Our favorite otherworldly investigators, Mossa and Pleiti, Jupiter-residing gay gals with a whole lot of know-how, are back. Or at least Pleiti is back, having been called up to help a good friend’s cousin, Villette, who is about to undergo her donfense, a sort of doctoral defense. Reluctantly, Pleiti agrees, despite the lengthy trip out to Stortellen University, located at the furthest reaches of the planet. But there are problems. Number one is that Villette is being accused of plagiarism—a false accusation but hard to shake. Problem number two is the absence of Sherlock-like Mossa, who is a no-show, leaving Pleiti alone to keep Villette safe while missing terribly her affectionate relationship. Thankfully, this is a short novel, whereas the earlier works (The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, The Mimicking of Known Successes) were novellas. This gives Older some room to play, including in the bond between Pleiti and Mossa and the wonderful use of language (since the early settlers, after all, spoke a breadth of languages). Don’t be lazy, look the non-English words up; it’s half the fun. A unique series that just keeps getting better.
Space Opera
Whenever you love a book—that would be me and the first book in this series, The Mimicking of Known Successes—you can only approach the next installation with some trepidation. So I’m happy to report that this book more than lives up to my expectations—although it’s important to read the books in order. It’s set against a rather simple mystery: 17 students and staff members are missing from Valdegeld, the Oxbridge-like university where Pleiti is a professor. This is a space opera and a detective story, a romance and a cozy mystery, with the investigation led by Mossa, Pleiti’s lover and a detective, who in this story explicitly asks Pleiti for her help. Set in part on Giant, the huge rings that surround Jupiter and where many humans have settled, this narrative includes a lengthy trip to far-off Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. The pleasures in this book are many. There’s the growing relationship between the two women, especially Pleiti’s worries that Mossa may not have feelings as strong as she does. There’s the brilliant world-building, with special attention to the far-off settlements the two women seek out, revealing the fascinating means of travel and the many smaller, human communities scattered across the vast planet. Finally, there are ruminations from Pleiti about the aim of returning to Earth, her research area, and the hints of political dissent. Brilliant on all counts.