this little book is checking off my Bodies box – are we what we are made of? Do our insides- the pieces organic and inorganic- make us who we are, or is there more? Is a being their body, and if not, why are the two so closely connected? Do the needs of the body translate to the needs of the soul? I took countless notes throughout, and took down many lovely quotes from Mosscap and Dex, but I don’t want to temper the delight of anyone coming across these questions, ruminations, and reasons on their own.
Come for the lovely future, stay for the big questions, and return for the makings of what it means to “be”.
