Something new. .

Hey folks,

As you know, the main objective behind Pat's Fantasy Hotlist has always been to help spread the word about all that's good in the SFF genres. And that goal has never changed after nearly five years of existence.

These last two years I've attempted to mix it up even more by reviewing titles from various speculative fiction subgenres. Recently, I've decided to give Neil Gaiman's Sandman another shot, which means that reviewing other comic books and graphic novels could well be a possibility as we move forward.

Based on my friend's Émilie's recommendations, I returned to the world of Japanese animated features following a long hiatus and discovered the wonderful body of work of the genius Hayao Miyazaki. Based on you guys's suggestions I've watched and enjoyed animated films by Makoto Shinkai. And there's plenty more where that came from!

I'm well aware that the overall SFF fandom is fragmented in a panoply of disparate groups that may or may not share the same interests. And yet, I do know for a fact that those various audiences overlap to a certain degree. Which is why I'm always happy to use the Hotlist as a venue meant to help people broaden their SFF horizons. Just like some people helped me broaden my own SFF horizons.

Understandably, not everyone will appreciate the effort. I'm persuaded that some people couldn't care less about comic books or Japanese animated movies. But many do. And many other are curious and might be enticed to give those other media a shot. Based solely on the emails I've received from people who rented some Miyazaki DVDs in the last two weeks due to my glowing reviews, I'd say that quite a lot of people who hang around these parts are open-minded and like to try new things. Provided they're good, of course.

With that in mind, I have just reached an agreement with John Smedley and the cool folks at Sony Online Entertainment. Can't fill you in on the details just yet, but let's just say that we wish to try to bring the SFF gamers into the fold. After all, the more the merrier, right!?!

We'll be testing these waters soon, so stay tuned for that. And if this works as well as we think it will, well there might be more to come, with bigger and better things. I also have a contact at Ubisoft, and I'm trying to put something together in collaboration with them.

Don't expect to see giveaways for video games such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Canada, USA, Europe), Halo 3: ODST (Canada, USA, Europe), Demon's Soul Deluxe Edition (Canada, USA), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Canada, USA, Europe), Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Canada, USA, Europe), Brutal Legend (Canada, USA, Europe), God of War: Collection (USA), Assassin's Creed II (Canada, USA, Europe), or other such titles soon. But in the future, if we can get the gamer community into the mix, then maybe all of that will be within the realm of possibilities.=)

The SFF fandom is too fragmented to ever become one big, happy family. Still, I see no reason why we couldn't get this party started! Keep your eyes peeled. . .;-)