Mostly Murders

“If we want change, or good fortune, or solace, we have to create it for ourselves.”

Solarpunk is an optimistic view of the future, envisioning a world where people have learned to live in harmony with nature, emphasising sustainability and humanity. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a novella that serves as a perfect example of the solarpunk genre.

In this novella we follow Dez, a non-binary tea monk. Their job is to serve people tea and help ease their troubles by listening and offering friendly advice, but inside Dez feels unfulfilled and unhappy. Then Dez meets Mosscap, a robot who is trying to discover what humans want from life, but can Dez help Mosscap understand humans, when Dez doesn’t even know what they themself want from life?

A gentle and uplifting novella, A Psalm for the Wild-Built takes basic questions of human nature and human existence, and examines it through the lens of a robot who has never known humans, and a human who doesn’t feel like they know themself. The result is a humorous and deeply philosophical story about the meaning of life, ennui, purposeful living and finding hope for a new existence in the ruins of an old one.

I highly recommend this to anyone who needs cheering up or wants a story with a positive outlook on the future, and to anyone who finds philosophy and human existence fascinating and wants to spend some time pondering human nature and the purpose of existence.

Solarpunk – Science fiction