Tag Archive for: robots

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

/in /by

Becky Chambers’ A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT is a small book, but it means a lot to me. I’ve actually read it twice: once when the library bought it back in 2021 and now a second time. I love its optimistic view of the future and the ways that Chambers’ world incorporates nature and technology simultaneously.

The main character, Sibling Dex, is a tea monk whose role in society is to travel from settlement to settlement. At each stop, Dex sets up their tea service and invites people to come tell their troubles over a cup of tea. Sibling Dex can offer advice or simply listen to their concerns, whichever the patron prefers.

Dex has been living this life for a few years, but suddenly they have an uncontrollable urge to change everything. To leave their routine behind and explore the wild – hoping to find crickets.

The book is set in the distant future on a lush, forested moon called Panga. The ecology is very similar to Earth, but crickets have gone extinct in all of the inhabited areas of Panga, so Dex has never experienced them firsthand.

When Dex learns of an abandoned monastery that once had a cricket population, they decide to go see for themself if the crickets are still there.

Panga is covered in roads left over from the Factory Age, a time in Panga’s history similar to our modern Earth. Those roads have not been maintained in hundreds of years and Dex is riding a pedal-driven cart with their house on the back. Needless to say, much of the journey is difficult.

After a few days of traveling alone, Dex encounters a robot named Mosscap who asks them “what do you need, and how might I help?”

Dex and Mosscap’s meeting is an event with historical significance. Robots and humans have not directly interacted since the Parting Promise.

In the distant past, the robots of Panga woke up – they suddenly gained consciousness without any human intervention; no one knows why. After that awakening, the humans and the robots came together and it was decided that they would separate from each other until such time as the robots chose to return.

Mosscap is acting as a representative of the robots. Its plan was to enter human society, ask the questions it has asked Dex, and see if the robots returning now would improve all of their lives in a meaningful way.

The two travelers decide to travel together, but the trip does not get any easier. Because they were raised to believe that robots should not be used to do menial labor, Dex has a hard time accepting Mosscap’s help at first. Eventually, the two are able to find a balance and work together to complete their journey.

As I said in my introduction, A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT is a very optimistic book. The people living on Panga have found ways to thrive without destroying the ecosystem of the planet. They focus on repairing the things they have and preserving the wilderness around them. Dex is very unusual for deciding to stray from the path and journey out into the wider world.

 

Find in catalog

 

Book review by Alyssa Berry, Technical Services Librarian

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

/in /by

You know that feeling, when you have been putting off reading a book that a friend recommended to you – and then you read it, and you also need to tell everyone about it?

Well, let me tell you about “AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING” by HANK GREEN.

April May is a twenty-three-year-old graphic designer living in New York City. Walking home from a very, very late work night she discovers a ten-foot-tall, completely stationary robot dressed in samurai armor.

Her first instinct is to call up one of her friends from art school – Andy – who wants to be internet-famous, and owns video equipment. Together, they make a short video, spoofing a news report, talking about the giant robot (April calls him Carl).  When April wakes up the next morning, her entire world has changed.

The video that she and Andy made has gone viral, every news agency in the country – and many in other countries – has been airing it. She has hundreds of emails from people asking her questions about Carl, wanting to know more about what she saw. Because her Carl is not the only one; there are sixty-four Carls in cities all over the globe.

Each Carl appeared at exactly the same moment, huge and immovable, without anyone seeing how they got there or where they came from, and April was the first person to capture one on video. April makes appearances on news programs and late night talk shows. She and Andy make more videos. And April gets very into Twitter. Soon she is the most recognizable person on the planet.

With this fame comes power; and as April becomes increasingly famous, she discovers a growing desire in herself to keep this audience. She will do anything to continue to be the authority on Carl.

People around the world have been studying the Carls, and the cryptic clues left on any surveillance footage from the exact moment they arrived. To stay relevant, April needs to keep providing answers. She assembles a crew of fellow twenty-somethings, who can help her decipher the mysteries of the Carls.

Using social media, and April’s influence, they are able to crowd-source the answers to many of the questions surrounding the Carls, but every answer seems to lead to more questions. Where did they come from? And what do they want from humanity?

“AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING” is intensely readable. The book is told in first-person perspective; April is telling you the story as if you (the reader) remember the events she is describing – as if you might have seen a Carl firsthand.

April is speaking as a person who remembers these events, and has had time to process them – and time to think better of many of her choices.  She makes many terrible decisions throughout the course of the book. I found myself liking the book, but not liking April.

This is Hank Green’s debut novel, published in 2018. It illustrates how humanity reacts to the unknown – whether with fear or wonder. It also delves into the virtues and perils of social media with regard to both our culture and ourselves – as a YouTube personality himself, Green understands this better than most. If you enjoy “AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING,” I will mention that next month it is getting a sequel: “A BEAUTIFULLY FOOLISH ENDEAVOR” comes out July 7th!

Find in Catalog