Refs are from the hardbound, [Chapter, Page]

1. [Makaze, 8] "... that pushed the sub along at a sluggish 6 knots per hour."
This happened in at least one earlier cussler book I read. Most of us know, and Clive certainly knows, that a ship's speed is measured in nautical miles per hour, and is stated as simply "knots". Period.

2. [25, 227] "... for a final briefing at 01:00."
24 hour time is used often on the seas. One hour after midnight is 1 a.m., or 0100, and said as 'oh one hundred'. There is NO colon.

3. [47, 394] ".. normally prevailing high-altitude easterly winds ..."
The Koreans are southwest of California. The prevailing winds are WESTERLY. This will bring their toxics to the coast. Wind direction is always spoken of using the direction the wind is FROM.

4. [48, 400] "As they floated east ..."
Pitt drove the blimp from Oxnard out to sea. That would be WEST.

5. [48, 402] "... the Odyssey had churned west, inching her way closer to the California coast..."
Maybe there is a California near Midway.

6. [56, 454] "Giordino replied as he eased the nose of the blimp to the east... ... Uprange and away from shore isn't exactly the direction I'd like to be going... he added, eyeing the Koguryo ..."
(Is he refering to the Koguryo?) This is confusing, and maybe I got it wrong, but uprange and away from shore is the safest way to avoid the east moving toxins. His east heading takes him toward the coast. They turn north a bit to head for Santa Barbara.

7. I don't have a page for this, but while diving on the I-411 there is mention of circling the stern where the seaplane launch runway was. It was actually at the bow, so that launch could be accompanied by the sub running into the wind.

I know it is hard for an author to keep track of where things are and what he said in earlier pages, so that you maintain consistency, accuracy, and avoid reader distress, which is what I got. Cussler should have proof-read it. Maybe the publisher/typesetter/computer made a mistake. I would like to be a proof-reader.

Does Clive or Dirk read these forums? I'd like a response.
[I]

I noticed some of those, the directional ones in relation to the California coast in particular. It's just really sloppy to say they headed EAST out over the ocean from California. :blink:

As far as I'm aware, the publisher issues proof copies prior to publication of the trade editions. Obviously nobody in the Cussler camp is proof reading these.

logiclover, have these nautical term inconsistencies suddenly appeared in the latest books? I gather you havn't found these types of mistakes in the older novels.

Great research on these, good eye! Some mistakes here are blatantly obvious, like #5, but some are more subtle, that most people wouldn't even take into consideration, like #2.

And Dr. Cussler has lurked on these boards. :)

The books are NOT being proof read the why they use to be. On one of you visits Dr. Cussler maybe you can talk to your publishers, Maybe they will put us on their payroll.:lol: The payment could go to the forum expenses. th:

In earlier books I can't remember mistakes of the type in which events in earlier parts of the book have been later followed up with inconsistencies.

Only one stands out - in RtT Dirk lost his Colt .45 in the rear of a helicopter that was falling off a ship. Yet later in the book [or in the next book] he uses his "trusty weapon" [my quotes].

One other book, I forgot which, had used "knots per hour", but only once in the book.

There is always a few misspellings and occasionally an incorrect homonym like "their" for "there", but my impression is that Black Wind was free of these kinds of errors.

Perhaps the young Cussler has not acquired the skill of keeping track of previous details.

b:

I should have written them down as I was reading, but I felt Black Wind had the most grammatical and typo errors of any book I've ever read. It seemed like there was one every ten pages. I've yet to read it again, and will try to keep track of them as I go rather than just thinking "yep, there's another one." :blink: