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A review by sindri_inn_arsaeli
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
3.0
Perfectly nice, but didn't hit it out of the park for me personally.
The science part of the science fiction was really the most impressive for me, even though it is supposed to take a back seat to the mystery and the romance, it felt the most fleshed out. The thought about how to exist above a gas giant was original and intriguing. And the attempts to study and propagate other life forms in an unnatural environment were interesting as well.
The mystery part was rather weak for me, as it didn't drum up enough intensity about it's core conspiracy. Trying to mostly avoid spoilers if I can, but it felt like the conspirators and the society still all had the same goal, and the conflict felt forced.
The romance grew on me a bit, but really not until the last about quarter of the book, and for a novel under 170 pages, that felt like a bit of a wait for me. I didn't need anything spicy, but the author does seem to delight in so much vague-ness, that whatever history Pleiti and Mossa were supposed to have took way too long to show in their characters. I'm fine with subtle, which was why the end of the book finally felt comfortable, but just a lack of ANY exposition was frustrating for 3/4 of the read.
I really think I'd be fine picking up a second book as it looks like this will be a series, in the hopes that the romance becomes more readable, and now that the world building is established the mystery part can change up a bit. I'd be really delighted to see more of a traditional plotted cozy with this really fascinating setting on Giant, that sounds awesome. It was just a rocky start for me, but for the right reader, I'm still happy to suggest it!
The science part of the science fiction was really the most impressive for me, even though it is supposed to take a back seat to the mystery and the romance, it felt the most fleshed out. The thought about how to exist above a gas giant was original and intriguing. And the attempts to study and propagate other life forms in an unnatural environment were interesting as well.
The mystery part was rather weak for me, as it didn't drum up enough intensity about it's core conspiracy. Trying to mostly avoid spoilers if I can, but it felt like the conspirators and the society still all had the same goal, and the conflict felt forced.
The romance grew on me a bit, but really not until the last about quarter of the book, and for a novel under 170 pages, that felt like a bit of a wait for me. I didn't need anything spicy, but the author does seem to delight in so much vague-ness, that whatever history Pleiti and Mossa were supposed to have took way too long to show in their characters. I'm fine with subtle, which was why the end of the book finally felt comfortable, but just a lack of ANY exposition was frustrating for 3/4 of the read.
I really think I'd be fine picking up a second book as it looks like this will be a series, in the hopes that the romance becomes more readable, and now that the world building is established the mystery part can change up a bit. I'd be really delighted to see more of a traditional plotted cozy with this really fascinating setting on Giant, that sounds awesome. It was just a rocky start for me, but for the right reader, I'm still happy to suggest it!