The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

pick

This novella is the second in Malka Older's series, which is a mix of cozy mystery, romance and science fiction. I liked this one much better than the first, as it provided more details about the interesting setting (Jupiter and its environs) and the mystery was better developed.

#gottacatchemall (prompt 74. Corvisquire: Second book in a series) @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub (prompt 52. Published in 2024)

kwmg40 @Kristy_K @LaraReads @KarenUK @Hooked_on_books @BarkingMadRead @Crazeedi @brittanyreads @Magpiegem @BookBelle84 @Larkken @jenniferw88 @julesG @Deblovestoread @MidnightBookGirl @Librarybelle @triplem80 @Tove_Reads @Read4life @Bluebird @BarbaraBB @eeclayton @hissingpotatoes @Book_Lover95 @TheAromaofBooks 2mo

Librarybelle Hooray! 2mo

TheAromaofBooks I've been kind of hankering to read some scifi, so I will have to check this series out!! 2mo

See All 6 Comments

kwmg40 @TheAromaofBooks If you're not a sci-fi purist and don't mind some mystery and romance mixed in, I think you'll enjoy this series. The books are novellas so are a quick read. 2mo

PuddleJumper 🖤🖤 2mo

TheAromaofBooks That's EXACTLY my style of scifi 😂 I consider myself a fan of scifi-lite haha 2mo

52 likes6 comments

Kitta

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

pick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sequel to The Mimicking of Known Successes, a novel I read after taking a @CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian quiz, this is a queer science fiction novel about an Investigator, Mossa, and a scholar, Pleiti, who are once again investigating something mysterious on their home space colony, Giant.

Life on earth as we know it has changed drastically and everyone evacuated. Living on platforms above the gaseous planet, things are *mostly* harmonious

CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian Yay, I'm so glad you liked it! 3mo

Kitta #lgbtqbookbingo2024 (edited) 3mo

33 likes2 comments

peanutnine

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

🤭😅

Ruthiella 😂😂😂 3mo

42 likes1 comment

Robotswithpersonality

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

pan

Looking back on my review of the first in this series, I'm not sure where the magic went. Maybe if I reread it, I wouldn't find that I loved that one as much as I first thought either? I really want there to be more sci fi mysteries out there, and cozy sci fi mystery would be a nice sub genre mashup option, but this one left me cold. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? I love the elements: sapphic remix on Sherlock Holmes, scholar and investigator = detective and doctor, no ambiguity about the romantic interest. The notion of studying Earth writing to determine the ecology that once existed, to plan the reseed of the planet with the correct plants and animals once it finally recovers from the depredations that necessitated exodus. 5mo

Robotswithpersonality 3/? That the rail platforms above Giant (Jupiter) represent a kind of steam punk alternative/hybrid to either terraforming or habitats floating in space. And then there's what really didn't work. The attempt to inject melodrama in any character's speech via exclamation marks, never felt urgent. Academia bureaucracy, spare me. 5mo

Robotswithpersonality 4/? Pleiti seems to be mining every action and word from Mossa to determine their relationship status and I couldn't figure out why she was still so insecure, and at some point I stopped caring. While I'm normally down for a lot of snuggling in blankets, travelling in trains and eating good food, I'm not necessarily looking for the mystery in a cozy mystery to feel like an afterthought. 5mo

See All 6 Comments

Robotswithpersonality 5/5 We do follow Pleiti doing some of her own investigating, but even if the twist on the traditional Watson character as first person narrator is to actually have the main character be the scholar, I'm still left with the desire for dual POVs. Mossa feels sidelined. This all feels a shade too harsh for the book; I probably should have stopped reading, never a good sign when a novella takes this long to finish. 🤷🏼‍♂️
5mo

Robotswithpersonality Will not be continuing in the series. 5mo

dabbe #fanofthepan! 🤩🤩🤩 5mo

7 likes6 comments

Robotswithpersonality

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

Sacrilege! 😧

Soubhiville Inconceivable! 5mo

Robotswithpersonality @Soubhiville 😂 5mo

9 likes1 stack add2 comments

Honeybeebooks

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

so-so

Second in a series and reading out of order may have made this novel much harder to follow. Lacking context, I found the first third of the book slow and a little frustrating. The crime solving duo of Mossa and Pleiti were pleasant enough, but I can muster only 2+⭐️ out of 5 for this cozy mystery set among the stars in a far away future.

11 likes

BookmarkTavern

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

pick

The mysteries continue for Mossa & Pleiti when Mossa discovers that many students have gone missing from the university. & then there‘s a murder.

Just as charming as the 1st! Some more excellent world building, actual follow through from the 1st, a beginning to rekindling the romance without taking over the mystery, & flirty banter! This sapphic sci fi Holmes style mystery continues to delight! & was everything I could have wanted! 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

BookmarkTavern #LGBTQBookBingo #LGBTQ2024 @Kenyazero White lettering on cover 8mo

Kenyazero Love this cover 😍 and it sounds like a fun read! 8mo

70 likes2 stack adds2 comments

CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles | Malka Older

pick

Just like the first in the series, this cozy sapphic science fiction mystery set a la Holmes and Watson was lovely. I love how Older manages to balance the cozy gaslamp mystery vibes with some serious questions about the nature of humanity and existence. Also: Pleiti and Mossa are tentatively rekindling their college romance and academics are squabbling. Reading this is like a warm cup of tea that the characters are constantly drinking.

39 likes3 stack adds