The Monk and Robot books by Becky Chambers

Thought we needed to break up all the book news with something more “traditionally” Butterflies & Aliens, so wanted to quickly share a favourite new read… the Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers.

The first book, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, was released in 2021, followed by A Prayer for the Crown-Shy in 2022.

For science fiction fans looking for a sweet feel-good read, these books share the story of a monk and a robot exploring what it means to be alive. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed aloud while reading a book, but these books had me laughing and smiling and nodding and feeling like I was getting a literary hug.

The shorter hardcover format also brought to mind two other favourite series, the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and the Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor. Although three very different stories and writing styles, they go together in my mind – great writing, beautiful covers, wonderful and unique worlds that I want to visit again… and also all released by Tor, an increasingly favourite publisher.

Perhaps especially given the chaos of our current times, these books might be just the hopeful antidote or quick escape you need.

Happy Reading!

– Winston

(P.S. If this was of interest to you, we did a follow up post digging more into the solarpunk genre!)

Get your very own copies from a local indie bookseller!