A second novel in the series: Set on Jupiter where people live on raised platforms connected by rails. A murder mystery solved by Mossa and Pleti, who rekindled their relationship in the previous book. I tend to avoid anything labeled romance, but the first book had so little that it was easy to handle. This book ups the romance bits, but I won't hold that against it. But I did find the murder mystery to be less engaging than the first. I would describe this book as 'fine' - didn't love it, didn't hate it, don't feel like I wasted my time reading it, but, other than the title which I loved, not memorable.

Despite being only 224 pages, I read this slowly over a week while traveling, and it was a story I genuinely enjoyed falling back into, even if it was only for a few pages at a time. Mossa, an investigator, once again ropes our classics-scholar-Pleiti (now her romantic partner) into an investigation. This time, it’s a missing persons case, though it once again revolves around academic drama, exposing the political fault lines among the scholars collaborating on a hypothetical return to Earth. Pleiti is still recovering from the traumatic events of the first mystery they solved together, and Mossa is concerned for Pleiti, even if she never knows *quite* how to communicate her feelings (oh, Mossa). Being inside Pleiti’s head and experiencing each mystery through her first-person narration adds to the humor of the story, because Pleiti is generally anxious and unsure of Mossa’s intentions, and, yet, still up for adventure (even if she feels a bit grumbly about it).
I also have to note that these books read like love letters to sci fi readers. At one point, while gardening, Pleiti hums the “second aria of Murderbot” and my heart *sang* with delight. The meta political commentary on conspiracy theorists, conservatives and more bring the reader into the joke consistently, and round these off as just-right comfort reads. Thank you to Tordotcom and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy.

I enjoyed the first book. I got it on audiobook when I was approved for this one. It was so dang charming and different. I’m not sure if it was just not translating as well as an e-book? It was a rough read for me, and I wasn’t able to complete it. I should maybe try the audiobook.

This charming follow-up to the cozy sci-fi mystery The Mimicking of Known Succeses took all the good stuff from its predecessor, and ran with it! We return to our mystery-solving pair, investigator Mossa and academic Pleiti, as they begin investigating a series of disappearances from the university where Pleiti works.

This one did a great job of further developing the (very cute) relationship between the two leads, and I was delighted to get to spend more time in the sci-fi setting, though I found the mystery a little less engaging than the first book’s. I also very much appreciated the persistent impact of the first book's events on the characters (especially Pleiti) in the book; it really picked up where the previous one left off in terms of emotional arcs.

Overall a wonderful read! If you enjoyed the first book, this one is sure to delight as well. Thanks so much to Tor and Netgalley for the ARC!

This book is very similar to the first book in the series. If you enjoyed that then you will enjoy this one. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

I enjoyed the premise of this book and was intrigued by its description but would personally have liked a bit more of the world building and mystery aspects. That being said the central characters ae well developed and you grow to care for them. I read the first chapter forgetting it was a sequel and then went back and read the first book and thought that this was a good sequel and enjoyed reading it.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

After the end of The Mimicking of Known Successes, Mossa and Pleiti discover another strange disappearance to solve in The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles. Several disappearances, actually, as students and staff are disappearing from Pleiti’s workplace, Valdegeld University. Not a lot, not enough that anyone except Mossa had noticed and anyway, surely some of the missing are just students who slept through class or dropped out, right?

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles has the same wonderful gaslamps gas giant setting, full of cozy vibes in harsh space, again with a mystery. I loved The Mimicking of Known Successes, really my only concern with the first novel is that the world was so new and different that I was still sorting out how the world worked, instead of solving the mystery. In the second novella, I understood more of the future world on Giant, so I could enjoy and engage in the mystery part more. Pleiti and the rest of the Classics department of Valdegeld are researching lost Earth ecosystems, in the hopes of someday making the destroyed planet Earth habitable again. From here, Pleiti’s mixed emotions over the end of the last novel, her future at the university, and why there might be dissidents unhappy with the pace of discovery all made sense.

I think because I was more familiar with life on Jupiter by the second novella, I was able to enjoy the setting more in this one, too. We have the same world of train-connected platforms circling Jupiter, each platform with slightly different lifestyle and production, like a series of villages, separated by swirling gases. There are interesting pieces of preserved language from old Earth, and conscious choice not to name everything, say, New Oxford. I felt like I was just wrapping myself up in this believable but very different life on future Jupiter.

There’s more about how humans came to Giant, about the generation before Pleiti and Mossa, about life on Io, and about Mossa’s own background. Ok, there were a couple unexplored hints about life on Io, and while Pleiti is patiently waiting for Mossa to explain in her own time, on her own terms, I was mentally screaming about it. CEO descendants giving tours of their former escape pods!

I liked seeing their relationship evolve, too. You could see how Mossa’s extreme logic led her to be a bit of a challenging girlfriend. At one point, Pleiti arrives to find her bags packed for an immediate surprise trip, because Mossa remembers a previous misunderstanding and doesn’t want Pleiti to feel left out or abandoned. There would definitely be challenges ahead, but I felt like the characters actually cared for each other.

Look, I need to give you all a spoiler right here. When I saw the title, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, I couldn’t help thinking of the third-act unnecessary breakup trope. Ugh no. I hate the miscommunication for the purpose of getting back together, and I double hate it for Mossa and Pleiti. So, I’m gonna spoil it and explain that there are many unnecessary obstacles, in life and in the mystery, but there’s no crappy forced breakup and reconciliation here.

Instead, there’s an intriguing mystery to solve, with a surprising resolution, all in the wonderful gaslamps gas giant world.

I like this one a lot -- it's not quite Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but it has the same vibes. Plus, the worldbuilding is great, and I'm intrigued by the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I think this one just wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean others won’t like it. I’m just not much of a fan of mystery or sci-fi and couldn’t get into the read much.

3 stars

I requested this book after picking up a copy of the series' first book at a used bookstore, intrigued by the premise of a cozy, sapphic sci-fi mystery series. I ended up enjoying The Mimicking of Known Successes, but really wanted more out of the worldbuilding and the development of the mystery. I chalked that down to it being the first book in a series and hoped that The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles would dive deeper into the series' premise.

While I enjoyed the mystery at the heart of this second installment, this book proved that the style in which this series is being told is just not for me. I prefer a story where I can follow the clues and solve the crime along with the detectives and this series is more focused on the investigative process. We did get more expansion of the world in this installment with the introduction of the moon colony on Io, but it left me with more questions than answers. I will give Older credit in that she does pack quite a lot into these novellas; however, the style is just not what I was looking for in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

With the exception of one minor self indulgent stumble at the end, this was a great sequel. The mystery was satisfying, the character and relationship growth felt real, the planet and culture was fleshed out, and there were lots of scones. Well worth a read.

I was on the fence about the first one and was hoping for improvement. Overcomplicated and over written this doubles down on the mistakes of the first one while limiting the charm.

I enjoyed The Mimicking of Known Successes and was happy to get the chance to read the second book.
This book is told from Pleiti's point of view, which is a choice. So while there is a bit of crime solving, this book is more introspective of Pleiti's feelings and fears.

I just reviewed The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Thank you to Tor via Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Mossa and Pleiti are back in an investigation I found a little bit more interesting than the first though it did follow the same kind of plot pattern: someone tied to the school goes missing, they investigate for a bit, someone dies, they take a rail car ride to a secret they managed to discover, and then there's a fight with the suspect/murderer. Not that I'm critizing the plot mechanics of this book. As it was basically stated at the beginning, cases on Giant usually began as missing persons cases. I'm really only noticing the plot similarities because I read both books consecutively and thus was actually able to retain more than the basic recap this book provided.

As I said, I liked this particular investigation more, with the expanded world building, both in terms of student life on Valdegeld, and Io but also Pleiti's greater involvement in the case. I liked that it added a different scope to the political landscape of Giant, one that wasn't focused on the Classic's fix and return to Earth agenda.

What I didn't like so much, and I'm sure wasn't so prevelant in the first book, was the use of archaic language. I used the ereader dictionary a lot more than I normally have to when I'm reading speculative fiction, and I'm assuming the archiac wording is influenced by Pleiti's academic life and classic readings, but to me it interrupted the flow of the narrative.

I happened to have read another review where they critized Pleiti's anxiety regarding her relationship with Mossa, and though I can totally see where they were coming from, I only partially agree with their assessment. In the first story Pleiti had just as much insecurity when it came to Mossa's feelings, only this time those insecurities focused on requited romantic feelings. And although Pleiti had expressed a preference in being asked things such as her willingness to accompany Mossa on excursions, she's been very 'I don't always do as I say' when it comes to the status of their relationship. Of course she's going to be and will continue to be insecure. They're in a relationship but have they actually talked about it? Probably not, though that’s not just Pleiti’s fault, it’s Mossa’s too. If another story is written in this universe and the insecurity continues without resolve by the end, then I’ll have something to gripe about. As it stands, this just demonstrates that these two still have some growing to do, and some real angst to talk about.

If more in this series is expected, I'm very interested to see where it would take us.

(P.s. What is the second aria of Murderbot? Is that a reference to the Martha Wells series and if so, how come a fictional universe gets to have an aria and I don't?)

This book lacked all of the charm of the previous book while perpetuating the things that frustrated me and made me impatient: namely the unnecessarily wordy narration that is not just sprinkled with uncommon words (which I love) but drowning in them in order to make the narrator feel like a capital-I Intellectual. Mossa, who is in my opinion the more compelling of the two characters, was barely present except occasionally to lead Pleiti to the correct answer or accidentally ignore her entirely.

There was little to no plot or worldbuilding relative to the previous book, instead relying on a brief change of scenery to sate the need for depth.

But at least it’s sapphic?

I was delighted to get to read an ARC of this book, as I had just read the first book and really enjoyed it. Like the first book, this is a mystery in a science fiction setting; the issues of where they are (Jupiter), and why (humans utterly destroyed life on Earth and there are many disagreements on what to do next, and/or how best to start it over), definitely play into the mystery, but at the heart of it, "what happened to this person who seems to be missing" is the mystery.
Mossa and Pleiti are working out their own relationship as well, what they mean to each other and who is willing to say what, but they work together well, playing to the strengths of each in researching what happened.
I do appreciate how many words I had to look up, as they turn out to be from a variety of languages; of course, not all words should be derived from English, I had never thought about it but why would they?
Who knew that the mystery/sci-fi mashup could be so appealing? Malka Older is firmly on my check-this-author-out list from now on.

I enjoyed this second book in the series. Mossa is investigating the disappearance of a student from Vandegard University, where her former girlfriend, Pleiti, works. Pleiti tries to assist Mossa with the investigation by providing access to people at the university and also acting as a sounding board for Mossa and her theories. They make a good team. They get into some dangerous situations which seems to strengthen their relationship. I enjoyed the story and will look for the next book in the series! Happy reading!

This is a cozy-up-to-a-fire book that I just loved. A mystery and a romance set on (or around) Jupiter, it's the second of a series (I need to go read the first) in which two women--who are negotiating their relationship on a very, very micro level--work together to investigate problems at a prestigious university. There's storyboarding and hot tea and warm bathrobes and cuddling and missing people and secrets all around and it's a delicious, satisfying read, and you don't need to have read the first one to understand anything.

I loved Older's previous novella in this sequence, Mimicking of Known Successes, and Unnecessary Obstacles was just as good. The general setup is lesbian Sherlock Holmes on Jupiter, with an academic devoted to studying lost Earth ecologies in the role of Watson. Pursuing intellectual questions by reading old books by a cozy fire while somebody else bakes the scones is absolutely wish-fulfilment. But Older's well aware of the layers of exploitation built into university projects, real or imaginary, and both the mystery plot and the romantic uncertainties depend on the protagonist Pleiti's growing awareness of these inequities.