The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

by Malka Older

Overview

Named a Best Sci-Fi Book of 2024 by Esquire

Investigator Mossa and Scholar Pleiti reunite to solve a new mystery in the follow-up to the cozy space-opera detective mystery The Mimicking of Known Successes, which Hugo Award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders called “an utter triumph.”

Mossa has returned to Valdegeld on a missing person’s case, for which she’ll once again need Pleiti’s insight. Seventeen students and staff members have disappeared from Valdegeld University—yet no one has noticed. The answers to this case may lie on the moon of Io—Mossa’s home—and the history of Jupiter’s original settlements during humanity's exodus from Earth.

But Pleiti’s faith in her life’s work as a scholar of the past has grown precarious, and this new case threatens to further destabilize her dreams for humanity’s future, as well as her own.

The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti
The Mimicking of Known Successes
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

The Centenal Cycle
Infomocracy
Null States
State Tectonics

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250906793
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/13/2024
Series:	The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti , #2
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	52,204
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Malka Older is an author, a humanitarian, a sociopunk, and a practitioner of speculative resistance and evidence-based creativity. Her political science fiction thriller Infomocracy was named one of the best books of 2016 by Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, and The Washington Post, and with its sequels, Null States and State Tectonics, was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series. Her new series of mysteries set on a gas giant planet, begins with the acclaimed The Mimicking of Known Successes and continues with The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles. She has also written numerous serials, short stories, poetry, and essays, and published the collection …And Other Disasters. She is a faculty associate at Arizona State University, where she teaches on predictive fictions and hosts the Science Fiction Sparkle Salon. Her opinions can be found in The New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, and NBC THINK, among other places.

Editorial Reviews

11/27/2023

Older sets another Gaslamp mystery on the rings surrounding Jupiter in her cozy follow-up to The Mimicking of Known Successes. After their last adventure, the relationship between reconciled exes Mossa and Pleiti is more stable, if not set in stone. Now detective Mossa reaches out to academic Pleiti to assist her with another investigation: 17 people—students, teachers, and kitchen workers alike—have gone missing from Valdegeld, the university where Pleiti works. The search for answers as to why such an eclectic bunch has disappeared—and where they’ve gotten to—sends the duo from the halls of the university to night clubs and one of Jupiter’s moons, chasing a conspiracy. The stakes feel somewhat lower this time around and Older largely sets aside the interrogation of the genre that made book one such a standout. Still, her prose remains imminently readable and propulsive and the world feels as richly textured as ever. Readers looking for a quick, comforting mystery will be enjoy curling up with this. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"My favorite detective couple since Holmes and Watson."—SciFi Mind

"Brilliant on all counts."—First Clue

"A great read in what promises to be the best sci-fi , mystery crossover series of our time."—Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

"I heartily recommend The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles for those long, dark winter evenings—a spiritual, intellectual companion for moments when the state of politics is distressing, and a balm for those seeking recognition of the longings of the heart."—The Horror Tree

"Highly recommended for fans of Becky Chambers as well as adventurous cozy mystery readers."—Booklist, starred review

"Their romance is heartwarming, and Mossa’s observations on the human nature of those she investigates are as wry and witty as ever. Readers of their first outing, The Mimicking of Known Successes, will be thrilled to have Mossa and Pleiti back on the case."—Library Journal

"Imminently readable and propulsive... Readers looking for a quick, comforting mystery will enjoy curling up with this."—Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Mimicking of Known Successes

“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. An utter triumph.”—Charlie Jane Anders

"Older has created a wonderfully sci-fi take on the gaslamp mystery. Add in the wry depiction of academia and the warmly authentic portrayal of a relationship in the process of rekindling, and this is exactly my kind of story!"—Freya Marske

"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 [that] does more at novella length than many books manage in three times as much."—K. J. Charles

“Malka Older has created a far-flung speculative winner that is as much hard science fiction as it is gritty xenobiological noir, with characters you want to see get closer. . .to the possible killer and each other. I am absolutely in love with this world and these characters.”—Fran Wilde

“Malka Older's The Mimicking of Known Successes mixes Holmesian mystery, Sapphic romance, petty academic politics, and post-apocalyptic speculative ecology into a delightful and unexpected concoction. The perfect book to curl up with when the wind is howling outside, even if it's only a Terran blizzard rather than a Jovian superstorm.”—Ruthanna Emrys

"It’s hard to pull off a novel that attempts to have equal footing in two genres—never mind three—and typically one of the genres ends up taking on a minor role . . . but The Mimicking of Known Successes, a work of speculative fiction, a traditional mystery, and a romance, is a walloping success."—First Clue, starred review

"This quiet yet compelling whodunit will attract fans of Becky Chambers or Connie Willis."—Booklist (starred review)

"Older packs a punch in this slim volume, delivering a romantic sci-fi mystery replete with ruminations on environmentalism and the importance of adapting to change. . . . Combining an old-timey aesthetic and a powerful message, this sapphic genre bender is a treat."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Reading this novella was an absolute delight . . . I can imagine further stories set in this world; if I’m very lucky, they will feature Mossa and Pleiti."—Locus

"Recommended for readers who enjoy a bit of mystery mixed with their SF . . . and anyone who cannot resist a Sherlock Holmes pastiche."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2023

Investigator Mossa and Scholar Pleiti are back, still haunted by the events of their first investigation while in the midst of another missing-persons case that is not at all what it appears to be. Statistically, too many university students have gone missing in the past year, which is the excuse that Mossa uses to inveigle her lover Pleiti into the case, both for her knowledge of the university and for her ability to see the evidence from a new perspective. It's a point of view that gives her partner the clues she needs to solve everything, even as the long journey around Jupiter gives them the time and space needed to figure out how to take their personal relationship forward. Their romance is heartwarming, and Mossa's observations on the human nature of those she investigates are as wry and witty as ever. VERDICT Readers of their first outing, The Mimicking of Known Successes, will be thrilled to have Mossa and Pleiti back on the case as it takes its surprisingly cozy mystery into this sci-fi setting and grounds it in an on-the-nose portrayal of academic politics in all of its delicious viciousness.—Marlene Harris

Library Journal