The Signal, by Nick Cook

ISBN: 9781999893408
Amazon ID: B07FDZ5LJ8

In chapter 6, two radio astronomers are discussing a signal which has been received. One asks "what was the power of the signal?" and the other replies "in excess of 200 gigahertz".

I'm sorry? What!? Power measured in Hertz?? By scientists??? Bah.

In chapter 7, "we entered a control room to see … a series of ones and zeros scrolling across the screen".

"Is that binary code?" asks one of the astronomers referred to above.

Well, sorry, but what do you think "binary" means, if not something expressed using two symbols, such as one and zero?

In the afterword, we are invited to leave an Amazon review of the book, and the author hopes that this book "has wetted your appetite to explore my Multiverse Chronicles further".

Sorry Nick, but the word is "whetted".

Later on in the afterword we are told about a sighting in 2008 where "a bright point of light appeared at low altitude … moving at relatively low speed (maybe seventy-five miles per hour)…".

How is anyone supposed to be able to estimate the speed of a point of light without any way to measure how far away it is?

The author describes this strange sighting further, and then decides to "queue spooky music".

Once again, sorry Nick, but the word is "cue".

These might seem like small things, but I simply think someone writing for a living should use the correct words.

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