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

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250906809
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/13/2024
Series:	The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti , #2
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	3 MB

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.
Malka Older is a writer, aid worker, and sociologist. She is the Executive Director of Global Voices, a community of writers, editors, and translators providing community journalism from all over the world and advocating for indigenous and minority languages, media literacy, digital rights, and online freedom of expression. Her science-fiction political thriller Infomocracy was named among the best books of 2016 by Kirkus, the Washington Post, and Book Riot; with sequels, it was a finalist for a Hugo award. The Mimicking of Known Successes, a murder mystery set on Jupiter, was on four best of 2023 lists and was a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, and Ignyte awards for Best Novella. The sequel, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, was named one of the best science-fiction books of 2024 by Esquire, and the third book in the series, The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, comes out in June 2025. She is a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University, where she teaches on predictive fictions. She is co-editor of We Will Rise Again, an anthology of speculative fiction about social justice movements, coming out in December 2025.

Editorial Reviews

An Esquire Best Book of 2024!

Nominated for the Locus Award!

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

“[A] delightful space-opera cosy-mystery series…” —CrimeReads

“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

“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

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

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

2025-05-16
A detective and her academic lover team up to solve another mystery on Jupiter’s atmospheric platforms, in this follow-up toThe Mimicking of Known Successes (2023).

Investigator Mossa and her former classmate, Scholar Pleiti, have settled into a comfortable (if not entirely defined) relationship, so it’s no wonder that Mossa calls upon Pleiti again for assistance with her latest case, the disappearance of 17 people from Valdegeld University over the past two academic terms. Mossa is convinced that these disappearances must be connected, and that the key lies with two missing students who were apparently in a relationship. Meanwhile, Pleiti must contend with the social and personal turmoil surrounding the death of Rector Spandal, a previously respected university official who murdered a street preacher, stole valuable biological samples, and attempted to escape to a presumably still poisoned Earth, potentially delaying or destroying the long-range strategy for a wider return. As in the classic British mysteries this series draws upon so heavily, issues of class come strongly to the fore in this investigation, as well as the inclination of institutions to cover up the misdeeds of their officials. There’s also an equivalence to the sunset of the British Empire, at least in part: The mysteries in the previous installment as well as this one stem from the rejection of an apparently stagnant status quo that comfortably imagines a distant resettlement of Earth but isn’t doing much to further that goal or to improve current conditions. Mossa and Pleiti can’t quite yet accept that things in their society might have to change, but they at least appear to be thinking about it.

A cozy science-fiction mystery wrapped around something sharper and more complex.

Kirkus Reviews