Lo, Neptune's Brood is coming out in paperback in a few months. And so, I am looking for typos in the first (hardcover, US) edition so that I can get them fixed in the page proofs. Did you stub your eyeball on something that shouldn't have been there? If so, please post a comment, citing the page and line number and some context. (This needs to be a page number in the US hardcover edition only: the British edition is paginated differently.) Thanks!
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Typo hunt: Neptune's Brood
By Charlie Stross
Posted by Charlie Stross at 22:59 on February 7, 2014
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If I report a typo through the "Report Content Error" button on Amazon Kindle, does that ever make it back to you?
Nope, reports to the Kindle never go anywhere near the author or publisher. Ditto other ebook stores (e.g. Kobo et al).
If you spot a typo you need to send it to me, and me alone.
Moreover, if you spot a typo after the book is released in paperback, you are too late.
The only opportunity for corrections occurs when a book is typeset or reflowed for a new print format on a different size of paper. This happens when a book is issued in a new format -- e.g. going from hardcover to mass market paperback -- or if a book that has gone out of print is reissued in a new edition (e.g. the revised Merchant Princes omnibus editions). A publisher will not take note of typos/bloopers and reissue a book at other times unless the error is so egregious that it's worth burning several thousand dollars in billable hours/wood pulp -- for example, a whole run of pages have become hopelessly mangled, or the text contains a libelous statement such that the book has to be withdrawn.
I sent these to you by email, but just so you don't have to dig them out:
(Ace Hardback, pg 269) At 1% of c it takes more than 2 minutes to get from Earth to the Moon. (You may remember from Apollo that the round-trip lag was about a couple-or-three seconds.) [About 22 days to Pluto, so you got that right. (It is near perihelion now, so in 7000 it will be most of the way to aphelion. If you are in a hurry-- go now. If you leave today can get there in about 18 days at 0.01 c)]
pg 108: interstellar distances are off by a factor of 10. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=5000+meters+*+(10e6+km/1cm)+in+lightyears&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
pg 111: 0.001 percent compound interest does not really rack up after a few centuries. Over 5000 years it turns a pound into a guinea with the compounding adding a bit more than a farthing (if I have the Old Money right). Maybe you meant 0.1%, which is double what my checking account pays, but only turns a pound into about 10 stone by 7000 AD.
These are from the Apple iBooks edition.
Beacon Departure Despite looking outwardly human and imprinted with a set of human memories, Despite looking outwardly human and being imprinted with a set of human memories, Through the rest of the book, she normally uses 'human' to refer to her mechanical successors, and mostly uses 'Fragile' for homo sapiens. I don't see why she would use 'human' for homo sapiens here.
The Church of the Fragile
The stalker followed Krina to the air-lock node, where the chapel was docked with all due haste. The stalker followed Krina to the air-lock node where the chapel was docked with all due haste.
Visitors Your motives for visiting this system is not a legitimate subject Your motives for visiting this system are not a legitimate subject Your motive for visiting this system is not a legitimate subject
Kidnapped! hijacked a church on flight, hijacked a church in flight,
Permanent Crimson
(That: And, being a gregarious people, I cannot figure out what the colon is doing there.
Local Customs
So I stared, slightly appalled, until Marigold winked at me, and I dropped my gaze to hide my expression. So I stared, slightly appalled, until Marigold winked at me, and then I dropped my gaze to hide my expression.
A Thousand Years Ago The long leg bones, with their buried marrow techné let go next, The long leg bones, with their buried marrow techné, let go next,
Krina Descending the chapel’s flight clearance and passenger manifest has been registered the chapel’s flight clearance and passenger manifest have been registered
The Halls of Hades-4 The squid rolled in the water, pointing both great golden eyes at me, its mantle flashed silver and red and yellow when it spoke: The squid rolled in the water, pointing both great golden eyes at me; its mantle flashed silver and red and yellow when it spoke:
Unimaginably Rich They, downloaded into regular bodies in the arrivals hall. They downloaded into regular bodies in the arrivals hall.
Cold Vengeance the ground crew—for want of a better word—jetted away, the ground crew—for want of a better term—jetted away,
Jubilee And what nation would be . . . ? And that nation would be . . . ?