The 9 best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2022". Washington Post. 2022-11-17 . Retrieved 2023-09-12. The variety of human settlements, towns, villages and communities across Panga offer diverse models of peaceful, generally utopian communities. While Panga doesn’t have money, for instance, the communities across it share a system of credit and thanks focused on contributing to others. These communities are not all the same as each other, but they share an overall religion and worldview that prioritizes sustainability.

I’m so pleased that this is the first of a series, and that there will be more of this world, because, wow, do I want more of it. This book is the type of reading experience I’d recommend to anyone having a hard time, which might be a lot of people at this point... it’s a comforting story about comfort and care, as soothing to read as it is to think about, and so full of hope and wonder and potential discovery. I hope you’ll try it.” — Smart Bitches, Trashy Books At the end of the previous book, Dex and Mosscap find themselves in an abandoned temple to the gods of Panga. Reaching this sanctuary has ostensibly been the goal that Dex single-mindedly set for themself when they ghosted their own life and ventured into the untamed forest. Much of their journey in Wild-Built is dedicated to the warring dichotomy of Dex’s utter helplessness in the wild and their desire to project meaning onto the chaotic world around them. I wasn't enamored with the first book in this series, A Psalm for the Wild-Built but because it's about a sentient robot, I wanted to read this one as well. I suspect it was my mood that kept me from enjoying the first one because I liked this one a lot more. Hey.” Dex laid a hand on the anxious machine’s forearm. The naked metal components were uniformly warm to the touch. “It’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine. You’ll do great, in fact.”As a person, who lived in the USSR and was also interested in social utopian experiments during the last few centuries across the globe, I still consider popular in the West, esp. the US, anti-capitalist and pro-communalist (including communist) attitudes of people of art, including SFF writers, often a little naïve (this in no way mean that the current system is perfect – it should be changed for both more equal and more just for the benefit of all, there are only different views what and how to change). For example, in this novella everyone is caring, there are no free riders, no people with mental abnormalities (incl. sociopathies, manias), and no problems. I think in this aspect the series is much weaker than The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, in which while the author definitely likes an anarch-communistic society she describes, she doesn’t do it in rose glasses, there are still problems, just of a different kind. I was looking forward to this 2nd instalment in the Monk & Robot novella series and I was not disappointed.

The primary intent of these books is to take a break … have something you can just curl up with for an afternoon. This is a book that is not going to hurt you. And I think that that’s so vital in this day and age, to be able to just pause for a second. I want the book to feel like a cup of tea as well … But I wanted to give you the option of chewing on some of the stuff in there.” I love Mosscap's character. It is sweet and inquisitive and philosophical. Its observances while learning about humanity frequently delighted me, such as this: "'What kind of books does Ms. Amelia collect?' 'Oh, entirely pornography,' Mosscap said. 'It was very educational.'" If she were to suddenly develop sentience, I don't want her to feel unappreciated.... and perhaps to keep her on my good side so she doesn't turn all my smart devices into weapons against me. BC: Absolutely. So I grew up in Los Angeles. I was born and bred there. And then I have lived in cities for most of my life since I went to school in San Francisco. I have lived in every everywhere I’ve hopped around to I’ve lived in a city. And six years ago, my wife and I moved to Humboldt County, California, which is the rural tippy top north of the states. For those of you who are watching on video, you can see the Redwoods out my window, it was very much that feeling. We had sort of a convergence of events in that we were losing the place we were renting because our landlord decided to sell and also I was in a place where I could go full time and writing books. And we just decided, What if we didn’t spend all of our money on rent anymore? Somewhere quiet. So we literally just got in the car and drove until we found somewhere we liked and we liked here. So, that was the impetus for that. I think that Dex’s hunger for something quieter, something a little more in touch with the world as it exists without us is something not everyone feels but I think a lot of people do. Writing it here, surrounded by trees and critters and whatnot, it was very easy to tap into that and to so much of the wilderness of Panga is inspired by the world outside my door. Sibling Dex is a travelling tea-monk, journeying across the land providing a hot brew and a listening ear, when he meets Mosscap, a robot determined to find out what humans want in life. The first book in the series dealt with finding your place in the world and this sequel delves deeper into that question. This is essentially a buddy road trip, Chambers creating a wonderful energy between Dex and Mosscap, a mixture of frustration and warmth, as they head for the city taking in different village communities on the way.Dex watched the robot contemplate itself before the remains of the stolen tree, and likewise felt a thought take root. “You know, you might be a powerful thing for people to see.”

The robot sat for a moment, considering. “I don’t want to separate myself from other robots any more than I already have,” it said. “I am having the most incredible experience out here. I’ve seen species of trees that don’t live in my part of the world. I’ve been on a boat. I’ve played with domesticated cats. I have a *satchel*!” It gestured at the bag hanging at its side for emphasis. “A satchel for my belongings! I am doing things no robot has ever done, and while that’s marvelous, I . . . I don’t want to become removed from them. The aggregate differences I have are only going to increase as we continue along, Sibling Dex. It’s very nice to be famous, but I don’t know how I feel about it yet, and I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a trait I’ll have among my own kind as well. So, you see, it’s enough that I’m experientially different; I don’t want to be physically different, too.” It paused. “Does that make sense?”Could we live in a world where one person or group is not massively overshadowing the others? What would it be like to have boundaries and to respect the boundaries of others, where it is expected? Exchanging The first book in Chambers’ new series feels like a moment to breathe, a novel that exists to give readers a place to rest and think… Recommended for fans of Chambers’ Wayfarers series and The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune.”— Booklist, starred review