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Tordotcom: Chambers, Scalzi, Wagner
Written across a span of ten years, all three of these titles imagine a future for humanity that is deeply interwoven with mechanical lifeforms, disembodied intelligences, and people who embody multiple states of being. None of these books was written with awareness of the others, and yet all three stories communicate with each other in fascinating ways.
A Psalm For The Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1)
by Becky Chambers
Dex is an adventurous and friendly tea monk who travels the human-populated areas of their moon meeting villagers and townsfolk. Dex custom-blends tea to fit the folks’ needs, and they confide their misgivings to the monk. One day, Dex meets a robot named Mosscap and they are thrown into a road-trip with a question on their minds: “what do people need?”
Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome
(Lock In #0)
by John Scalzi
Not long from now, a virus will sweep the globe. Most will suffer no worse than flu-like symptoms, but an unlucky one percent will be changed forever. Hundreds of millions become “locked in”, awake, aware, but completely unable to control their bodies.
This is the story of the doctors, scientists, engineers, politicians, and heroes who remade the world. It is the story of the chaotic outbreak, the fight for a cure, the changes that followed. It is an oral history, straight from the mouths of those who survived the most dynamic period in human history.
An Unnatural Life
by Erin K. Wagner
The android known as 812-3 is in prison, convicted of murdering a human worker though he claims that he did not do it. His lawyer, Aiya Ritsehrer, must determine grounds for an appeal and uncover the true facts of the case. But with artificial life-forms having only recently been awarded legal rights on Earth, the military complex on Europa is resistant to their implementation. And Aiya has her own prejudices to bear against 812-3.
A Psalm For The Wild-Built (Monk and Robot #1)
by Becky Chambers
Dex is an adventurous and friendly tea monk who travels the human-populated areas of their moon meeting villagers and townsfolk. Dex custom-blends tea to fit the folks’ needs, and they confide their misgivings to the monk. One day, Dex meets a robot named Mosscap and they are thrown into a road-trip with a question on their minds: “what do people need?”
Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome
(Lock In #0)
by John Scalzi
Not long from now, a virus will sweep the globe. Most will suffer no worse than flu-like symptoms, but an unlucky one percent will be changed forever. Hundreds of millions become “locked in”, awake, aware, but completely unable to control their bodies.
This is the story of the doctors, scientists, engineers, politicians, and heroes who remade the world. It is the story of the chaotic outbreak, the fight for a cure, the changes that followed. It is an oral history, straight from the mouths of those who survived the most dynamic period in human history.
An Unnatural Life
by Erin K. Wagner
The android known as 812-3 is in prison, convicted of murdering a human worker though he claims that he did not do it. His lawyer, Aiya Ritsehrer, must determine grounds for an appeal and uncover the true facts of the case. But with artificial life-forms having only recently been awarded legal rights on Earth, the military complex on Europa is resistant to their implementation. And Aiya has her own prejudices to bear against 812-3.
- GenresScience Fiction
Unknown Binding
First published May 3, 2022
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 5, 2025
Each of the three novellas in this collection by Tor.com considers humanity's relationship with robots. All of them are well written and pulled me into their stories. Each story makes you think about artificial life - its' role and rights within human society, and what it means to be "human." All things that we should consider before developing intelligent machines.
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My favorite was A Psalm For The Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. This book really struck a chord with me. It's not often that I highlight quotes from books I read, but there were two in this story that spoke to me.
“it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”
and
“Then how,” Dex said, “how does the idea of maybe being meaningless sit well with you?”
Mosscap considered. “Because I know that no matter what, I’m wonderful,” it said.
I'm wonderful and just allowed to live. It's something I needed to hear. Also, the ending was perfect.
I immediately put a hold on the second Monk and Robot book at my library. Unfortunately, there is a very long wait. It's likely that I will just buy the book before my name comes up on the hold list.
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The second novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome by John Scalzi reminded me that I should read more of Mr. Scalzi's books. He's a really good writer. This book is a companion piece to his book Lock In. It is strange to read a story about a global pandemic that was written before 2019 and that definitely affected how I felt about the book. While I did enjoy it, I'm not feeling the need to read Lock In.
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The third novella was An Unnatural Life by Erin K Wagner. This was my least favorite of the three but still really good and well written. The story is broken into sections with a camp journal entry between sections. I really want to know more about what was happening in that camp and how it relates to the rest of the story. It felt disconnected to the main events, and yet I was just as intrigued by those sparse notes as I was by the rest of the story. I also found the ending unsatisfying. Questions raised were not answered, but maybe that's the point.
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Overall, I enjoyed all three novellas. They each had their merits and made for good reading.
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My favorite was A Psalm For The Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. This book really struck a chord with me. It's not often that I highlight quotes from books I read, but there were two in this story that spoke to me.
“it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”
and
“Then how,” Dex said, “how does the idea of maybe being meaningless sit well with you?”
Mosscap considered. “Because I know that no matter what, I’m wonderful,” it said.
I'm wonderful and just allowed to live. It's something I needed to hear. Also, the ending was perfect.
I immediately put a hold on the second Monk and Robot book at my library. Unfortunately, there is a very long wait. It's likely that I will just buy the book before my name comes up on the hold list.
---
The second novella, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome by John Scalzi reminded me that I should read more of Mr. Scalzi's books. He's a really good writer. This book is a companion piece to his book Lock In. It is strange to read a story about a global pandemic that was written before 2019 and that definitely affected how I felt about the book. While I did enjoy it, I'm not feeling the need to read Lock In.
---
The third novella was An Unnatural Life by Erin K Wagner. This was my least favorite of the three but still really good and well written. The story is broken into sections with a camp journal entry between sections. I really want to know more about what was happening in that camp and how it relates to the rest of the story. It felt disconnected to the main events, and yet I was just as intrigued by those sparse notes as I was by the rest of the story. I also found the ending unsatisfying. Questions raised were not answered, but maybe that's the point.
---
Overall, I enjoyed all three novellas. They each had their merits and made for good reading.
July 19, 2023
52 Book Club - Prompt 51 - Doesn't fit other prompts
A collection of 3 novellas, all independently authored, and gathered together by Tordotcom. All 3 revolve around robots / mechanical intelligence. I'd call the Chambers novella fantasy and the other two scifi. (Not surprisingly, I liked the Chambers one best.) All were interesting.
A collection of 3 novellas, all independently authored, and gathered together by Tordotcom. All 3 revolve around robots / mechanical intelligence. I'd call the Chambers novella fantasy and the other two scifi. (Not surprisingly, I liked the Chambers one best.) All were interesting.
August 25, 2023
Three short SFF stories, reviewed individually. Minimal spoilers.
"A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers: DNF.
"Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome" by John Scalzi: 4 stars
A fictional account of the course and aftermath of a global pandemic due to a highly-adaptive, rapidly-spreading virus, "H5N1." In his account, the virus affects a subset of the infected population in a third stage that leaves its victims at full mental capacity but with no control over voluntary muscles, effectively "locked in" their own bodies. A huge effort toward treatment leads to a technological solution to free these victims of "Haden's Syndrome" and allow them to once again interact with others, but results in a host of other societal challenges.
A very interesting story that provides much food for thought and, by the way, was first published in *2014!* Recommended!
"An Unnatural Life" by Erin K. Wagner: 4 stars
An artificially intelligent mine worker on Europa (a robotnik) is convicted of murder and sentenced to a "life" term of imprisonment. The story of the killing and much thought-provoking content regarding society and the treatment of artificial life forms is provided through the process of an appeal.
Another excellent work that leaves its reader with plenty to consider. Recommended!
"A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers: DNF.
"Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome" by John Scalzi: 4 stars
A fictional account of the course and aftermath of a global pandemic due to a highly-adaptive, rapidly-spreading virus, "H5N1." In his account, the virus affects a subset of the infected population in a third stage that leaves its victims at full mental capacity but with no control over voluntary muscles, effectively "locked in" their own bodies. A huge effort toward treatment leads to a technological solution to free these victims of "Haden's Syndrome" and allow them to once again interact with others, but results in a host of other societal challenges.
A very interesting story that provides much food for thought and, by the way, was first published in *2014!* Recommended!
"An Unnatural Life" by Erin K. Wagner: 4 stars
An artificially intelligent mine worker on Europa (a robotnik) is convicted of murder and sentenced to a "life" term of imprisonment. The story of the killing and much thought-provoking content regarding society and the treatment of artificial life forms is provided through the process of an appeal.
Another excellent work that leaves its reader with plenty to consider. Recommended!
June 19, 2022
An overall interesting look at robots. In order of enjoyment, I'd liked the Scalzi story best, then the Chambers one. The last story finished weaker than the first two but still had some merits. A quick read for the great price of free.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews