This is the sequel to A Psalm for the Wild-Built.

Dex and Mosscap go wandering through various settlements on Panga – and experience a variety of reactions to a robot, from distrust to excitement to curiosity. Mosscap’s interest is a deft way to show us how this world works; we see the mechanics through his ever-curious eyes, not an exposition dump.

They’re both trying to answer the question: “What do we need?”

There are some nice moments that I’ve come to expect from a Becky Chambers book (I was particularly struck by Mosscap’s attitude towards fishing), but it felt like less than the sum of its parts. There are good passages, but I wasn’t gripped by the story overall.

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