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.

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.

That guy is a little effusive in all the wrong places. It's nothing like Romeo and Juliet. It's romantic, but realistic. The great thing about Gabriel Garcia Marquez is that he's never angsty even when tragic things are happening.

De-lurking with a question for the literary hivemind (especially readers of historical fiction):

I'm editing an article that mentions a comment by Colin Powell about the French ambassador. "[Colin Powell said] Hubert Védrine must have gotten the "vapors," as if comparing France subliminally to a menopausal woman."

Is the “vapors” a menopause reference? I thought it could refer to a woman of any age, but I realize now I’m not sure exactly what this expression means. If it is not a menopause thing, can anyone suggest a quick fix for the sentence?

Thanks in advance as I'll be dark for the next few days.

I was under the impression "getting the vapors" was simply getting dizzy and faint due to some unpleasantness. I think that Victorian women of the middle and upper classes were more prone to the problem due to overly tight corseting. I'm not the world's best at catching menstruation references. But why blame something on bleeding when you can blame it on fashion?