The Mimicking of Known Successes

October 1, 2022

In this sf/mystery mix, set on the forbidding outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, Investigator Mossa searches for a missing man, heading first to the university town Valdegeld. There, he links up with former girlfriend Pleiti, a scholar of Earth's pre-collapse ecosystems, and together they try to crack a mystery that places life on Earth at stake. From the author of the multi-best-booked Infomocracy; with a 60,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 5, 2022
Older (...and Other Disasters) 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. Life on Earth has ended and the survivors have fled to Jupiter, where they’ve been living on an elaborate railway system surrounding the planet for generations while dreaming of one day making Earth habitable once more and returning there. Classics scholar Pleiti has dedicated her life to studying the lost flora and fauna of pre-collapse Earth ecosystems. It’s a quiet life—until one of her colleagues throws himself off the rails in an apparent suicide. Investigating the case is Mossa, Pleiti’s ex-girlfriend, who storms back into her life with a request for help. Together, the two uncover a far deeper mystery with wide-ranging implications for the fate of Jupiter’s society and the future of Earth. Despite the post–climate collapse setting, Older keeps the tone largely upbeat throughout this charming Gaslamp romp, focusing more on characterization and the leads’ rekindling love than on the dystopian worldbuilding until the heavy-hitting philosophical questions raised in the final pages. Combining an old-timey aesthetic and a powerful message, this sapphic genre-bender is a treat.

November 1, 2022

Combining planetary resettlement SF with steampunk, mystery, climate fiction, and a touch of romance, Older's (State Tectonics) newest moves from a remote train station over a gas giant planet to the halls of academia as a case of a missing scholar reunites investigator Mossa with her former lover Pleiti. Soon the case evolves into a vast conspiracy to speed up humanity's repatriation to an Earth that is still not survivable--in the hopes of hurrying the day when it will be. The investigation ranges from the hallowed halls of academe to a barely functioning spaceport as the duo collects clues, gets attacked by suspects, and takes a second chance at the best thing either of them ever had--even if they have to stay in exile to keep it. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoy a bit of mystery mixed with their SF (like Mary Robinette Kowal's recent The Spare Man and Eddie Robson's Drunk on All Your Strange New Words) and anyone who cannot resist a Sherlock Holmes pastiche.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2022
World building is a vital part of sf, but sometimes world building is more about what the author doesn't say. There's no exposition about why humanity had to leave Earth and move to Jupiter in Older's novella. The name Jupiter is replaced by Giant, and there are tantalizing glimpses of how Earth was ruined and how the people who live on Giant are looking to restore humanity's first home. However, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and humans will get up to trouble no matter where they settle. Pleiti, a classical scholar, is content to do research on Earth ecosystems until an old flame, Mossa, shows up asking for help investigating the disappearance of an unpopular academic. Pleiti still has feelings for Mossa, but she won't let her emotions get in the way of work. The two main characters have an engaging chemistry, and the investigation explains life on Giant and the work to recapture some of Earth's glory. This quiet yet compelling whodunit will attract fans of Becky Chambers or Connie Willis.

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