A Prayer For The Crown Shy, is the second book from author Becky Chambers, telling the story of monk, Sibling Dex, and his robot companion, Mosscap. The first book was A Psalm For The Wild Built. As I explained in my May 2022 post, these novellas are in the sci-fi subgenre of solarpunk, environmentally-focused and optimistic, nature and technology grow in harmony. A Prayer For The Crown Shy continues Dex’s and Mosscap’s journey as they leave the forest and venture into the villages.
The story takes place on Panga, a moon with one continent which is half wilderness and half human inhabited. It’s a utopian world, where humans live in harmony with nature and everyone’s feelings and needs are considered. Sibling Dex, seeking personal fulfilment, travels to the forest and meets one of a population of robots, named Mosscap, separated from humans long ago. Mosscap and Dex decide to travel together and help one another – Mosscap in particular is on a scouting journey for the robot population, wanting to know how humans are coping without them.