I recently got a new book via kindle unlimited, it is a godsend to me as I read a lot of books. I can't hear well enough to listen to the radio and I can't see the TV so books are my lifeline.
The book was about a murder on the canal system. On the very first page of the novel a narrow boat was referred to as a long boat. I didn't read anymore and deleted the book. I don't expect anyone to be an expert on everything but for heaven's sake do some research!
A long boat is what the Vikings used, the boats on the canals are called narrow boats!
11 comments:
I don't often comment on your blog but I had to send a message of agreement.
When a novel - or in my case a movie - gets it fundamentally wrong on the detail you lose interest in the whole endeavour.
In my case it was Mrs Harris goes to Paris, a much praised film about a lady who manages to go to Paris to buy a dress from Dior.
I love the principal actor, Lesley Manville and all was going well until the workroom in Dior's itself.
A worker, sitting down, held a piece of fabric up to cut it!
Sounds petty but I worked in fashion fabric cutting rooms for years.
Fabric is laid flat on a cutting table and the cutter stands over it to cut it.
Rant over! x
Might have been fun to read that book and keep track of errors - then write a review!?!? It is odd that an editor didn't catch that, unless it was self published.
In The Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness, there are a few howlers, but the worst is an American trying to describe making her favourite drink of tea, black and strong, with sugar, and half a mug of cold milk, and then waiting for it to cool so she doesn’t scald her mouth. With tepid tea!
My bugbear is dialogue - when characters simply don't communicate as normal or "ordinary" people really would, and the plot them builds some huge drama on what would have been sorted without problem by a simple and timely few words...
That, and cars - when (usually in American films) tyre-squeal is dubbed on when a car is on a loose surface, not tarmac, or when entirely the incorrect engine noise is dubbed over as a car moves off!
I am a fussy (and unreasonable) old Hector. ;-)
p.s., it makes me cringe when folk ask how long I've lived on my 'barge' (when it is, as you say, a narrow boat).
Im with you. If you are going to write a book at the very least do your research. I also got upset with people who write articles about their travels and get the details all wrong. They stay for two days then think they know everything. Gigi
I love howlers. A favorite is one of the more recent "Hound of the Baskervilles" in which the "hound" is played by an enormous and obviously well-fed mastiff pup. Later I saw an interview in which this miscasting was discussed: Seems the pup endangered make-up and costumes by tackling and slobbering on any actor near him (hence, the real reaction when he charges the kennel fence) and was literally leaping with joy during the final chase and wrestle-to-the-death scene. At last! Someone to play with! His growls were very obviously dubbed,
My favourite howler was in a mystery book set in the 2nd World War. It was really atmospheric and gripping, right up to the moment where the heroine was investigating an old music box and looked for where the battery was hidden. I might have been born 20+ years after the events described, but I do know that music boxes have wind-up mechanisms. You would think that at least one proof-reader or editor might have noticed that one.
I share your attitude about details. I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I live in the southern part of the United States. As you may know, we have a very unique way of speaking. Therein lies the problem when listening to an audiobook that takes place in the south. For some reason, the narrators feel it is necessary to read in a “southern accent”. Let me tell you, if you aren’t from the south, you can’t speak southern. Just read in your normal voice. We get it. Like you, I have abandoned books for this very reason.
Also, I think if you are going to narrate a book, you should make yourself familiar with pronunciation of words unique to the setting. For instance, the sir name “Hebert” is very common in the south. It is pronounced “ A-bear”…..not “He-Bert”. KNOW THAT IF YOU NARRATE. Little things can ruin a book.
I would have done exactly the same, if you can't get a fact like that right what else is the book going to throw up!
I stopped following a YouTuber when she was discussing the things growing in her vegetable patch that had been left by the previous home owners. She talked as though she was an expert about harvesting the Rhubarb ... it was a huge weed, and then went on to talk about pulling up the plants taking up so much space in another bed, they were Rhubarb. The ironic thing is she's a real foodie and has published a book!!
As it was a Kindle book I wonder if it was written by AI?
I seriously and completely understand your reaction.
1. If you ever see anything like that in my stuff, please tell me. You don't even need to be gentle about it.
2. If the story is set on a narrowboat, what sort of research have they done to call it a damned longboat? It's not rocket science. There are a gazillion blogs out there about NARROW boats. If you're going to write 60k words with the hope of entertaining readers, surely you can spare an hour or two to read around the background.
Sorry about the rant.
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