A review by stale_reviews
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Pros
- Chambers is a good writer, several of Dex and Mosscap's conversations were very touching and heartfelt.
- Her ability to portray feelings of existentialism is impressive
- The world feels charming and lived in, a refreshing break in the otherwise bleak world of sci-fi
- Mosscap is my everything. Love that thing.
- Short and sweet
- The world is very accepting, at no point is Dex's NB status ever questioned. Refreshing to have a character like this simply exist without hassle

Cons
- Dex irritates me.
A robot has chosen you to be the first human spoken to in centuries, and all you can do for half the book is bitch about answering a few questions? Gtfo of here

- IDK why but I expected the philosophy to go deeper. The concepts discussed often struck me as very obvious. If this was my first introduction to philosophical sci-fi, I might have enjoyed it more.
- I felt like I was never given a chance to know Dex until the very end of the book. They just kind of exist, and give us little information about themselves despite the book being from their perspective. Hard to like a character that feels so aloof to me.
- I feel like Chambers either should have:
1. given this book more of a plot
or
2. devoted more time to living in Dex's head or watching Mosscap interact with the natural world.