The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older Narrator: Lindsey Dorcus
Series: The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti #3
Published by Recorded Books on June 10, 2025
Source: Purchased
Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Post-apocalyptic
Length: 7 hrs 40 mns
Pages: 256
Format: Audiobook
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The Hugo and Nebula nominated science fiction detective series continues with The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, featuring a new mystery concerning alarming incidents of targeted, escalating academic sabotage.
When a former classmate begs Pleiti for help on behalf of her cousin―who’s up for a prestigious academic position at a rival Jovian university but has been accused of plagiarism on the eve of her defense―Pleiti agrees to travel alongside her and investigate the matter.
This one might have been my favorite of the series so far. Not because of the plot necessarily – Pleiti is helping a friend who is concerned about potential threats to her cousin who is up for a promotion at another university- but because of the language and the Holmes/Watson vibes, both of which are so much more noticeable in this installment. I will say that this does work as a stand-alone although one of the major events from the first is referenced and carries some importance.
The series is set on Jupiter, which was settled after Earth’s atmosphere became uninhabitable. Pleiti is a professor in the classics department, studying what life was like on earth in the hopes of eventually returning, which makes a nice contrast with the modernists she meets, who are more interested in studying the now and how people and animals are adapting. But people are still people, with jealousies and secrets, which means people like Mossa, a investigator, still have a lot of work to do. Happily, even on Jupiter, we have plenty of tea and hot baths
But this time around Pleiti is on her own. Mossa is at home, sunk in a depression, and snapping at everyone. Sound familiar? Pleiti does her best, but at first it’s hard to see just how dangerous the situation is. Eventually Mossa does show up à la The Hound of the Baskervilles and they work together, each using their own strengths to get to the solution. The whodunnit it and why was a little anti-climactic, but the story was still enjoyable. I’m looking forward to reading more of their adventures.
About Malka Older
Malka Older is a writer, sociologist, and aid worker. She is the Executive Director of Global Voices, a community of writers, editors, and translators providing community journalism from all over the world and advocating for indigenous and minority languages, media literacy, digital rights, and online freedom of expression. She is also a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, where she teaches on the humanitarian-development spectrum and on predictive fictions and hosts the Science Fiction Sparkle Salon, and an Associate Researcher at the Centre de Sociologie des Organisations.
Her novella The Mimicking of Known Successes, a murder mystery set on Jupiter, has been named one of the best books of 2023 by Barnes and Noble and the Library Journal, and was a finalist for the Hugo, Locus, Nebula, and Ignyte awards. The sequel The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles was named one of the best books of 2024 by Esquire, and the third book in the series, The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, will be released in June 2025. Her science-fiction political thriller Infomocracy was named one of the best books of 2016 by Kirkus, Book Riot, and the Washington Post. She is also the author of the sequels, Null States (2017) and State Tectonics (2018), and the full trilogy was nominated for a Hugo Award. Her short fiction and poetry can be found at WIRED, Future Tense, Leveler, Sundog Lit, Reservoir Lit, Inkscrawl, Rogue Agent, Tor.com, Fireside Fiction, and others. She has written opinion pieces for the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, and NBC Think.
She has more a decade of experience in humanitarian aid and development, ranging from field level experience as a Head of Office in Darfur to supporting global programs and agency-wide strategy as a disaster risk reduction technical specialist. In between she has designed and implemented economic development initiatives in post-disaster context; supervised a large and diverse portfolio as Director of Programs in Indonesia, and responded to complex emergencies and natural disasters in Sri Lanka, Uganda, Darfur, Indonesia, Japan, and Mali.
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