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A review by anneklein
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
3.75
Wonderful book, as Becky Chambers always is, but if I'm honest, not as life-changing as the first book in the duology. I'm being quite harsh on it admittedly, and perhaps when I go back in and annotate it I will bump it up to a 4-star rating. I feel like if I'm being harsh it's because Chambers has, to me, established this precedent for exquisite lyrical prose that doesn't overdo it, philosophical and existential dilemmas explored from really diverse points of view, and lush and imaginative yet cohesive visions of the future. And in this book there is all of this, but it feels a bit more escapist-cosy-fantasy than I think I would have wished for a second book.
I did find it really interesting when Dex and Mosscap discussed Mosscap's broken part and how to replace it; it triggered a really interesting series of questions around whether the body defines the self or the self the body, which I read using themes of transness and disability, and it made me think lots in a great way.
It was also very enjoyable to see Dex's relationships with their family, who all lived in a farm made of a cluster of houses around a garden, and who were all polyamorous as well, hurrah for the rep! The other two things I enjoyed were the moment both Dex and Mosscap realise that they find it easy to be coherent with the things they believe except when it comes to them. For example, they can understand that people should give themselves breaks and be kind to themselves, but when it comes to them, it's so hard to apply your principles to themselves. And there was also a part where we see a village that has gone completely tech-less in response to the misuse and exploitation of tech in the past (aka our current present IRL), and that was an interesting exploration.
But aside from that a lot of the scenes seemed to me like they were mostly just endearing, or endearing without enough substance underneath. I think maybe I'd just like a full-on novel about the two characters, so that Becky Chambers can go all in with the philosophy and give us a bit more than she can in the length of a novella. And what I am gathering about all of this is that I probably just want to read her Wayfarers series! But I do love the world from Monk & Robot, so I wouldn't be opposed to getting some spin-off in novel-length...
So yeah, not a bad book by any means, but it will take a lot to dethrone the first instalment of the duology.
I did find it really interesting when Dex and Mosscap discussed Mosscap's broken part and how to replace it; it triggered a really interesting series of questions around whether the body defines the self or the self the body, which I read using themes of transness and disability, and it made me think lots in a great way.
It was also very enjoyable to see Dex's relationships with their family, who all lived in a farm made of a cluster of houses around a garden, and who were all polyamorous as well, hurrah for the rep! The other two things I enjoyed were the moment both Dex and Mosscap realise that they find it easy to be coherent with the things they believe except when it comes to them. For example, they can understand that people should give themselves breaks and be kind to themselves, but when it comes to them, it's so hard to apply your principles to themselves. And there was also a part where we see a village that has gone completely tech-less in response to the misuse and exploitation of tech in the past (aka our current present IRL), and that was an interesting exploration.
But aside from that a lot of the scenes seemed to me like they were mostly just endearing, or endearing without enough substance underneath. I think maybe I'd just like a full-on novel about the two characters, so that Becky Chambers can go all in with the philosophy and give us a bit more than she can in the length of a novella. And what I am gathering about all of this is that I probably just want to read her Wayfarers series! But I do love the world from Monk & Robot, so I wouldn't be opposed to getting some spin-off in novel-length...
So yeah, not a bad book by any means, but it will take a lot to dethrone the first instalment of the duology.