In a previous post I pointed out a typo in our copy of Alien Stones, and Kevin found one in The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories. And in reading through the book I've noticed a few more, and wondered why the proofreading is so poor. But now that I've read Cues, I have to reconsider...
Near the beginning there is a 'typo' that is really a slip of the tongue (if the bowling balls have tongues...): 'goblin' for 'gobbling'. So far, so good. Halfway through, when explaining how a ball full of stars could be mistaken for a bowling ball with holes, the ball says: "Ever heard of the Coalstack Nebula?" Of course (as amateur astronomers know) there is a Coalsack Nebula, but no Coalstack. Then, in the last paragraph, the second bowling ball says: "I bed your pardon. We give no quarter." Now this is one sentence after the first bowling ball has begun to "think sexy"; so I think we have to conclude that 'bed' for 'beg' is deliberate.
So my question is: Given that Wolfe seems to like playing games with his readers, how many of the other apparent typos in these stories are really intentional?!
Gene Wolfe's "The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories" (1980)
Labels
- administrivia (1)
- Alien Stones (2)
- Cues (1)
- The Doctor of Death Island (1)
Friday, August 10, 2007
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