Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 312

June 1, 2017: Presenting the 2016 Rogue Star Award Winners!

2016 was a solid reading year for yours truly (100+ titles read), and 2017 is shaping up to be even better (at close to 100 titles already and counting).

I consider myself well-read.  I know what I like.  And I love to offer an opinion.  So, last year, I thought why not create and bestow my own literary awards, especially if it helps shine a light on some authors or titles that may not get the love and attention they richly deserved?

Today, I present to you my Rogue Star Awards picks in x categories.  They’re all fantastic reads, nominees and winners alike, so check them out – and prepare to be amazed, informed, and entertained.

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BEST COMIC BOOK SERIES

NOMINEES

Black Hammer – Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston, Dark Horse

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack, Archie

The Omega Men – Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda, DC

Saga – Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Image

Vision – Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Marvel

WINNER

Vision – Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Marvel

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BEST SHORT STORY

NOMINEES

“Against the Stream” – A Que, Clarkesworld

“Not a Wardrobe, Tornado, or Looking Glass” – Jeremiah Tolbert, Lightspeed

“Rooms Formed Of Neurons And Sex” – Ferrett Steinmetz, Uncanny Magazine

“The Savannah Liar’s Tour” – Will McIntosh, Lightspeed

“We Have A Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You?” – Rebecca Ann Jordan, Strange Horizons

WINNER

“Against the Stream” – A Que, Clarkesworld

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BEST NOVELETTE

NOMINEES

A Deeper Green – Samantha Murray, Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Blood Grains Speak Through Memories – Jason Sanford, Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Extraction Request – Rich Larson, Clarkesworld

In the Midst of Life – Nick Wolven, Clarkesworld

Teenagers From Outerspace – Dale Bailey, Clarkesworld

WINNER

Blood Grains Speak Through Memories – Jason Sanford, Beneath Ceaseless Skies

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BEST NOVEL

NOMINEES

Core of the Sun – Johanna Sinisalo (translated by Lola Rogers), Grove Press

Hex – Thomas Olde Heuvelt (translated by Nancy Forest-Flier), Tor

Mongrels – Stephen Graham Jones, William Morrow

The Regional Office Is Under Attack – Manuel Gonzales, Riverhead Books

The Sudden Appearance of Hope – Claire North, Redhook

WINNER

Core of the Sun – Johanna Sinisalo (translated by Lola Rogers), Grove Press

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BEST  NON-FICTION BOOK

NOMINEES

Dark Knight: A True Batman Story – Paul Dini and Edward Risso, Vertigo

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis – J.D. Vance, Harper

Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating And What You Can Do About It – Larry Olmsted, Algonquin Books

Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything – Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, Simon & Schuster

When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi and Abraham Verghese, Random House

WINNER

Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything – Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, Simon & Schuster

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BEST NOVEL (NON-GENRE)

NOMINEES

News of the World – Paulette Giles, William Morrow

Sweetbitter – Stephanie Danler, Knopf

The Girls – Emma Cline, Random House

The Invisibility Cloak – Ge Fei (translated by Canaan Morse), New York Review of Books

Under the Harrow – Flynn Berry, Penguin Books

WINNER

The Girls – Emma Cline, Random House

Tagged: Best Books of 2016, Best comic of 2016, best comics of 2016, best genre novel of 2016, best genre novels of 2016, best non-fiction book of 2016, best novel of 2016, best novelette of 2016, best novelettes of 2016, best novels of 2016, Best Short Stories of 2016, best short story of 2016, Rogue Star Awards

May 31, 2017: Dark Matter Season 3 Global Premiere Dates! Teasers! And Episodic Stills!

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Hey international fans, here are you Dark Matter season 3 premiere dates!

The Melissa O’Neil/Anthony Lemke t.v. tour continues…

Let’s check out more of the recently released Episode 301 (“Being Better Is So Much Harder”) stills:[image error]

Look at this rugged dreamboat, all casual and such despite the ever-present danger.

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Wait!  Hang on!   Is it…?  Could it be…?  It looks like Lieutenant Anders (Jeff Teravainen).  But that’s impossible.  Didn’t he take a couple of slugs to the chest back in Episode 202 (“Kill Them All”)?  And wasn’t that his ghost we glimpsed back in the season 2 finale (“But First We Save The Galaxy”)?

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Funny little story about Torri Higginson (The Mikkei Combine’s Commander Delaney Truffault).  When I created the character, I immediately thought of Torri (who I worked with back on Stargate: Atlantis).  She nailed the audition, imbuing the character with a touch of Mae West sass, and won the role…which was originally intended to be just a three-episode appearance.  After being introduced in Episode 2, she returns in Episode 10 to send our crew off on an op to recover a powerful weapon.  The initial plan was for her to accept delivery of the device – that turns out to be a white hole bomb – only to have it detonate in her care.  Her character was supposed to perish along with the thousands of other Mikkei Combine personnel on that planet…but Torri had a scheduling conflict.  She was booked to attend a convention on the week we were to shoot her third episode.  When we were unable to find a way to make it work, I told Torri to just go ahead and attend the con – with the promise to bring Commander Truffault back for another episode provided we got the second season pick-up.  Well, we did and Commander Truffault ended up returning for three more episodes in season 2.

And she’ll be back for another three in season 3.

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Probably the biggest question heading into Dark Matter’s third season is: Will the Android be expanding her wardrobe?[image error]Magic 8-Ball says: Signs point to yes.

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Finally – Suji got into a very one-sided dispute with an umbrella stand today.

Thought you should know.

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

May 30, 2017: Dark Matter interviews, articles, episodic stills!

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The episodic stills for Episode 301 (“Being Better Is So Much Harder”) are out and – hey, is that FIVE (Jodelle Ferland) lugging Bubba?  And is that Commander Truffault (Torri Higginson) on The Raza?

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Melissa O’Neill (TWO) talks Dark Matter on The Social:

http://www.thesocial.ca/video?vid=1135572

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Then, she is joined by Anthony Lemke (THREE) on CP24’s breakfast show:

http://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=1135234

Speaking of Anthony, check him out doing his best Jack Bauer –

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Well, this is interesting:

Returning Canadian Hits DARK MATTER, WYNONNA EARP And Original Series KILLJOYS Ignite Fridays On Space…

Specifically, this little tidbit on the show’s performance: “With an average of 390,000 viewers each week, Season 2 of DARK MATTER was the second-most watched series on Space behind DOCTOR WHO. In its timeslot at 10 p.m. ET, DARK MATTER made Space the most-watched specialty network.”  Canadians, apparently, seem to love their Dark Matter.

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Hey, it’s FOUR Ryo Ishida!  Wonder how the rest of the crew will react to the whole steal-the-Blink-Drive-poison-Nyx-and-blow-up-the-space-station-with-them-still-on-board thing.

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Looks like we have a couple of unexpected guests in the Raza underbelly.  Time to set out a few extra table settings?

Lez Geek Out’s Andi Marquette and Lise MacTague talk Dark Matter on their podcast:

Okay.  One final episodic still for you…

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The Android looking…focused.  What’s she focusing on?

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

May 29, 2017: Dark Matter season 3 teasers and BTS pics!

Evidently, matching dog pics to unseen episodes is a lot harder than it looks.  The majority of those who tried their luck at this latest contest averaged between 2-3 correct answers…out of 13!  Some managed a very impressive 6, even 7 correct matches.  But our winner smoked them all with an astounding 10 correct matches!

Congratulations to Chad B.!  While others may have doubted you, I never lost faith in your guessing abilities!

A little screen grab from Dark Matter’s upcoming third season…

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What’s going on here?  Theories?  Wild guesses?

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Yep, it’s a grueling schedule and our casts works very hard.  Pictured above, Anthony Lemke after a particularly exhausting day on set.  And this was just our first episode of the season!

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Zoie Palmer and Jodelle Ferland run through a scene with director Bruce McDonald at the helm.  Wait.  Is that an Adventure Time t-shirt?

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Roger Cross and Co-Executive Producer Norman Denver argue over the last donut on the craft table.

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Toronto has a lot of great things going for it, but Japanese food aint one of them.  I know, I know.  People in Toronto can offer plenty of suggestions for good sushi and Japanese food in their city and their recommendations are fine – by Toronto standards – but for anyone who has eaten good Japanese food, it’s mighty slim pickings…with the exception of Yasu.  Vancouver, on the other hand, is another story.  Akemi and I hit Maumi Sushi on our first week back, then Raisu on 4th and Kinome on West Broadway.  Check out the giant bowl of tonkatsu curry udon from Raisu.  Every time I eat at one of these places, it makes me home-away-from-homesick for Japan.  The plan is to head back in September (with a potential stopover in Hong Kong), but only if we can find someone to take care of our two little ladies while we’re away.  They’re older girls and need a lot more TLC and, above all, patience.

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To those asking – the condo searching is progressing slowly.  How difficult is it too find a place that: 1. Is open and gets a lot of natural light, 2. Is pet-friendly, 3. Has a patio (not a balcony), 4. Is air-conditioned, 5. Is well-located?  Apparently, very difficult.  In the meantime, I am slowly packing away books, toys, and other sundries so that the house can look its best when we show it in July.  I’m not really a motivated seller, more of a disinterested one, driven more by curiosity than anything.  Who knows?  Maybe someone will make us an offer we can’t refuse.

But that’s a problem for another month.  Coming up in June, Dark Matter gets my full attention as the writers’ room convenes for the show’s fourth season.  I’m not saying we’ll definitely get a fourth year but our ratings have been solid in North America and internationally (more on that in the coming days) and season 3 promises some really great episodes (more on this in the coming days).  Whereas season 1 was about the search for answers and was bookended by the revelation that our crew are criminals and their eventual arrest, season 2 hinted at darker conspiracies and a concerted drive for redemption – that literally ended up blowing up in our anti-villains’ faces.  In season 3, we’ll be kicking off the corporate war, our crew’s past comes back to haunt particularly in the form of a former friend turned nemesis, and ends in grand fashion – with the closing of one chapter and the start of another. Each season is bigger than the one that preceded it and, after watching season 3, I’m sure you’ll agree: we’ll have our work cut out for us topping this one.

But I have a few ideas…

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

May 28, 2017: Vancouver dogs!

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Suji has really settled into the Vancouver groove, making a daily habit of exploring the backyard, staking out her favorite dog beds, and being generally cantankerous around any visitors to her new home.  If you ever met her, she’d either ignore you or direct a incessant barrage of barks your way.  Like most celebrities, she’s a lot different in person – not quite the sweetheart you see on screen.  But adorable nevertheless.

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The bitter taste of Woodstock’s insolence!

Lulu on the other hand, may look like a little terror, but is the sweetest, gentlest dog you could ever hope to meet.

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As happy as she was to pack up her gear and relocate back to the west coast, she is clearly a Toronto gal at heart – partly for its dog parks, partly for the greater likelihood that people will stop and pay attention to her on its downtown streets, and partly because she’s been hanging around with Ivon Bartok too long.

May 27, 2017: Dark Matter goodies!

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Hey, help me out here.  What the heck is going on in the above screen grab?  Fan theories are go!

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Dark Matter behind the scenes – Actor Anthony Lemke (THREE) and Co-Executive Producer Ivon Bartok in animated debate.

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Dark Matter behind the scenes – Production Day 1 of 91!

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Director Paul Day field actor Roger Cross’s “You really want me to deliver the line THAT way?” look.

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Director John Stead runs through the scene.

Well, I’ve almost completed my reviews of the relevant materials and am a couple of days away from announcing the Rogue Star nominees in the categories of Best Genre Short Story, Best Genre Novelette, Best Genre Novel, and Best Comic Book Series – of 2016.  No selection committee.  No panel of esteemed judges.  Just me…and my opinion.  So, like every other award out there, it’s completely subjective!

May 26, 2017: 2 weeks to the Dark Matter double-episode season 3 premiere!

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I can hardly believe that we’re only two weeks away from Dark Matter’s double episode premiere.  It doesn’t feel that long ago that we were in the writers’ room, fruitlessly spinning our wheels in an attempt to gain creative traction on stories for the show’s third season.  Not that long ago that I sat down to write episode 304 (“All The Time In the World”) armed with nothing but a vague notion of a story – and a very definite deadline.  No, not that long ago at all that I received news that forced me scuttle a planned story and come up with a totally crazy script for episode 309 (“Isn’t That A Paradox?”).  And yet, here we are!

So, what lies ahead for our crew of badass mercenaries?  Well, this –

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And that –

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Oh.  And that –

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But you’ll all know soon enough.

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Dark Matter’s baddest bad boy, Alex Mallari Jr. (and his buddy, Bo), make HuffPost’s list of –

23 Crazy-Fine Asian Dudes Who Don’t Conform To Western Standards Of Hotness

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Hey!  Got a question for Dark Matter’s Anthony Lemke and/or Melissa O’Neil? Head on over to the SpaceChannel twitter feed and post them.

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

May 25, 2017: A celebrity Suji sighting!

“She’s more popular than you!”said Akemi.  The “she” being Suji and the “you”, of course, being me.

We were taking the dogs for a walk down west fourth avenue when we happened by a yoga shop.  When Lulu tried to casually stroll into the place, Suji, of course, attempted to follow.  “Suji!”called Akemi.  Suji stopped and glanced back.  At which point, one of the salesgirls hurried over and asked: “Is that Suji?”  Er…yes.  “I follow her on instagram!”  Seriously.  This was the third time she’s been recognized by a complete stranger.  Of course, like any professional celebrity, Suji played it cool, posing for pics, even allowing the salesgirl to pick her up and get a photo with her.

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I tell ya, I should follow up on Jodelle and Melissa’s suggestion and include a shipboard mascot next season.

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So, we checked out a few condos yesterday (pictured above: me in my condo-checking look) and, so far, not even close.  They’re either too small, too dark, to noisy, or too damn weird.  We’ll continue our search, but I’m not getting my hopes up.  In the meantime, I’d still like to see what I could get for the house.  I’ve run the numbers and I think that if I liquidated my assets and we moved to Tokyo, I could live comfortably until about age 92 – at which point I would probably need to get a job.

Today’s BTS pic –

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Ruling an empire and being a Big Bad really works up an appetite.  Ask Alex Mallari Jr.

Today’s sneaky screen grab –

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What, pray tell, is going on here?

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter

May 24, 2017: The Dark Matter season 3 poster! Adrian Maro and Solara Shockley!

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Check out the cool poster compliments of the gang at Syfy.  Mighty awesome, no?

Copy and disseminate!  The Dark Matter double episode premiere is two weeks away!

And when the show returns, we’ll be joined by a few new faces…

Hard Put-Upon Assistant and Wannabe Player Adrian Maro (Mishka Thebaud)

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Pictured above – being handed his breakfast tray in our most jammy-filled episode yet (Episode 30: All The Time In the World).

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Behind the scenes – yukking it up with notorious jabberer Anthony Lemke…while poor Jodelle struggles to get any reading done.

@MishkaThebaud

Former SDC Officer and Choke-Out Bodyguard Solara Shockley (Ayisha Issa)…

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P.S. She’s a black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu – the actress, not the character!  Please keep this in mind so you don’t get on her bad side at the next con.

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Fortunately, she’s on our side.

I think.

@Ayisha_Issa

Tagged: #DarkMatter, Adrian Maro, Ayisha Issa, Dark Matter, Mishka Thebaud, Solara Shockley

May 23, 2017: My Vancouver routine!

I’ve settled into a nice little routine since returning to Vancouver.  I wake up early, hit the treadmill for a run (while watching  a couple of episodes of Seinfeld), head over to Granville Island for some fresh fish and produce, have a protein shake for lunch, take the dogs for an outing, spend the afternoon reading outside on the back patio, have dinner, watch an episode of…something, shower, read for a couple of hours, watch a Japanese t.v. show with Akemi, and then lights out.

I really could get used to this.

I do, occasionally, shake things up.  Like, yesterday, when I sent out a brief overview of the major arcs for Dark Matter’s fourth season.  Or tomorrow when Akemi and I meet up with a real estate agent to check out condos in Yaletown.

Watching…

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The Handmaid’s Tale

Presents a chilling alt future with Orwellian echoes.  I was hooked after the first episode.

Reading…

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Irresistible by Adam Alter

A thoroughly engrossing overview of our growing addiction to technology.  At turns fascinating and utterly terrifying.

Aota Productions Presents…

Suji in…

“I’ll Just Crawl in Here…Oh, Never Mind”:

My happy gals – Suji and Lulu:

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