A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: A Monk and Robot Book: 2 (Monk & Robot)

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I love that the phenomenon of 'crown-shyness' inspired the title and is a central metaphor for the story: Not that Sibling Dex was alone, of course. Mosscap walked alongside them, its tireless mechanical legs easily keeping pace with the bike. “It’s so … manicured,” the robot said with wonder as it studied the seam between road and forest. “I knew it would be, but I’ve never seen it for myself.” Each community feels like an intentional community, and while Dex and Mosscap are great characters, the calm time spent in this calm world is a major draw of the Monk and Robot series. In A Prayer for the Crown-Shy we see even more of it and its denizens than we had in A Psalm for the Wild-Built.

Yeah, day’s getting late,” Dex agreed. Twenty miles wasn’t so bad, but creamy highway or not, they were still deep in forest and had yet to see anyone else on the road. There was no reason beyond impatience to continue pressing on in the dark, and though Dex was looking forward to being in a proper town again, stillness and rest sounded preferable in the moment.I love Mosscap's character. It is sweet and inquisitive and philosophical. Its observances while learning about humanity frequently delighted me, such as this: "'What kind of books does Ms. Amelia collect?' 'Oh, entirely pornography,' Mosscap said. 'It was very educational.'" While Mosscap was asking itself what had happened to the humans after the robots achieved self-awareness and walked away into the depths of the forest. What did humans need? And more specifically, was there anything that robots could do for them or with them? And - while this bit was not something I personally identified with, it felt personal in a way that made me apologize in my head to every non-plant-person I've hiked with and bored with the details of invasive plant ecology, oak identification, and the finer points of distinguishing between congeneric species: When Sibling Dex headed into the wild and was found by a robot named Mosscap, it was a meeting of human and robot-kind that hadn’t taken place in centuries. Once robots somehow gained consciousness, they left humans to relearn how to live without all the robots that had been invented to make life easier for humans. It also allowed the moon to be reclaimed from the cesspit that humanity had turned it into. It’s anti-dystopian. Is that a word? Anyway, things are better now. Don’t expect big plot or twists. The writing itself manifests its core morality, and in that way proves its own core idea (because it seems too prescriptive to call it a thesis)—it is enough to ask these questions, sometimes. You don’t have to earn catharsis. It can be enough to share with the ones you care about the meditations of the wonders of the world, dwelling on what it means to be alive. These gently profound observations, these personal aches and these intimate joys…if that’s not why we’re here, it’s certainly what matters, on most of our day to days.

The answer to this is, of course, there is nothing wrong with Dex. They’re experiencing the human condition. Mosscap points this out, reminding both Dex and the reader that needing rest or care or a change of pace does not require justification, nor is it wrong to want them even when things are going well. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to earn the right to be alive. You are allowed to just be. The communities in Panga are like that. They grow but so big and no further, so that each village has enough – actually more than enough – to sustain itself and its people. No one needs to want for more.Crown shyness is a real-world phenomenon. About trees. Which is totally fitting for this story that features two people – even though one of them doesn’t refer to itself as “people” – who are exploring both friendship and all the myriad wonders of their world together.

That’s what it’s like,” Dex said. “Mosscap’s my friend, and I’m just showing it around. It did the same for me, out in the wilds. fernandan on Reading The Wheel of Time: Taim Tells Lies and Rand Shares His Plan in Winter’s Heart (Part 3) 3 hours ago The first book followed Dex’ journey deep into the wilderness, into Mosscap’s territory, to a remote location that was once sacred to their god and their service as a tea-monk. This second journey goes the other direction, as Dex and Mosscap head towards the City, home of the University and all its scholars, so that Mosscap can ask its questions of the people in Dex’ world who are supposed to have all the answers.Because, whereas A Psalm for the Wild-Built was preoccupied with Dex’s journey into the unknown wilds of Panga’s reforested wilderness, Crown-Shy is its inversion. This time, it is Mosscap who is stepping into unknown territory and Dex who must act as guide amidst the world that raised them. How do we justify our own existence, and why do we feel the need to when we would never ask anyone else to justify theirs? Roughly of the same novella-like length as A Psalm for the Wild-Built, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy probably won’t be named the feel-good book of 2022 in a way that the first book in the series was named a year prior (especially by me). It’s a tad bit darker, as Mosscap begins to confront its mortality when a piece of it malfunctions during the events of this book. It’s also a bit frustrating because Dex isn’t as patient as Mosscap, so that means they often get flummoxed explaining things to Mosscap, which doesn’t do too much for the touchy-feels. Mosscap, too, comes off as a little bit needier in this book, which can be a bit of an annoyance because it seemed to be so wise in the first book. However, while A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a notch below the previous book, it is still a commanding read. When Dex and Mosscap visit Dex’s family, the scene is so touching and heartfelt that it approaches and perhaps exceeds the quality of writing found in A Psalm for the Wild-Built. There are tender moments scattered here and there throughout the read, but this book has none of Dex’s wisdom offering tea monk services (they’re more of a guide in this novella), and the towns they visit are crowded with fans and onlookers, thus not offering the kind of solitude that A Psalm for the Wild-Built brought to readers by being set in the forests and mountains. Yes, well, you did, Sibling Dex.” The robot wrung its hands together, and the whir in its head grew louder. “I’ve never met any humans but you, and I know that doing so is rather the whole point of me being here, but now the enormity of it is hitting me, and—and—oh, I must seem so foolish.” Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)