Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers

Monk and Robot

A Psalm for the Wild-built and a Prayer for the Crown-shy

Becky Chambers

Tor/Forge · Print & ebook · May 6, 2025

Becky Chambers' two award-winning, bestselling, beloved, and uplifting Monk and Robot stories, A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, together in trade paperback for the first time!

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Who it’s for
A post-utopian pair of stories finds room for wonder in asking what people truly need.
Themes
Post-utopian society, Human needs and contentment, Self-aware robots
Genres
Androids & AI Science Fiction, Sci-Fi, Dystopian

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About this book

Becky Chambers' two award-winning, bestselling, beloved, and uplifting Monk and Robot stories, A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, together in trade paperback for the first time! Becky Chambers' delightful, post-Utopian, Hugo Award-winning series gives us hope for the future.

Continue reading

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot. Becky Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter? This book includes both A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy in paperback for the first time!

Gentle Big Questions

A post-utopian pair of stories finds room for wonder in asking what people truly need.

Come here for

  • Thoughtful speculative fiction with a quietly philosophical edge
  • A tea monk and a robot taking one very large question seriously

Expect

  • Two Monk and Robot stories together
  • Questions about need, contentment, and whether having more matters

Where it sits

Androids & AI Science Fiction91%
Sci-Fi30%
Dystopian23%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Sci-Fi Adventure
  • Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
Authors
Becky Chambers
Publisher
Tor/Forge
Published
May 6, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Post-utopian society · Human needs and contentment · Self-aware robots
Reading lane
Sci-Fi Adventure