Favorite Gun Fiction Authors?

[Frank Exchange Of Views]

Logan5,

Interesting premise for the upcoming Stirling - I recall a novel I read about twenty years ago, called Fadeout I think, where something causes all electrical activity to cease, but not chemical reactions, at first just around what the characters think is an alien craft landing site and then slowly over an ever widening area.

I really do wonder sometimes what he really thinks about firearms for "everyman," but there would be few better ways to vividly illustrate the "equalizing" effects of technology than to show it all taken away overnight.

I will have to check out the chapters at the website you mention.

 

[Logan5]

It's a fun read, but kind of unpolished in places. I have some conceptual problems with it, but it's pretty pro-gun in tone. All the people who say things like "Wouldn't it be wonderful if all guns stopped working?" are pretty soon having to fend off gangs of thugs with axe handles and such, and change their way of thinking entirely.
He's got some funny ideas about SCA people though, not to mention police and military personel in no-bullet combat. I tend to think all the bad guys would get their hats handed to them by police in riot gear or a squad of Marines with fixed bayonets in pretty short order.

 

[Jason Demond]

F Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack series, is also very good. It's worth a read.

 

[tetleyb]

Andy McNab

 

[joelr]

Steve Stirling

I've read Dies the Fire, and like it a lot, for what it's worth.

And, yup, it quite implicitly shows the old "all men are equal; Sam Colt made them that way" thing, although not in any particularly heavy-handed way.

Without getting into spoilers, Steve's also carefully considered the fact that even if we were dropped down to pre-internal combustion/gunpowder/etc. technology, it wouldn't be the Middle Ages all over again -- there's been lots of developments in many things (like, say, medicine) that would still have huge implications and make things very different. (Just to pick one, if you're not going to reasonably expect that a huge percentage of women will die in childbirth, putting expensive-and-long-and hard-to-acquire knowledge and skills in many womens' heads makes a whole lot of sense.)

 

[atek3]

Michael Z. Williamson (freehold was good and I'm half way through "Scope of Justice"),
John Ross (write a sequel!!!)
Stephen Hunter
F Paul Wilson (repairman jack rules, Wilson doesn't really obsess over guns like I prefer my author's too.)

I wish there were more peacenik gun authors, most gun authors are too fascist for my liking, example, Tom Clancy, what a fascist.

atek3

 

[Highpower1]

Louis L'Amour and heck no you can't forget JOHN ROSS!

 

[ddc]

I just found a new author (for me): Marcus Wynne

I skimmed the thread to see if he was mentioned already; I don't think he was; my apologies if I missed it.

In "No Other Option" both the "good guy" and the "bad guy" have HiPowers. Customized by Karl Sokol. The "bad guy" had, if I recall, 5 of them, cached at various locations around the country in multiple bug-out bags.

Lot's of other weapons show up including select fire M4's; all knowledgeable as I recall.

The author, according to the liner notes, is a an ex "been there, done that" kind a guy...

 

[oscar]

Donald Hamilton. Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy, John D. McDonald and Stephen Hunter.

 

[lee n. field]

El Neil has my vote.

In Stone Dogs, his (S. M. Stirling's) American (Alliance for Democracy) infiltrators into the Domination of the Draka talk about how anybody could own handguns, military-style rifles, etc. before the war – character even cites the “right-to-bear-arms†clause of the Constitution – though apparently by the time of the story only reservist keep “sealed†weapons at home and there are “hunting clubs.â€

Ah, recall that the female protagonist makes a remark to her brother about learning to shoot a machine gun in high school. Different world -- think of something like North and South Korea glaring at each other for 40 years, till it all blows up.

The author wrote in the introduction to Drakas! (a collection of stories in the Draka history, by other authors) that he wanted to write an alternate history where everything went as badly wrong as possible. Those books are fascinating, but hard for me to read straight through, and have given me "relentless enemy" nightmares.

 

[Dienekes]

Donald Hamilton. His Matt Helm series made good sense almost all of the time. His last couple were not up to standard, but overall they were good.

There is a very good read by Gavin Lyall, titled "The Most Dangerous Game". Bush flying up in Finland and so forth, with some firearms. Excellent.

 

[TNGO]

Bernard Cornwell, for his Sharpe novels.

 

[entropy]

Good: R.A. Heinlen, Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey, Stephen Hunter, and of course, Matthew Bracken.

OK: Dick Marcinko, Clancy's early stuff, Jerry Ahern, and Ian Fleming, although both of them tended to be too descriptive of firearms and accoutrements .(Count how many times Ahern mentions Alessi holsters in his books. Wonder how much[or how many holsters] they paid him. ) And there's Fleming throwing in the odd silenced revolver now and then....

BAD: Mack Bolan series (churned out by the dozens and it shows), and most of that ilk.

One good one that sticks in my memory (I read it 20 years ago) is Juxtaposition by Piers Anthony. It isn't so much a gun book per se, it's about an M113 and crew that are somehow transferred from the jungle in Vietnam to mideval Europe. They help a usurped prince to gain his crown.

 

[Warhawk]

My favorites, in no particular order:

Stephen Hunter
Jerry Ahern
W.W. Johnstone

and Charles Henderson (who wrote Carlos Hathcock's biography)

 

[loudernhel]

"The Guardians" series by "steve austin" who was in reality science fiction writer Vic Milan.

ALmost 20 years old but you can find them on half.com


The very best of the "mens adventure" when Vic was writing them. They blew towards the end when they had different ghost writers.

 

[Muzzleflash]

If guns and electrical components (for the sake of argument, let's assume that all electrical devices were fried, but electricity still works- else all the people would be dead of heart failure) were non functional, I'll be DAMNED if a bunch of dweebs from SCA take over the world.

First, SCA aren't the shiznit when it comes to 'sword combat'. I can't count the number of times I've seen some SCA expert with accolades and this and that get trounced by someone who knows how to fence, or use a katana, or something like that.

Second, if I were in this scenario, the first thing I'd do would be to start collecting paintball guns, co2 canisters, compressed air and other gasses tanks, and PVC pipe.

Paintball gun with OC or even more lethal paintballs = a bunch of very ineffective guys in armor with swords stumbling around while I execute them slowly or quickly depending on my mood.

Then I'd build a pac cannon (www.spudtech.com) charge it with compressed gasses and use it to blow people away. A 10 lb projectile from one of the larger cannons would be more than enough to knock someone off a horse and into eternity.

Some of the more powerful airsoft guns would be moderately useful if you aimed for the eyes. I'm thinking the full auto gas or electric guns.

I would also make a flamethrower.

And then, with my army of paintball gun, flamethrower and PAC cannon armed troops, I would kick the asses of those pansy medieval knight wannabes, and cut the tongues out of ANYONE who either was addressed as 'lord' or 'lady' or used those terms to refer to someone.

 

[priv8ter]

Ummm....

I hate to correct a fellow High Roader, entrophy, but you are wrong about Juxtaposition.

The Juxtaposition that I read by Piers Anthony was the third book in his Apprentice Adept series. And while it is a fine book dealing with two 'frames'(one sci-fi, the other fantasy) seperated by a Curtain, I don't think there is anything about an M113 in it.

I am going to agree with everyone talking about Robert Heinlein. I forget who it was, but someonepointed out that Heinlein never went into more detail than was required, which prevented him from making many mistakes.

To throw a name into the 'Writers who should have known better' pot, how's about Alistair MacLean...loved his books, but sometimes I question his gun knowledge.

greg

 

[Shadowman]

I've read all of Vince Flynn's despite characters not taking their Glock's safety off :banghead:

Tricky Dick Marcinko earlier work...
McNab

Appreciate the listing of other authors

 

[Drizzt]

I know I mentioned Dean Koontz earlier, but if you want one book in particular of his to read, try 'Dark Rivers of the Heart'. He has a good knowledge of guns, and also gives his opinion of asset forfeiture laws, over-zealous government agents, and a few other items. This one more than most of his works shows his libertarian bent.

 

[garrettwc]

(Count how many times Ahern mentions Alessi holsters in his books. Wonder how much[or how many holsters] they paid him. )

I can't speak for Mr. Ahern, my only knowledge of him is through his gun magazine articles. However, I do take exception to your characterization of Lou Alessi.

Alessi Leather has a reputation as one of the finest holster makers in the country. He is perpetually back logged from the business he already has. While Lou has been known to give away a sample here and there to friends and fellow holster makers he does not need to give away premiums to attract business. I doubt H&K gives away guns to every writer who mentions them in a novel.

The point being is that writers will generally write into their stories things that suit the audience.

No flames intended here, so I hope you don't take it that way.

 

[Travis McGee]

Another vote for Dean Koontz' jack booted thug thriller "Dark Rivers of the Heart."

 

[carebear]

If firearms went away the first group to learn how to do pike drill in unison and build up a crossbow corps would dominate.

Which means Marines and Army (with refresher training on how to do it RIGHT ) putting all that close order drill to use. Add in heavy and light cavalry for exploitation and you'd be right on the verge of the Napoleonic era with all the modern tactical tricks and communication advances (heliographs, airships et al) since then to work with.

Just as in the past, the "individual warrior" types, of any societal affiliation, would die bravely, in their thousands, as the legions marched on through.

Throw in muzzleflash's modern alternative weapon systems and I'm not sure society per se would be unrecognizable. Different, perhaps more enjoyable for many of us, but not unrecognizable.

 

[nhhillbilly]

Steven Hunter, and Louis LA'Mour western's

 

[Correia]

I'm like Jim V. I'm my favorite gun author. Just as soon as I write the last 1/4th of it and find a publisher willing to print it. It isn't particularly realistic considering that I got the idea from the famous thread on TFL: "Lines I would like to hear in a horror movie some day."

 

[Bruegger]

I recently read Koontz's Lightning and enjoyed it. However, one pretty serious gun error is he refers to the 300 round magazines for the protagonist's Uzis.

Dark Rivers of the Heart is another good one from Koontz (as was mentioned previously).

My favorite Stephen Hunter book has got to be Hot Springs. That's a MUST read.