Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 137

January 17, 2022: Reading, Watching…

Continuing my torrid reading pace…

The Maid by Nita Prose

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

My thoughts: Our protagonist, Molly Gray, is a high-functioning autistic young woman who works as a maid at the prestigious Regency Grand Hotel. And yet despite this fairly obvious fact, no one around her ever mentions it, even as a possibility. Instead, she is dismissed as weird or embraced as unique by her co-workers as she she goes about her routine cleanings, until the day she discovers a corpse in one of the suites. And that is when Molly’s highly-structured life falls apart. In some ways, this book reminded me of one of my favorites, Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, minus the mystery angle – and, to honest, the mystery angle was the least successful part of this book. Molly is an incredibly endearing character and the elements of the story related to her various relationships are strong, especially her relationship with her grandmother which prove inspiring, touching, and, surprisingly, tragic. There’s nuance and depth here that is missing in the various supporting players as well as the central mystery. The bad guys seem incredibly (Dare I say conveniently) naive in their actions while the equally naive Molly, who falls under suspicion of murder, gets (Dare I say it again – conveniently) bailed out by her concerned friends, ensuring that it all works out for her in the end. There’s a lot of heart and humor here. I just wish it was married to a more clever plot.

3/5

***

Mazebook by Jeff Lemire and Steve Wands

A lonely building inspector still grieving the loss of his puzzle-loving daughter receives a mysterious phone call one night from a girl claiming it’s her and that she’s trapped in the middle of a labyrinth. Convinced that this child is contacting him from beyond this world, he uses an unfinished maze from one of her journals and a map of the city to trace an intricate path through a different plane of reality on an intense and melancholy adventure to bring his daughter back home. The only way out is in . . .

My thoughts: A heartbreaking tale about mourning, loneliness, and moving on that, when all is said and done, proves incredibly touching and uplifting.  Lemire conveys a sense of heartache and desperation through a muted color palette and sparsity of words.  At five issues, it’s a fairly quick but incredibly rewarding read.

5/5

***

Anthem by Noah Hawley

Something is happening to teenagers across America, spreading through memes only they can parse.  

At the Float Anxiety Abatement Center, in a suburb of Chicago, Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister’s tragic passing. He breaks out to join a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Who lies at the end of the road? A man known as The Wizard, whose past encounter with Louise sparked her own collapse. Their quest becomes a rescue mission when they join up with a man whose sister is being held captive by the Wizard, impregnated and imprisoned in a tower.  

My thoughts: osh Hawley is a great writer. His books are high-concept, compelling reads with wonderful character work throughout. And Anthem is, in many ways, Hawley at his best. There’s an engaging central mystery (with the mass teen suicides), some unique and nuanced players in our band of unmerry youthful protagonists, a well-plotted adventure that builds to a tremendous climax pitting the agents of change against forces of the old order, and lots of social commentary. In fact, the latter is clear and present throughout this novel. There’s no subtlety here. The lessons are stark – about our shortcomings as a society, our failures of those in need, especially the younger generation. Hawley examines the fringes, the most extreme of right-wing elements, casting them as the evil villains who have exploited our world, led it to ruin, and now exploit its tragic demise. It feels more of a damning indictment than a thoughtful exploration. The bad guys are the stupid good old boys as. sure, they are in the real world, and you root as they get shot up, and as the child-molesting Epstein-clone has his compound raided at book’s end, but it all feels rather heavy-handed in its thematic explorations.

3/5

***

Night on the Galactic Railroad

What is true happiness? For Giovanni, the answer is as far away as the stars. Mired in hardship, the young kitten faces problems that should be unknown to someone his age. At school, his classmates mock and ridicule him, and after the bell rings, Giovanni toils at a job to earn enough money for bread. Then at home, instead of being taken care of by his mother, he must take care of her. The sole bright spot is that of the Festival of Stars, where he hopes to run into Campanella, his only friend. When they finally meet up, however, it isn’t while looking up at the stars, but rather traveling amongst them… as the Galactic Railroad whisks the two away for parts unknown!

My thoughts: This classic 1985 animated film has influenced the works of anime’s greatest creators, like Leiji Matsumoto and Hayao Miyazaki, who have tackled many of the same themes, and used some of the same visuals as inspiration in their works.  The movie is surprisingly eerie and, dare I say it, churchy, in its moody atmosphere and stark symbolism.  It’s fascinating, poignant, and super fucking weird.  So weird, in fact, that at one point I turned to Akemi to ask her what was going on to which she replied: “Back when the original book was published, marijuana and cocaine were legal.”

3/5

***

Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror edited by John F.D. Taff

Created in the tradition of the 1980 horror classic anthology Dark Forces edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection features all original novelettes showcasing the top talent in the horror field today, with a committed line-up of stories from both established names and up-and-coming voices. Dark Stars is not themed, allowing each author to write their very best horror story, unhampered by the need to conform to any unifying tropes.

My thoughts: Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror is a tribute to the classic Dark Forces anthology edited by Kirby McCauley, released back in 1980 and showcasing such talents as Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, and Robert Bloch (among notable others). This collection does its predecessor proud, delivering a diverse mix of dark tales from some truly great writers, ranging from subtle psychological terror to grim, visceral horror. Overall, a stand-out selection of stories but, as in all anthologies, your mileage may vary. My favorites included The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes, a deeply unsettling tale about the illusory narrative a young woman crafts under pressure from a relentless stalker, Ramsay Campell’s A Life in Nightmares, a hallucinatory journey through our protagonist’s fractured memories and nightmarish present, Josh Malerman’s Mrs. Addison’s Nest that sees four friends confront the demonic teacher who made their high school years a living hell, and Usman T. Malik’s Challawa with its echoes of Dan Simmons’ Song of Kali and The Wicker Man. If you enjoy curling up to some good horror fiction, this is the book for you.

4/5

***

Thor: God of Hammers by Donny Cates, Nick Klein, Matt Wilson, Joe Sabino.

Mjolnir has gone missing! And nobody, not even the powerful eyes of Lady Sif, is able to locate it. So Thor must turn to the last person he wants help from…Odin. For until the hammer is found, nobody in the realms is safe!

My thoughts: Two issues in and I’m enjoying the epic story-telling despite having been out of the comics loop for years.  That said, I’m not sure how to interpret the big reveal that concludes the second issue.  Hopefully, it will all come together for this Marvel outsider in issue #3.  So far, so good.

3/5

***

The Fourth Man by Jeff MCComsey, Mike Deodato Jr., Lee Loughride, Steve Wands, Ive Svorcina

Three dead bodies lay in a rural morgue – all murdered in the span of three weeks. It’s up to two detectives from opposite sides of the tracks to determine who put them there, if the murders are linked and what, if anything, they have to do with a pair of dueling car dealerships.

My thoughts: One issue in, and I’m hooked.  A terrific suburban noir with an undercurrent of dark humor.

4/5

***

Not All Robots by Mark Russell, Mike Deodato Jr., Lee Loughride, Steve Wands

In the year 2056, robots have replaced human beings in the workforce. An uneasy co-existence develops between the newly intelligent robots and the ten billion humans living on Earth. Every human family is assigned a robot upon whom they are completely reliant. What could possibly go wrong? Meet the Walters, a human family whose robot, Razorball, ominously spends his free time in the garage working on machines which they’re pretty sure are designed to kill them.

My thoughts: Speaking of darkly humorous – this brilliant sci-fi book delivers a sharply satirical tale about our reliance on technology, its insidious infiltration of our daily lives, and the potential dangers it presents…that we conveniently choose to ignore.  Highly recommended.

5/5

***

A Taxi Driver

In 1980, a foreign journalist hires a down-on-his-luck taxi driver to take him to Gwangju, South Korea. They soon arrive to find a city under siege by student protesters and the military.

My thoughts: Song Kang-ho (Joint Security Area, Memories of Murder, Parasite) is fantastic as a single father who unwittingly becomes involved in the Gwangju Uprising of 1980.   2000 people, many of them young student protestors, were killed and discussion of the events surrounding the massacre were suppressed decades.  Despite the challenges this movie faced during its production and the lead-up to its release (Song Kang-ho was purportedly blacklisted by the government), it became the second-highest grossing movie of 2017 and since cemented itself as one of the country’s greatest films.   Powerful.

5/5

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January 16, 2022: Suji Sunday!

Keeping those ears warm while battling the elements.

Snug as a pug in a rug – or, in this case, the dinosaur hoodie Akemi gifted me.

Carpet run!  Whenever the weather turns unbearably cold, Suji’s second walk shifts to indoors.  She scrambles up and dow the hallway, finding easy purchase on the nice warm carpet.

Zonked.  Lately, she’s been wearing a sock on her  injured paw to keep her from licking it.

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A post shared by Hi. I'm Sujiすじ子 (@newoldpugsuji)

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January 15, 2022: Your eyelashes are too long!

I finally started work on the as yet untitled feature.  And it’s long overdue.  It was around this time last year that I first planned to write it, beating out an outline, envisioning the individual scenes, and…nothing.  I ended up being distracted by…I don’t even remember what…and the script was set aside.  Until now.  Now, I’m going to push through, get through a few pages a day, lie in bed running the dialogue for my next scenes over and over until I get the rhythm down, and research the era in my uninspired downtime.  Ideally, I’d love to have a first draft done by spring but, as I’ve pointed out, I am easily distracted.

I am also easily chilled.  Today, we went out to pick up lunch and I was miserable in the cold.  Akemi suggested I didn’t wear enough layers but between my t-shirt, sweater, two uniqlo ultra-down jackets, and my Canada Goose coat, that’s five layers!  Throw in a hat, gloves, and boots, and I should be properly attired for a polar bear hunt.  I even wore a mask while walking outdoor, not because I feel I’m in danger of catching or spreading the virus while I’m in open air, but simply because it was warmer than not wearing one.  And yet, the second I step outside, my eyes start to tear and my tears subsequently freeze on my eyelashes.  Akemi, of course, is quick to point out my failings: “Your eyelashes are too long.” and “You need to wear johnlongs.”.  Maybe.  Or maybe I just shouldn’t be walking around outdoors in the dead of winter.

Tomorrow promises to be warmer which is good since I need to do a little more stocking up.  In the midst of this supply chain crisis, our clown Prime Minister has decided to ban all unvaccinated truck drivers from entering the country, thus assuredly exasperating the issue.

So, how are things in your neck of the woods?

A few little somethings from the Stargate vault…

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January 14, 2022: Raw squid, crab guts, and the Pfizer veterinarian!

Yozo!

The weekend is finally upon us!  What are we all up to?  Besides, of course, preparing our taxes?  Here in Toronto, they’re calling for -12 celsius/10.4 fahrenheit, so I’ll be limiting my activities to the indoor variety – the 4 R’s: reading, riding, researching, and rhythmic gymnastics.

Recent culinary forays…

Same vibe.

Lantern squid cured in mirin and soy.  Lest you are leery, the label apparently makes assurances that the eyeballs have, in fact, been removed.

Crab gut fiorelli.  I have to admit, the crab guts work better with pasta than straight out of a  can on steamed rice.

Shio koji and sake-marinated black cod.

Suspect sweets compliments of our friends Jeff and Barb.  Which would you try first?

Speaking of trying: Today’s Yes/No…

Jameson Orange? Yes/Nohttps://t.co/Vo4WmqKLeQ

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 14, 2022

Don’t forget to use those biodegradable straws!

Yachts To Be Exempt From EU's Carbon Pricing Plan https://t.co/UXiJ2HBYMr

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 14, 2022

Good ole Snopes.  Standing up for the little guy (He’s 5 “8)…

But omicron is the overwhelmingly dominant strain… pic.twitter.com/34Gmq5IEu8

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 14, 2022

Finally…

What is one of your signature moves?
Me: Once everyone has finished singing Happy Birthday, I shout: "Speech! Speech!" much to the consternation of the birthday individual.

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 11, 2022

I've retired "Hi" and "Hello" in favor of "Yozo!" in most personal greetings.#SignatureMoves https://t.co/t4xzn17IJw

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 12, 2022

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January 13, 2022: Meanwhile, on the home front…

My thoughts on the news…

Fully vaccinated Australians in hospital with Covid-19 surpass unvaccinated.

At first blush an eyebrow-raiser, but I have questions.  It’s clear that, despite assurances when the vaccines first rolled out, they do NOT prevent you from either getting covid OR spreading covid.  They do, apparently, keep you from getting very sick.  The news that more vaccinated than unvaccinated people are ending up in hospital would seem to contradict this, but one could make the argument that more vaccinated people are in hospital because the vast majority of people have been vaccinated.  A more telling data point would be the number of vaccinated vs unvaccinated covid patients in ICU.

Repeat booster shots risk overloading immune systems.

This from the W.H.O. no less.  Surprisingly (or not) I don’t really see much discussion about this point.  Contradicting this take is none other than everyone’s favorite veterinarian, the CEO of pfizer who now seems suddenly very down on his vaccine’s efficacy in the face of the omicron variant and strongly urges everyone to get a third booster while they’re waiting for his company to perfect a new vaccine that will be ready in March – just in time for your fourth booster!  Would love to hear the medical experts chime in on this particular topic whenever they can take time out from their TikTok videos and their various petitions.

Cannabis compounds prevented covid infection in laboratory study.

As my friend Rob pointed out, lab studies are long way from human trials.  Still, I’m keeping an eye on a few friends who – if this news is true – will have probably acquired superhuman immunity by now.

FAA numbers confirm it – 2021 was terrible for bad behavior in the skies.

Nothing a lifetime ban from flying can’t fix.

And finally…

Politicians are not beholden to the same rules they bestow upon their perceived lessers.
U.K. PM Boris Johnson apologizes for attending lockdown party https://t.co/YKSxg3UsBo via @CTVNews

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 12, 2022

Today’s Yes/No…

Peanut Butter Whiskey? Yes/No https://t.co/Dz46veCKOk

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 13, 2022

 

 

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January 12, 2022: Amazing Covers!

A few that caught my eye this week…

Devil’s Reign: Superior Four #1 – cover art by Ivan Shavrin

Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #3 – cover art by Jahnoy Lindsay

Undiscovered Country #18 – cover art by Jae Lee

Batman ’89 #6 – cover art by Julian Totino Tedesco

I Am Batman #5 – cover art by Francesco Mattina

Pennyworth #6 – cover art by Jorge Fornes

Robin & Batman #3 – cover art by Dustin Nguyen

The Joker #11 – cover art by Kael Ngu

Watch Dogs: Legion #3 – cover art by Alberto Massaggia

Daisy #2 – cover art by Colin Lorimer

Victoria Black – cover art by Carlos Villa

So, which were YOUR favorites?

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January 11, 2022: How many pillows is too many?

Started reading a new book, had a zoom strategy session, discussed another project, sent off the polish of my last pilot, researched the new feature (specifically 1930’s road trips), did some stock research, completed a Korean lesson, completed a Japanese lesson, and blocked about 200 accounts on twitter.  A full yet satisfying day.

Here in Toronto, we’re locked down (yet again) until January 17th by which point Covid will no longer be a threat OR there won’t be anymore small businesses to frequent. I’ve heard that, on the heels of this latest shutdown announcement, a number of my favorite restaurants have just said “Screw it!” and closed their kitchens, opting out of even doing take-out.  Hopefully, they’ll still be in a position to open their doors once the dust settles on this latest salvo to their bottom line.

So what, in your opinion, is the ideal number of pillows?  Akemi, who doesn’t sleep with any (thus rendering her opinion on the matter invalid) feels that five is too many, this despite the fact that she gifted me two pillows for Christmas, one of which is the size of an elephant’s leg.  You need one pillow on which to rest your feet in order to keep your legs elevated (because it seems like the right thing to do), two flanking pillows, one pillow to clutch to your chest, one pillow to rest your head on, and one pillow to rest atop your head to obscure the intrusive light of your wife’s cell phone in the event she wakes up in the dead of night to watch.

This is why I avoid winter sports…

A geyser of freezing water doused skiers stuck on a chairlift in North Carolina the other day.

What would you do? Jump or enjoy the free hydrotherapy? I mean…we pay big money to go to Scandinave spa so… – @CharisHogg & @Jeremy_Baker

pic.twitter.com/HyDVAFMgMS

— 102.7 THE PEAK (@THEPEAK) January 11, 2022

Today’s Yes/No…

Jumbo Mac 'n Cheese Hot Dog with Fruit Loops and Bacon? Yes/No
Thanks (?) to @Thogar for the tip. https://t.co/DnRI72lFcF

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 11, 2022

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January 10, 2022: READING…(and reviews!)

As promised, I would be picking up my reading this year.  Here are brief reviews of some of the 2022 releases I’ve read so far in January…

The Insecure Mind of Sergei Kraev by Eric Silberstein

The year is 2100. The lack of trust that characterized the early Internet era is long behind us. Mathematical proof ensures neural implants can’t be hacked, and the Board of Reality Overseers blocks false information from spreading.

When undergraduate Sergei Kraev, who dreams of becoming a professor, is accepted into the Technion’s computer science graduate program, he throws himself into his research project: making it possible for neural implants to transmit information directly to the brain. If he succeeds, he’ll earn a full professorship.

But Sergei falls under the influence of Sunny Kim, the beautiful and charismatic leader of a K-pop dance cult. Sergei believes in Sunny’s good intentions and wants to protect her from critics, leading him to perform a feat of engineering that leaves billions of brains vulnerable to attack.

With the clock ticking towards catastrophe, can Sergei see the truth about Sunny and undo what he’s done?

REVIEW…

Okay, let’s get one thing straight right off the  bat.  There is no K-pop dance cult.  It’s dance cult based on Korea.  There is not even the remotest element of K-pop in this novel and, while most may not care, as someone who had my interest piqued for this very reason, it was a bait and switch.  The lack of this potentially kooky/fun (promised) story element aside, this book offers some fascinating world-building as it imagines a future where our lowly internet evolves into a cyberspace that links users via brain implants which offer convenience and comforts…but at what cost?  The set-up is great and fascinating aspects of the future tech off-sets the occasional info-dumps in much the same way most of the grounded, sympathetic characters that people this world outweigh the rather two-dimensional villain – Sunny, the dance-happy cult leader –  at the heart of the novel.  There are also instances where the author seems to be making a political statement about the dangers of misinformation and the need for state censorship which is ironic given that the antagonists of the story hail from the former North Korea.  Overall, a solid read whose futuristic ideas are stronger than its narrative whole.

3/5

***

Deep Dive by Ron Walters

Still reeling from the failure of his last project, videogame developer Peter Banuk is working hard to ensure his next game doesn’t meet the same fate. He desperately needs a win, not only to save his struggling company, but to justify the time he’s spent away from his wife and daughters.

So when Peter’s tech-genius partner offers him the chance to beta-test a new state-of-the-art virtual reality headset, he jumps at it. But something goes wrong during the trial, and Peter wakes to find himself trapped in an eerily familiar world where his children no longer exist.

As the lines between the real and virtual worlds begin to blur, Peter is forced to reckon with what truly matters to him. But can he escape his virtual prison before he loses his family forever?

REVIEW…

If you’re going to cover the same creative ground well-trodden by Blake Crouch in his exceptional novel Dark Matter, you better bring something new to the table, be it a fresh take on the same premise or, preferably, some sort of twist that subverts the reader’s expectations and turns the conceit on its ears. Unfortunately, Deep Dive does neither. Although the “device” that pompts Peter Banuk’s journey is different from a technological – frankly, more implausible – standpoint, it’s not enough to separate this book as a less interesting version of a very similar story. The set-up is interesting, the tale of a man who finds himself in an alternate reality, losing his daughters in the process, but there’s little emotional depth to our protagonist beyond his obvious despair over the loss of his girls. He’s a hard hero to care for, and “hero” is generous given that the major steps in solving his mysterious predicament come about mostly through the actions of outside forces. He is kidnapped, kidnapped again, and fed sporadic insights until a large chunk of the mystery is revealed when he suddenly, and fortuitously, recovers a chunk of missing memory in the nick of time. Overall, I feel like I’ve read it all before – but better.

2/5

***

Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal—the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

On a fairly routine scouting mission, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. By the time he returns to the colony base, surprisingly helped back by native life, Mickey7’s fate has been sealed. There’s a new clone, Mickey8, reporting for Expendable duties. The idea of duplicate Expendables is universally loathed, and if caught, they will likely be thrown into the recycler for protein.

Mickey7 must keep his double a secret from the rest of the colony. Meanwhile, life on Niflheim is getting worse. The atmosphere is unsuitable for humans, food is in short supply, and terraforming is going poorly. The native species are growing curious about their new neighbors, and that curiosity has Commander Marshall very afraid. Ultimately, the survival of both lifeforms will come down to Mickey7.

REVIEW…

Stanley Kubrick once said: “Everything has already been done. Every story has been told. Every scene has been shot. It’s out job to do it one better.” And I would argue not objectively better, but exceptional in its exploration of the familiar subject matter. The premise of Mickey7, for instance, draws immediate parallels to Duncan Jones’ Moon but the novel sets itself apart by proving exceptional in its story-telling. The heart of the novel is Mickey7, the seventh incarnation of an Expendable, a human who can be expected to sacrifice himself for the common good because, after all, he can just return as a clone with most of his memories intact – provided he remembered to back himself up. A beloved friend and fellow crew member to some, an unnatural freak to others, Mickey takes on dangerous missions with a certain acerbic resignation. There’s a humor to the character that makes him not only instantly likable but very grounded and very human, navigating life on the Niflheim ice world colony, a reluctant replaceable cog in an unforgiving machine. There’s some wonderful world-building here and plenty of cool sci-fi concepts and technologies, but it’s the dialogue that truly sets this book apart. It’s smart, sharply comedic at times, and does a great job of realizing the memorable players in Mickey7’s life. Still, I did have a few quibbles. The haphazard plan hatched by the two clones to keep their duplicate existence a secret feels a questionable and highly problematic game plan doomed to failure, while the mystery of the planet’s dangerous denizens (the subterranean-dwelling creepers) isn’t really developed so much as it is touched on now and again before being abruptly resolved, but there’s a terrific twist in the telling and our hero’s clever actions ultimately lead to a dramatically satisfying conclusion. One of the type of books you take note of the author’s name so you can track down their other titles. Recommended.

4/5

***

The Chosen Twelve by James Breakwell

There are 22 candidates.  There are 12 seats.

The last interstellar colony ship is down to its final batch of humans after the robots in charge unhelpfully deleted the rest. But rebooting a species and training them for the arduous task of colonisation isn’t easy – especially when the planet below is filled with monsters, the humans are more interested in asking questions than learning, and the robots are all programmed to kill each other.

But the fate of humanity rests on creating a new civilization on the planet below, and there are twelve seats on the lander. Will manipulation or loyalty save the day?

REVIEW…

Alas, despite what the cover blurb may tell you, this book lacks the compelling life or death gamesmanship of The Hunger Games, the deliriously off-the-wall humor of The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the thematic depths of Lord of the Flies, and the provocative philosophical underpinnings of Phliip K. Dick’s work. It’s more a fairly straightforward (very) soft sci-fi novel that reads like Y.A. even though the varied players are much older. And yet, despite their age and surface smarts, they’re all surprisingly simplistic in their approach to each other and the challenges they face. For the most part, there’s not much depth to these characters beyond Delta, our protagonist, and even she is ultimately upstaged by a robot named Spenser. The humor ranges from the silly to the absurd and it unfortunately undermines the drama once things finally get going (about halfway through the proceedings). The premise is great, but the execution is uninspired. A quick, unremarkable read.

2/5

***

The Liars Beneath by Heather Powell

After a tragic accident ends her best friend’s life, 17-year-old Becca Thompson succumbs to grief the only way she knows how: by wallowing in it. She’s a fragment of the person she once was-far too broken to enjoy the summer before her senior year. But when Ben McCain, her best friend’s older brother, returns home, Becca must face her new reality head on.

She isn’t interested in Ben’s games, especially since he abandoned his sister during the months leading up to her death. But when he begs for her help in uncovering the truth about what really happened the night of his sister’s death, Becca finds herself agreeing, hoping to clear up rumors swirling in the wake of her best friend’s accident.

An unhinged ex-boyfriend, secret bucket lists, and garage parties in the place Becca calls home soon lead her to the answers she’s so desperate to unveil. But nobody is being honest, not even Ben. And the closer Becca gets to the truth-and to Ben-the more danger seems to surround her.

Clearing her best friend’s name was all she wanted to do, but Becca is quickly realizing that the truth she craves might be uglier than the lies her best friend kept.

REVIEW…*This one is a standard small-town mystery with a YA slant. 17 year old Becca Thompson looks into the mysterious circumstances surrounding her friend Rose’s suicide. What was the secret Rose kept hidden from her best friend? Was her death really a suicide? And if not, who was responsible? Unless you’re a complete neophyte to the genre, you’ll have guessed the answers to all of these questions long before their respective reveals. There’s an angst-ridden romance at the heart of this story which, while also typical of the genre, is well-executed. Less so the book’s conclusion that sets up a potentially tragic outcome, only to have it all get conveniently swept away through a series of fortuitous events. A fine novel for novice younger audiences, but more seasoned readers may have their patience tested. 2/5

***

Under Fortunate Stars by Ben Hutchings*Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future.

The Gallion’s chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five’s legendary ship—and the Five’s famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew.

But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake.

REVIEW…*As a huge fan of all things time travel, from chronal loops to temporal distortions, I loved the set-up here. It opens the door to an inventive sci-fi narrative that, while a lot of fun, also explores headier themes related to how perspectives shape history and the human flaws and frailties that reside within the heroes we worship. The author does a nice job of introducing a fascinating future world, its backstory and politics, while also offering up a cast of intriguing, mostly relatable characters. All of the pieces are there for an engaging adventure but, as the story unfolds, it becomes evident that one crucial element is missing: the clever plotting that typifies the very best of this SF sub-genre. Specifically… When it comes to writing, my pet peeves are something I call the Three C’s – coincidence, conveniences, and contrivances. They’re not quite as objectionable if they serve to complicate matters for our protagonist, but when they help our protagonist achieve their goal, it’s the equivalent of writing taking a shortcut. You’re robbing the reader of a dramatically satisfying journey in which our hero earns their victory rather than having it fall into their lap through fortuitous events. 3/5*** Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds by John Everson*When the star of the school’s piano program is strangled with a piano wire, the only clue to the killer is a grainy picture of the victim during her final moments, mouth wide and screaming, posted on the girl’s own Facebook account, alongside a classic music video. What does it mean? Eve soon finds herself taking the girl’s place as the enclave’s star pupil, in line for a coveted scholarship and a new member of the famed jazz combo, the Songbirds.

When Eve is drugged and another Songbird murdered at a campus party, she suddenly finds herself on the list of suspects. Another picture is posted online of the victim in her final moments, and this time, Eve is sure the hands around the girl’s throat… are hers! Could she have killed the girl while under the influence of whatever someone had slipped in her drink? The police and others at the Eyrie are suspicious; the murders began when she arrived. Her new boyfriend Richard insists that she could not be the killer. But who would want the Songbirds dead? One of the other Songbirds, like Gianna, the snarky sax player who seems to hate everyone? Or Philip, the creepy building caretaker and occasional night watchman? Or could it be Prof. Von Klein himself, who seems very handy with a camera and has a secret locked room behind his office where the light always seems to be on after dark?

Whoever it is, Eve knows she needs to figure it out. Because when a dead canary is left as a bloody message on the keys of her piano, she knows her own life may be in deadly danger.

REVIEW…*This book is described as “a modern Giallo”, an “homage to the stylish Italian mystery thrillers”, but its direct inspiration is clearly Dario Argento’s Suspiria, a movie about a young American student who enrolls in a prestigious dance academy in Berlin plagued by a series of dark events. Here, a young American student (Eve) enrolls in a prestigious music conservatory in Belgium plagued by a series of equally dark events. Whereas the original film (and its sequel) do a masterful job of conveying a sense of dread through its surreal setting and quirky characters, forcing our all-American heroine to negotiate a foreign, at times eerie landscape, this novel proves atmospherically challenged. There’s nothing particularly unsettling about the new world protagonist Eve encounters. The setting and her fellow students are so unremarkable that the story could have taken place anywhere in North America.

This casual tone is also reflected in the attitude of the characters who, in the face of a mounting body count, go on about their lives as if the bloody events are nothing more than curious developments rather than anything to be alarmed about. On her first day at the conservatory, Eve is informed that a student was murdered there the night before. But there’s no heavy police presence. The school is not shut down. No one is struggling with the emotional baggage of having to come to terms with the death of someone they knew. Instead, everyone is fairly nonchalant, discussing the murder as if it were the equivalent of a juicy piece of high school gossip. At first, I thought this was a hint that something was very wrong with these students, a red flag signaling some macabre conspiracy, but when Eve didn’t clock this as strange in any way, I began to have my doubts – which were cemented when, in a later scene, Eve and her new friends go to a cafe where they are welcomed by the barista. It’s been a while since he’s seen them. He greets them warmly, is introduced to their new member Eve…but there is no mention of the girl who died the night before. Surely, he would have known her too. And surely he must have heard about her death. Yet she isn’t even mentioned. Apparently, it just wasn’t a big deal.

These characters don’t act like real people. Throughout the book, these young women think nothing of walking through the dark environs of the conservatory, alone in the dead of night, despite the recent murders. And they pay the ultimate price, getting killed in grisly, over-the-top, often silly fashion complete with arch commentary on the part of the killer. Things reach a crescendo of nonsense late in the novel when a trio of characters, trapped in the building with a killer on the loose, elect to split up and search for a missing friend rather than get the hell out and contact the police.

This book would have worked better as a parody. In its present form, it reads like a half-heated tribute to a much more accomplished original.

2/5***

The post January 10, 2022: READING…(and reviews!) appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

January 9, 2022: Suji Sunday!

Winter is coming.

Check that.  Winter is HERE!

Riding in style.  And warmth.

BIG SNEEZE!

The Snow Pug in its natural element…

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January 8, 2022: Food aversions, agreements, and Stargate!

Akemi is cheese-phobic.  So unreasonable is she in her aversion that she won’t allow me to put a plate in the dishwasher if it has come into contact with cheese.  Instead, I have to hand wash it – with plenty of soap and hot water.  And yet she finds ME downright weird for not enjoying natto, a fermented soybean possessed of a mucous-like viscosity.  At least we are united in our dislike of durian, cilantro, and rutabagas.

Today’s Yes/No…

Soft Serve Ice Cream-Topped Ramen? Yes/No
Yep, that’s a whole ice cream cone as a ramen topping, as this restaurant in Japan offers【Pics】 https://t.co/CsB1OcvzeL via @RocketNews24En

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) January 8, 2022

The tough part is finding a way to eat the ramen first and saving the ice cream for last.

Check out this treasure trove of concept art from the Stargate vault!

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