Blame it on the spell-check program?

[dagibbs]

Incubus Dreams, latest Anita Blake novel by Laurell K. Hamilton (yeah, I'm late getting around to it), page 7, "He didn't want to squeak the mundanes, so...". The word is squick. I'd even bet that was the word in the original copy, but I'll also bet someone (without the right type of clue) applied a spell-checker, and accepted "squeak" as a suggested replacement for "squick". *sigh*

(e.g. LJ's spell checker suggests, "quick, squawk, squeak, sick, suck, ... ")

Comments

[northbard.livejournal.com]

Hey! I remember noticing that, but I have now read that book three times, and have managed to forget the entire plot each time within less than a week. It's becoming a weirdly enjoyable freaky mindgame.

I think I remember there are terrorists involved yes?

That may be another one...

Is this the one where Anita is uncomfortable with intimacy, yet somehow manages to have sex with yet another new person or three, and then gains a whole new character class? I mean...set of abilities.... *g*

Really..I just can't read anymore of them. I start giggling too quickly at this point. At least the Meredith Gentry novels don't even pretend to be about anything except sex.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Page 7. For the first time through. I have no clue what the book is about -- all I've got so far is the wedding.

And, I've described this series as moving from violence with a bit of sex to sex with a bit of violence.

And, on comparison: hot vampire and lycanthrope sex vs hot elf sex.

If I find any plot, I'll let you know. :)

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

About 2/3 way through.

So far:
1. Anita has sex.
2. Anita gains lots of experience points.
3. Anita levels up.
4. Go to 1.

[northbard.livejournal.com]

Levels up happen repeatedly in each book as I recall. Whenever she defeats the big boss, she gains a new class/race doesn't she?

I think she's a 4th level vamp/lupine/Leopard immortal Necromancer/voodoo/witch yes?

Did I miss any?

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I think you're a bit low on the levels -- if she levels up just once per book, and we're on book 12, she's got to be at least twelfth level. I do think, though, the levelling-ups were a bit less frequent early on, rather than the multiple per book of later.

Assuming that most animators are, essentially, low-level Necromancers; and given that she seems to be one of the most powerful Necromancers (if not the most powerful one) in Vampire memory, level 4 seems to be a bit low from this analysis, too.

And, she seems to have some healing abilities, too, and not just for the undead.

Oh, and cop -- crime scene forensics, preternatural crime, gun use, etc.

And, I'd say not consistently levelled in everything -- for instance, lately she hasn't been putting as many exp into (say) lupine as at early times.

Maybe: Necromancer 30 / Vamp 15 / Lupine 8 / Leopard 12 / Voodoo 2 / Witch 2 / Healer 4 / Cop (specialicisation: preternatural murder) 7 ?

(Necromancers of levels 1-12 have level titles of "animator". :)

[northbard.livejournal.com]

Good...now roll versus 'fly is open, geek is showing'

:)

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but who's geek is bigger? :)

don't even care about plot!

[ylani.livejournal.com]

Love them anyway!

I think when I saw squeaked, I thought squicked, but this does seem to happen rather regularly in books now that editing is a computer and not really a person paying attention to content, rather a pisser if you ask me...maybe keep a list since you really were conscious of this and send it off to Ms Hamilton she can blister the editor! HEHEHE

[kattale.livejournal.com]

Back in our day, wasn't it "Freak the Mundanes?" (at least in the sf culture...)

Squick is somewhat newer, i wonder if it was a deliberate combination?

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

squick comes out of the BDSM/kink side of things, rather than the fannish. It has a different meaning. It dates back, at least, to the '80s, possibly earlier. (There are, also, possible association to alt.tasteless in the mid-late 80s.)

It is possilbe Hamilton was thinking "freak", but given the amount of BDSM in the books, I thought "squick" more likely. (And, a spell-checker would probably accept freak as a valid word.)

[northbard.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squick has a pretty good history on it.

I actually remember the conversation in question, and basically it went like this:

Warning : GROSS and Squicky!!

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..
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someone was discussing mind-fucks in the context of roleplaying.
Someone jokingly switched that to skull-fucking.
Someone described the process, whereby an eye is removed and the socket used for penile insertion.
Someone said "That's sick!"
Someone else said "No, that's gross, SICK is when you trephine (drill a hole) a hole and go in that way."
Someone said "Ok..that's really sick..and I wonder what the hell that would SOUND like"
Someone posted : "Squick"

and so 'squick' was neologized.

[leolac.livejournal.com]

there are other grammar and spelling errors. I was disappointed to find a lack of "." on some pages, even with capital letters before them.

The editing could have been done better aswell.

I just felt like a rushed book.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Which is odd, since they should have had lots of time to correct these sorts of issues between the hardcover and paperback printings.