Ok, Who Edits These Things?

I am currently reading 3 books at the moment. Yes, I know what some of you are thinking. How can you read 3 books at once, Dr Mandragora? I can barely finish a single book within a reasonable amount of time. Or you may be thinking, 3 books, Dr Mandragora? How do you keep the three stories separate in your head?

The answer is simple, dear reader. I suffer from multiple personality disorder, and 3 different personalities are reading their own story.  The only one not reading anything at the moment is Pierre, but he's dyslexic and it's like pulling teeth to get him to pick up a book.

Anyway, within the space of a few hours, I found two glaring errors in two different books. The first error comes from a book I ordered on Amazon.com a while back. It's titled The Ankh of Isis.(And forgive my pasty white hand; the book wouldn't lay flat.)

In this passage, a teen has just hit his father over the head with a small statue to render him unconscious. Oh no, don't worry, this is not a case of parental abuse. His dad was about to decapitate one of his friends with a saber. (Don't ask.)

If you will look at the paragraph that begins with the name Diedrich (I know, what person in their right mind would think Diedrich is a good character name?), you will see that the sentence says, "Diedrich stepped into the light and stood over his father's prostate form..."

He stepped over his dad's prostate? Yes, I know what you are thinking. Just how much force did the kid use if his dad's prostate came out. Considering the prostate's role in male reproduction, I think it's safe to bet that Diedrich will not be getting a new sibling anytime in the future.

Now, admittedly, prostate and prostrate could be easily missed by an editor's or a print setter's eyes. The second editting error is a bit more egregious.

This one comes from an e-book (hence the screenshot) I downloaded to my iPhone. It's titled The Magickers Chronicles: Book 1.

If you read the page, you will see that the character of Jason refers to the saying, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." However, the author, through the voice of Jason, attributes the quote to Winston Churchill. Hello! McFly? Is anybody in there? Everyone knows that it was Franklin D. Roosevelt who uttered those words during one of his inaugural speeches. Though I like Winston, especially when he makes an appearance on Dr. Who, it was not he who said that. Credit should be given where credit is due.

Ok, so not only did the author not know this, neither the editor nor anyone else caught that? Who are these people that they don't know basic history? Sheesh. I could go on and on about this, but Pierre is knocking at the door in my mind. I think he is muttering something about his morning crepes. Of course, with his dyslexia, he could be saying something about his morning crap, and I do not need another accident in bed, so I'd best be signing out.

Have a great day!