summerhelp
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Robert Parker in his western books talked about swing out cylinders in Colt SAA if I remember rightly.
guns in books
- Thread starter Jim_100
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summerhelp
GREAT!
Now I'll have to go reread them, and see if you're correct. I don't recall that, and think it would catch my eye but it's been a while since I read them.
FYI - he died like 3 days ago of a heart attack at his desk
To bad, he was one of my favorites.
GREAT!
Now I'll have to go reread them, and see if you're correct. I don't recall that, and think it would catch my eye but it's been a while since I read them.FYI - he died like 3 days ago of a heart attack at his desk
To bad, he was one of my favorites.Stephen Hunter's book on snipers was ripped apart in a Washington Post review, on technical gun terms, and the reviewer was right. 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.
Jim
Jim
Arkansas Paul
Member
Yes some .36 Navy Colts were bored through to take cartridges, but they weren't in .36 caliber. They were .38s. Some of them rimfire and some of them centerfire. I have never heard of a .36 caliber cartridge though, except combustible cartridges.
I like calling it the war of yankee aggression. I also like the second war of Independance.
I like calling it the war of yankee aggression. I also like the second war of Independance.
British writers tend to be awful, perhaps because they get so little first-hand experience with guns. One of Ian Rankin's novels involves a "9mm revolver" "called the Colt 45" which is said to be very popular in America.
On the other hand, the Brits know where to put apostrophes. I read a novel by an American in which every single possessive plural had the apostrophe in the wrong place. A decent copy editor with a computer could have found and fixed all of them in ten minutes. It's not just gun-related blunders that could easily be avoided, but aren't.
On the other hand, the Brits know where to put apostrophes. I read a novel by an American in which every single possessive plural had the apostrophe in the wrong place. A decent copy editor with a computer could have found and fixed all of them in ten minutes. It's not just gun-related blunders that could easily be avoided, but aren't.
Arkansas Paul
Member
If you're a western fan, JT Edson writes very entertaining books and goes into very vivid details about the guns. He's also very accurate. I think I read somewhere that he's a collector, so he would know.
Shadow Man
Member
Most writers make a few mistakes concerning nearly everything in their works. It is to be understood; in order to write a novel featuring more than one device in detail, the author is attempting to be a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. That said, Vince Flynn rarely has serious firearm mistakes in his works. I believe he even mentioned LaRue Stealth uppers in one of his books.
Ronsch
Member
I would take that review with a shaker of salt...
Stephen Hunter does not demonize Carlos Hathcock in any sense of the imagination. The characters that generally constitute the "bad guys" demonize the sniper(s.)
Hunter changes the name to specifically NOT be impying anything negative.
Just FYI...Read his books.
Stephen Hunter does not demonize Carlos Hathcock in any sense of the imagination. The characters that generally constitute the "bad guys" demonize the sniper(s.)
Hunter changes the name to specifically NOT be impying anything negative.
Just FYI...Read his books.
SundownRider
Member
Well, my book White Flag of the Dead has quite a few guns in it, and I never put a gun in print without shooting it myself, first.
It was one of the things that used to bug me when reading. A good story is just made unbelievable when mistakes are made. In this day of internet research, there is no excuse for poor writing about guns.
It was one of the things that used to bug me when reading. A good story is just made unbelievable when mistakes are made. In this day of internet research, there is no excuse for poor writing about guns.
BG&K
Member
I've been known to make the .9mm mistake on accident a time or two, just like you misspelled the word shocking. 
shenandoah
Member
The newsies are a notoriously ignorant lot, they make things up to accomodate their own prejudicial agendas. 'massive weapons cache' etc. They know nothing about guns, little about life and since Hemingway died, nothing about courage. They live, like they write, for the most part vicariously, interviewing survivors, and calling their buzzard like indifference 'impartiality'.
Shadow Man
Member
So all authors are "newsies"? I'm not trying to stick up for some of the really bad authors out there, but that was a rather sweeping generalization. I've often considered writing fiction, but after reading your post, I've come to the realization that I have never lived, know absolutely squat about firearms, and know absolutely nothing about courage... To claim that they are living vicariously through their characters is really a loaded statement. It would be nearly impossible for an author to convey human emotions accurately without drawing from the only medium they have; themselves. And since many of us writing today have not lived through World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, etc, how else are we to gather first-hand accounts, often ripe with pure emotion than from interviewing survivors? This generation's war is far different than former generation's wars, necessitating research. You make writing seem dirty...
My god, I read a book someone lent to me, I have it right here. Probably one of the most blatant mistakes ever. The author's from England.
The firearm in the book is described as illegal.
From Ian Rankin's The Black Book, The Number One Bestseller:
My theory is that the author looked an airsoft gun at or searched Colt 45 and came up with an airsoft version. I searched 8mm Colt 45 and it came up with something called a Marushin Operator 8mm Airsoft pistol.
LAME! THE CALIBER IS RIGHT IN THE DAMN NAME! COLT 45!
The firearm in the book is described as illegal.
From Ian Rankin's The Black Book, The Number One Bestseller:
My theory is that the author looked an airsoft gun at or searched Colt 45 and came up with an airsoft version. I searched 8mm Colt 45 and it came up with something called a Marushin Operator 8mm Airsoft pistol.
LAME! THE CALIBER IS RIGHT IN THE DAMN NAME! COLT 45!
jackstinson
Member
Actually, in the first book "Casino Royale", Ian Flemming gave 007 three guns: a Beretta 418 in his shoulder rig, a "sawn-barrel" .38 Special revolver he kept under his pillow, and a .45 in the Bentley's glovebox. Bear in mind that 007 was primarily an assassin...not a gunfighter. It wasn't until the sixth book (Dr. No) that Bond was issued two different guns: a .32acp PPK and a .38 S&W Airweight. And throughout all of the books, 007 uses several other guns as well. Commander Fleming was not totally ignorant about such things. He served several years in WWII as a planner in British Navel Intelligence.
I've been reading a book this week that bugs the heck out of me due to the way the author uses "revolver" and "automatic" interchangeably (no it's not The Maltese Falcon with it's Webley-Fosbery Self-Cocking Automatic Revolver). The author yaks about the hero or the hero's woman "drawing a revolver", then four sentences later talk about putting in a fresh magazine, or how the spent cartridges fly everywhere. It bugs me.
Omaney
Member
I used to let stuff like this annoy me. I got over it. Now I just listen to my inner voice say, "There's an oops". Writers are writers. Gun gurus are gun gurus. Rare day when they're both. The worst oops IMO is when someone draws a GLOCK and ther's the "click", stupid mistake.
MinnMooney
Member
Slightly off subject : TV show ("Parks & Recreation")
Last night's rerun really showed their anti-guns/hunting agenda in living colour.
The annual business' hunting trip was infiltrated by 3 of the women in the office. When one was given a hunting license she said, "Oh, Ick."
They started the hunt with a toast to the hunt and a beer. A no-no in most hunting camps. At one point in the middle of the hunt one guy stops back to the cabin for another beer just as a guy gets shot in the back of the head with a shotgun. No one wants to fess-up to the shot.
People are shooting at everything and anything. Three or four have never shot any weapon in their lives but are still given a shotgun with absolutely no training or advice. (Exception - one woman looks bown the barrel of her loaded shotgun and one of the guys tells her that "It's not a good idea.".
Unfortunately, this show is fairly popular so a lot of people see it and say, "See? THAT'S why I don't like guns or hunting!" Hunters and shooters already know that the show's content was ridiculas and extremely prejudiced but many got just one more dose of anti-ism.
Last night's rerun really showed their anti-guns/hunting agenda in living colour.
The annual business' hunting trip was infiltrated by 3 of the women in the office. When one was given a hunting license she said, "Oh, Ick."
They started the hunt with a toast to the hunt and a beer. A no-no in most hunting camps. At one point in the middle of the hunt one guy stops back to the cabin for another beer just as a guy gets shot in the back of the head with a shotgun. No one wants to fess-up to the shot.
People are shooting at everything and anything. Three or four have never shot any weapon in their lives but are still given a shotgun with absolutely no training or advice. (Exception - one woman looks bown the barrel of her loaded shotgun and one of the guys tells her that "It's not a good idea.".
Unfortunately, this show is fairly popular so a lot of people see it and say, "See? THAT'S why I don't like guns or hunting!" Hunters and shooters already know that the show's content was ridiculas and extremely prejudiced but many got just one more dose of anti-ism.
The Lone Haranguer
Member
I still chuckle over some of those action hero series of the 1970s. In Don Pendleton's The Executioner series, the titular hero picked two rifles for long range sniping, first a Marlin .444, then a .460 Weatherby Magnum. Joseph Rosenberger's Death Merchant series once had a .357 Magnum shooting through a filled vat of wine over 13 feet in diameter and hitting and (very graphically) killing the opponent on the other side. I was only a teenager in the 1970s and even I knew better. Jerry Ahern's The Survivalist series was more believable in terms of gun lore.
(Side comment: I quit reading The Death Merchant when he and his team killed police officers who inadvertently interfered with their operations.)
Joseph Rosenberger's Death Merchant series once had a .357 Magnum shooting through a filled vat of wine over 13 feet in diameter and hitting and (very graphically) killing the opponent on the other side. I was only a teenager in the 1970s and even I knew better. Jerry Ahern's The Survivalist series was more believable in terms of gun lore.(Side comment: I quit reading The Death Merchant when he and his team killed police officers who inadvertently interfered with their operations.
)
JN01
Member
I'll confess to enjoying the Survivalist series. Kind of cheesy and predictable, but a fun read. Sort of like literary junk food.
Arkansas Paul
Member
Another good action series is William W. Johnstone's Ashes series. They too are predictable but entertaining none the less. He seems to be very knowledgable about the weapons they use, and they go into good detail about a lot of them.
Arkansas Paul,
William Johnstone died several years ago and the publisher has continued issuing novels under his name but written by contract writers (ghosts). Sometimes these ghosts are given credit and sometimes not.
I know one of the writers; he is a Korean and Vietnam vet and is very gun savvy. He also researches extensively to add realism to his work. He writes for two or three dead writers.
There are a few well-known, but dead, authors whose works still keep coming out. These works are generally what writers call “generic” or “formula” works. Some are good and some are not so good.
* * *
Lance MacHenry stopped atop the hill and looked down upon the slumbering, sleepy, somnolent village. He pulled his automatic revolver from his holster and checked the clip. Yes, a full magazine of .45 ACP. This year of 1869 was going to be busy...
William Johnstone died several years ago and the publisher has continued issuing novels under his name but written by contract writers (ghosts). Sometimes these ghosts are given credit and sometimes not.
I know one of the writers; he is a Korean and Vietnam vet and is very gun savvy. He also researches extensively to add realism to his work. He writes for two or three dead writers.
There are a few well-known, but dead, authors whose works still keep coming out. These works are generally what writers call “generic” or “formula” works. Some are good and some are not so good.
* * *
Lance MacHenry stopped atop the hill and looked down upon the slumbering, sleepy, somnolent village. He pulled his automatic revolver from his holster and checked the clip. Yes, a full magazine of .45 ACP. This year of 1869 was going to be busy...
MikePGS
Member
I'm a big Harry Turtledove fan and he does a good job in general when it comes to guns. I particularly like that in his novel "Guns of the South" he gives the CSA AK-47's. This is a well thought out choice giving people who are almost entirely unfamiliar with "modern" style weapons a gun that is easy to maintain and that is also rugged under adverse conditions. The only slight I could have against him at all is in his Timeline-491 series. In that series the US Army has .45 caliber automatics in spite of the fact that the mormons don't want anything at all to do with the U.S.A. and are in fact waging a war against them. It's not really a big deal but it just irked me a bit.
Arkansas Paul
Member
ClayInTX, I did not know that about Johnstone. That sucks. The Ashes series however, was started in 1983, and definately by him. I'm not sure if he finished the series or a ghost writer did. The ones currently being produced are just second or third printings. I did notice that there are a lot of new westerns cropping up under his name. Didn't know he died.
I've got one book out, (Monster Hunter International) one coming in September, (Monster Hunter Vendetta) and three more sold to Baen in two series. I'm also 95% done with taking the old Welcome Back, Mr. Nightcrawler thread from here on THR and selling it as a trilogy of thrillers. I'm a national bestseller and I used to own a machinegun store. Yes. It is good to be me.
If you've read Monster Hunter International, then you know I'm a gun geek that prides himself on getting stuff right. I've also got alpha readers from all sorts of different backgrounds, and when I screw things up in their areas of expertise, hopefully they catch it.
I'm also a research nerd, so I don't just get hung up on guns, but I try to get as much correct as possible, but frankly, unless you are an expert on that topic, it is darn near impossible to get every detail correct. You just cover too much ground and for most of them you aren't writing about the hardware.
I've got an alternative history/fantasy set in 1932 coming out from Baen in 2011, and I read probably thirty history books about 1900-1940. I got the equivelent to a bachelor's degree about the first half of the century getting this one book written and I'm still absolutely positive that I'll probably get something wrong.
Not the gun stuff though. Because this is a fantasy the guns exist because I said so. John Browning lived several more years. And he was a techno-mage.
In defense of the writers who do screw up. Writing books is actually, you know, kind of hard, so cut them some slack.
If you've read Monster Hunter International, then you know I'm a gun geek that prides himself on getting stuff right. I've also got alpha readers from all sorts of different backgrounds, and when I screw things up in their areas of expertise, hopefully they catch it.
I'm also a research nerd, so I don't just get hung up on guns, but I try to get as much correct as possible, but frankly, unless you are an expert on that topic, it is darn near impossible to get every detail correct. You just cover too much ground and for most of them you aren't writing about the hardware.
I've got an alternative history/fantasy set in 1932 coming out from Baen in 2011, and I read probably thirty history books about 1900-1940. I got the equivelent to a bachelor's degree about the first half of the century getting this one book written and I'm still absolutely positive that I'll probably get something wrong.
Not the gun stuff though. Because this is a fantasy the guns exist because I said so. John Browning lived several more years. And he was a techno-mage.
In defense of the writers who do screw up. Writing books is actually, you know, kind of hard, so cut them some slack.
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