This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Becky Chambers, author of A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT and it’s sequel – out next July – A PRAYER FOR THE CROWN-SHY.

About A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT (MONK & ROBOT #1): It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered.

But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They’re going to need to ask it a lot.

About Becky Chambers: Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women’s Prize for Fiction, among others. Her latest works are The Galaxy, and The Ground Within (the fourth and final Wayfarers novel), and A Psalm for the Wild-Built (the first of her Monk and Robot novellas).

Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video games, tabletop RPGs, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.

This week’s picks:

* Becky: Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (Essay Collection)

* Tracy: Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

* Patrick: Space Catan

Links:

* Join Becky Chambers’ Email Newsletter!

* Tracy Townsend on Twitter

* Patrick Hester on Twitter

* The Functional Nerds Patreon Page

© 2021 Patrick Hester