So, I have a hardback and paperback copy of Acheron and a hardback copy of Styxx (kindle copies of both). There were several dates that were fixed in Acheron between the release of the hardback and paperback copies that I have. However, there were still several dating errors. I will use the paperback dates for the purpose of this post because they seem to be closer to the truth.
Acheron story starts with Ryssa's diary on the date of his birth Jun. 23 9548. Everything is in sync until the year Xerces finds them at the summer palace and has Acheron sent back to Atlantis. It appears that the year is switched with the next entry. It goes on fine for a short time. Then May 17 9529 through the next several entries range from that date to October 22 9527 before it switches back to the year 9529, the events are still in proper sequence though.
The first instance where Styxx's time line doesn't match up with Acheron's is on Nov. 15, 9532 in Acheron but it is 9533 in Styxx. The same exact event, two dates.
The next is June 23, 9530 by Acheron's book but June 21, 9532 by Styxx's book. The day that Acheron was returned to Atlantis.
After that, September 19, 9529 in Acheron's book but 9532 in Styxx's. The night that Estes died.
September 26, 9529 in Acheron, September 26, 9532 in Styxx, when they went to get Acheron from Atlantis when Estes died.
The next major one happens when the years are all skewed in Acheron. It says that August 23, 9529 was when the senators were arrested for defaming Styxx when they used Acheron. However, that exact same event takes place on January 18, 9529 in Styxx.
In Acheron October 22, 9527 Styxx falls ill from apparent starvation. October 22, 9529 the exact same event happens in Styxx.
November 20, 9529 in Acheron, Ryssa has him freed from confinement to the bed. However, the event that takes place in Acheron on Dec. 1, 9529 happens on Nov. 15 9529 in Styxx.
These next few could be skewed because of the timeline shift that is mentioned at the end of Styxx.
In Acheron it is October 29 2008 that Styxx asks Ash to let him leave Katoteros. In Styxx that happens on November 4th.
On October 31, 2008 Urian asks Ash for help to save Tory from Kalosis. This happens on November 20, 2008 in Styxx.
The last one that can be compared in Acheron is the fact that Styxx was present at Ash's wedding on February 19, 2009 however, we learned that he wasn't in New York anymore and no one knew where he was.
Again those last few aren't necessarily wrong since we don't know how much of the timeline is screwed up in relation to Ash and Styxx. I originally wanted to wait to write this until I reread Styxx again, but Charlie wanted to talk about it so here we are. Styxx is a first edition, I got it the day that it came out. I'm not sure on my copies of Acheron I bought them used. Have fun comparing these. Let me know if I missed any.
Okay, I will have to post this in two parts.
ReplyDeleteI went through and did a comparison of dates against what I have on my Kindle, and this is what I found:
1. In the Kindle edition of Acheron, there is no entry marked November 15, 9532, but there is one for November 15, 9533, which corresponds to Styxx's book. I had to reread both entries carefully to make sure (because at first I thought I had discovered a true discrepancy), but sure enough, this is when Ryssa sneaks Ash into the palace and then goes to her father to demand that Ash return home from Atlantis. The original date 11/15/9532 appears to be a printing error.
2. For the date June 23, 9530, the Kindle edition shows it to be June 21, 9532, which matches up with the same date in Styxx's book; both dates talk about Xerxes and Styxx coming to the summer palace and finding Ash, who is then returned to Atlantis. Again, it appears that the 6/23/9530 date is a printing error.
3. I didn't find any entry marked September 19, 9529 in my copy, but there is an entry dated September 21, 9529, in which Ryssa writes that Estes had died two days earlier. This corresponds with the entry in Styxx's book marked September 19, 9532, which details the circumstances of Estes' death. Again, I am going with a printing error.
4. For the date September 26, 9529, I found an entry dated September 26, 9532--this corresponds to Styxx's book, both entries mentioning Ash being retrieved from Atlantis. Yet another printing error regarding the 9529 entry.
5. As I had mentioned in a previous comment, the entry marked August 23, 9529 is listed as January 18, 9529 in Kindle, corresponding to Styxx's book, both speaking of hearing the senators talking about Ash.
6. October 22, 9527 is clearly a printing error as this would have occurred after Ash was killed by Apollo. In the Kindle edition, the date is listed as October 22, 9529--the same as Styxx's book.
7. The date December 1, 9529 is the same in the Kindle edition. Now, here I found something interesting that warranted rereading of the entries before that date, as well as the entries in Styxx's book (which still shows the event in question as happening on November 15, 9529) around the same time. I don't see any printing error here, but an actual discrepancy between dates.
So, I took another look at the entries in Styxx's book that precede the November 15 date:
On October 29, 9529, Styxx wakes up, finds out from Galen that a week has passed. He then sends Galen to speak with Bethany.
On October 31, 9529, Styxx goes to see Ash who is tied to Ryssa's bed. Harsh words are exchanged between the brothers, and Styxx realizes that Ash has no memory of their time in Atlantis together.
On November 9, 9529, Styxx goes to see Bethany at the cottage, and she discovers that he has a high fever.
And then the following two entries:
On November 15, 9529, Styxx feels the effects of Acheron's beating, and later finds out that Xerxes caught Ash out of the palace.
On November 20, 9529, Xerxes tells Styxx that Ryssa has demanded that Acheron be freed from the bed, and he is to be given his own room.
Now, when I went back to Acheron's book, it shows that on November 1, 9529, Ash is moved to a new room, but is still tied to the bed; on November 20, 9529, Ryssa demands that Ash be freed from the bed, and then on December 1, 9529, Ash is caught in public by Xerxes.
As I mentioned before, there is a definite discrepancy between books on the date of Ash's beating. So, the question is, which is the correct date? Personally, I'm going with the December 1 date (Acheron) as being the correct date, as the November 15 date (Styxx) seems to be out of sync with the entries before and after. Considering that Styxx was extremely ill and running a high fever beforehand, he could have very easily gotten the date confused. However, this is just my opinion.
Correction update: For date #3 listed above, I mistakenly typed September 21, 9529 when in fact the date in my Kindle copy was September 21, 9532--which definitely lines up with the September 19, 9532 entry in Styxx's book (death of Estes)
DeleteMea culpa for the typo!
Part two
ReplyDeleteOkay, so on to the modern dates. Now, here it looks like we do have an actual timeline shift, as the dates between the two books don't seem to line up. I came up with similar dates for Acheron's book as Kate did--it took careful reading to catch the passage of time, as the only definite date listed was at the start of the first chapter in Part Two, which was October 21, 2008. And as for the wedding ... I really don't know for sure, though I've told myself that perhaps Ash is simply having a faulty memory, as he is the only one who "remembers" his brother being there. Very interesting, really, to see Styxx mentioned as a groomsman, but there is no other mention of him in the epilogue. Like perhaps it was actually someone else there ... perhaps Julian? I was quite surprised to see that Grace was at the wedding, but there was no mention whatsoever of Julian. And yeah, I agree that Styxx wouldn't have been at the wedding.
And of course, the events in Night Embrace were mentioned in Styxx's book as having occurred in 2004, when according to both Kiss of the Night and Night Play, the events were listed as having occurred in 2003. It is very, very likely that we are seeing a timeline shift, though at this point, it is difficult to tell for certain which timeline is the original.
That is all I have for now, although I'll be looking for more timeline discrepancies in the other books. =)
Ok, to start off, thank you so much Charlie. It is really nice to have someone to talk about these things with. I don't like to use my Kindle copies to compare things because it is too easy for an error to occur in the programming of the file. My husband is currently learning how to do those things and it makes me very nervous to trust in just them.
ReplyDeleteI do thank you though for looking at yours and it is nice to see that someone else is taking the time to check what I say. I actually have a day to day break down of Acheron Part 2 so that I could determine if there were any issues. I did notice the shift for the others. I attributed that to the fact that Ambrose is jacking with the timeline and since he knew all of those involved in the books and played some part in them that they were changed due to his meddling.
I am also leaning towards Acheron being the correct timeline, however, it is easier to follow Styxx's when you read it. There aren't great gaping holes in time where we don't know what happened except when he was at war and in Atlantis. However, there isn't any loss of day. That makes it easier to believe Styxx's to be the true timeline and Ash's to be false, but then you have to consider that Ash's book came first and that both of them were so tormented that they don't remember exactly when things happened. It is all rather interesting to think about. And I am sure that I will spend many nights up thinking about them and what they really mean. I have half way done with my 9th read of Styxx and will let everyone know if I find anything else.
You're quite welcome! =)
DeleteAnd it wouldn't surprise me in the least if somewhere in my copies of the books, there were at least a few errors. But, I'm glad to see that so far, my Kindle copy of Styxx seems to be lining up with the printed copy, at least date-wise. I'll agree, Styxx's timeline seems to be easier to follow, but again, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he mixed up at least a few dates. =)
I had actually begun comparing events between the two books, shortly after Styxx's book came out, so it was fun for me to take a look at the dates. And I do know that there were other people who were questioning some of the dates, in particular the date of Estes' death, so you're not the only one who noticed. =)
Could it be because of Nick trying to manipulate Cherise's death that causes this timeline shifts? But if that were the case, why would it affect Acheron and Styxx's past? At the enf of Styxx's book it was showed that a couple of things has already changed, so maybe that was it. Wouldn't put it past Sherri. I think she likes to scramble our minds a bit.
ReplyDeleteThere is a two year gap between when Estes died in Styxx and when he died in Acheron. According to Styxx Estes died before Ryssa went to rescue Acheron from Atlantis.
ReplyDelete