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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
A lovely little novella set on Jupiter, with a detective investigating the disappearance of a professor to decide whether it was suicide or murder; and enlisting her ex-girlfriend’s assistance in navigating the complications of university academia and its politics and society.
It’s a fun murder mystery, thick with academic intrigue and a Holmesian vibe to Investigator Mossa: her difficulties with people, her bluntly straightforward affect, the way she’s always working multiple angles and putting clues together without necessarily keeping her companion up-to-date. Their dynamic as bittersweet exes is great.
And most of all, I adored the worldbuilding: living in a city of artificial rings constructed around a gas giant, with the swirling inhospitable emptiness below. I love futuristic settings like this, where mankind ekes out an existence on the fringe, the way the people mourn for lost Earth and cherish it through the mausozooleum even if it’s impractical. Malka Older paints such a rich atmosphere, of comfortable little quarters and favourite foods and real everyday existence. It’s astonishingly cozy, for all that it’s set in such a strange and inhospitable environment; it feels properly lived-in.
It also asks a bit of the question: how much do we fixate on the past versus the future; how much do we try to recreate what we had and lost, versus trying to build something new?
Just a lot of stuff that I love. I think I was more into it for the world & characters & themes rather than the plot itself, but it was a great read, and I’ll absolutely pick up the sequel.
It’s a fun murder mystery, thick with academic intrigue and a Holmesian vibe to Investigator Mossa: her difficulties with people, her bluntly straightforward affect, the way she’s always working multiple angles and putting clues together without necessarily keeping her companion up-to-date. Their dynamic as bittersweet exes is great.
And most of all, I adored the worldbuilding: living in a city of artificial rings constructed around a gas giant, with the swirling inhospitable emptiness below. I love futuristic settings like this, where mankind ekes out an existence on the fringe, the way the people mourn for lost Earth and cherish it through the mausozooleum even if it’s impractical. Malka Older paints such a rich atmosphere, of comfortable little quarters and favourite foods and real everyday existence. It’s astonishingly cozy, for all that it’s set in such a strange and inhospitable environment; it feels properly lived-in.
It also asks a bit of the question: how much do we fixate on the past versus the future; how much do we try to recreate what we had and lost, versus trying to build something new?
Just a lot of stuff that I love. I think I was more into it for the world & characters & themes rather than the plot itself, but it was a great read, and I’ll absolutely pick up the sequel.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Funny and interesting, but I found it difficult to connect with the characters. Not sure if I'll continue the series.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was short and effective. She packs very successful world building of this little planet into a very tiny book. A decent conversation about the damage we do to earth in tandem to the way we “deify” it is present and maybe good enough but does fall a little flat. The romance is fine. I think the investigation is actually pretty good, but doesn’t come near a murder mystery. This was all good and did the thing but I was maybe unsatisfied?
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Nice easy read that I was interested in but not obsessed with, which was perfect. I enjoyed slowly learning what “classics” meant in this universe.
laughingly bad. just unconvincing mystery, nonsensical plot, bad pacing, worst writing, little to save and much to criticize. I'll just say the word "conservative" is a slur in this (literally)
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
It was difficult to get into and the ending was over quickly but the world building was a really cool concept.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
as someone who doesn't like cozy fiction, this novella did not change my mind. the world building was neat and I liked the almost steampunk innovation - but on Jupiter - vibe of it. the characters were interesting enough, although I never really got to know either of our protagonists. I liked the end result of the mystery and thought it tied everything together nearly within the information provided. however, the mystery and characters did not really draw me in as it/they developed, so most of this story was lacking for me.