guns in books

[kayak-man]

Some English classes really change the way you look at books. In one of Hemingway's books he gives a character a shotgun. Most people that I know would just assume that is because it was the most badicle choice. If you read it in context, he was actually (at least this is what I put in my paper) a man who wanted to look like a commando, but wasn't. There may be a reason for some of the gun mistakes in novels. My favorite that I can remember is also in Hemingway's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (yes, I know that I'm supposed to underline the title of the book, but I'm not sure how to do that here) when he refers to a handgun as a "big 9mm." Since they all had 9mms, and Robert Jordan had a .45, I wouldn't have chosen the word big, but thats just me.

Also, it is really hard to be an expert on everything, and I really respect the authors who manage to get all the details right. (I know this is off topic, but if anybody wants someone to proofread a story to see if the first aid scene is realistic, I'm not a doctor, but I'd be happy to take a look. Especially if it will help the Nighcrawler series get published faster, hint hint)

Have a good night everybody!

 

[Sunray]

"...loathe Clive Cussler's writing style..." Fiction has nothing to do with reality. Cussler doesn't claim to be writing anything but fiction either. Personally, I love his books. Find 'em hard to put down. They're not about reality. They're just stories.
The Mack Bolan books are full of stupid firearm nonsense, but they're a good read just the same. So is Clancy's fiction.
If you want reality, read non-fiction history. Just don't believe any history written by Steven Ambrose. He was a plagiarist hack who ignored real history.

 

[Travis McGee]

Clive Cussler writes comic books without the pictures. Obviously they are popular, but they are comic book fantasies.

 

[woodsoup]

You fellas do know that Cussler and Gresham and most of the other authors you're "itching about are FICTION writers, don't you?

 

[ljnowell]

I love John Grishams novels but he has done it too. In "The Last Juror" one of his characters has a 9mm Glock pistol, in like 1971 Mississippi.

 

[Ky Larry]

In one of the later "Spencer" novels, a BG has a semi auto pistol pointed at Spencer and Hawk, but Spencer wasn't worried because the hammer wasn't cocked. A semi auto can't be fired without cocking the hammer. Guess Robert Parker never heard of a DA auto' To be fair, Robert Parkers writing ablity took a real nose dive after his stroke.

 

[Manco]

I have no idea how many novelists are pro-gun in real life (as opposed to merely liking to fantasize about them) as well as gun owners, but Dean Koontz is one such example. Everybody who reads his books always remembers his descriptions of his characters' arsenals--particularly the recurring S&W Chief's Special and HK P7--and he usually doesn't make many gross factual errors regarding guns that I can recall (although there is plenty to criticize about how they're selected or used in some books, in addition to his Uzi fixation ).

 

[RainDodger]

More than once, I've read about someone "clicking off the safety" on their Glock. Sheesh

 

[ljnowell]

More than once, I've read about someone "clicking off the safety" on their Glock. Sheesh

http://www.cominolli.com/images/Glock_Safety_Page2.pdf

 

[Jumping Frog]

I have not read the book, but reports say his villain is a sniper called "Carl Hitchcock", which really defames the real VN sniper Carlos Hathcock. That (if true) seems to me to show disrespect for a hero, as well as a lack of imagination in finding names for his characters.

The opposite is true. In the book I, Sniper, the character named "Carl Hitchcock" was framed for several sniper-style murders and subsequently murdered himself staged to look like a suicide. The protagonist spends the rest of the novel clearing Carl Hitchcock's name and bringing justice to the murderers.