The Mimicking of Known Successes bookcover

The Mimicking of Known Successes

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Description

“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

A Hugo Award nominee for Best Novella
A Nebula Award nominee for Best Novella
An Ignyte Award nominee for Best Novella
A Locus Award nominee for Best Novella


A Barnes & Noble Best Science Fiction of the Year Pick

A Library Journal Best SF/F of the Year Pick
A Book Riot Best Mystery and Science Fiction of the Year Pick
An Autostraddle Best Science Fiction of the Year Pick

A Most Anticipated in 2023 Pick for Today.com | Buzzfeed | Polygon | Book Riot
| Ms. Magazine

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.

The Centenal Cycle by Malka Older
Infomocracy
Null States
State Tectonics

Product Details

PublisherTor Books
Publish DateMarch 07, 2023
Pages176
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconHardback
EAN/UPC9781250860507
Dimensions221.0 X 5.7 X 16.5 mm | 0.6 pounds

About the Author

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 FacultyAssociate at Arizona State University, where she teaches on predictive fictions. Her opinions can be found in The New York Times, The Nation, and Foreign Policy, among other places.

Reviews

“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

“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

“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

A quiet masterpiece, an intimate character study, a tender queer romance, a satisfying mystery, and a unique take on many genre clichés in a short form.” —Ancillary Review of Books

“The writing technique is excellent, the worldbuilding interesting and poetic, the characters enjoyable to spend time with, and there’s tea.” —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Fans of The Centenal Cycle will be astonished by the breadth of Older’s range.” —Book Riot

A novella that more than lives up to the idea of cozy, it takes the literary connotations of that word further by creating a delightful mashup of science fiction and cozy mystery, with a delicious side of sapphic romance.” —Autostraddle

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

Mystery and science fiction are rarely this satisfying when mixed, and rarely this much fun.” —Hugo Book Club Blog

Older gives us many delightful details about life on the Giant, as the inhabitants call Jupiter. . .All of these quotidian details make the novel a fascinating read.” —Asimov's

“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

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

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