Charlaine Harris Book/Show Group discussion
Errors in books
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Grammar is not my strong point but I've noticed a few things here and there. Sometimes, I'm not entirely sure it's a true error but the syntax is choppy. I've had to eyeball a few sentences here and there and wonder how they got past the editor.
I haven't noticed that much in the way of spelling errors. But the continuity errors get me. Debbie says she's a werelynx in Dead to the World, but from then on, she's a werefox. Also in Dead to the World, Chow is the one that screwed up with the witch, but later they claim that Clancy killed her.
Meanwhile, Clancy was supposedly killed by the witches, but appears in all the later books--though that may just be a sloppy plot point.
Yea, you pretty much have to look at the overall picture with her books. If not, you can easily get caught on the poor editing and forget that the story itself is what's great.I let a guy that I work with borrow DUD. Before I handed him the book, I said, "Ignore all of the mistakes in the text and just think about the story. CH isn't so much a good writer as she is a good storyteller."
Still rooting for Bill. I know he was tricky in the beginning. BUT he has been there for her through out the series as much as his Sheriff allows.Also, CH is an amazing author/writer: her series our my #1 favorite!!! And as I read others series; they seem to have the same issues with continuity (haven't found much spelling errors either)
ITS GOOD STUFF!
The error that bothers me the most was in the first book the misspelling of Charles Addams, there are 2 'D's NOT 1!
I agree the errors are a distraction at times but the job of the writer is to tell the story and CH does a great job of that. The errors should be caught by the editor. If I was her I would fire the editor and get a new one lol. yes I know thats a little extreme, but what other books do you find with this many errors. not a whole lot. Anyway I just enjoy the stories and overlook the errors as much as I can. S.R.
Well, the thing with editors is...well they are the first to go when the economy starts to tank or when corners need to be cut. They just don't have good editors anymore. (I should know, my mom was one!)
Actually, after I noticed some continuity errors, in the very next book, Charlaine's acknowledgment page mentioned thanks to her NEW continuity person! So I guess they caught up with the problems eventually.
Yeah, I think having a dedicated continuity person would be nice, not having to remember all those pesky details, etc etc.
Michelle M. wrote: "I haven't noticed that much in the way of spelling errors. But the continuity errors get me. Debbie says she's a werelynx in Dead to the World, but from then on, she's a werefox. Also in Dead t..."
I totally caught that. With all the editors, how could this happen?
There aren't as many editors out there as you'd think.
And a darn shame too, because I'd like to be one!
Yeah you would be real good at that Michelle. You shoudl major in English in college and be an editor. It would be a good paying job doing something you really love. Notice my error right there. I can spell adeqetly good,and have spell check. I just have other things on my mind. Playing guitar, and taking care of bidness,my animals, and maintaining my groovy,way cool attitude. I have noticed for a long time I make spelling errors that make me look totally illiterate. Oh well one must get high and play guitar and have a scene beyond Sookie! Pass that reefer while I tune up my guitar. Then switch it to HBO,LOL.
Didn't they actually find Clancy almost dead? Nursed him back and he seemed meaner or something I recall in All Together Dead I think they mentioned something like that in the beginning.
At the meeting in Fangtasia before they left for the summit
Sookie explained it but they did not mention it in the previous book, they said he died.
Clancy was the vampire taken in the witch war. The witches drained him one vactuainer short of dead and his recovery made him snappy and bitter?
I noticed a few grammar mistakes but it did not change my atttitude about the books. I love them.
I would also love to be an editor but they are the worst paying jobs in the world, unless you are taken under the wing of a very famous author. A starting editor in New York can't get more than $12,000 a year, and that is nowhere near enough to live on (especially in New York City!)
In Dead to the World, they actually imply he's dead. The Were Witches returned his clothes. Then in the next book, lo and behold, Clancy's alive! I think it's mentioned that he was never a happy camper and that incident sealed the deal on his nasty attitude. Cary, I actually was an English major and tried to get a job in editorial after graduation. Unfortunately, publishing companies only really focus on those with prior editorial experience, so it's virtually impossible to get your foot in the door without an internship in that area. I was outta luck in that respect! Alas, alack.
Elizabeth, I'm in NY. I think the highest salary when I was looking was $18K. Fine when I was still living at home, but now? You're right, who can live on that! Quite a shame.
Michelle M. wrote: "In Dead to the World, they actually imply he's dead. The Were Witches returned his clothes. Then in the next book, lo and behold, Clancy's alive! I think it's mentioned that he was never a happy ca..."My co-worker just finished Dead to the World, book 4, and she said that Clancy was not in book 4 and hasn't been introduced yet.
Not to be a ball-buster, but:P179
"Our nest mate Clancy didn't return to us last night..."
"We got a note," Gerald said..."The note said that the witches plan to drain one of our vampires for each day they have to search for Eric."
P218
"They'll do their best to kill us," Chow pointed out. "They only made one attempt at negotiation, and it cost Eric his memory and Clancy his life. They delivered Clancy's clothes to Fangtasia this morning." People glanced away from Eric, embarrassed.
Clancy doesn't get any dialogue in the book though. And I probably noted it because he appears alive in the next book when I remembered them thinking he'd died. I remembered him also because in another book it says Clancy killed the booby-trapped witch when it was actually Chow.
Michelle M. wrote: "In Dead to the World, they actually imply he's dead. The Were Witches returned his clothes. Then in the next book, lo and behold, Clancy's alive! I think it's mentioned that he was never a happy ca..."Hey Michelle do what you gottah do. Get an intership by whatever means it takes. I wish I was I Marine Biologist. My degree is in Med Lab Tech. I wish I had figured out what I wanted to be when I was young. But one thing I have figured out is you can be whatever your really want to be. You just have to try and try, and pull out all the stops. You go girl if you want it and take it.
Thanks, but practicality has settled in. Bills to pay, man! If I ever win the lottery though, I'll try again!
Well alwright then. I would not count on the lottery. I would go for the student loan or grant. The President is really pushing education now and if you need a masters degree in English lit to get the internship. Then go to school on student loan and finish up your education with a masters degree. Life sure is getting competitive I'll say. But your life may have taken other paths. I myself am retired at 53 due to disability. But I still dream that I had got a masters degree in Biology, and was working some research in the rain forest or on a tropical Island. Where I had plenty of time to read. Yup Vampire stories!,LOL.
Michelle M. wrote: "Not to be a ball-buster, but:P179
"Our nest mate Clancy didn't return to us last night..."
"We got a note," Gerald said..."The note said that the witches plan to drain one of our vampires for..."
Thanks, yeah I went looking through the book myself last night and I saw these passages you are refering to. I had noticed on my own that she said Clancy had killed the booby-trapped witch that set the spell off and I knew that was Chow, but now he was dead and brought back to life...lol, omg. Is there any explanation when Clancy reappears?
Just what someone here had mentioned...that they found him somewhere after the Witch War drained down to virtually nothing. I think Sookie gives us the lowdown on him when she arrives in Eric's office to talk about the Summit and Clancy doesn't give up his chair? She talks about how he's never been a ray of sunshine. I think he also gripes in that scene about Sookie going to Rhodes, since he feels humans are beneath him?If he were so drained though...doesn't Bill say in book 1 that a drained vamp could take a decade(s) to heal, and only under supervision of another vamp? Unless Eric donated and 1000 year old blood fixed him up right quick...
All part of why she hired a new continuity editor more than halfway through the series!
Huh so after the supposed death of Clancy in book4, we don't hear about him again until the meeting for the summit? I don't have all the books, I have it on order so I can't reference the inbetween material.
I had forgotten that part about Clancy completely. I do not own these books and had to read them borrowed from the library and fast as I could in this order. All Together Dead, From Dead to Worse, Definitley Dead, Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Dead and Gone. So reading the books quickly and in that order it was pretty easy for me to loose track of Clancy. Matter of fact not owning the books and haveing read them in that order I think my understanding of them is pretty good. One person in particular questioned wether I had read them at all. I read these books for fun and dont mind being corrected. I can barely remember Clancy donating blood to Bill. Can't remember the reason why. It must be nice to own all the books. I would settle for a book that contained a good synopsis of all the espisodes. The last chapeters of book 9 Dead and Gone have so much stuff flying so thick and fast I read both of them again before I had to take the book back. Still there are parts that are unclear. Like Pam saying "and Clancy lives on in Bill". Say what?
Um, hmn. Amber, I'm forgetting book order so I'll look when I get home. I think he might have answered the phone when she called Fangtasia, but I don't THINK there was any face to face?Cary, reading them out of order would definitely cause some confusion of events.
Oh well sorry I upset everyone. I just do that to people it seems. But I really love Sookie Stackhouse and TrueBlood. Really an truly its the only series vampire book I can stand. In BDB all the names sound like X-men, LOL. Wrath, Rhage, and whatnot. I think I will browse through it. I am reading In a Glass Darkly. I need to give Sookie a rest. have a nice day ladies & gents.
Now! Home with books in hand! Amber, in between was Dead as a Doornail with all the weres and Sookie getting shot. I don't think he's mentioned at all in that one because Sookie's mainly dealing with the weres, assassination attempts, and Charles. The next one is Definitely Dead, when she goes to clean out Hadley's apartment in New Orleans. So no, I don't think we hear anything of him until that first chapter in All Together Dead!
Cary, you should check out swaptree.com or bookmooch.com I can totally understand what a pain in the butt it is to get a series of books in timely order from the library!
If it’s a truly good book (as these are) I don’t notice grammatical errors. The book draws me in and I see the words like I’m watching a movie but I will notice a continuity error. That will bring my fantasy world to a screeching halt and snap me out of the trance. (for lack of a better word)
Kenna wrote: "If it’s a truly good book (as these are) I don’t notice grammatical errors. The book draws me in and I see the words like I’m watching a movie but I will notice a continuity error. That will bring ..."I agree, I rarely notice grammatical errors, but do notice errors in continuity.
Charaliane Harris is so busy cranking out books she can't keep track of all that she herself has written. I think having read them in the order I did my grasp of goings on are pretty good. Also it proves my point about series books and agreements with publishers to publish so many books in a given time.
Cary, the names in BDB sort of annoyed me at first. But, mostly I've taken to ignoring them. Really there's little difference between Ward's naming them this way and other authors naming the pale woman Bianca or the male detective Marshall.
The names in BDB also annoyed me at first, but you do get used to them. I really enjoyed the first book after I got passed the gangsta rapper names, and I can't wait to read the second!
The names in BDB are the reason I haven't started the series yet. I'll get past it...someday!
Michelle M. wrote: "The names in BDB are the reason I haven't started the series yet. I'll get past it...someday!"LOL Michelle! I can not say I blame you, I did the same thing!
Well some one will have to hand me a copy to get me to read BDB. I was assured by Latonia at Vampire Lovers that they were great! LOL
I re-read DUD last night and there's a passage that's missing a "not". I read it about three times before I decided it was just missing and made no sense without it. But, what I hate worse than anything is when they use the wrong character's name. I go from totally engrossed to a dead stop. It seems to me that a 5-7 years ago nearly everything I read was full of these kinds of errors but it's gotten significantly better in the last couple of years. Anyone else notice that?
Cindy wrote: "I re-read DUD last night and there's a passage that's missing a "not". I read it about three times before I decided it was just missing and made no sense without it. But, what I hate worse than a...""Spell check" works wonders with that. LOL
Too bad theres not a "continuity check"!
Cindy, it's funny but I've found the opposite!Character names...I still remember a scene in one of the Queen Betsy books that had the wrong character name and you're right--my frustration took me right out of the flow! Plus I wanted to correct it, but I don't think the library would have appreciated my efforts!
I agree with Michelle, editing is going rapidly downhill...
I just assumed that some thinks-he's-smarter-than-he-is publishing exec decided it was an easy place to cut costs (what with spell-check and all;) and eventually he got promoted to better job and they hired the proofreaders back.
Lol Hilarious.
I think perhaps the decline has to do with the sheer proliferation of books. In most of the series we read, a new book comes out once a year like clockwork. If an author gets stalled in the writing process, everyone is then pushing to meet deadline because the new book just has to be out within a year of the last. Even though I love not having to wait forever for the next installment, certain areas like spelling and continuity end up suffering!
They would do well trolling around goodreads, finding the person most obsessed with the given series, and handing him/her a galley! We'd all be up for it, I'm sure!
Yup that is one thing we can all agree on. TrueBlood freaking rocks. The books are good to of course.
Being a former editor it irks me! Charlaine's books deserve more respect! Ha! Just kidding. I know it must be difficult to catch every little detail...