Batman and Robin #1

For those of y'all so inclined, I've posted my review of the new Batman and Robin comic book over at my SF blog, SF Safari.

And tune in tomorrow for something special...

Book Review Club: Star Trek: Countdown

I'm participating in Barrie Summy's Book Review Club today. Since my entry, the graphic novel Star Trek: Countdown, is science fiction, I've posted it on my SF blog, SF Safari. Head on over there and take a read. You'll also find the link back to Barrie's blog and all the other folks who are participating this month.

Book Review (SF Edition): Old Man's War by John Scalzi

For those of y'all who are inclined towards SF, I have reviewed John Scalzi's Old Man's War over on my SF blog, SF Safari.

A New Blog: SF Safari

Last year (2008 for those of you who will read this after 2009), I put myself through a self-education in the field of crime and mystery fiction. All my life, I had read science fiction or fantasy or other type books and never really put my toe in the crime fiction ocean. I read a lot, got wonderful feedback from other travelers farther down the road, and even got a few wistful reminiscences from folks who lived vicariously through me as I read a favorite author (to them) for the first time. It was a great year and I am firmly an irrevocably a devoted fan of crime, mystery, and noir fiction.

But, recently, I’ve rekindled a love for the first genre I read as a child: science fiction and fantasy. The inspirations are many and you can follow the breadcrumbs over at my first post on SF Safari. Needless to say, I realized I was woefully underread when it came to modern SF/F and it is a deficit I want to fill.

But this blog is not the place for it. Were I some name-brand author and y’all returned to my blog again and again because of me, I would start this journey and relate of its exploits here. But that is not the case. I’ve built somewhat of a reputation around the blogosphere as a ‘crime blogger’ and I am so enthused about it. I love it so much that I don’t want to dilute this blog with non crime fiction related topics.

Thus, I’ve created a second blog: SF Safari

The blog description pretty much sums up the reason for the blog's existence: Rediscovering the lost civilization of literary science fiction & fantasy and all the menagerie along the way...

It will be the place where I chronicle my rediscovery of all the joys of science fiction and fantasy in the written format. I plan on giving myself another crash course in a genre where I’ll read classics of the field while keeping abreast, as well as possible, of the new and modern storytellers of the genre. The links over there are all SF/F links of people and places you might know or might not.

I’m not abandoning this blog or crime fiction by any means. I love both genres, but I think both genres need a separate place to live and breathe and grow. I’ll still be posting here on all things crime fiction related. The Friday Forgotten Books will still be here. I’ll still blog about my writing projects (more about that on SF Safari’s first post). My review of the Gabriel Hunt books will be here. My review of the new works by George Pelecanos, Megan Abbott, and Michael Connelly will be here. And I’m still working with NewMysteryReader and a new review of my current book will be posted later this week. And I’ll still write about music here.

So, not to worry (as if y’all even did), I’m still here and alive and kicking in the crime fiction world. But I’ll also be writing about science fiction and fantasy. Come along for the ride, if you like. It should be fun.

First up: How writing a western inspired a fantasy story.

Later this week: a science fiction reading list sent to me by Lou Anders, the Editorial Director of Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books.