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Mossa & Pleiti #1
The Mimicking of Known Successes
The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter, by Malka Older, author of the critically-acclaimed Centenal Cycle.
On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university—and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems.
Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti’s assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake—and, perhaps, their futures, together.
On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university—and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems.
Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti’s assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake—and, perhaps, their futures, together.
169 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2023
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May 18, 2022Well, that was a delight. Humanity, having wrecked Earth, has moved to a gas giant, where people live on platforms off great planet-spanning rails. It's a wonderful concept, delivered vividly, and I loved the gaslamp-fantasy feel of the university and the trains rattling around the loops. We also have a lovely f/f Holmes and Watson, the not-good-at-feels investigator Mossa and the academic Pleiti, her college ex-girlfriend.
A magnificently imaginative setting, a nicely developed and satisfyingly resolved mystery, a beautifully understated central romance, and a lot of thought-provoking ideas make this an immensely satisfying read. Does more at novella length than many books manage in three times as much. A cracker.
I had an ARC from the publisher.
A magnificently imaginative setting, a nicely developed and satisfyingly resolved mystery, a beautifully understated central romance, and a lot of thought-provoking ideas make this an immensely satisfying read. Does more at novella length than many books manage in three times as much. A cracker.
I had an ARC from the publisher.
September 9, 2022
A smart and entertaining escape to a Jupiter-like planet where two former lovers, both socially awkward in their own ways, join up to solve a mystery. It's a cozy in space, and the kind of book you might want to read over tea and scones (a favorite breakfast of the characters.) It's short, less than 200pp, but still manages to provide a satisfying mystery, but the real star here is the worldbuilding which gave me a gas giant world that I wanted to visit and had me thinking of the complexities and creativity of living on a planet with no surface. A pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
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August 23, 2022Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: We are Twitter moots and occasionally have bants. This author was invited by one of my editors to blurb one of my own books in the past.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I liked this tremendously. I sometimes think the Holmesian riff market is oversaturated (and I say that at someone who once wrote a Holmes riff and would write more Homles riffs like a shot given half a chance) but then I read a good one and I remember, no, I just fucking love this stuff. Because there’s so much you can do with the dynamics, the setting, the particular type of detective story that the original Homles typified, especially when you leave all the Victorian nonsense behind.
In this case, we’ve left it so far behind we’re on Jupiter.
The basic premise of The Mimicking of Known Successes is that our greed and selfishness have wrecked the earth—so far so plausible—and that what remains of humanity as a species is eking out a more careful existence on the gas giant, with people essentially living upon platforms attached to a planet-spanning rail system. When a man disappears from a remote railcar system, we have our mystery, and the story begins.
Our Holmes and Watson analogues are both women and former lovers: the former, an independent-minded investigator called Mossa, the latter, Pleiti, academic, who is working on a project to reconstruct Earth’s lost ecosystem. It’s a restrained take on both characters, with Mossa retaining some of Holmes’ methodology and emotional distance, and even a bit of his arrogance, but she’s infinitely less obnoxious. Pleiti, similarly, is neither as obsequious nor as horndoggy as the original Watson, but she is loyal and resourceful in the way that Watson is loyal and resourceful. And I’m aware this is probably coming across as unnecessarily spiteful about the original Holmes and Watson But they’re straight white Victorian men, written by a straight white Victorian man. That’s like ground zero for awfulness. Not that I’m trying to cancel a dead Victorian, or anything: I’m not disputing the value of Conan Doyle’s work, but it’s work that is (inevitably) a product of its day. And the advantage of reworking these stories with modern values is that they can be a product of … well … our day.
Anyway, I really loved this take on Holmes and Watson. Like Holmes, Mossa is brilliant, but frustratingly oblique, often declining to explain her thought processes until already proven, which evokes the atmosphere of one of those Holmes stories where Holmes is constantly out and about and will—at some point—deign to explain himself to Watson, probably over breakfast. But, unlike Holmes, Mossa is not an abstract figure of patriarchal genius: she is very much a whole person and, if you’re willing to pay attention, a person with strong and specific feelings. There’s an extent to which I think Mossa can be read as non-neurotypical but it is never the focus of the text, nor something that is posited as a romantic or personal obstacle for her. Pleiti and Mossa’s re-kindling of their relationship has nothing to do overcoming or addressing Mossa’s non-neurotypical ways: it is simply about both of them learning how to better recognise each other’s needs and expressions of care.
This isn’t the sort of detective story you can play along with at home, but Conon Doyle isn’t Agatha Christie. There is, however, an element of puzzle solving offered to the reader in terms of Mossa and Pleiti’s relationship. In typical Watson fashion, Pleiti can be quite a coy narrator and, because Mossa and Pleiti already know each other, there is a lot that goes unspoken between them. This doesn’t mean it’s not romantic, though. In fact, I found it deeply romantic, precisely because of its quietness, the way it belongs to Mossa and Pleiti in ways the reader (as an external observer) can only partially access.
Also, I’ve just realised I’ve spent most of my review of a detective story talking about the people. The mystery is … interesting and has some excitingly outlandish twists to it (there’s a bit where Mossa and Pleiti are attacked by a caracal). By the end, the stakes are pretty damn high, but I do wish I’d understood fully what they were before, and who was involved, before we reached the point of villain monologues and fisticuffs. I don’t want to spoil anything but the role of Pleiti’s department becomes quite significant: there’s hints throughout of intra-academic conflict (but does any academic institution not have intra-academic conflict?) as well as potential conflict between those who, y’know, work for the institution and believe in its cultural value and those who would maybe like to do something more directly useful for a broader range of people with the platform-space that has been given over to the ecology project. But I think, given the nuances of the setting, I would have liked just a little more cultural context and maybe to have spent more time with the villain before I learned he was the villain? Of course, some of this is simply detective story personal preference: in most of the Holmes stories, the villain is whoever has size eleven feet and smokes a particular brand of tobacco. And the mystery—for all I would have like a bit more emotional connection to its various participants—is well constructed and well paced.
The setting, though, I found it super fascinating. It’s evoked with depth, detail and genuine thoughtfulness—quite an achievement given the fact The Mimicking of Known Successes novella. It’s kind of weird that “everyone is stuck on a hostile gas giant with no life of its own” could come across as … cosy? But somehow, between the trains rattling about, Pleiti’s scholars rooms, the links to academia, and the foggy 19th century London vibes of a planet where you literally can’t breathe, it does. Of course, the fact we have left Earth a fucked up ruin behind us does cast a gentle melancholia over the text. The trauma of this is occasionally referenced—its impact undeniable—but, mostly, people are just getting on with their lives as best they can. There’s something especially bittersweet about this, I think, especially in the wake of a global pandemic. But there’s still a sense of hope here; an implication that change is always possible should we simply care enough.
Relevant disclaimers: We are Twitter moots and occasionally have bants. This author was invited by one of my editors to blurb one of my own books in the past.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
*******************************************
I liked this tremendously. I sometimes think the Holmesian riff market is oversaturated (and I say that at someone who once wrote a Holmes riff and would write more Homles riffs like a shot given half a chance) but then I read a good one and I remember, no, I just fucking love this stuff. Because there’s so much you can do with the dynamics, the setting, the particular type of detective story that the original Homles typified, especially when you leave all the Victorian nonsense behind.
In this case, we’ve left it so far behind we’re on Jupiter.
The basic premise of The Mimicking of Known Successes is that our greed and selfishness have wrecked the earth—so far so plausible—and that what remains of humanity as a species is eking out a more careful existence on the gas giant, with people essentially living upon platforms attached to a planet-spanning rail system. When a man disappears from a remote railcar system, we have our mystery, and the story begins.
Our Holmes and Watson analogues are both women and former lovers: the former, an independent-minded investigator called Mossa, the latter, Pleiti, academic, who is working on a project to reconstruct Earth’s lost ecosystem. It’s a restrained take on both characters, with Mossa retaining some of Holmes’ methodology and emotional distance, and even a bit of his arrogance, but she’s infinitely less obnoxious. Pleiti, similarly, is neither as obsequious nor as horndoggy as the original Watson, but she is loyal and resourceful in the way that Watson is loyal and resourceful. And I’m aware this is probably coming across as unnecessarily spiteful about the original Holmes and Watson But they’re straight white Victorian men, written by a straight white Victorian man. That’s like ground zero for awfulness. Not that I’m trying to cancel a dead Victorian, or anything: I’m not disputing the value of Conan Doyle’s work, but it’s work that is (inevitably) a product of its day. And the advantage of reworking these stories with modern values is that they can be a product of … well … our day.
Anyway, I really loved this take on Holmes and Watson. Like Holmes, Mossa is brilliant, but frustratingly oblique, often declining to explain her thought processes until already proven, which evokes the atmosphere of one of those Holmes stories where Holmes is constantly out and about and will—at some point—deign to explain himself to Watson, probably over breakfast. But, unlike Holmes, Mossa is not an abstract figure of patriarchal genius: she is very much a whole person and, if you’re willing to pay attention, a person with strong and specific feelings. There’s an extent to which I think Mossa can be read as non-neurotypical but it is never the focus of the text, nor something that is posited as a romantic or personal obstacle for her. Pleiti and Mossa’s re-kindling of their relationship has nothing to do overcoming or addressing Mossa’s non-neurotypical ways: it is simply about both of them learning how to better recognise each other’s needs and expressions of care.
This isn’t the sort of detective story you can play along with at home, but Conon Doyle isn’t Agatha Christie. There is, however, an element of puzzle solving offered to the reader in terms of Mossa and Pleiti’s relationship. In typical Watson fashion, Pleiti can be quite a coy narrator and, because Mossa and Pleiti already know each other, there is a lot that goes unspoken between them. This doesn’t mean it’s not romantic, though. In fact, I found it deeply romantic, precisely because of its quietness, the way it belongs to Mossa and Pleiti in ways the reader (as an external observer) can only partially access.
Also, I’ve just realised I’ve spent most of my review of a detective story talking about the people. The mystery is … interesting and has some excitingly outlandish twists to it (there’s a bit where Mossa and Pleiti are attacked by a caracal). By the end, the stakes are pretty damn high, but I do wish I’d understood fully what they were before, and who was involved, before we reached the point of villain monologues and fisticuffs. I don’t want to spoil anything but the role of Pleiti’s department becomes quite significant: there’s hints throughout of intra-academic conflict (but does any academic institution not have intra-academic conflict?) as well as potential conflict between those who, y’know, work for the institution and believe in its cultural value and those who would maybe like to do something more directly useful for a broader range of people with the platform-space that has been given over to the ecology project. But I think, given the nuances of the setting, I would have liked just a little more cultural context and maybe to have spent more time with the villain before I learned he was the villain? Of course, some of this is simply detective story personal preference: in most of the Holmes stories, the villain is whoever has size eleven feet and smokes a particular brand of tobacco. And the mystery—for all I would have like a bit more emotional connection to its various participants—is well constructed and well paced.
The setting, though, I found it super fascinating. It’s evoked with depth, detail and genuine thoughtfulness—quite an achievement given the fact The Mimicking of Known Successes novella. It’s kind of weird that “everyone is stuck on a hostile gas giant with no life of its own” could come across as … cosy? But somehow, between the trains rattling about, Pleiti’s scholars rooms, the links to academia, and the foggy 19th century London vibes of a planet where you literally can’t breathe, it does. Of course, the fact we have left Earth a fucked up ruin behind us does cast a gentle melancholia over the text. The trauma of this is occasionally referenced—its impact undeniable—but, mostly, people are just getting on with their lives as best they can. There’s something especially bittersweet about this, I think, especially in the wake of a global pandemic. But there’s still a sense of hope here; an implication that change is always possible should we simply care enough.
February 20, 2022
Hot damn, I am in love with this book. Mossa and Pleiti are two amazing characters, and I stan them forever. I want to read several more books about their adventures. Basically, The Mimicking of Known Successes is a "cozy murder mystery" set on Jupiter, with a lovely relationship at its center. The highest praise I can give this book is that it reminded me of Dorothy L. Sayers. I got serious Gaudy Night vibes here and there. A few things amaze me about Older's accomplishment here: First, she creates a mystery that actually works as a mystery, with lots of twists and turns and clever reveals, and it all makes sense in the end. (As a long-time fan of mystery books, I'm often disappointed by murder-mystery storylines in science fiction and fantasy novels/novellas.) Also, the worldbuilding is top notch, with an arresting and complex vision of a human settlement on Jupiter that feels lived-in and believable. This is one of the best stories about humans on another world that I've read in ages. But most importantly, the relationship between Mossa and Pleiti is just note-perfect and made me gasp out loud at several points in the story. It's always extremely understated, which only made me more obsessed. I kept having to go back and re-read some of the perfect little moments between them and go, "how did Malka Older DO that???" Mossa and Pleiti deserve to be mentioned among the all-time great characters of science fiction. Every once in a while, a book comes along that is both a comfort read and a rousing, fist-pumping adventure, and The Mimicking of Known Successes absolutely is both of those things. A utter triumph. More please.
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December 12, 2022
I kinda thought this was a debut novella...imagine my surprise that this is a Hugo-nominated author.
Okay, that's harsh.
This novella is a very queer murder-mystery with a heavy neo-noir dystopian steampunk feel. The concept is brilliant; the execution, not so much. The sentences were often ponderous, and the characters were razor-thin.
As an experimental piece in trying something new, it works well, but as for being published...I dunno. It felt unexplored and unfinished, not unusual in a novella-length piece that is trying to tackle this much: former-lovers-turned-reluctant-partners, academia, off-Earth dystopia, ecosystems, murder, a wealth of world-building and intrigue crammed into 176 pages that's filled with descriptions of gas and fog and wind instead of human connection.
Anywho, I did like the concept of human survival on Jupiter itself, instead of, say, one of its moons.
I feel like the title kinda sums up my feelings? And not in a good way.
I received this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley
Okay, that's harsh.
This novella is a very queer murder-mystery with a heavy neo-noir dystopian steampunk feel. The concept is brilliant; the execution, not so much. The sentences were often ponderous, and the characters were razor-thin.
As an experimental piece in trying something new, it works well, but as for being published...I dunno. It felt unexplored and unfinished, not unusual in a novella-length piece that is trying to tackle this much: former-lovers-turned-reluctant-partners, academia, off-Earth dystopia, ecosystems, murder, a wealth of world-building and intrigue crammed into 176 pages that's filled with descriptions of gas and fog and wind instead of human connection.
Anywho, I did like the concept of human survival on Jupiter itself, instead of, say, one of its moons.
I feel like the title kinda sums up my feelings? And not in a good way.
I received this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley
September 9, 2022
This sounded awesome. Whoever wrote the official description did a great job. Whoever wrote the actual book…less so.
I mean, yes, it is a murder mystery set on a distant planet and yes, there is a romance, although it’s so weirdly gender-neutral, if I hadn’t read the description, I wouldn’t have placed it as sapphic.
And there are objectively some good things about it, mainly the world-building, which is precise and elaborate and interesting.
But overall, the book really didn’t do much for me.
The writing itself was fine, but the language and the dialogue was oddly stilted and ponderous, like the future suddenly decided to emulate a distant past and get all precociously eloquent. (A disclaimer: I’m all for eloquence, this just wasn’t the right kind. I understand that these are meant to be University intellectuals, but still…)
And then…the pacing left something to be desired and the romance was just…silly and clunkily written like a shabby play with cardboard actors.
Kudos to Tor for being so aggressive about drumming up representation in fiction that these days they seem to exclusively publish stories with LGBTQ+ love stories, but can we make them good? Like Passing Strange or something, at least.
Anyway, quick enough of a read, mildly diverting, left a lot to be desired. Nowhere near as exciting or fun as the description promises. Thanks Netgalley.
I mean, yes, it is a murder mystery set on a distant planet and yes, there is a romance, although it’s so weirdly gender-neutral, if I hadn’t read the description, I wouldn’t have placed it as sapphic.
And there are objectively some good things about it, mainly the world-building, which is precise and elaborate and interesting.
But overall, the book really didn’t do much for me.
The writing itself was fine, but the language and the dialogue was oddly stilted and ponderous, like the future suddenly decided to emulate a distant past and get all precociously eloquent. (A disclaimer: I’m all for eloquence, this just wasn’t the right kind. I understand that these are meant to be University intellectuals, but still…)
And then…the pacing left something to be desired and the romance was just…silly and clunkily written like a shabby play with cardboard actors.
Kudos to Tor for being so aggressive about drumming up representation in fiction that these days they seem to exclusively publish stories with LGBTQ+ love stories, but can we make them good? Like Passing Strange or something, at least.
Anyway, quick enough of a read, mildly diverting, left a lot to be desired. Nowhere near as exciting or fun as the description promises. Thanks Netgalley.
July 19, 2023
The Mimicking of Known Success starts off as a missing person case originating at the last outpost/stop on the ringed railway around Jupiter. As the story progresses, it evolves into so much more. There are several moving parts that interconnect and suggest something larger is at play.
Mossa is the head investigator and she partners up with her ex from college, Pleiti, in hopes that her connections to academia can help figure out what happened to Pleiti’s missing colleague. The reader gets the sense of their relationship rekindling as the case evolves.
I love mysteries and any story involving Jupiter, so this was my kind of story. I love seeing how authors create their “worlds” for humans that have had to leave Earth. I also find it interesting how authors approach repopulating the Earth after humans have made it uninhabitable (I enjoyed the TV show The 100 and the movie After Earth among the many out there). The author’s explanation of both were quite interesting.
I love outpost type stories. I am a huge fan of Cowboy Bebop and Firefly. At times, The Mimicking of Known Success had the same feel for me. I enjoyed all aspects of the book, but especially the author’s word choice. I learned several new words. No surprise when the main character/narrator, Pleiti, is an expert on classic literature of Earth.
The Mimicking of Known Success is a quick read with something for every reader. I greatly enjoyed it. I’ve already preordered the next installment due out February 2024.
Mossa is the head investigator and she partners up with her ex from college, Pleiti, in hopes that her connections to academia can help figure out what happened to Pleiti’s missing colleague. The reader gets the sense of their relationship rekindling as the case evolves.
I love mysteries and any story involving Jupiter, so this was my kind of story. I love seeing how authors create their “worlds” for humans that have had to leave Earth. I also find it interesting how authors approach repopulating the Earth after humans have made it uninhabitable (I enjoyed the TV show The 100 and the movie After Earth among the many out there). The author’s explanation of both were quite interesting.
I love outpost type stories. I am a huge fan of Cowboy Bebop and Firefly. At times, The Mimicking of Known Success had the same feel for me. I enjoyed all aspects of the book, but especially the author’s word choice. I learned several new words. No surprise when the main character/narrator, Pleiti, is an expert on classic literature of Earth.
The Mimicking of Known Success is a quick read with something for every reader. I greatly enjoyed it. I’ve already preordered the next installment due out February 2024.
February 13, 2024
The vehicle was comfortable enough, on the basis that its users might sometimes be required to travel for long periods without particularly wanting to. It was well-heated, and there was tea available, and Mossa sat wrapped in the cushions and covers and brooded. She had turned one of the wall panels into a storyboard for the investigation, plotting the little she knew and what she wanted to find out. It didn't require a review of the paltry first and the much more extensive second to figure out where she needed to go next, however. And when she considered who might be helpful there, she found the optimal, alluring, inconvenient name immediately.
Valdegeld. And Pleiti.
What an awesome confluence of ideas this book turned out to be - and the execution was spot on for me, which is always a happy surprise.
The Mimicking of Known Successes takes place on Giant (Jupiter-analogous), where humanity have fled following their destruction of Earths livability. Rails circumnavigate the gaseous planet, with platforms providing living space for the people who made it off-world, and the flora and fauna they were able to bring along. It's an unspecified time, but it reads as roughly 1940s to me - only in space, liberal, and with a determined focus on cosy rooms and tea. Then, of course, comes the mystery - a scholar disappeared and no-one sure if he went over the side of the platforms voluntarily. Mossa is investigating; and how convenient that her investigation has brought her into the path of her old flame Pleiti.
The romance is minimal, but enough to be cute without taking over the story. The mystery was super satisfying, made sense, and wasn't too obvious or too curly. But the atmosphere of the whole book is absolutely what tipped it into five star territory for me - whether it was the scholar's rooms, the railcars, or the brief glimpse at local restaurant Slow Burn, the majority of the book just felt like a chair by the fire on a cold and stormy night. It was a great length - but I'm really looking forward to a) a reread, and b) the next one.
Valdegeld. And Pleiti.
What an awesome confluence of ideas this book turned out to be - and the execution was spot on for me, which is always a happy surprise.
The Mimicking of Known Successes takes place on Giant (Jupiter-analogous), where humanity have fled following their destruction of Earths livability. Rails circumnavigate the gaseous planet, with platforms providing living space for the people who made it off-world, and the flora and fauna they were able to bring along. It's an unspecified time, but it reads as roughly 1940s to me - only in space, liberal, and with a determined focus on cosy rooms and tea. Then, of course, comes the mystery - a scholar disappeared and no-one sure if he went over the side of the platforms voluntarily. Mossa is investigating; and how convenient that her investigation has brought her into the path of her old flame Pleiti.
The romance is minimal, but enough to be cute without taking over the story. The mystery was super satisfying, made sense, and wasn't too obvious or too curly. But the atmosphere of the whole book is absolutely what tipped it into five star territory for me - whether it was the scholar's rooms, the railcars, or the brief glimpse at local restaurant Slow Burn, the majority of the book just felt like a chair by the fire on a cold and stormy night. It was a great length - but I'm really looking forward to a) a reread, and b) the next one.
December 24, 2022
This book had a bit of a slow start for me, but once I got past the basic setting up of the world the characters and story started to emerge and they were quite interesting. The setting - we completely ruined earth and fled to Jupiter which has it’s downsides but at least is sustaining human life. A man is missing and an investigator uses his connection to the college to visit with her ex-girlfriend and get her help in investigating. I’ll admit this is a very quick read, more of a novella than a novel, but it was beautiful and worth reading. Overall I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up for the unique idea and setting of the story.
January 7, 2023
A mystery set on a future human colony on Jupiter with a heavy dollop of sapphic romance? Yes, please, and thank you! While I felt some of the pacing was a bit off in the middle, overall, this totally delivered and I particularly appreciated the themes around climate change that it interrogates. I'd love for there to be more stories in this world
March 8, 2023
Holmes-ish character investigates a death, accompanied by ex-GF who isn't especially Watson-ish if you think of Watson as a bit dim.
It's not a good sign if while you're reading a science fictional murder mystery, you keep getting distracted by thinking, "Hold up: the planet where all these humans are living post-environmental-apocalypse on Earth sure sounds a lot like Jupiter, and it has a moon named Io, so why is the author calling it Giant?" (Like, if you're trying to avoid being West-centric, which I could understand, why retain the name Io?)
Additional and more serious distractions are afforded by the worldbuilding. The "Classicists" on Giant have as a long-term project the reconstitution of Earth's ravaged ecosystems, to which end a huge inventory of individual(?) members of Earth species is maintained. But, like ... all these species would have existed as part of ecosystems in the first place, so how are you keeping them alive in habitats suitable for individual species (and, it's implied, single members of the species)? Even zoos on Earth have trouble doing this with many species. How, on a planet where every inch of habitable space has to be constructed, are you supporting enough prey animals to feed your apex predators? (Or even your wee obligate carnivores, like domestic cats.) How do you propose to rebuild Earth's ecosystems without oceanic and other aquatic species, or alternatively where are you keeping the damn whales? What about the fact that many animals ranging from gorillas to corvids demonstrate socially transmitted learning about each other and their local environment,* and that even now, on our Earth, this is a problem for people wanting to preserve any given species -- because when you keep them in isolation and unable to express natural behaviors, their offspring no longer know what to do on, say, the savannah?
This book desperately needed input from an environmental scientist, if even I, a casual reader of natural history, found myself staggering from "But ..." to "But ..." to "But ..." so much that I could hardly spare attention for the relationship between the MCs or for the mystery.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
----------------
*AKA culture)
It's not a good sign if while you're reading a science fictional murder mystery, you keep getting distracted by thinking, "Hold up: the planet where all these humans are living post-environmental-apocalypse on Earth sure sounds a lot like Jupiter, and it has a moon named Io, so why is the author calling it Giant?" (Like, if you're trying to avoid being West-centric, which I could understand, why retain the name Io?)
Additional and more serious distractions are afforded by the worldbuilding. The "Classicists" on Giant have as a long-term project the reconstitution of Earth's ravaged ecosystems, to which end a huge inventory of individual(?) members of Earth species is maintained. But, like ... all these species would have existed as part of ecosystems in the first place, so how are you keeping them alive in habitats suitable for individual species (and, it's implied, single members of the species)? Even zoos on Earth have trouble doing this with many species. How, on a planet where every inch of habitable space has to be constructed, are you supporting enough prey animals to feed your apex predators? (Or even your wee obligate carnivores, like domestic cats.) How do you propose to rebuild Earth's ecosystems without oceanic and other aquatic species, or alternatively where are you keeping the damn whales? What about the fact that many animals ranging from gorillas to corvids demonstrate socially transmitted learning about each other and their local environment,* and that even now, on our Earth, this is a problem for people wanting to preserve any given species -- because when you keep them in isolation and unable to express natural behaviors, their offspring no longer know what to do on, say, the savannah?
This book desperately needed input from an environmental scientist, if even I, a casual reader of natural history, found myself staggering from "But ..." to "But ..." to "But ..." so much that I could hardly spare attention for the relationship between the MCs or for the mystery.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
----------------
*AKA culture)
August 31, 2023
So… I didn’t actually like this book and I’m a little angry at it. It’s so short, I should’ve finished it in two days tops. This did not happen. This book dragged on to me and put me in a bit of a slump. I had to convince myself to read. It’s too bad, really. What did I like?
It’s a sci-fi mystery with sapphic feels. The romance was minimal, an introduction into sapphic literature which is what I wanted so perfect for that.
I didn’t like the characters. They felt flat and uninteresting to me. Also, the mystery was so step-by-step. I’ve not read Sherlock Holmes, only seen movies and the TV show Sherlock, but it felt like that, with Mossa just understanding things and seeing puzzle pieces that others can’t, and Pleiti coming in clutch to fill in the anti-social bits that Mossa struggled with. In essence, despite it being set on Jupiter's (I think) outpost, it felt like something I had heard before, with characters I already knew. Was the point to be a sapphic science fiction of Sherlock Holmes? Maybe I missed the point. I can be a bit dense, at times.
It’s a sci-fi mystery with sapphic feels. The romance was minimal, an introduction into sapphic literature which is what I wanted so perfect for that.
I didn’t like the characters. They felt flat and uninteresting to me. Also, the mystery was so step-by-step. I’ve not read Sherlock Holmes, only seen movies and the TV show Sherlock, but it felt like that, with Mossa just understanding things and seeing puzzle pieces that others can’t, and Pleiti coming in clutch to fill in the anti-social bits that Mossa struggled with. In essence, despite it being set on Jupiter's (I think) outpost, it felt like something I had heard before, with characters I already knew. Was the point to be a sapphic science fiction of Sherlock Holmes? Maybe I missed the point. I can be a bit dense, at times.
February 21, 2023
The Mimicking of Known Successes is a sapphic sci-fi murder mystery set on Jupiter with a bit of Western flair. The two main characters are women with a similar vibe to Sherlock and Watson, but with more overt romantic tension and neurodivergence. The writing style took me a bit to get into, but I ended up quite enjoying this.
The world-building is pretty cool- how might a human colony on a gas planet like Jupiter function? Well, everything is built suspended in the air and the weather patterns are specific to the gas giant. At the same time, this is a rather cozy story with investigator Mossa and academic Pleiti investigating a mysterious death and its connections to the university. I won't spoil anything but I am pleased to see this is intended to be the start of a series. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
The world-building is pretty cool- how might a human colony on a gas planet like Jupiter function? Well, everything is built suspended in the air and the weather patterns are specific to the gas giant. At the same time, this is a rather cozy story with investigator Mossa and academic Pleiti investigating a mysterious death and its connections to the university. I won't spoil anything but I am pleased to see this is intended to be the start of a series. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
March 12, 2023
3.5 Stars
This is a charming and unique sci fi mystery novella. The characters were my favourite aspect of this story because they were dynamic and well developed. I wish the mystery itself had more compelling but I enjoyed spending time in this world with these characters. I hope there will be more novellas set in this future.
I would primarily recommend this to readers interested in a futuristic mysteries. I believe this one would be accessible for readers who don't normally read science fiction.
Disclaimer I received copy of this book from the publisher.
I review books on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheShadesofOrange
This is a charming and unique sci fi mystery novella. The characters were my favourite aspect of this story because they were dynamic and well developed. I wish the mystery itself had more compelling but I enjoyed spending time in this world with these characters. I hope there will be more novellas set in this future.
I would primarily recommend this to readers interested in a futuristic mysteries. I believe this one would be accessible for readers who don't normally read science fiction.
Disclaimer I received copy of this book from the publisher.
I review books on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheShadesofOrange
November 25, 2022
I don't want to be mean, I really don't, but this book was tough to get through. It's a novella that took me a week to finish, and a mystery that I still didn't understand by the end.
The way that people speak in this book is so stilted and unnatural. They have no emotions and no personalities.
The world building in here is excellent, though. It's a society built on platforms in space, encircling earth, with a bunch of trains connecting it all. There's a lot of interesting ideas explored within that, but the characters made it basically unbearable. The definition of in one ear and out the other.
I should have dnf-d, but it's an arc so I stuck it out. Personally I want to give it 1 star, but I can see some merit for others.
I received an advance copy of the ebook via NetGalley.
The way that people speak in this book is so stilted and unnatural. They have no emotions and no personalities.
The world building in here is excellent, though. It's a society built on platforms in space, encircling earth, with a bunch of trains connecting it all. There's a lot of interesting ideas explored within that, but the characters made it basically unbearable. The definition of in one ear and out the other.
I should have dnf-d, but it's an arc so I stuck it out. Personally I want to give it 1 star, but I can see some merit for others.
I received an advance copy of the ebook via NetGalley.
Shelved as 'dnf'
October 20, 2022DNF at page 96.
The setting of The Mimicking of Known Successes is really cool, especially how Older weaved in little details like the food the characters ate, the animals, the weather, levels of tech and means of conveyance, etc., as Mossa and Pleiti moved along in their investigation. It opened up questions for me about how long it would be before new generations would consider this "place of exile" as their home, and question their entire culture's dedication to .
Unfortunately, the rest left me cold. I'm not a fan of mystery stories, and the main plot is one. I can manage to get through a mystery story if I like the characters, and see them grow through their personal connections and life changes. I could see hints of that, here, but....
I see Mossa and Pleiti as analogues of Holmes and Watson, in so far as there are two of them, and they are in most of the scenes together. But here Holmes's powers of observation, his laser focus on the question at hand, and so on, seem to have been split up between Mossa and Pleiti, with none of Watson's qualities to balance them out. This is not to say that H&W clones were necessary for this to work--not at all. But unfortunately, Pleiti's first-person narration was so formal and distanced that, at the point I stopped reading, I hadn't been able to build a connection either with her, or with Mossa as seen through her eyes.
After about half of a very short book struggling to bring myself to move on to the next chapter because I couldn't care less about either the mystery or the characters' lives, I gave up. Thanks to the publisher, tor.com, for the opportunity to try it. I'm sure there's an appreciative audience for this book out there, and the copy on the inside cover of this ARC makes me think that significant effort will be taken to find it.
The setting of The Mimicking of Known Successes is really cool, especially how Older weaved in little details like the food the characters ate, the animals, the weather, levels of tech and means of conveyance, etc., as Mossa and Pleiti moved along in their investigation. It opened up questions for me about how long it would be before new generations would consider this "place of exile" as their home, and question their entire culture's dedication to .
Unfortunately, the rest left me cold. I'm not a fan of mystery stories, and the main plot is one. I can manage to get through a mystery story if I like the characters, and see them grow through their personal connections and life changes. I could see hints of that, here, but....
I see Mossa and Pleiti as analogues of Holmes and Watson, in so far as there are two of them, and they are in most of the scenes together. But here Holmes's powers of observation, his laser focus on the question at hand, and so on, seem to have been split up between Mossa and Pleiti, with none of Watson's qualities to balance them out. This is not to say that H&W clones were necessary for this to work--not at all. But unfortunately, Pleiti's first-person narration was so formal and distanced that, at the point I stopped reading, I hadn't been able to build a connection either with her, or with Mossa as seen through her eyes.
After about half of a very short book struggling to bring myself to move on to the next chapter because I couldn't care less about either the mystery or the characters' lives, I gave up. Thanks to the publisher, tor.com, for the opportunity to try it. I'm sure there's an appreciative audience for this book out there, and the copy on the inside cover of this ARC makes me think that significant effort will be taken to find it.
March 22, 2024
I loved this book! Review on Autostraddle: https://www.autostraddle.com/queer-no....
March 19, 2023
This was my first book by Malka Older and the cover and title brought me to it. I’m a sucker for that kind of title and this one has a really nice ring to it. I hadn’t heard of the author before though now her 2016 science-fiction political thriller Infomocracy is on my TBR.
Set on a gas-giant planet (think Jupiter or Saturn), The Mimicking of Known Successes is a cosy murder mystery and a slow-burn second-chance romance. The sudden disappearance of a man causes Investigator Mossa to reconnect with her ex, scholar Pleiti, five years after they broke up. The two of them have gone on to lead very different lives after university but the connection remains, even if they haven’t seen each other in years.
The prologue is told from Mossa’s POV, then we move to Pleiti’s, which I loved. Mossa is a fascinating character, with a very quick mind and an unparalleled capacity to process puzzles. Because the story is told from her point of view and in the first person, we know how Pleiti feels but not so much who she is, especially as Mossa’s return has a tornado-like quality and Pleiti finds herself assisting her with her investigation, very much the Watson to Mossa’s Holmes. Will we get to know more of Pleiti in her natural environment in the next book, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, coming out in February 2024? Or will Mossa’s world become hers? Either way, I’m looking forward to more.
Besides the characters, I also liked the worldbuilding very much, though I’m not sure I was able to really see what it’s supposed to look like but that’s not unusual for me. I don’t see, I feel. And I did feel here. Not the angsty feelings I usually look for, but rather something akin to curiosity. About this new world intent on bringing back the old one, about the society’s dynamics, and, obviously, about the characters. I want more of these two and I look forward to the sequel. The ending of this novella didn’t leave me unsatisfied and it can be read as a standalone but it whetted my appetite for more.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
July 5, 2022
This is such a delightful gaslamp mystery set on future-Jupiter, with a wonderfully warm and cozy writing style (once Chapter One begins and the main character takes over the narrative) and an understated, slowburn f/f romance. It's really fun throughout, full of great characters and settings and totally charming, but it also weaves in some really beautiful messaging about climate issues and the difference between yearning for what's been lost and creating something new. I loved it, and I can't wait to read the next story in this series of novellas!
April 20, 2022
A gaslamp murder-mystery set on a gas giant planet, with a backdrop of eco-regeneration and a compelling slow-burn romance? Oh yes please! Malka Older has created a far flung speculative winner that is as much hard science fiction as it is gritty xenobiological noir. What’s more, she’s built a world that feels real and present, with characters you want to see get closer… to the possible killer and to each other. I am absolutely in love with this world and these characters.
(Malka is a friend, colleague, and I received an ARC. No scones were harmed in the writing of this blurb.)
(Malka is a friend, colleague, and I received an ARC. No scones were harmed in the writing of this blurb.)
November 28, 2023
3 Stars for The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Ann Older read by Lindsey Dorcus.
The story was alright but I kept forgetting that it was sci-fi. The murder mystery and building romance seemed to be the main focus. The sci-fi part seemed to be just the place names for where they were. I never got a sense of what the world that they lived in was like.
The story was alright but I kept forgetting that it was sci-fi. The murder mystery and building romance seemed to be the main focus. The sci-fi part seemed to be just the place names for where they were. I never got a sense of what the world that they lived in was like.
May 30, 2023
This was very much a delightful and unexpected read.
This is a sci-fi mystery in the vein of Sherlock Holmes following Mossa, an Investigator (similar to a detective) and her old college roommate/lover, Pleiti. Mossa fulfills the cold and intelligent Holmes role, while Pleiti fills the story-from-her-POV sidekick role of Watson. We meet the two as Mossa rolls back into Pleiti's life to ask for her help in the case of a disappearance, and we learn their history as they investigate and figure out if and how they can fit back into each others' lives.
All of this takes place on Jupiter. Rather, orbiting Jupiter. Which is just so neat. Older's writing seats us firmly in the comfort and coziness of a Holmesian mystery, but wraps it up in an interesting sci-fi premise. The mystery itself is alright; I found the writing of it very decent and I enjoyed following the threads as they put them together, but what drove this for me was Mossa and Pleiti's characterization and the world building. I don't visualize things very well (if at all) as I read, so my brain was working overtime to picture this colonized orbit of Jupiter because I wanted to learn about it so much. It was so neat!
So, so happy I grabbed this. It felt cozy in the way that slipping into well-known and well-loved Holmes stories does, but also more stimulating with the world building.
This is a sci-fi mystery in the vein of Sherlock Holmes following Mossa, an Investigator (similar to a detective) and her old college roommate/lover, Pleiti. Mossa fulfills the cold and intelligent Holmes role, while Pleiti fills the story-from-her-POV sidekick role of Watson. We meet the two as Mossa rolls back into Pleiti's life to ask for her help in the case of a disappearance, and we learn their history as they investigate and figure out if and how they can fit back into each others' lives.
All of this takes place on Jupiter. Rather, orbiting Jupiter. Which is just so neat. Older's writing seats us firmly in the comfort and coziness of a Holmesian mystery, but wraps it up in an interesting sci-fi premise. The mystery itself is alright; I found the writing of it very decent and I enjoyed following the threads as they put them together, but what drove this for me was Mossa and Pleiti's characterization and the world building. I don't visualize things very well (if at all) as I read, so my brain was working overtime to picture this colonized orbit of Jupiter because I wanted to learn about it so much. It was so neat!
So, so happy I grabbed this. It felt cozy in the way that slipping into well-known and well-loved Holmes stories does, but also more stimulating with the world building.
March 12, 2023
Update: Happy Publication Week!
What a delight of a novella. It was throughly enjoyable how the author would spread tiny tidbits of backstory about how humanity came to live in Jupiter, and it's future goals, versus large infodumps. The mystery was good, and the suspect's motivation was wholly unique to the story's setting.
**Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for my review. **
What a delight of a novella. It was throughly enjoyable how the author would spread tiny tidbits of backstory about how humanity came to live in Jupiter, and it's future goals, versus large infodumps. The mystery was good, and the suspect's motivation was wholly unique to the story's setting.
**Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for my review. **
December 4, 2022
Absolutely delightful. This novella was pitched to me as a “sapphic Sherlockian mystery set on Jupiter,” and it delivered on all fronts.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC!
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC!
February 15, 2023
The blurb for this novella calls it “a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter,” and that pretty well sums it up.
Our protagonist is a researcher in “Classical Studies,” which in this context means a researcher into the ecology of Earth from before we wrecked the place and the survivors of humanity had to decamp to platforms suspended in the upper reaches of the atmosphere of Jupiter (now known as Giant). The goal of the research of Classical Studies is the ultimate repair of Earth’s environment so that humanity can return home, though they’re taking it slow and determined to get it *right*.
None of that is what the book is about, though. One of the protagonist’s colleagues (one she doesn’t particularly like) has gone missing, to all appearances having jumped off of a remote platform into the Giant’s depths in an apparent suicide. The person in charge of the investigator happens to be an old flame of our protagonist, from their college days.
This book was delightful to read. Most of what I loved about it was the careful re-establishment of a relationship between the two, as both of them are uncertain of where things stand and are very delicately feeling things out. The investigator, for her part, is presented (though not described explicitly) as neuroatypical, which in this case means subtle signals on both ends are a challenge to interpret. Which is where the “Holmesian” really comes into play, for better and for worse. Sherlock Holmes was a brilliant investigator, but also cold and dismissive of relationships. Here, the investigator isn’t cold and dismissive, exactly, but very focused on her work and doesn’t express emotions in way apparent to others.
The science fiction elements are a good background. Malka Older does an excellent job of presenting humanity’s existence on Jupiter as a status quo, something all the characters simply accept without really thinking about, while still informing the entire story to a large degree.
All in all, this was a delightful quick read, and strongly recommended. Comes out on March 7.
My blog
Our protagonist is a researcher in “Classical Studies,” which in this context means a researcher into the ecology of Earth from before we wrecked the place and the survivors of humanity had to decamp to platforms suspended in the upper reaches of the atmosphere of Jupiter (now known as Giant). The goal of the research of Classical Studies is the ultimate repair of Earth’s environment so that humanity can return home, though they’re taking it slow and determined to get it *right*.
None of that is what the book is about, though. One of the protagonist’s colleagues (one she doesn’t particularly like) has gone missing, to all appearances having jumped off of a remote platform into the Giant’s depths in an apparent suicide. The person in charge of the investigator happens to be an old flame of our protagonist, from their college days.
This book was delightful to read. Most of what I loved about it was the careful re-establishment of a relationship between the two, as both of them are uncertain of where things stand and are very delicately feeling things out. The investigator, for her part, is presented (though not described explicitly) as neuroatypical, which in this case means subtle signals on both ends are a challenge to interpret. Which is where the “Holmesian” really comes into play, for better and for worse. Sherlock Holmes was a brilliant investigator, but also cold and dismissive of relationships. Here, the investigator isn’t cold and dismissive, exactly, but very focused on her work and doesn’t express emotions in way apparent to others.
The science fiction elements are a good background. Malka Older does an excellent job of presenting humanity’s existence on Jupiter as a status quo, something all the characters simply accept without really thinking about, while still informing the entire story to a large degree.
All in all, this was a delightful quick read, and strongly recommended. Comes out on March 7.
My blog
October 11, 2023
It's rare for a book's title to be such an accurate and effective self-own.
Stilted prose and worse dialogue, flimsy characterisation, dull plot.
1.5 stars rounded up, on the basis of lesbians in space.
Stilted prose and worse dialogue, flimsy characterisation, dull plot.
1.5 stars rounded up, on the basis of lesbians in space.
April 15, 2023
DNF at 56%
I was intrigued and fascinated by the prologue of this book. It had smooth world building and cool details and I was excited to learn more.
And then it shifted from third person in the prologue to first person POV of a different character with no notice in chapter 1, and it was downhill from there.
Major problems:
The stilted, excessively stuffy and big word style of writing. I assume it’s because the character POV is an ivory tower academic, but it quickly grated on me. It also made me feel really distant from the story and characters.
The characters themselves were flat and cardboard to me. I never felt like they had true emotions, and I certainly did not buy into their romance (alleged past romance??) - if it hadn’t been insisted on constantly by the POV character, I would never have guessed it was a thing.
There were a lot of characters for a novella. Maybe this is my fault for zoning out, but I got lost trying to remember who was who and who lied and whatever. Kind of ruins the mystery when I’m drowning in misc characters.
I wish there’d been more time spent on developing the world - the sci fi part was really neat. There was a bit too much time spent on mentioning the gas and the fog and that got annoying.
It shouldn’t have been such a struggle to read a novella. Giving up halfway through since it clearly was not improving.
Maybe it’ll work for other people, but for me I found it fell short on all counts.
I was intrigued and fascinated by the prologue of this book. It had smooth world building and cool details and I was excited to learn more.
And then it shifted from third person in the prologue to first person POV of a different character with no notice in chapter 1, and it was downhill from there.
Major problems:
The stilted, excessively stuffy and big word style of writing. I assume it’s because the character POV is an ivory tower academic, but it quickly grated on me. It also made me feel really distant from the story and characters.
The characters themselves were flat and cardboard to me. I never felt like they had true emotions, and I certainly did not buy into their romance (alleged past romance??) - if it hadn’t been insisted on constantly by the POV character, I would never have guessed it was a thing.
There were a lot of characters for a novella. Maybe this is my fault for zoning out, but I got lost trying to remember who was who and who lied and whatever. Kind of ruins the mystery when I’m drowning in misc characters.
I wish there’d been more time spent on developing the world - the sci fi part was really neat. There was a bit too much time spent on mentioning the gas and the fog and that got annoying.
It shouldn’t have been such a struggle to read a novella. Giving up halfway through since it clearly was not improving.
Maybe it’ll work for other people, but for me I found it fell short on all counts.
Read
March 28, 2023I adore Malka Older’s Infomocracy books (at least the two I’ve read; holding off on the third, though I own it, because then the series will be over, nooo), and I’ve loved her short fiction too. And I liked elements of this novella very much indeed. In fact, overall, I enjoyed it—I even enjoyed the parts I mentally argued with or was confused by. But it definitely wasn’t the frictionless love I felt for the Infomocracy books.
What I loved most unreservedly was the conjuring of a plausible way of life in the upper reaches of the gases of Jupiter, now known as Giant. Older seamlessly weaves details of how this location is rendered habitable and how life is lived there into her narrative of the mysterious disappearance of an unlikable, self-important academic—details like that the rails that humans have built circling the planet, and attached to which they have built platforms to live on “kept [humans] at a livable orbit of this inhospitable world,” or that there is semi-permeable atmospheric shielding, or that the gases of Giant provide essentially limitless fuel.
And I also liked the realistic awkwardness of how the two main characters, Mossa (the Investigator) and Pleiti (an academic), deal with each other. They were involved in the past but split up, but still have feelings for each other, but don’t want to trespass or assume—very real.
There were two things I mentally argued with. One was the advancement of the mystery. I had mental question marks over my head at each clever assumption Mossa made. Wait, what? How is that supposed to work? For instance, the unpleasant academic, Bolien, vanished off a platform that’s the terminal stop on a ring—the ring keeps going around the planet, but rail cars turn around at that point and go back in the direction they came. No rail car came or left, but the man vanished, so it’s initially assumed he either jumped to his death into the depths of Giant, or perhaps was pushed. But later Mossa suggests that maybe he continued on straight instead—as if you went to the library and then instead of going home the way you came, you kept straight on circumnavigating the entire planet to get home … But I was scratching my head, because wouldn’t that still involve a railcar leaving, just in an unexpected direction? I must be missing something.
Similarly, when Mossa interviews another academic, the guy pushes the suicide hypothesis, and Mossa’s way of dealing with him shows that she has given up hope of getting any useful information from him. Furthermore, she soon lets on she thinks he’s somehow involved in whatever funny business is going on, and that his support of the suicide hypothesis amounts to lying. And I couldn’t understand why.
A bigger and more interesting bone of contention has to do with the characters’ stance vis-à-vis Earth, and because Older is as wise as she is, I wonder if she was doing this intentionally to get people to think about assumptions. Aside from the fact that the bad guys in this story are all pompous, self-important assholes, you could tell the story from the entirely opposite perspective and have the protagonists be the villains and the antagonists be the brave and daring right thinkers. Pleiti even wonders aloud if maybe there isn’t something to the antagonists’ point of view. Mossa soothes her, saying essentially, “Well, but those guys were jerks, and people shouldn’t make decisions for everyone else based on their own selfish desires” (paraphrase). And she’s not wrong. But I feel like we’re being asked to take seriously the question of which position is right, or to what degree each position is right. And when you start teasing at that, you have other questions, like: on Giant, has human nature fundamentally changed? Humanity wrecked Earth—eliminated all life (… all? really all?)—and then also wrecked Mars (I was wondering this for 70 percent of the book: why have people settled on Giant when Mars is so much closer and has solid ground you can walk around on? But at about the 70 percent mark you find out it’s because we mined Mars to death), but now life is more or less bucolic on Giant? Are people somehow less planet-destroying now? Or are we maybe meant to think about whether this same cycle will repeat itself on Giant too?
(In interesting contrast to the Infomocracy books, there is absolutely no mention of any government whatsoever, or any commerce, so maybe we’ve advanced beyond capitalism and government… but there are still universities, with hierarchies more or less like present-day universities, and there are still Investigators, although with alarmingly little oversight or evidence of rules.)
I think I skated right past the cozy aspect of this—not that it was grim or anything!—it’s just I was wrapped up in all the implications, musing madly. Lots of thinky stuff, and I enjoy that.
What I loved most unreservedly was the conjuring of a plausible way of life in the upper reaches of the gases of Jupiter, now known as Giant. Older seamlessly weaves details of how this location is rendered habitable and how life is lived there into her narrative of the mysterious disappearance of an unlikable, self-important academic—details like that the rails that humans have built circling the planet, and attached to which they have built platforms to live on “kept [humans] at a livable orbit of this inhospitable world,” or that there is semi-permeable atmospheric shielding, or that the gases of Giant provide essentially limitless fuel.
And I also liked the realistic awkwardness of how the two main characters, Mossa (the Investigator) and Pleiti (an academic), deal with each other. They were involved in the past but split up, but still have feelings for each other, but don’t want to trespass or assume—very real.
There were two things I mentally argued with. One was the advancement of the mystery. I had mental question marks over my head at each clever assumption Mossa made. Wait, what? How is that supposed to work? For instance, the unpleasant academic, Bolien, vanished off a platform that’s the terminal stop on a ring—the ring keeps going around the planet, but rail cars turn around at that point and go back in the direction they came. No rail car came or left, but the man vanished, so it’s initially assumed he either jumped to his death into the depths of Giant, or perhaps was pushed. But later Mossa suggests that maybe he continued on straight instead—as if you went to the library and then instead of going home the way you came, you kept straight on circumnavigating the entire planet to get home … But I was scratching my head, because wouldn’t that still involve a railcar leaving, just in an unexpected direction? I must be missing something.
Similarly, when Mossa interviews another academic, the guy pushes the suicide hypothesis, and Mossa’s way of dealing with him shows that she has given up hope of getting any useful information from him. Furthermore, she soon lets on she thinks he’s somehow involved in whatever funny business is going on, and that his support of the suicide hypothesis amounts to lying. And I couldn’t understand why.
A bigger and more interesting bone of contention has to do with the characters’ stance vis-à-vis Earth, and because Older is as wise as she is, I wonder if she was doing this intentionally to get people to think about assumptions. Aside from the fact that the bad guys in this story are all pompous, self-important assholes, you could tell the story from the entirely opposite perspective and have the protagonists be the villains and the antagonists be the brave and daring right thinkers. Pleiti even wonders aloud if maybe there isn’t something to the antagonists’ point of view. Mossa soothes her, saying essentially, “Well, but those guys were jerks, and people shouldn’t make decisions for everyone else based on their own selfish desires” (paraphrase). And she’s not wrong. But I feel like we’re being asked to take seriously the question of which position is right, or to what degree each position is right. And when you start teasing at that, you have other questions, like: on Giant, has human nature fundamentally changed? Humanity wrecked Earth—eliminated all life (… all? really all?)—and then also wrecked Mars (I was wondering this for 70 percent of the book: why have people settled on Giant when Mars is so much closer and has solid ground you can walk around on? But at about the 70 percent mark you find out it’s because we mined Mars to death), but now life is more or less bucolic on Giant? Are people somehow less planet-destroying now? Or are we maybe meant to think about whether this same cycle will repeat itself on Giant too?
(In interesting contrast to the Infomocracy books, there is absolutely no mention of any government whatsoever, or any commerce, so maybe we’ve advanced beyond capitalism and government… but there are still universities, with hierarchies more or less like present-day universities, and there are still Investigators, although with alarmingly little oversight or evidence of rules.)
I think I skated right past the cozy aspect of this—not that it was grim or anything!—it’s just I was wrapped up in all the implications, musing madly. Lots of thinky stuff, and I enjoy that.
March 29, 2023
I liked this, but I did not enjoy it, if that makes sense!
First, the good: everything that has to do with worldbuilding. The atmosphere was just so absorbing (probably thanks to its gaseous properties, ha! - I'll show myself out), all of the details, from the rails, the scones that come to you via dumbwaiter, the super cozy university vibes (there's a bit near the beginning where Pleiti describes all the ways that academics can get comfy and cozy and there was so much imagination there, I loved it!), the whole what-happened-to-Earth thing, the most perfect portmanteau Mauzooleum and so on.
There's also this interesting tension between the two groups of academics, the Classics and the Moderns. It kinda twists the whole conservative-progressive axis we have today into something else, but that didn't feel truly explored. Also, conservative in this world is a slur, which is... weird?
What (sadly!!!) didn't work for me was the relationship between Mossa and Pleiti, and even the characters themselves, in their dynamic, bugged me. They're totally supposed to be Sherlock and Watson interpretations, only Pleiti, the Watson, has a PhD, and Mossa, the Sherlock, is an Investigator, not a private detective.
First, Mossa is a cop, never forget! And she seems to have a lot of unchecked authority to do whatever the heck she wants. And we know that the safeguards for cops are not enough in the system, even when they exist. But here, it seems to be suggested that Mossa, since she is very moral and works with a code, is fine. The cop-ness of it is not investigated at all. And, this is a minor spoiler, but at near the end, she has someone tied down and immobilized - someone who attacked them - and: she tipped [redacted] up into a sitting position until he had stopped choking, then kicked him down to the rug again and led me from the room with a nod. Oof. Guess police violence isn't a thing of the past in the future? To my mind, she is worse than a current cop, because she drags that person on the rail, to her home, instead of to a station or whatever. She kicks someone who is restrained and presents no danger! As they were choking in their restrained position! Is that supposed to be cool? Cause it feels like a specific type of copaganda cool.
The fact that Mossa at one point wishes that railcar travel was not free, but sold tickets, because it would help her investigate also rather pissed me off. Embrace Gay Luxury Space Communism, please!
These were the moments where it was clear for me that the novella is not working for me, but I had been wrestling with some Pleiti stuff as well. I was bothered, in their dynamic, of how much she deferred to Mossa, even though she is obviously super clever, she had this insecurity about herself that Mossa seemed to bring out. And you know what else I hate? Pleiti spending a whole lot of time trying to guess Mossa's thoughts and feelings - it probably bothers me, because been there, in relationships with closed off people who do not communicate and keep you hypervigilant, always guessing. So, no. Sorry. As much as everything else was enjoyable, the relationship did not work for me.
And then there's this line, which comes near the end, and I half-enjoyed it, half rolled my eyes at it, but it's fun: Mossa responded simply with a Classical quotation: "Why are men?"
Will probably read the next one, I'm curious how it goes!
First, the good: everything that has to do with worldbuilding. The atmosphere was just so absorbing (probably thanks to its gaseous properties, ha! - I'll show myself out), all of the details, from the rails, the scones that come to you via dumbwaiter, the super cozy university vibes (there's a bit near the beginning where Pleiti describes all the ways that academics can get comfy and cozy and there was so much imagination there, I loved it!), the whole what-happened-to-Earth thing, the most perfect portmanteau Mauzooleum and so on.
There's also this interesting tension between the two groups of academics, the Classics and the Moderns. It kinda twists the whole conservative-progressive axis we have today into something else, but that didn't feel truly explored. Also, conservative in this world is a slur, which is... weird?
What (sadly!!!) didn't work for me was the relationship between Mossa and Pleiti, and even the characters themselves, in their dynamic, bugged me. They're totally supposed to be Sherlock and Watson interpretations, only Pleiti, the Watson, has a PhD, and Mossa, the Sherlock, is an Investigator, not a private detective.
First, Mossa is a cop, never forget! And she seems to have a lot of unchecked authority to do whatever the heck she wants. And we know that the safeguards for cops are not enough in the system, even when they exist. But here, it seems to be suggested that Mossa, since she is very moral and works with a code, is fine. The cop-ness of it is not investigated at all. And, this is a minor spoiler, but at near the end, she has someone tied down and immobilized - someone who attacked them - and: she tipped [redacted] up into a sitting position until he had stopped choking, then kicked him down to the rug again and led me from the room with a nod. Oof. Guess police violence isn't a thing of the past in the future? To my mind, she is worse than a current cop, because she drags that person on the rail, to her home, instead of to a station or whatever. She kicks someone who is restrained and presents no danger! As they were choking in their restrained position! Is that supposed to be cool? Cause it feels like a specific type of copaganda cool.
The fact that Mossa at one point wishes that railcar travel was not free, but sold tickets, because it would help her investigate also rather pissed me off. Embrace Gay Luxury Space Communism, please!
These were the moments where it was clear for me that the novella is not working for me, but I had been wrestling with some Pleiti stuff as well. I was bothered, in their dynamic, of how much she deferred to Mossa, even though she is obviously super clever, she had this insecurity about herself that Mossa seemed to bring out. And you know what else I hate? Pleiti spending a whole lot of time trying to guess Mossa's thoughts and feelings - it probably bothers me, because been there, in relationships with closed off people who do not communicate and keep you hypervigilant, always guessing. So, no. Sorry. As much as everything else was enjoyable, the relationship did not work for me.
And then there's this line, which comes near the end, and I half-enjoyed it, half rolled my eyes at it, but it's fun: Mossa responded simply with a Classical quotation: "Why are men?"
Will probably read the next one, I'm curious how it goes!
April 1, 2023
Humanity has trashed Earth, and then Mars. Now we live in the clouds of Jupiter on massive floating platforms connected by a rail system and some of us work on the immense project that will one day allow a restoration of Earth. One of the people working on this is university academic Pleiti. When a fellow academic apparently jumps off a platform towards the planet (or was pushed?) Pleiti's college girlfriend Mossa is the investigator who looks into the event and they reconnect.
The setting has been deliberately chosen to mirror a lot of things about the society of England in the 1800s, including ubiquitous rail travel, a lack of mobile communications and fog/smog everywhere. Mossa and Pleiti themselves are clearly Holmes and Watson analogues, only with the added connection of a rekindling romance along with the mystery that they're investigating.
Overall, I like the execution of just about everything about this book. The hard SF crowd would probably be dissatisfied about the lack of detail around how living on Jupiter actually works, but understand that the setting is a means to an end and is not meant to be rigorously looked at. It's fit for purpose: as a setting that mirrors where we're used to seeing Holmes and Watson interact.
I did have a laugh at the new C-word, which makes complete sense in a setting where humanity is on its third attempt to not f*k up a world.
The setting has been deliberately chosen to mirror a lot of things about the society of England in the 1800s, including ubiquitous rail travel, a lack of mobile communications and fog/smog everywhere. Mossa and Pleiti themselves are clearly Holmes and Watson analogues, only with the added connection of a rekindling romance along with the mystery that they're investigating.
Overall, I like the execution of just about everything about this book. The hard SF crowd would probably be dissatisfied about the lack of detail around how living on Jupiter actually works, but understand that the setting is a means to an end and is not meant to be rigorously looked at. It's fit for purpose: as a setting that mirrors where we're used to seeing Holmes and Watson interact.
I did have a laugh at the new C-word, which makes complete sense in a setting where humanity is on its third attempt to not f*k up a world.
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