Prayer for the Crown-Shy

, #2

4h runtime; narrated by Emmett Grosland

English language

Published July 12, 2022 by Macmillan Audio.

4 stars (5 reviews)

After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home.

They hope to find the answers they seek while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.

3 editions

Somewhat underwhelmed

3 stars

I really loved A Psalm for the Wind-Built and signed out A Prayer for the Crown-Shy immediately after finishing it (a rarity for me). However, I found this follow-up to be a bit underwhelming. I didn't see the same type of development of Dex and Mosscap that I so loved in the first book—everything just kind of coasted along without tension. I realize these books are meant to be comfortable and cozy, but I just couldn't enjoy this as much as the first book. Perhaps it was the way the two of them jumped from settlement to settlement that made it hard to connect with the story in a way that it wasn't for the first book. I'm not really sure. It wasn't bad, just not a book I could really be excited about.

Searching for meaning in the spaces between us

5 stars

What does it mean to be, to exist? How do we find satisfaction in simply being? Or does satisfaction come from contributing something back to others while having our own needs met by them? What do we need as people? As individuals? As a society? As a shared planet?

Chambers explores big questions, maybe even bigger ones in our second journey with Dex and Mosscap as when we first met them.

I left the first book wanting a friend to serve me tea. In leaving this one wanting to give and to be given to. For in that is life and meaning and contentment. Thriving and leaving space for others around me to thrive, too.

Five stars.

Like a soothing cup of tea

5 stars

Another sweet and generous tale, so full of heart and the doubts that can fill one. I found myself moved to think about the world differently and literally reconsidered my career choices at one point while reading. The way the author teases out ideas about identity and self-perception really landed for me.

On a less positive note, this book got me trouble when I laughed out loud in bed and woke up my wife who had just nodded off. Thanks Becky!