Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Mimicking of Known Successes

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The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

29 reviews

bailey_the_bookworm's review

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

An intriguing mystery, a super cool setting, fun characters—but I found myself always slightly aggravated by the narrative style. The character speaks and thinks in an exaggerated, stuffy near-parody of an academic (someone steeped in vocational awe and their own self-importance as demonstrated through vocabulary) and it became a little tiresome.

Still really fun, though. I’d give another one a shot.

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alexalily's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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displacedcactus's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

This was a very brisk read -- On a flight to NY I finished the book I was already reading, read this entire thing, and had time to start a third book! I think it may have suffered from being so short -- I would have liked a little more character development and for the mystery to be less straight-forward. Over all it was an enjoyable read with some interesting ideas, it just needed to be longer.

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uranaishi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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sarrie's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Full Review to Come

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kari_f's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was really excited about this book, because it has so many elements that are right up my alley!

Some things I loved:

✨ The book had a very “old British crime novel” feel to it that reminded me of a Sherlock-esque mystery.

✨ The setting was unique and I enjoyed the commentary and ethical quandaries presented through it.

✨ The relationship between the two main characters is awkward and delightful, and I loved how well they clearly knew each other’s quirks despite having been separated for a long time.

Some things I didn’t love:

✨ The language was overly erudite, in that the author used many esoteric words and phrases. I’ve got at least a fairly decent vocabulary, but I had to use context clues (and even my dictionary a few times) to figure out what was being said throughout much of the book. The formal language of the past mixed with the futuristic sci-fi setting felt a bit jarring, and it took me out of the story more than a few times.

✨ The ending felt very “tell instead of show,” and it felt a bit incongruous with the style of the rest of the book.

Overall, there were elements I did enjoy, but the premise was more exciting than the actual execution for me.

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

What a little fascinator this is! It's a gas-lamp Holmesian mystery fantasy set on a gas giant of a planet in a cozy dystopian future. I know, but really. The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a sort of sliding-scopic story of preservation, conservation, and growth that plays out on personal, institutional, and planetary levels. There's so much to unpack in this deceptively sparse tale. Perfect for a winter's evening.

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annaonthepage's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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laurareads87's review against another edition

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funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The description of this book as “a cozy Holmesian murder mystery” is apt — The Mimicking of Known Successes elaborates a mystery with several twists and turns and a fully resolved conclusion. For me, where the book shines is in its worldbuilding — here, humans live in a colony made up of a series of platforms on Jupiter, having rendered the Earth’s environment uninhabitable. They dream of returning to Earth someday, and different schools of thought have emerged on how soon and how best this might happen. When a researcher goes missing, investigator Mossa calls on scholar Pleiti, her former partner, to help her navigate the university and interview the missing man’s colleagues. Older has developed a world that is compelling and original, with much attention to detail concerning the colony’s structure, attitudes, and varied priorities. I don’t know that I would call this a “romance” so much as a story following two awkward former lovers reconnecting under somewhat strange circumstances; I found the relationship between Mossa and Pleiti less interesting than the world and the mystery, though I did really like both characters independent of each other. I will definitely be checking out more of Malka Older’s work having enjoyed this novel very much.

Content warnings: violence, injury detail

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, & Tordotcom for providing an ARC in exchange for this review.

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