The Mimicking of Known Successes is a cosy mystery/sapphic romance set on a remote outpost on Jupiter (here renamed Giant for some reason), where humankind has found refuge after Earth had been rendered uninhabitable.

When a man goes missing, genius investigator Mossa follows his tracks back to the university where he worked; there, to better navigate the academic world, she asks for the assistance of her former girlfriend Pleiti.

Despite the bleak premise, the ambience is rather cosy: sure, humans had to leave Earth and are longing for a possible return, but their living conditions don’t seem too dire. The outpost may be cramped, but is not deprived of creature comforts: indeed, the main characters spend enough time enjoying yummy meals, and while the continued existence of a large zoo/preservation centre is contested by some, we’re all glad to learn it has a dedicated “cute animals promenade”. Aw. 

Mossa and Pleiti are supposedly inspired to Holmes and Watson respectively, although with a more egalitarian relationship and mutual intellectual respect. Plus, of course, the romance. 

Their personalities clash just enough to build an interesting dynamic, without however sounding utterly toxic or incompatible beyond repair – which is often my issue with many fictional couples. 

The mystery is nicely interconnect with the worldbuilding, so we get to discover the intricacies of both at once. 

The prose is refined in a way that befits the intellectual interests of our narrator Pleiti. Although, I did have some issue with some of the made-up expletives – “radiation and recombinants”, really?

Even though it touches upon a few serious themes, the novella is primarily designed to be an entertaining comfort read, and work just fine for its purpose.