I picked up a romance novel for 25 cents because it's got the great "gorgeous orphan who might be a missing princess" plotline. The gauche brute who is apparently the hero of the piece siezes her in a fit of passion and lays a kiss on her. He tries to French kiss her, and she yanks loose. "You licked me!" I dropped the book, laughing. It might be a keeper just for that.

A depressing piece from Salon:

"Gabriel García Márquez appears to have finally succumbed to Hollywood's call, signing over the film rights to 'Love in the Time of Cholera,'" reports the Guardian. Marquez reportedly sold the story to Stone Village Pictures for between $1 million and $3 million, and while no directors or cast have been set, "the names of Nicole Kidman (!?!!?!!) and Jude Law (!?!!?!)are already circulating" for the romantic leads. Marquez, despite selling millions of books through the years, is believed to be worried about his finances after several bad investments. The writer, 76, is battling cancer, and has also faced attacks in recent years (most prominently by Susan Sontag) because of his fierce loyalty to Fidel Castro.

Oh dear.

If he needs the money, though ...

If he needs the money he should do it. Heck, if he even wants the money he should do it.

The movie doesn't change his book.

Sure -- of all people he should be the one to make hoards of money off of exploiting his own work.

I have no problem with him selling the book, it's just the inevitable crappy movie they're going to make with Nicole Kidman cast as a Colombian woman. This is the link to the Guardian article

Nicole Kidman cast as a Colombian woman

Oh dear, she's going to do an accent and get an Oscar, isn't she?

the names of Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are already circulating

Is that just because they wrapped that other period angsty love story?

I've never read the book, but "best love story since Romeo & Juliet" isn't the kind of rec that's gonna get me in. R&J were self-centred whiners.

Also! The article spoils the book. I'd never have guessed. I am ruined.

Hey, 1 to 3 mill is nothing to sneeze at. As Alan Moore said about League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , the movie didn't ruin the books, they're right there on his shelf. All the crappy movie did was lose money for the dolts who signed off on the script. If the swag keeps GGM on the go, more power to him.

Hey, anybody out there read The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker? I'm about halfway through it. Neat, but missing something, I'm feeling. Blurb on the back was mildly misleading, saying "No clunky analogy of medieval Europe here" from SFX Magazine. Maybe not as clunky as some, but ain't no way the Holy War is anything but a straight up rip of the Crusades, stroke for stroke. The substitution of Hindu-style mono-polytheism for Catholicism is kinda neat, but not distracting enough. The central "god-like son pursuing god-like father" trip is an interesting switch, though. He's kinda beating the umlaut into the ground, too. The wacky name thing might be more affecting if he didn't keep dropping European titles like "duke" and "earl" into the mix.

Yes, I'm a setting nazi. Probably should have mentioned that before.

World setting quibbles aside, it still feels like it's missing something, though. Not sure what, maybe when I'm finished I'll be able to see it.