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?

The Vapours just means faintness with overtones of hysteria. Hysterical woman? Victorian woman? weak and feeble woman? neurasthenic woman?

The "vapors" in the 19th century referred to unexplained weakness and sometimes a general malaise. It was usually applied to women and sometimes associated with "womb disease," which could be anything from actual female medical conditions to mental illness. It was sometimes applied to men, but usually with the implication of a female-like weakness.

As the term is used today, it would probably work to say "as if comparing France subliminally to a hysterical woman."

Megan Walker! There you are!

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.

Hmmm, it's used differently in the South, where I've always heard it as a more polite euphemism for being flatulent. Though I imagine it would likewise be exacerbated by overly tight corseting.

Though I imagine it would likewise be exacerbated by overly tight corseting.

I have no practical experience, but I expect it would be harder to work up a great...vapour with the corseting on.

Hmmm, dunno if the extra pressure would help or hinder the process.

I'm glad that this past week I had a chance to skim a few pages from Titus Crow at the bookstore, as I'd previously thought about buying it.

This was before I hit the page that was like Melrose Place with the Cthulhu Cyle Deities cast in the principal roles, mind you. Bleargh.