Factual error: In the book Teabing is a die hard British patriot, yet he refers to the sport of soccer. NO Englishman would use the word soccer for the game of football. [People keep trying to correct this - you've really got to accept it. It's nothing to do with Teabing being older - soccer may have been used in the very early days of the game, but the governing body of the sport in the UK is the Football Association, formed in 1863, demonstrating how that was the accepted word for the sport even then (otherwise it would be the Soccer Association). Likewise the international governing body, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), formed in 1904 - no mention of the word soccer there either. And it won't be him changing it for Langdon's benefit, considering a) Langdon's intelligent enough to know what he means, and b) he's so determinedly English about everything else. This site is run by a Brit, and it's not getting changed. :-)]
Factual error: In Chapter 5, Koontz explains how Grandma Rowena started smacking her lips while eating, at the age of 75. He then says this same event happened "halfway between her seventh and eighth decades". But at 75, she is actually halfway between her eighth and ninth decades (or, if you prefer, halfway through her eighth decade) - much like the 1700s are the 18th century, not the 17th.
Factual error: In chapter 21 Vittoria states that "everything has an opposite. Protons have electrons." Protons and electrons are NOT opposites. The opposite of a proton is an antiproton, the opposite of an electron an antielectron (or positron). Other than having opposite charges, a proton is completely different from an electron, ie. a proton is a hadron made from 3 quarks, Up Up Down, making it a baryon. An electron is a first generation lepton and is a fundamental particle. As a physicist, Vittoria wouldn't make this mistake.
Factual error: Harry says to Sirius in one of his letters that Dudley chucked his Playstation out the window. However, Book 4 takes place in 1994, and the PlayStation wasn't launched in Britain until 1995.
Factual error: When Arnie and Leigh gives the hitchhiker a ride, on page 265 (Chapter 34), it says that the hitchhiker opened Christine's rear door. But Plymouth Furies of that era had only two doors.
Factual error: On page 25, it mentions that the boa constrictor at the zoo winked at Harry. Snakes don't have eyelids at all, so it's impossible for them to wink.
Factual error: Petra is reading some details about the size of a murder weapon used to commit 6 similar murders. The diameter of the weapon is estimated at 77 centimeters. It says according to Petra's ruler, 77 centimeters is 3 inches. This should be 77 millimeters as 77 centimeters is about 30 inches.
Factual error: Being Swedish I found this quite comic. When the Gypsies speak Romani it is not Romani at all, but sentences in Swedish which make no sense at all within the context.
Factual error: Roland comes from the mountains in the east, arrives at the Great Western Sea, and then decides to travel north (Chapter 1, section 3). This means that as he heads north, the eastern mountains should be on his right and the western sea should be on his left. But as he walks, the sea is on his right and the mountains are on his left (Chapter 1, section 4).
Factual error: During the part of the book where Elspeth Lucas is leaving the Vanguard Motel, she is driving a Corvette. Theo Packman, a spy, has been forced to hide in the trunk of her car because the police have arrived at the motel searching for him. When Elspeth is leaving, the police question her, and shine a flashlight into her car, searching for Theo in the front and back seats. Problem is, Corvettes have never had back seats. They have been a two-seater sports car since they began production in 1953.
Factual error: The author reveals her limited Spanish when she has a character, purportedly a native Spanish speaker, saying to Ingrid, "¿Cuál es su nombre? Su hija es más guapa." Which translates to, "Which is her name? Your daughter is more beautiful." But in the book, those words are rendered as, "What is her name? Your daughter is very pretty." Not only does the author a) mistranslate the Spanish, but she b) gives the woman words no native speaker of Spanish would say.
Factual error: In Chapter 7, Andrea's boyfriend Alex sends her an e-mail to tell her that his six-year-old student has slashed a classmate on the arm and that he will have to miss their planned dinner in order to deal with the situation. Andrea thinks about how bad she feels for Alex and his fourth grade student. Fourth graders are 9 or 10 years old, not 6.
Factual error: Caesar and Brutus grow up together in the book, being the same age. Caesar was actually born 15 years before Brutus and some historians believe he could have even been Brutus' father.
Factual error: Among the monkeys and apes waiting in Africa to be cured by the doctor, orang-utans are mentioned. But orang-utans are not native to Africa, and it is highly unlikely that they might have crossed the Indian Ocean all the way from Borneo.
Factual error: Claudia and Jamie stay in one of the museum's beds while hiding out in the museum. The card at the foot of the bed claims that the bed itself was the "scene of the alleged murder of Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester". Except that Amy Robsart was killed when she fell down the stairs in her house - nothing at all to do with a bed. The Metropolitan Museum would have done some research into that.
Factual error: In the scene where Taylor is making coffee for Annawake, the water boils much faster in the time as stated in the scene than is actually physically possible.
Factual error: During most of the book an idol is being carried around, about the size of a human head, made of a material from a meteorite ("Thyrium"). This is said to have a density one order of magnitude lager than that of Plutonium. That gives a mass for the idol of about one metric ton, a bit heavy to carry around.
Factual error: Jade Falcon Elemental Taman Malthus refers to needing one more warrior to complete his Star of 5. A Star of Elementals is 25 warriors. In Clan military organization, 5 Elementals is a Point. 5 Points per Star.
Factual error: Tr'Hrienteh appears to change sex around page 290 in chapter 16. The prefix Tr' in Rihannsu names means a male (females being T') but in the scene in the sickbay Tr'Hrienteh is referred to as 'she' and 'her' which doesn't fit with the naming conventions.
Factual error: The whole book is about a computer breaking a very strong code, and that for every code a large enough computer can be built to break it. That's simply not true: The "one time pad" cannot be broken by brute force, only by traditional stealing of the key.