A Psalm for the Wild-Built

A compelling yet soothing tale about a non-binary monk having a midlife crisis.

Topics: finding purpose in life, wilderness, the nature of consciousness, and more.

No violence, no struggle apart from that of a person against the pressures of exertion and survival outside of human civilization, and yet it is a page-turner.

It gets the "solarpunk" label because the setting is a human society which fits the bill: non-capitalist, low-impact technology. Main transport method: "ox-bikes," apparently the author's neologism to refer to electronically assisted bicycles that pull carts around. Personal computers are computers that last a person's entire life. Half of the available land is set aside for wilderness. Etc.

100% recommend. It would probably be a good introduction to science fiction for someone who's not familiar with the genre as it exists in the 21st century.

I can see now why this is a genre defining book, not because it has a solarpunk setting, but because, by existing, it is bringing those ideals and feelings into the real world. This book is a much needed respite for anyone feeling restless, tired or adrift. If you are trying to read something but don't have the effort, this is the book you are looking for

I like it sometimes when I don't remember why I wanted to read a book. This was one. It can make it a bit difficult at first. Either the author was being sparse of I was being more dense than usual.
By mid point or so I was all in. And really enjoyed it. a couple tears may have been shed at the end. Wonderful.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built was wonderful. It was gently paced. Leisurely, but didn’t feel slow. I intend to read the next Monk and Robot book, but I don’t feel in a rush to do so. 

I wanted to read this because I had heard about this genre of “hope punk” or “cozy punk,” and I was curious. As I expected, there was no real conflict, or any jeopardy or much in the way of stakes. But this is what the genre is about, giving a break from the catastrophe that is our current world, so on that count, I would give it a high score, but I prefer novels with more at stake and more conflict. But I can see how many who are very stressed in everyday life and stressed about the planet and technology might take comfort in this sort of a book (not that I’m not stressed about these things, but I guess I’m used to higher level of stress). I don’t expect to continue with the series, but who knows?

I read this book in one sitting from start to finish on Christmas day with hot tea and a blanket. It is precisely what I needed for some relaxation and escape. The book is about breaking patterns, dealing with boredom, trying new things, failing and grappling with what it means to be human - all told through the story between sibling dex, a tea monk and a funny robot named mosscap.

Cozy Buddhist Science Fantasy

Despite living in a utopia, a dissatisfied monk embarks upon a journey of self-discovery, illuminated by a charmingly inquisitive robot. Felt like a perfect cup of tea, served by a best friend with a warm embrace. This is #solarpunk.

A wonderful, thought-provoking journey of self-discovery and celebration of the simple wonder of being, of existing. Highly recommended.

Simply lovely and delightful. It’s somehow as if Wendell Berry started writing sci-fi short stories. I will be coming back to this one for sure.

First a disclaimer: at this point I think a Becky Chambers book would have to be pretty terrible to get a bad review from me.

This is very clearly a novella, and continues Chamber's trend away from plot driven fiction as seen in the later Wayfarer books. So, not much happens, but deep themes are explored.

The solarpunk aspect has been remarked elsewhere, but I didn't expect was how much it seemed like a reflection on the (privileged) human condition. As a fellow privileged human, I recognized some of Sibling Dex's disquiet.

This feels like a good LeGuin novel. Our characters go on a journey, they discover things, we learn about a very different world and we build to a crisis with a resolution that surprises in kindness.

Zero laser blasts. Real problems.

Tea throughout as a center to the plot. I loved it and will be following the next adventures.

My god, this was a delightful book. The only bad thing about this book is that now I really want to be a tea monk who travels around on a tiny home ebike. Everything else was splendid and fantastic.