Blood Safari/The Invisible

I learned some very exciting news from the newsletter of South African crime writer Deon Meyer: there will be a TV series adaptation of his novel Blood Safari. Incidentally one of my favourite novels of his, with maybe my favourite character, Martin Lemmer. Except that he will not be named Lemmer. I don't know much about it, except some of the confirmed casting (promising) and that it will be called The Invisible, as per the original title of the novel in Afrikaans. I must confess, I prefer the English title, which ismore violent, nasty and well, bloody, but hey. Now I just hope when it will be released, I can find a it streaming somewhere here. In any case, it is something to look forward to, crime fiction wise.

The "Amoral Afrikaner"

Sometimes, I spend far too much time on TV Tropes, either looking for something specific, or just browsing. So anyway, yesterday I stumble upon the entry on the Amoral Afrikaner, which I found quite interesting. I have developed a certain fascination for South Africa, became my father-in-law is from there and because I love the crime novels of Deon Meyer. Meyer's novels are actually full of amoral Afrikaners, often badguys, sometimes good guys, so I am familiar with that trope and really like it. There is just something about cynical, amoral villains, or antiheros who are almost entirely self-interested. I was also happy, but not surprised, to see that Meyer's novel Blood Safari was mentioned in the Literature section as an example of this trope. I wish there was a Northern equivalent of this trope, maybe I could use it in my own writing.

Blood Safari as Christmas ends

As Christmastime is ending and the post Christmas blues is already setting in, this will be my last reading suggestion for Yuletide. 'Tis still the season to be reading, albeit not for very long. As the novel is set mainly between Christmas and the new year, I thought it made sense to suggest Blood Safari by South African crime writer Deon Meyer. In summery South Africa, it is a Yuletide read devoid of the usual seasonal commonplaces. It is the second of his books I suggested to read for Christmas (see here for the other one). Blood Safari introduces Lemmer, a professional bodyguard who is hired to protect Emma Le Roux while she is trying to find her long lost brother. Lemmer is not a perfect man (no character should be), but he's truly good at what he does and has many virtues I love in a crime fiction protagonist. He is quick, sharp, efficient, reliable, he knows how to scan his surroundings and how to defend himself, his friends and loved ones... or people who pay him. In sum, he is a mercenary with principles. Even in extreme danger and when things see, desperate, he keeps on fighting. In any case, he is a great character, with a troubled past, anger issues and a surprising contempt for alcohol (you'll need to read it to discover why). I have read the novel right after Christmas, since then I have been wanting to revisit to kick start the season. Maybe this coming year.

Sunset over Loxton

I have never been to Loxton, or indeed anywhere in South Africa. I discovered the town through Blood Safari, a crime novel of Deon Meyer. I blogged about it here. I am reading at the moment Thirteen Hours, so I thought about Loxton, even though the novel is not set there. I also remembered Meyer shot a movie in Loxton, and he had taken a lot of pictures and uploaded them on his Facebook page. A lot of beautiful pictures. So I shamelessly downloaded one to put here on Vraie Fiction. The most picturesque I could find. I don't like to share pictures I did not take myself (or at least a member of my family), but the town of Loxton has fascinated me since I started reading about it that I had decided to upload it. Its name is kind of banal, yet it looks so genuinely exotic, a small town in the middle of nowhere, at the edge of the world, on the other side of the world. So yes, I decided to upload this picture. In the end, it is a beautiful sunset.

Crimes and places (and Deon Meyer)

I was thinking about this post about the Swaziland coin that ended up in my pocket, and wondering where I had heard of Swaziland before. And then I (re)discovered, or remembered that it is mentioned in Blood Safari, the crime fiction novel by Deon Meyer I am reading at the moment. Boy I can be clueless. Deon Meyer is high on my list of crime writers, although not nearly as high as George Pelecanos. I follow him on Facebook, where I learnt he is shooting a movie in Loxton. Loxton is also, incidentally, mentioned in Blood Safari. I have now a strange feeling of familiarity reading about those places, one because I have a coin from there as a lucky charm, the other because I can now see on Facebook all the pictures the author has the kindness to share with his readership. Crime fiction suddenly takes a different colour, texture, something more palatable, if that makes any sense.