by Malka Older (Older)
This science fiction novella is billed as “a cozy gaslamp mystery and sapphic romance set on Jupiter.” Yes, the Earth has become uninhabitable and everyone has somehow managed to relocate to ring stations within the atmosphere of Jupiter. Forget feasible: this is a cool setting to visit!
The mystery concerns a scientist who disappeared from a small station on the edge of the settled areas. The obvious conclusion would be that he jumped or was pushed into the cold, crushing gases of the planet. Investigator Mossa — a woman of little small-talk — takes the case and crosses paths with her college girlfriend, Pleiti, a scholar who works with the missing man. Most of the story is told from Pleiti’s perspective. There is an obvious and intentional riff on the relationship between Holmes and Dr. Watson compared to Mossa and Pleiti.
I found the case progression a little hard to follow at times, but that could well be my fault. What I really enjoyed was the little reveals about humanity living on Jupiter (of all places), plus the slow burn re-acquaintance of former lovers. This is the start of a series. Book #2 is scheduled for release in February 2024 with the title: The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles. I, for one, am a sucker for wordy, evocative titles.
(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal.)
( official Malka Older blog/web site – not updated lately ) | ( Malka Older entry on Wikipedia )
Recommended
by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff
Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that
page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog
individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the
reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment