Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 125

May 15, 2022: Baron’s Book Club Blab Blog! The Paradox Hotel! Once Upon a Time in Russia!

Two new 2022 releases for your consideration…

The Paradox by Rob Hart

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

My thoughts:  In a near future where time travel has become reality, January Cole is a former agent for an organization tasked with addressing potential chronal manipulations, traveling through history to thwart or rectify alterations to the timeline.  THAT was her old job.  Her new job has her serving as house detective for the Paradox Hotel, a sort of way station for wealthy time travelers, an embarkation point before their journeys to the past.  But all is not well – with either January or the Hotel Paradox.  January, it turns out, has become “unstuck”, unmoored from the timestream.  She is flashing backwards and forwards in time, catching glimpses of futures not yet realized.  And one of those futures is a possible murder that only she is in a position to stop.  Complicating matters for January is the fact that her peculiar condition is slowly worsening and, according to her doctor, fatal.

This book is a fun exploration of the many facets of theoretical time travel that, at times, crosses the line from complex to overly complicated.  The various mysteries at its heart related to the purchase of the hotel are actually much less interesting than the character of January and her backstory related to the death of her former lover.  The latter really resonated with me in its exploration of this woman’s grief and the guilt associated with her loss.  The former was, ultimately, unsatisfying in its resolution.  Truly great thrillers solve their mysteries by showing the audience how the pieces of the puzzle, sitting right in front of them all along, rearrange to form a surprising reveal.  Average thrillers, on the other hand, solve their mysteries by providing a late-stage crucial missing piece to the puzzle, one whose absence made it impossible for the reader to put together that final reveal on their own.  The Paradox Hotel is an average thriller.  But it’s a wonderful time travel adventure that asks some insightful questions about love, loss, and our place in the universe.  I also thought the ending was terrific.

4/5

***

Once Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mezrich

Once Upon a Time in Russia is the untold true story of the larger-than-life billionaire oligarchs who surfed the waves of privatization to reap riches after the fall of the Soviet regime: “Godfather of the Kremlin” Boris Berezovsky, a former mathematician whose first entrepreneurial venture was running an automobile reselling business, and Roman Abramovich, his dashing young protégé who built a multi-billion-dollar empire of oil and aluminum. Locked in a complex, uniquely Russian partnership, Berezovsky and Abramovich battled their way through the “Wild East” of Russia with Berezovsky acting as the younger man’s krysha — literally, his roof, his protector.

Written with the heart-stopping pacing of a thriller—but even more compelling because it is true—this story of amassing obscene wealth and power depicts a rarefied world seldom seen up close. Under Berezovsky’s krysha, Abramovich built one of Russia’s largest oil companies from the ground up and in exchange made cash deliveries—including 491 million dollars in just one year. But their relationship frayed when Berezovsky attacked President Vladimir Putin in the media—and had to flee to the UK. Abramovich continued to prosper. Dead bodies trailed Berezovsky’s footsteps, and threats followed him to London, where an associate of his died painfully and famously of Polonium poisoning. Then Berezovsky himself was later found dead, declared a suicide.

My thoughts: As a big fan of true crime books with a focus on organized crime, I was expecting to really enjoy this book.  And I really did.  It’s a fascinating account of the rise of Russia’s oligarchs on the heels of the Soviet Union’s dissolution, revealing how a group of men, mostly born into poverty, used their contacts to the Yeltsin presidency to stake their claims on a chaotic, rapidly evolving socio-political and economic restructuring.  We follow the ascent of one of these oligarchs, Boris Berezovsky, from the car-bombing that almost claims his life to his eventual exile to London, tracking the various players who helped and hindered him along the way including Alexander Litvinenko (an officer with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation initially tasked with investigating the attempt on Berezovsky’s life), fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich, and, of course, Vladimir Putin.

Like many true crime authors, Mezrich makes use of recreated dialogue, drawing from interviews and research to craft scenes that paint an intimate picture while, at the same time, remaining true to the spirit of past events.  I, personally, feel a little of this goes a long way and that the more detailed the descriptions, the more distracting.  While I don’t mind so much when it comes to dialogue, I find it less tolerable when it comes to insights into inner monologue or thoughts, or the minutiae of things like body positioning.  On the other hand, there’s a seemingly surprising reticence on the part of the author to question some of the more clearly suspect occurrences.  For instance, in an interview about the book, the author mentions an incident where an old-guard Russian general who was proving problematic to one oligarch’s ambitions, died under mysterious circumstances after “going for a swim” in Siberia.  His bodyguard, the only witness to the presumed accidental drowning, was killed in a bar that same night.  In retelling the story for the podcast, the implication was clear – and chilling.  In the book, however, the incident is presented in somewhat less sinister fashion.  The general goes swimming to impress his girlfriend and drowns in his inebriated state.  It’s a plausible, albeit convenient development.  The death of the bodyguard is mentioned, but there is no hint of potential nefarious doings.    There are several incidents like this throughout the book and, in fairness, I have to wonder if there was a reluctance to skate too close to the truth given the ruthless nature of some of the individuals profiled.

Ultimately, if you can embrace the clear dramatizations, and are willing to take the time to do a little research to help connect the dots on a few of the little mysteries touched upon, you’ll be rewarded with an informative, entertaining, and at times surprising read.

4/5

***

And what have YOU been reading?

The post May 15, 2022: Baron’s Book Club Blab Blog! The Paradox Hotel! Once Upon a Time in Russia! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

May 15, 2022: Suji Sunday!

Rockin’ out in denim.

Hitting the links!

Flower-viewing.

Out and about with dad.

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May 14, 2022: The Saturday Report!

Did a little reading today, a little writing, and a little dog-walking.  It looks like winter is finally in the rearview mirror – but, to be fair, the last time we made this assumption it snowed and the temperature dropped.  Still, Akemi is cautiously optimistic that she can finally wash our winter gear and put it away in storage.

Made some progress on the sci-fi/kpop mashup, the former pilot now a two parter opener.  Breaking down the episodes is the hard part.  After that, it’s smoooooth sailing as I move on to outline, scrip, and rewrites!

What’s your favorite cheese to top a burger? I’m a cheddar man, but Chateau de Bourgogne is a decadent alt.

Today’s Yes/No…

Blackberry Cobbler Ice Cream? Yes/No
Blue Bell's popular Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream returns for a limited time https://t.co/JZg4w7Gg1p

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 14, 2022

Hmmmm.  Had some wine & cheese party leftovers for dinner tonight.  I opened up one of the spicy cured pork sticks I never got around to serving Wednesday night – and my tongue instantly reacted, feeling tingly at first and then, strangely, heavy.  So I tossed out the rest and finished up with an antihistamine.  Stay tuned to this blog for further potentially alarming updates.

The post May 14, 2022: The Saturday Report! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

Top 10 Kpop Songs of April, 2022!

Top 10 Kpop Songs of April, 2022
9. Still Life – BigBang #빅뱅
Making their long overdue return. #KpopTop10 pic.twitter.com/6jZ6tyVFyo

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 13, 2022

Top 10 Kpop Songs of April, 2022
7. Love Dive – #IVE #아이브 #アイヴ
Their debut track, Eleven, gets all the love, but Love Dive surpasses it in my books. #KpopTop10 pic.twitter.com/mTI9PcA2uZ

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 13, 2022

Top 10 Kpop Songs of April, 2022
5. Love Me – #BEO #비오
Hadn't heard of Be'O prior to discovering this track and now he is firmly on my radar. #KpopTop10 pic.twitter.com/WDMywOLpE2

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 13, 2022

Top 10 Kpop Songs of April, 2022
3. Come Upright – #허성현 #Huh #HeoSeongHyun #쿤디판다 #Khundi_Panda
Another delightful surprise. This one seemed to come out of nowhere and firmly landed in my top 3. #KpopTop10 pic.twitter.com/R89wFuHJ8o

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 13, 2022

Top 10 Kpop Songs of April, 2022
1. Pretty Psycho – #PURPLEKISS #퍼플키스
Their track Zombie was one of my favorite songs of 2021 and this one is one of my 2022 favorites. #KpopTop10 pic.twitter.com/lDkZKRKs6L

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) May 13, 2022

Agree?  Disagree?  What made YOUR Top 10 list?

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May 12, 2022: Wine, cheese, cured meats, pasta, ice cream – and lots of walking!

Whew!  That was quite the wine & cheese soiree last night.  We ended up sampling 14 different cheeses, 8 different varieties of cured meats, Akemi’s home baked bread, and 5 bottles of wine.  Considering only five of us were drinking, I thought we did pretty well all told.

Me plate – round #1.

By the time we cleaned up, put everything away, and discovered another cheese and four more varieties of cured meat we forgot in the fridge and never served, it was well past our bedtime.

I ended up sleeping in this morning.  Thankfully, Suji was more than accommodating, lying sprawled out across the bed, oblivious to early-riser Akemi in the kitchen making herself breakfast, and only stirring after her requisite morning ear massage.

Then, Akemi and I took it easy today, taking the hour long bus-ride to join our foodie friend Natalie for lunch at Famiglia Baldessarre.

We arrived about five minutes before opening – to find a line had already formed.  Once the door opened, things moved quickly.  There is limited seating indoors, but you have the option of getting the pasta to go and eating outside.

The menu is small and, apparently, changes daily.  A couple of feature pastas and a choice of three sides/starters.  We went with…

The Fior di Latte – fresh cow’s milk mozzarella.   Now THIS, finally, is a cheese Akemi can get behind!

Toni a la Matriciana

Toni a la Gricia – guanciale, pecorino, and pepper.

Probably the best pasta I’ve had in recent memory.  Perfectly cooked al dente.

From there, we headed next door and checked out a sourdough bakery, then rounded the corner and visited an ice cream shop.

Akemi got a single scoop of the passionfruit while Natalie went with a single scoop of good ole’ vanilla.  Both went with the sugar cones.

Me – not pictured, when two scoops – chocolate-peanut butter and Torta della Nonna (an Italian custard tart with pine nuts) in a cup.

We decided to walk home – which ended up taking us a little over an hour.  Just in time to take Suji for her afternoon carpet run.

I plan to wrap up my day doing some reading, and doing a little near-future world building.

How was YOUR Thursday?

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May 11, 2022: Amazing Covers!

A few that caught my eye this week….

Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #1 – cover art by Bill Sienkwicz

Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #1 – cover art by Jeff Dekal

Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #3 – cover art by E.M. Gist

Wonder Woman #787 – cover art by Jonboy Meyers

Vampirella Strikes #1 – cover art by Jonathan Lau

Colorless vol. 1 – cover art by Kent

So, which were YOUR favorites?

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May 10, 2022: Countdown to Wine & Cheese 2022!

In preparation for tomorrow night’s wine & cheese soiree, Akemi and I spent the day shopping for – you guessed it! – wine and cheese.

Apparently white is the way to go, but I couldn’t resist rounding out the selection.  To be honest, I’m the further thing from a wine aficionado – but I know what I like.

I’ve enjoyed the

I picked up some accompaniments in the form of blueberry/blackberry jam and honey, and Akemi will be baking some fresh bread in the morning.  Sometime before dropping Suji off for her physiotherapy, I’ll also pick up some cured meats to for the charcuterie plate.  Hopefully, my local Italian shop offers something a little out of the ordinary.

Not sure about dessert.  What do you think?

 

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May 9, 2022: Baron’s Book Club Blab Blog!

Three New-in-2022 books I read last week…

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay (Release date: March 1, 2022)

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey, four teenage girls working the night shift are attacked. Only one survives. Police quickly identify a suspect who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage employees working late at an ice cream store are attacked, and again only one makes it out alive.

Both surviving victims recall the killer speaking only a few final words… “Goodnight, pretty girl.”

In the aftermath, three lives intersect: the survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive her tragedy; the brother of the original suspect, who’s convinced the police have it wrong; and the FBI agent, who’s determined to solve both cases. On a collision course toward the truth, all three lives will forever be changed, and not everyone will make it out alive.

My thoughts: Not a bad little thriller.  Some interesting twists and turns keep the reader engaged despite a narrative that, at times, plod along.  The characters are a little flat with the exception of our almost 9 month pregnant (with twins!) FBI investigator whose mere existence stretches credulity.  In the end, it all comes together in fairly satisfying fashion, but so far as entries in this genre go, it doesn’t really stand apart.  A solid B.

3/5

***

Haven by Emma Donoghue (Release date: August 23, 2022)

In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks—young Trian and old Cormac—he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on which to found a monastery. Drifting out into the Atlantic, the three men find an impossibly steep, bare island inhabited by tens of thousands of birds, and claim it for God. In such a place, what will survival mean?

My thoughts: There’s an eloquence to Donoghue’s prose, a remarkable deftness in its ability to immerse readers in her beautifully realized worlds and draw them into the lives of her unique and complex characters.  I just wish it was in service to a story that offered more than this curtailed journey.  The setting is wonderfully atmospheric and one can’t help but feel for this trio, sympathizing with their respective struggles, but the ending simply peters out rather than landing with an emotional resonance that pays off the hitherto fascinating build-up.  There’s a late twist that, while subtly set-up in hindsight, feels a little “out there” and disconnected to the standing narrative.   Overall, an engaging ride that comes up short.

3/5

***

Fossil Future by Alex Epstein (Release date: May 24, 2022)

What does the future hold? In Fossil Future, Epstein, applying his distinctive “human flourishing framework” to the latest evidence, comes to the shocking conclusion that the benefits of fossil fuels will continue to far outweigh their side effects–including climate impacts–for generations to come. The path to global human flourishing, Epstein argues, is a combination of using more fossil fuels, getting better at “climate mastery,” and establishing “energy freedom” policies that allow nuclear and other truly promising alternatives to reach their full long-term potential.

My thoughts: This interesting book makes a case for fossil fuels against the prevailing public sentiment and the growing ESG movement.  Epstein’s argument is fairly straight-forward and admittedly compelling, focusing first on the historical benefits of fossil fuels as a relatively cheap and reliable energy source and its potential to lift billions out of poverty. He then proceeds to break down the counter-arguments, covering everything from “climate catastrophizing” to unreliable alternative energy sources like solar and wind to the green movement’s bewildering dismissal of nuclear and hydro-electric power.  In the end, we’ll all pay (both literally and figuratively) in the mad rush to Net Zero, but the world’s poorest will pay the heaviest price of all.  A recommended read that presents a reasoned counter to the current narrative.

4/5

***

So, how goes your 2022 reading?

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May 8, 2022: Suji Sunday!

Spring has sprung!

We adopted a cat!

Zonked…

Suji’s morning routine….

She’s got her eye on you…

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May 7, 2022: Projects update!

Weekdays.  Weekends.  It’s al the same to me.  Such is the life of a freelance writer.

I sent my agents that feature script last week and am expecting them to read this weekend and get back to me next week with feedback and a possible preliminary game plan.  Their response – and turnaround time – will help me determine how I move forward on various fronts.

Switching gears to read an SF classic, one that may be on the verge of a screen adaptation.  By who?  THAT question is still up in the air and could well depend on my response to the book.

Speaking of adaptations, things continue apace on the Promise of Blood front.  An interesting development today that could add some wonderful complexity and heat to the project.

That sci-fi/kpop pilot has turned into a two script order.  Going to take a few days to deconstruct the story and add some more world building elements as well as more depth to the character backstories and journeys.  Had a terrific call on Thursday with someone very keyed into the metaverse and, with it, all things Kpop.  A potential great ally when the time comes to take the project out.

Following a discussion with a comic book company back in February, I put together three pitches for possible comic series.  Those went out last week and I look forward to which one of the wildly different arenas spark interest (if any): action adventure, horror, or science fiction.

Well, two months since I sent out a counter-counter-proposal to a production company’s counter-proposal.  I thought that, at the very least, it would engender a discussion but it’s been radio silence ever since.  This team has a habit of disappearing completely to the point I write them off only to pop up with a “Hey, sorry about.  Things’ve been crazy on this end.  Let’s talk!”.  IF they reach out 8+ weeks after the fact, this will mark the sixth time and – honestly.  As much as I like them on a personal level, I’m going to have to call an end to this professional relationship.  I have enough on my plate and don’t need the aggravation.

So, how’s your weekend going?

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