posted
I thought my wife was crazy, but she somehow remembered this one. On page 297 of the hardcover version of Heartfire (she found it quickly but didn't remember the page number!), Margaret says that she wants "...to bring this girl into the world...." However, several places in The Crystal City refer to a boy-child, e.g. hardcover pg. 179, "Even though my first baby didn't live long enough for me to know him...."
It's been a while since I read either book - and I've only read each once (so far!) - so are we missing something or does my wife get a gold star for remembering? Usually she forgets the plot to a movie about five minutes after we watch it (a very useful trait, actually), but I guess this is the kind of detail that she would remember.
-Don
[My wife just gave me a for teasing her about her movie-memory.]
Posts: 108 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
There's a lot of consistency errors in the Alvin Maker series, especially between the last three books. Most of them aren't major, like this... just details about the milieu or characters or story that OSC either forgot about or decided to change in the years intervening the volumes. Always one of the flaws of the series--it seems more focused on individual tales in the 'America that might have been' involving characters we know and love than a focused and consistent main plot. But what is a flaw is also a strength, in my opinion... these are some damn fine tales.
Posts: 44 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I agree with AreoB1033. (very sorry if I got your name wrong) The alvin maker stories might have a few inconsistencies here and there, but nothing too major. It dosen't make too much of a diference to have them refering to a child you never get to know as a girl or a boy.
Posts: 6 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Thanks, I went back and searched the forum and found your earlier post, msquared. My wife just wanted to be sure she was right. I'll give her her gold star now.
-Don
P.S. I wasn't trying to give OSC a hard time. Frankly, I'd rather look up some old issues of COMPUTE! Magazine with articles by him than read almost anything else. What's weird is that I probably did read them back when I had a subscription and a Commodore 64 and I had no idea who he was. I didn't discover him until almost a decade later!
Posts: 108 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Frankly, I think it does matter which it is, because then if they have seven sons then was the first alive or dead? Its hard to say which Orson Scott Card wanted. You could go 2 ways. The first was a girl, so that is probably right. Or, he changed it, so the second is probably right.
posted
I hope KACard sees this thread. *raises hand guiltily* I was one of the proofreaders. We were supposed to go back and find the exact location of the error, but I've been swamped and just haven't gotten to it. I'm glad you listed page numbers. That helps considerably!
posted
Just to brag, my wife caught it, too But unfortunately, the book was already out by the time she read it.
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
for teasing her about her movie-memory.]
![[Laugh]](graemlins/laugh.gif)
Hatrack Proofreaders![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
![[Hail]](graemlins/hail.gif)
] ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
But unfortunately, the book was already out by the time she read it.
