Rithmatist Typos List

[Kurkistan]

It occurs to me that we could use a thread to list typos to be fixed for the next release. I'll start off with a few things that jumped out at me early in the book.

 

EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that I may be in error, and this could be a valid sentence construction.

Page 11, eBook:
"Armedius was horribly expensive, and you either had to be important, rich, or a Rithmatist to attend."
Should be
"Armedius was horribly expensive, and you either had to be either important, rich, or a Rithmatist to attend."
-Not so much a typo as a grammatical mistake. "Either" needs to follow "to be", in this case.
--Though, honestly, I think the sentence would read better without an "either" at all. But I'm not a writer or editor, so... 

During the duel between Fitch and Nalizar (pg 18-19 in the eBook), there are 4 separate instances of the word "board" being used for the floor. I know Brandon originally had this fight take place on a chalkboard on the wall, then changed it to the floor, so I imagine this is just an artifact.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Kurkistan

[Satsuoni]

It occurs to me that we could use a thread to list typos to be fixed for the next release. I'll start off with a few things that jumped out at me early in the book.

Page 11, eBook:

"Armedius was horribly expensive, and you either had to be important, rich, or a Rithmatist to attend."

Should be

"Armedius was horribly expensive, and you either had to be either important, rich, or a Rithmatist to attend."

-Not so much a typo as a grammatical mistake. "Either" needs to follow "to be", in this case.

--Though, honestly, I think the sentence would read better without an "either" at all. But I'm not a writer or editor, so...   

During the duel between Fitch and Nalizar (pg 18-19 in the eBook), there are 4 separate instances of the word "board" being used for the floor. I know Brandon originally had this fight take place on a chalkboard on the wall, then changed it to the floor, so I imagine this is just an artifact.

Huh. Could you point me to any source that explicitly tells that it is an error, Kurk? It seems clunky, but technically valid (you could also add "had to be" before Rithmatist).

[Kurkistan]

I'm having more trouble finding a definite source than I thought I would, but I'm fairly sure it's just true. I think the water is muddied by it kind of being a gray area to use "either" for more than two options, but that shouldn't matter. Either way, the internet has betrayed me, but I could have sworn that I learned that, if the verb applies to both options, you say "either" after the verb.

A reason for this, to reinvent the wheel, is because the use Brandon uses opens us up to ambiguity. You can say "you either have to be famous or buy a ticket to get backstage" because the "either" is acting on both subject-verb pairs. When you say "you either had to be important, or rich to attend", the "to be" looks to be only acting on "important", leaving the second option all sad and lonesome by itself, with the possibility of a new verb coming in, such as "you either had to be important or wallow in riches to attend".

 

EDIT: So the very fact that you can add "had to be" to the last option is a problem.

Ye gods, I know this is a rule, I just can't find anything to back me up. This is a bit sad/frustrating.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Kurkistan

[Chaos]

That sounds like one of those "rules" that grade school teachers say that aren't actual things (for example, that starting sentences with conjunctions is bad is one of those things. Stylistic choice, not a rule). I read the sentence and didn't have a problem with it.

That said, this is a good place to let Peter know about typos.

[Kurkistan]

That sounds like one of those "rules" that grade school teachers say that aren't actual things (for example, that starting sentences with conjunctions is bad is one of those things. Stylistic choice, not a rule). I read the sentence and didn't have a problem with it.

That said, this is a good place to let Peter know about typos.

 

It was my professor, actually (she did have a thing for basic grammar). Either way, it is a side issue. I'll mark it as "possible" in my post.

[PeterAhlstrom]

Kurkistan is right that some people flag this as an error, but I don't think it's worth changing.

 

The "board" report is really annoying though and we'll have to get that fixed in future printings.

[Kurkistan]

A few more issues;

 

May not be real problems:

During Joel and Melody's first day with Fitch, Joel thinks to himself that "Drawing Rithmatic patterns seemed like a fun way to spend the afternoon" (eBook pg 75) when Melody complains about being set that task, while summer electives end at noon. Now Joel might easily be interpreted as making a general comment here, but if the intention was that Joel was to be talking about Melody's task at that particular time, then it's a bit off.

 

This may be another simple stylistic concern, ala "either", but I'll leave it to Peter:

On: Page 321

"Maroon colorings, dim lighting from above as to not distract from what was below,"

Should be (?): "Maroon colorings, dim lighting from above so as to not distract from what was below,"

-I've never seen a simple "as not to" without a "so", so far as I can recall.

 

On: Page 243

"The Master accepts both Rithmatists and non-; all are the same to him."

Should be (?): "The Master accepts both Rithmatists and not; all are the same to him."

-I'm deeply unsure about this, since it might very well be intentional, I just wanted to bring it up in case.

 

Some of the text in the illustrations might be a tad off as well

 

On: Illustration before Chapter 22 (Bouncing Lines of Vigor)

"Lines of vigor react against Lines of Forbiddance in an interesting way. Instead of breaking or moving them, the Lines of Vigor reflect OFF them, turning in a new direction"

-This might be a simple simplification done intentionally, but we know that Lines of Forbiddance do take some damage and can be moved a bit by Lines of Vigor. Or it might be a magic system thing and it turns out that Lines of Forbiddance get off clean if they aren't hit at the right angle or something.

 

On: Illustration before Chapter 25 (Advanced Easton Defense)

"This is an excellent way to monopolize on the Easton's huge number of bind points."

Should be: "This is an excellent way to monopolize capitalize on the Easton's huge number of bind points."

-This one, finally, is a straight out error to be corrected. I'm not sure if it can be, given that it's an illustration rather than text, but "monopolize" is simply the wrong economic term for this passage.

 

I apologize if the page numbers are a bit off, but word-searching can save the day, if all else fails.

Edited May 16, 2013 by Kurkistan

[PeterAhlstrom]

I did fix that monopolize error. I need to check the hardcover tomorrow to see if it got fixed. It's possible some fixes didn't get into the ebook. Which ebook platform are you on?

[Kurkistan]

Amazon Kindle, US store. Sorry, I should have specified earlier.

[Meg]

I got my book just a few minutes ago. Though I can't read now, I looked for that issue and in the printed book it's too "monopolized". 

[Arcanist Lupus]

The back cover spells "Lilly" with one L in the first instance of her name.

 

I remember seeing a typo somewhere in the book, but I'd have to look through it in detail to find it again.  It was just a mistyping, though.

[PeterAhlstrom]

Sigh. So, I checked, and the diagram for chapter 18 didn't get fixed either.

Edited May 17, 2013 by PeterAhlstrom

[Kurkistan]

Sorry for your travails, Peter.

 

I don't see an error on the diagram for chapter 18. What is it?

[PhilV]

"asthetic" instead of "aesthetic"?

[Kurkistan]

^Yeah, that'll do it.

[Meg]

A few more issues;

 

May not be real problems:

During Joel and Melody's first day with Fitch, Joel thinks to himself that "Drawing Rithmatic patterns seemed like a fun way to spend the afternoon" (eBook pg 75) when Melody complains about being set that task, while summer electives end at noon. Now Joel might easily be interpreted as making a general comment here, but if the intention was that Joel was to be talking about Melody's task at that particular time, then it's a bit off.

 

On: Page 243

"The Master accepts both Rithmatists and non-; all are the same to him."

Should be (?): "The Master accepts both Rithmatists and not; all are the same to him."

-I'm deeply unsure about this, since it might very well be intentional, I just wanted to bring it up in case.

 

 

As for the "noon"/"afternoon"-issue: I'm pretty sure it's right. That's Joel's thought and he would enjoy drawing Rithmatic lines and circles in the afternoon == in his free time. I think this should show that he really doesn't understand how somebody can not enjoy doing so during lessons, when he even enjoys to do in his free time. 

 

That "non-" isn't really pretty but it's clear that "non-Rithmatists" is meant so IMHO there's no need for a change. 

[Kurkistan]

I got you Meg, I just wanted to bring those up for consideration.

[Allonsidra]

/>A few more issues;

May not be real problems:

During Joel and Melody's first day with Fitch, Joel thinks to himself that "Drawing Rithmatic patterns seemed like a fun way to spend the afternoon" (eBook pg 75) when Melody complains about being set that task, while summer electives end at noon. Now Joel might easily be interpreted as making a general comment here, but if the intention was that Joel was to be talking about Melody's task at that particular time, then it's a bit off.

This may be another simple stylistic concern, ala "either", but I'll leave it to Peter:

On: Page 321

"Maroon colorings, dim lighting from above as to not distract from what was below,"

Should be (?): "Maroon colorings, dim lighting from above so as to not distract from what was below,"

-I've never seen a simple "as not to" without a "so", so far as I can recall.

On: Page 243

"The Master accepts both Rithmatists and non-; all are the same to him."

Should be (?): "The Master accepts both Rithmatists and not; all are the same to him."

-I'm deeply unsure about this, since it might very well be intentional, I just wanted to bring it up in case.

Some of the text in the illustrations might be a tad off as well

On: Illustration before Chapter 22 (Bouncing Lines of Vigor)

"Lines of vigor react against Lines of Forbiddance in an interesting way. Instead of breaking or moving them, the Lines of Vigor reflect OFF them, turning in a new direction"

-This might be a simple simplification done intentionally, but we know that Lines of Forbiddance do take some damage and can be moved a bit by Lines of Vigor. Or it might be a magic system thing and it turns out that Lines of Forbiddance get off clean if they aren't hit at the right angle or something.

On: Illustration before Chapter 25 (Advanced Easton Defense)

"This is an excellent way to monopolize on the Easton's huge number of bind points."

Should be: "This is an excellent way to monopolize capitalize on the Easton's huge number of bind points."

-This one, finally, is a straight out error to be corrected. I'm not sure if it can be, given that it's an illustration rather than text, but "monopolize" is simply the wrong economic term for this passage.

I apologize if the page numbers are a bit off, but word-searching can save the day, if all else fails.

The quote from page 321 is correct, either with the "so" or without - using "so" would require swapping 'not' and 'to' in the sentence (as for "either", it can be used preceding a list but most commonly is not, so lots of people think it sounds funny when it is. I do believe a semi-colon would help, though, before the third item.)

When talking about the Master, I think using "not" would be the right way to go. Using "non-" is technically correct, but very clunky before punctuation. Which should also be a colon.

As for Rithmatics, we don't know everything about it yet, so it's probably best to avoid the topic.

Edited August 31, 2013 by Allonsidra

[Domokun84]

Hardcover from Amazon, Page 317 last line, "Exton overhead that, son...". Should be "overheard".

 

Just thought I'd make mention.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Domokun84

[PeterAhlstrom]

Good, good. I'll be able to get these fixed in the trade paperback, whenever they decide to put that out.

[WeiryWriter]

Okay so this isn't exactly a typo, more of a possible continuity error?

 

In Chapter 14 the dueling arena, where events such as the Melee take place, is located in Making Hall.  Joel goes in there after spying on Nalizar and finds his mother:

 

 

The dueling arena was in the middle of Making Hall and took up most of the central space in the building.

 

However in Chapter 25 the narative seems to indicate the arena is in Warding Hall:

 

 

They stood outside Warding Hall, groups of people piling in for the Melee.

 

Am I missing something or is this an error?

[PeterAhlstrom]

Could be an error. I'll look into it.

[PeterAhlstrom]

I'm finally changing this to say Warding Hall.

Has anyone else noticed any errors since 2014?

Edited February 26, 2019 by PeterAhlstrom

[John Flamesinger]

I just finished reading the book *checks clock* 23 minutes ago. Nothing popped out to me.