Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/The Historian/archive1

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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by SandyGeorgia 23:41, 8 November 2009 [1].

The Historian[edit]

Nominator(s): Awadewit (talk) 13:21, 28 October 2009 (UTC), Casliber[reply]
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Vampires and scholars together in one book? What could be better? We look forward to your helpful commentary during this FAC. Awadewit (talk) 13:21, 28 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Queries Hi Awadewit, nice read.
"When the narrator arrives at Saint-Matthieu-des-Pyrénées-Orientales in the 1970s, she finds her father. Individuals mentioned throughout the story converge in a final attempt to defeat Dracula. He is seemingly killed by a silver bullet fired into his heart by Helen." Either she found her parents, or the narrator fired the shot, or the shot was not fired in the 70s but in a previous time.
Is this better? "When the narrator arrives at Saint-Matthieu-des-Pyrénées-Orientales, she finds her father. Individuals mentioned throughout the 1970s timeline converge in a final attempt to defeat Dracula. He is seemingly killed by a silver bullet fired into his heart by Helen." Awadewit (talk) 02:07, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Ah the penny drops ϢereSpielChequers 06:17, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
"The 26-hour unabridged audio book, released by CS," Who is CS and can that be linked?
The source just says "CS" - I'm not sure what company it is. Does anyone else know? Awadewit (talk) 01:49, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The length is criticised but not stated - even in the infobox. Is the book long or short?
First, I'm against the infobox. You'll see my discussion with the editor who added it here. Second, I don't like including the page numbers because it does not really reveal how long the book is. Since each book uses a different font, font size, spacing between letters, and margins, the number of pages does not really express how long a book is. It is better to list the number of words. However, I have no idea how many words are in the book and no easy way to find it out. Awadewit (talk) 01:44, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Would you be OK with criticised as too long instead of just the length was critised? I'm guessing from the subsequent "ponderous" comment that it was probably criticised as too long rather than too short. ϢereSpielChequers 08:51, 30 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, that would be fine. Awadewit (talk) 17:04, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
"The family travels to Europe in an attempt to cheer her up." But their last stated location was a tomb in the Balkans. ϢereSpielChequers 14:58, 28 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Clarified by mentioning the couple lived in the US. Awadewit (talk) 01:52, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Support Thanks for tolerating my pedanticisms ϢereSpielChequers 16:50, 1 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ah! I can't believe I forgot! WereSpielChequers added the alt text and I tweaked it a bit. Awadewit (talk) 01:31, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. You missed one image, File:Historiancover.jpg; could you please do that too? Also, I suggest removing the phrases "Black-and-white photo of" and "Photograph of" as per WP:ALT #Phrases to avoid. Eubulides (talk) 03:07, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I felt that the caption described the cover image sufficiently. I think that media is important, especially when there is a mix in the article, so I think these should be kept. Awadewit (talk) 03:37, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Mentioning media is OK here, but alt text isn't optional for the lead image, as otherwise a screen reader will say some gibberish related to the file name. I added some; hope it's OK. Eubulides (talk) 04:33, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! Awadewit (talk) 17:04, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment I didn't expect to find many problems from two such experienced FA writers, but inevitably there are a few queries about this excellent article Jimfbleak - talk to me? 19:03, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Sony has bought the film rights and, as of 2007, were planning an adaptation. - any update?
  • Carrel - link?
  • dragon in the center associated with Dracula. - perhaps worth mentioning that "dracul" means "dragon"?
  • I'm unsure that is ever explicitly mentioned in the book. Awadewit (talk) 19:47, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'm not sure it has to be mentioned in the text to be worth mentioning, but no big deal Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:57, 30 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Paul Rossi disappears; smears of blood on his desk and the ceiling of his office are all that remain. - this phrasing suggests to me that he has ceased to exist, which is not the case, perhaps ...are the only traces?
  • The librarian is then run over and apparently killed by a car in front of the library. - perhaps The librarian is then run over by a car in front of the library and apparently killed.
  • either Dracula or one of his minions is still alive and continuing his legacy. - how can Dracula continue his own legacy?
  • Can you suggest a rewording that covers both possibilities? Awadewit (talk) 19:47, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • What about something like either Dracula is still alive or one of his minions is imitating the master.? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:57, 30 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • ''They also singled out the voicing of Dracula for criticism - who was the speaker of this part?
  • Three refs have redlinks; personally I wouldn't do this, but your call
  • I don't have a problem with redlinks. Awadewit (talk) 19:47, 29 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support with only minor unresolved issues left, I am happy to support now Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:57, 30 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Dabs; please check the disambiguation links identified in the toolbox. Dabomb87 (talk) 00:57, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Done. Awadewit (talk) 17:11, 31 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • See Lansing City Pulse - it is an alternative newspaper, with an online presence. Here is a list of its editorial staff. The article is being used to cite Kostova's views on Stoker. Here is the sentence from the article (found in the caption under Stoker's picture): According to Kostova, Bram Stoker"created Dracula as a brilliant figure; a creature that is part monster and part genius. Dracula represents the best and worst of us." Awadewit (talk) 01:39, 5 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Otherwise, sources look okay, links checked out with the link checker tool. Ealdgyth - Talk 16:27, 3 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Image review - No issues. NW (Talk) 23:55, 5 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Support - a very fine article and I am happy to support. I read this some years ago, but cannot now remember many of the intricacies of the plot, although I did thoroughly enjoy the book. I have two questions below.--Jackyd101 (talk) 23:46, 7 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • How does she survive jumping off the cliff? Does she not jump or is merely injured?
  • She does jump and is slightly injured - she lands on grass (page 662). Should I add this detail? Awadewit (talk) 02:52, 8 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Can the awards section be presented more neatly, perhaps in a short table? I also wonder if there is anything more to say on this: do we know if this is a good haul or not for such a high-selling novel? Since Kostova was aiming at literary fiction, has she commented on whether she was pleased or disappointed with the awards?
  • I haven't found any general statements about the awards. I've made a table - let me know if you think that it is neater. Awadewit (talk) 02:44, 8 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I much prefer the table, and I think that the detail is needed to clarify how she survived the suicide attempt. However neither is essential for my support, and I leave the decision on these things up to you. Regards and congratulations.--Jackyd101 (talk) 10:15, 8 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Added bit about grass. Awadewit (talk) 01:11, 9 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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