[MajicK]

Perhaps I am just one of those analytical types that loves everything to be set down to the nitty gritty, but when I catch a mistake in a novel, I am exceptionally bothered! I have been told that I complain a lot and if there is anyone else that shares my sentiment, please, I would love to hear of more author mishaps.

What brought this out in me is something I noticed in Raymond E. Feist's "Prince of The Blood":
Page 1. "The first two on his left were rough men...Neither wore boots or even sandals, barefoot despite the cool night air."
Page 3. "...two men standing quietly in the corner. They stood in great cloaks...despite the night being warm."

So did Ishap decide to heat the night within these few minutes? It is a little thing, but argh, it shouldn't happen IMO.

Am I alone in noting such petty things?

[Bardos]

He-he!...
I get angry when I find this kind of "logical mistakes" (that's what I call them) in my own stories.
But in others' stories I really don't mind. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Liselle]

I must confess that I do not find those mistakes most of the time - well, I imagine everything, but usually I forget about the circumstances when the plot goes on (I forget very quickly...), and I do not realize such things. Maybe thus it is better, this way I can't get angry... *smile*

[Rob B]

It is frustrating finding these errors. Especially from a guy like Feist who is published (at least in the US) by the largest publishers (Bantam, part of RandomHouse and Eos, part of HarperCollins).

[matthewajg]

Talk about errors! Not only are their blatant content errors in novels published by major houses, but obvious spelling errors elude editors all the time. Robert Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME series regularly sports spelling errors...and we're talking basic words. If the editors can ensure that 'Aes Sedai' and 'terangreal' can be spelled properly with each appearance, why can't they catch the simple words? Tor is not alone in this (although Goodkind's work is often published with spelling errors as well), other fantasy novels make it to the shelves without weeding out spelling errors which high school teachers would circle in red ink. Is it the speed with which these novels are sent into stores? Why does this happen so often?

[Caly]

Have you read The Guide to the Wheel of Time, or whatever it is called? That little waste of money is filled with spelling errors, grammatical errors, and just plain stupid errors.

I am a former (yay!) high school English teacher, and I was compelled to buy a copy of the Guide for a dollar off a bargain table just so I could circle all the errors in red ink. I mailed the corrected version to Tor. Strangely enough I never recieved a reply back. Circling all those nasty errors gave me great joy.

Caleyna

[wolfshead]

It boggles my mind when I find spelling errors in the books I buy. I also want to grab the 'red pen' when I see sloppy writing--ie. people who use phrases like 'have gotten' over and over. long, badly contructed sentences (often beginning with 'it was then') also irk me. goodkind and Lackey are the worst offenders, but one wonders--where are the editors???

[e-Morgana]

I admit that I usually don't pick up on the "logical" mistakes but the spelling and grammatical errors do seem to jump out and hit me in the eye (I'm sort of pedantic like that).
I love your story of sending the corrected version back to the publisher. It reminds me of an old boss of mine who used to send his (then) girlfriend's letters back with the mistakes circled. Strange thing is, she married him anyway - Believe it or not!!!

[Cadfael]

FitzFlagg... where the hell are you brother...

He is an editor, so he is probably hiding under the table now http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

I am now going to crawl in a corner and laugh my heads off!!! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[MajicK]

Caly, I'm curious, what did they say in the reply?