Author Topic: Mistake in Well of Ascension  (Read 4970 times)

Arterial Spray

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Mistake in Well of Ascension
« on: October 03, 2007, 12:33:58 AM »
So I just spent the last 25 hours reading Mistborn and Well of Ascencion (I found the first book so gripping I read it in a single sitting and then went to the store to get the next book and ended up reading that straight through too).  For the most part I was very pleased and impressed by the books (though to be honest I liked the first book more than the second).  However, I did notice a mistake in the Well of Ascension that I found a little jarring.  I looked through the forum here, but didn't see any previous topics on this point.

Some minor spoilers are contained below.  If you haven't read 'Well' yet, stop right here....

On page 216 (the hardback edition, obviously), or in other words the first page of chapter 24, the text reads as follows:

"She had asked Clubs to burn bronze, and he had claimed to hear nothing from the north.  Either he was the kandra, lying to her about his ability to burn bronze, or Vin could hear a rhythm that nobody else could."

Yet this contradicts the rest of the book and the first book, wherein Clubs is a 'Smoker' Misting -- i.e. he can only burn copper, not bronze.  If Vin was going to ask someone to burn bronze and check if they heard pulses from the Well then she would have had to ask a Seeker or a Mistborn.  This wouldn't really have bothered me, but for the fact that two fairly important plot threads appeared to be heavily involved in this paragraph -- the "Who is the kandra spy?" thread and the "Am I the Hero of Ages?" thread.  It was here that Vin determined that either Clubs was the kandra or that she was like Alendi (in being uniquely able to hear the Well).

So that was a little upsetting.  I wonder if that is something that can be fixed for the paperback edition (assuming the publishers do that sort of thing)?


Peter Ahlstrom

  • Administrator
  • Level 59
  • *
  • Posts: 4902
  • Fell Points: 2
  • Assistant to Mr. Sanderson
    • View Profile
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2007, 01:36:37 AM »
Karen and I caught that one too. (Plus Vin can sense bronzepulses for bronze, so even if Clubs suddenly became a Seeker, she would have been able to tell if he were burning bronze.) It's the most problematic error on the list we're compiling, which we'll post once we've finished the book. Unlike most of the  other errors, fixing it would likely require text reflow for the whole rest of that chapter, but luckily it's a short one.

[EDIT much later: This has been fixed in the paperback. See page 271-272. Clubs's name was removed.

And I never did type up the list of typos...and now I have to, if Brandon can find it anywhere...]
« Last Edit: June 25, 2009, 03:06:07 AM by Ookla The Mok »
All Saiyuki fans should check out Dazzle! Emotionally wrenching action-adventure and quirky humor! (At least read chapter 6 and tell me if you're not hooked.) Volume 10 out now!

Arterial Spray

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2007, 01:43:54 AM »
Karen and I caught that one too. (Plus Vin can sense bronzepulses for bronze, so even if Clubs suddenly became a Seeker, she would have been able to tell if he were burning bronze.) It's the most problematic error on the list we're compiling, which we'll post once we've finished the book. Unlike most of the  other errors, fixing it would likely require text reflow for the whole rest of that chapter, but luckily it's a short one.
It was the only mistake I noticed (or that I remember noticing), but then I went through the books pretty quickly.

Soryn

  • Level 3
  • ***
  • Posts: 32
  • Fell Points: 0
  • hey hey
    • View Profile
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2007, 03:05:09 AM »
Oh yes, I remember seeing that too and getting extremely confused for a good ten minutes. It was such a brief comment in the book that I had to reread the page a few times.

I rarely find any mistakes in books, other than the occasional grammar or spelling, but that's just bound to always happen. I think I may remember finding one or two things like that in all of Brandon's books, but none of them really have me worried.

I bet he's just trying to trip us up! To see if we were falling asleep, perhaps? ;)

Pink Bunkadoo

  • Level 7
  • ****
  • Posts: 214
  • Fell Points: 0
  • Ookla's sister
    • View Profile
    • Helena's webpage
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2007, 06:53:18 AM »
I remember being kind of puzzled by that too, but didn't spend enough time on it to figure out that it was actually a mistake.
~금강산도 식후경~

Natalie Perkins

  • Level 4
  • *
  • Posts: 98
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
    • NataliePerkins.cjb.net
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2007, 12:01:52 AM »
No matter how many times I've gona over the metals in my head (Kind of like studying for a Spanosh Test) I still mix up the metals... So I didn't notice...
‘Never trust a teenage boy in a room of teenage girls to be on time.’ (Wievorann Ch.6)

EUOL

  • Moderator
  • Level 58
  • *
  • Posts: 4708
  • Fell Points: 33
  • Mr. Prolific [tm]
    • View Profile
    • Brandon Sanderson dot com
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2007, 11:48:45 PM »
Sigh.  I explained this one to Ookla when we had dinner the other night, but I should explain it here too.

This one got introduced late in the editing process as I was shuffling around several plots.  In the original, way back planning stages of the series, Clubs was going to be a Seeker and Marsh a Smoker.  I swapped that, but I've NEVER been able to shake it from my subconscious.  Kind of like the way that Tin used to be Silver.  (I worry about getting that one mixed up in places too.)

Nice catch, and sorry for the error.  We'll get it removed for the second printing.
http://www.BrandonSanderson.com

"Technically, I don't even have a brain."--Fellfrosch

Arterial Spray

  • Level 1
  • *
  • Posts: 6
  • Fell Points: 0
    • View Profile
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2007, 03:22:40 AM »
This one got introduced late in the editing process as I was shuffling around several plots.  In the original, way back planning stages of the series, Clubs was going to be a Seeker and Marsh a Smoker. I swapped that, but I've NEVER been able to shake it from my subconscious.  Kind of like the way that Tin used to be Silver.  (I worry about getting that one mixed up in places too.)
Huh.  Was Clubs going to be the one who became a Steel Inquisitor?

By the way, I have to say that "Smoker" is a delightful name for a type of wizard.

EUOL

  • Moderator
  • Level 58
  • *
  • Posts: 4708
  • Fell Points: 33
  • Mr. Prolific [tm]
    • View Profile
    • Brandon Sanderson dot com
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2007, 12:45:53 AM »
No, it was always going to be Marsh who did that job.  I actually made the swap because I realized I couldn't send the Smoker away from the team to infiltrate.  I actually added that plot line a little bit later in the development process.  These were all things I changed before I even started the first page of actual writing.
http://www.BrandonSanderson.com

"Technically, I don't even have a brain."--Fellfrosch

Comatose

  • Level 19
  • *
  • Posts: 904
  • Fell Points: 1
  • A Shard of Adonalsium
    • View Profile
Re: Mistake in Well of Ascension
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2008, 11:05:52 PM »
I just sort of ignored that part for the rest of the book as soon as I realized it was a mistake, and Vin tests Clubs as a smoker later on any way, so it's all good.
"Look, I'm just trying to change the world, okay?  I don't have time for a grudge match with every poser in a parka!"
- Dr. Horrible

"There's always another secret..."
- Kelsier