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A review by incipientdreamer
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
2.25 stars
Another case of brilliant ideas but shitty execution. The Mimicking of Known Successes, a mouthful title, sounded like everything I would like. It's supposed to be a "cosy, Holmsian murder mystery with two ex-lovers working together". I mean why wouldn't you pick that up? Plus it's set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have settled on platforms built in the atmosphere of Jupiter after they destroyed Earth.
I wanted to learn more about how the whole human settlement thing worked on such an inhospitable planet as Jupiter. Populating one of its moons seems like the more logical choice, so I was curious about why Jupiter itself was chosen as a setting. But all we get are descriptions of orange fog, and storms and very less about the world itself.
Apart from the flimsy worldbuilding, the characters were also extremely boring and I didn't care at all about them. They spoke in convoluted obtuse sentences that had me blanking out in the midst of reading. I didn't much care for the mystery because it was so deeply entwined with the mechanics of the world, but because the reader is told so little about that, most of the mystery just went above my head.
I did enjoy the soft pining from the mc, I feel like that was the only thing i did like about the book. Pleiti's yearning for her ex-lover, who is distant and cold didn't make much sense but was written in a relatable way so there's that.
Another case of brilliant ideas but shitty execution. The Mimicking of Known Successes, a mouthful title, sounded like everything I would like. It's supposed to be a "cosy, Holmsian murder mystery with two ex-lovers working together". I mean why wouldn't you pick that up? Plus it's set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have settled on platforms built in the atmosphere of Jupiter after they destroyed Earth.
I wanted to learn more about how the whole human settlement thing worked on such an inhospitable planet as Jupiter. Populating one of its moons seems like the more logical choice, so I was curious about why Jupiter itself was chosen as a setting. But all we get are descriptions of orange fog, and storms and very less about the world itself.
Apart from the flimsy worldbuilding, the characters were also extremely boring and I didn't care at all about them. They spoke in convoluted obtuse sentences that had me blanking out in the midst of reading. I didn't much care for the mystery because it was so deeply entwined with the mechanics of the world, but because the reader is told so little about that, most of the mystery just went above my head.
I did enjoy the soft pining from the mc, I feel like that was the only thing i did like about the book. Pleiti's yearning for her ex-lover, who is distant and cold didn't make much sense but was written in a relatable way so there's that.