if there was a later, which, given that Blaine Turnin’s neck had just turned a disturbing shade of floppy, seemed increasingly unlikely.
shade of floppy, eh?
Do you think Scalzi pondered this phrasing extensively in many drafts? “I need something amusing and unexpected to remind the readers that I am, above all, amusing and unpredictable… hmmm, what should I insert into the prologue to signal that? Oh! I know!”
