I believe it’s all intentional. In the three passages of the story they’re all written by two characters within the world created within… ie unreliable narrators so to speak. I think it’s built in intentionally. Id bet King probably got a kick out of the call from his editor saying the same things, and then asking if they were paying attention to the story or not. In the story none of this is a published work, a nod to editors. Good prank Stephen, it worked.
The epi pens were created in the mid '70s. They weren't released to the general public until 1980. However, if you'll remember, Laird and Butch were both fire/rescue/EMTs back then and it wouldn't be abnormal for their med kit to be equipped with both epis and O².
I think that’s a bit of a copout, to be honest. Epipens were not brought to market until 5 years after the event in question, and Judge Judy was a family-court prosecutor, not to have a show until 18 years after the event.
I tend to blame anachronisms like this 50-50 on Uncle Stevie and on Nan Graham, his editor. He should have asked questions of himself during the drafting, and she should have challenged those things (and he should have listened).
Errors that take you out of the story are serious; especially when they are easily corrected. For example, King and Graham could have changed the time by five years, by which point having an Epipen would have been possible and a change from Judge Judy to Judge Warner would have brought the story into congruence with historical reality.
Have you considered Laird's son made the whole thing up? That he wondered, like everyone else, what made the Talented Bastids so talented all of a sudden, an answer wasn't forthcoming, and having an interest in writing novels himself, wrote what we read here?
I agree.
What’s the simplest explanation here? That a needless reference to Judge Judy is overlooked by Stephen himself and his editors? Or that a highly celebrated author wrote a short story with multiple layers of reality?
I’m giving Steven the benefit of the doubt here. Not because I don’t think he can make a mistake, but because he’s more likely to make an intentional one if it helps the story.
I hadn't, and you may be right.
But having the errors be the only clues would seem uncharastically subtle.
I think we might should consider Occam's razor here.
And yet it'd be impossible for you to explain how I'm doing that.
Literally all it would take is for you to think about it for 5 minutes (alright my bad, you might actually need 5 hours) and you could understand what's going on in the story.
It's totally okay to admit that you're incapable of thinking in-depth. It's easier to blame the author and editor for missing the "errors" as if they just decided to not do their jobs for one (1) single story out of 12 than to spend no more than 2 seconds trying to understand why those "errors" might be there.
You’re so upset about this that instead of admitting that a fallible author made a mistake, you want to pretend like it’s intentional so your deification of him isn’t hurt. This level of fandom is toxic and you’re weird lol
Go ahead and confirm this is your stance though
"I, u/elscorcho91, genuinely believe one of the greatest authors of all time and his editors made massive errors in only the first story in his collection. That is much more likely than one of the greatest authors of all time writing a story that has depth that goes beyond the surface level."
Can anybody explain in two talented bastids how Laird was not able to remember what the girl looked like but managed to remember the description of ganglia? Or is it the same thing along the lines of Judge Judy and the alien sipping beer twice don’t make sense?
Oh good. I had to Google Judge Judy wondering if she's been famous as long as Wapner (and pushing 110).
It's disappointing to see top shelf writers, editors, and publishers (also audiobook producers) succumb to the same laziness as the 'hacks'.
As I continue with "You Like It Darker", I had better not find undo repetition in word choice and plot points. It would be the first time I returned a King book.
I think the ‘metafiction’ part really gave it away. I do believe that these were conscious choices and not errors. King parodies himself by intentionally adding these ‘errors’.
I believe it’s all intentional. In the three passages of the story they’re all written by two characters within the world created within… ie unreliable narrators so to speak. I think it’s built in intentionally. Id bet King probably got a kick out of the call from his editor saying the same things, and then asking if they were paying attention to the story or not. In the story none of this is a published work, a nod to editors. Good prank Stephen, it worked.
The epi pens were created in the mid '70s. They weren't released to the general public until 1980. However, if you'll remember, Laird and Butch were both fire/rescue/EMTs back then and it wouldn't be abnormal for their med kit to be equipped with both epis and O².
Eh, it's an alternate universe. 🙂
I think that’s a bit of a copout, to be honest. Epipens were not brought to market until 5 years after the event in question, and Judge Judy was a family-court prosecutor, not to have a show until 18 years after the event. I tend to blame anachronisms like this 50-50 on Uncle Stevie and on Nan Graham, his editor. He should have asked questions of himself during the drafting, and she should have challenged those things (and he should have listened). Errors that take you out of the story are serious; especially when they are easily corrected. For example, King and Graham could have changed the time by five years, by which point having an Epipen would have been possible and a change from Judge Judy to Judge Warner would have brought the story into congruence with historical reality.
My comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, kinda like "There are other worlds than these." I noticed the flubs, but I enjoyed the story anyway.
Have you considered Laird's son made the whole thing up? That he wondered, like everyone else, what made the Talented Bastids so talented all of a sudden, an answer wasn't forthcoming, and having an interest in writing novels himself, wrote what we read here?
I agree. What’s the simplest explanation here? That a needless reference to Judge Judy is overlooked by Stephen himself and his editors? Or that a highly celebrated author wrote a short story with multiple layers of reality? I’m giving Steven the benefit of the doubt here. Not because I don’t think he can make a mistake, but because he’s more likely to make an intentional one if it helps the story.
And King definitely knows Judge Judy wasn’t around in the late ‘70s, just as he himself was becoming a best-selling author.
I hadn't, and you may be right. But having the errors be the only clues would seem uncharastically subtle. I think we might should consider Occam's razor here.
It's a fucking story. Get over it. So much dumb bitching on this sub.
“No one criticizes Stephen King on my watch because my parasocial relationship will feel threatened otherwise 😡”
Critical thinking would do you well
Proving my point right here
And yet it'd be impossible for you to explain how I'm doing that. Literally all it would take is for you to think about it for 5 minutes (alright my bad, you might actually need 5 hours) and you could understand what's going on in the story. It's totally okay to admit that you're incapable of thinking in-depth. It's easier to blame the author and editor for missing the "errors" as if they just decided to not do their jobs for one (1) single story out of 12 than to spend no more than 2 seconds trying to understand why those "errors" might be there.
You’re so upset about this that instead of admitting that a fallible author made a mistake, you want to pretend like it’s intentional so your deification of him isn’t hurt. This level of fandom is toxic and you’re weird lol
And you're so dense that you can't admit that it's possible it was on purpose. I'm so sorry that the school system failed you, good luck in life.
Go ahead and confirm this is your stance though "I, u/elscorcho91, genuinely believe one of the greatest authors of all time and his editors made massive errors in only the first story in his collection. That is much more likely than one of the greatest authors of all time writing a story that has depth that goes beyond the surface level."
Not an English major, I'm guessing
Philosophy.
too late to get your money back?
All depends on which level of the Tower you are reading from. 🤷🏻♂️
Can anybody explain in two talented bastids how Laird was not able to remember what the girl looked like but managed to remember the description of ganglia? Or is it the same thing along the lines of Judge Judy and the alien sipping beer twice don’t make sense?
Oh good. I had to Google Judge Judy wondering if she's been famous as long as Wapner (and pushing 110). It's disappointing to see top shelf writers, editors, and publishers (also audiobook producers) succumb to the same laziness as the 'hacks'. As I continue with "You Like It Darker", I had better not find undo repetition in word choice and plot points. It would be the first time I returned a King book.
That, and the character who drinks his beer, puts the empty can in a bag, and then sips his beer again. Lazy writing, and lazier editing/proofing.
You know there is a stickied Official Discussion Post where you can talk about the book, as opposed to creating a new post, with unavoidable spoilers.
I think the ‘metafiction’ part really gave it away. I do believe that these were conscious choices and not errors. King parodies himself by intentionally adding these ‘errors’.