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Amarel Derakanor
Seeker
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97 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 22:01:13
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Well met.
I just finished reading the Baldur's Gate novelisation, by Philip Athans, and something caught my interest. Something I had seen before.
Every time the word "Orc" (as in Half-Orc, for example) came up, it was spelled "Ore" instead. While the book was full of spelling errors (it hurted me inside when Gorion was "Gordon", and Torm was "Term"), I had seen this particular spelling before, in another book, and so, I started to wonder if it had anything to do with umm... copyrights, maybe (makes no sense, though)?
Does anyone know?
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hawkytom
Seeker
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USA
82 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 01:05:43
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I actually kind of like seeing a few mistakes, not a lot or anything, but don't mind a few typo's. Nobody's perfect!
For example: I'm reading the 2nd book of twilight giants trilogy and the word "The" was spelled 'hte'
Just the authors trying to keep us honest and possibly cause a few speed reader stumbles...or perhaps trying to keep the proof-readers in check! |
Any Lone Wolf fans? Old school gamebooks from the 80's? They are being re-released/updated, and new books 29-32 being written: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/novels/lonewolfsolo.html
Forgotten Realms BOOKS owned: ALL of them! (ebooks?...NONE! ever) |
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Karzak
Learned Scribe
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196 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 13:01:14
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quote: Originally posted by hawkytom
Just the authors trying to keep us honest and possibly cause a few speed reader stumbles...or perhaps trying to keep the proof-readers in check!
I doubt it. I doubt it very much. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
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USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 16:26:15
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Yeah, they are more than likely mistakes. And yes, I've seen some mistakes that struck me as quite embarassing, like "[" instead of "l". |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams." --Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Christopher_Rowe
Forgotten Realms Author
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USA
879 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 16:53:24
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quote: Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Yeah, they are more than likely mistakes. And yes, I've seen some mistakes that struck me as quite embarassing, like "[" instead of "l".
In my very first published short story, in a 1998 issue of Realms of Fantasy (which, now that I've pulled it out, I see contains a full page add for Evermeet--also, holy crap, it's been ten years?!?), my submission contained a line of dialogue that was meant to do double-duty as temporal scene setting and characterization.
Talking about the reason for an upcoming celebration in their rural Kentucky community, a boy says "Sesquicentennial. I heard Mr. Childers say it to the preacher. It's the same as a hundred and fifty."
Except that the published version reads, "It's the same as 150%"
Which I suppose characterizes the kid, but not the way I meant! |
My Realms novel, Sandstorm, is now available for ordering. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
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USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 18:37:00
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Heh, that's odd. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams." --Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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hawkytom
Seeker
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USA
82 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 19:37:44
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quote: Originally posted by Karzak
quote: Originally posted by hawkytom
Just the authors trying to keep us honest and possibly cause a few speed reader stumbles...or perhaps trying to keep the proof-readers in check!
I doubt it. I doubt it very much.
I was being sarcastic  |
Any Lone Wolf fans? Old school gamebooks from the 80's? They are being re-released/updated, and new books 29-32 being written: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/novels/lonewolfsolo.html
Forgotten Realms BOOKS owned: ALL of them! (ebooks?...NONE! ever) |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
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USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 23:46:28
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quote: Originally posted by hawkytom
I was being sarcastic 
Ah, figures. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams." --Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Amarel Derakanor
Seeker
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97 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 09:09:51
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Thanks for the input! I suppose it's just a common mistake (although a very sloppy one). I mean, the word "orc" does look almost the same as "ore". But then, you would have to be completly oblivious to what an "orc" is, or you wouldn't have made such a (continous) miss. |
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Karzak
Learned Scribe
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196 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 12:27:17
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And even if you don't know what an orc is (but why then are you editing for WotC...?), "half-ore" is pretty nonsensical. I mean, what's a half-ore exactly? |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
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USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 14:01:50
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Since ore is a real word, a spellchecker won't catch it. Also, when a person proofreads, he sometimes sees what he knows is supposed to be there rather than what's really there. Also, if a book is on a tight schedule for some reason, the editing/proofreading process is sometimes rushed or streamlined. So you can see how these kinds of mistakes happen. Which doesn't make them any less unfortunate. |
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Faraer
Great Reader
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3308 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 16:36:24
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Could it have been some weird 'dawizard'-style find/replace error? |
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GoCeraf
Learned Scribe
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147 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 22:08:16
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I remember reading book one of the Rage of the Dragons trilogy. Nearly every chapter heading was messed up. Stuff like
Chapter "ix
" =/= S, thank you. I was worried that they were going with lower case roman numerals for one chapter, but then I remembered the previous was eight. Seriously. |
Being sarcastic can be more telling than simply telling. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
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USA
36858 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2008 : 04:46:31
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My fave typo remains one of the ones in the 3E Player's Guide to Faerūn: the multiple listings for the month of Ukta! 
...Though I was honestly very disappointed that this slipped thru. In Word, at least, it's easy to add words into the Spellcheck dictionary. I'd think something like that -- or any of a host of typos I've seen in 3E -- would be easily found by a simple spellcheck.
I also recall the first TSR typo I ever noted, in the book Stormblade: "Tyorl shurgged." I still like that one.  |
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hawkytom
Seeker
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USA
82 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2008 : 06:02:48
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I've also noticed quite a few cases of "loosing a battle!" :P |
Any Lone Wolf fans? Old school gamebooks from the 80's? They are being re-released/updated, and new books 29-32 being written: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/novels/lonewolfsolo.html
Forgotten Realms BOOKS owned: ALL of them! (ebooks?...NONE! ever) |
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