Funny excerpt from a Jack Reacher Novel

[PewPewPewCo]

oh god the inaccuracies. Lets list them out.

1. The glock is not named for is mag capacity
2. barrel length does not equal accuracy
3. Beretta has 10% more stopping power lol

He had evaluated the prototype for his unit. That had been his assignment during his light-duty convalescence after the Beirut wound. The Glock was a tough little weapon. Seven and a half inches long from firing pin to muzzle tip. Long enough to make it accurate. Reacher had hit thumbtack heads at seventy-five feet with it. And it fired a decent projectile. It delivered quarter-ounce bullets at nearly eight hundred miles an hour. Seventeen rounds to a magazine, hence the name. And it was light. For all its power it weighed under two pounds The important parts were steel. The rest of it was plastic. Black polycarbonate, like an expensive camera. A fine piece of craftsmanship.

But he hadn't liked it much. Not for the specialized requirements of his unit. He'd recommended rejection. He'd supported the Beretta 92F instead. The Beretta was also a nine-millimeter, a half-pound heavier, an inch longer, two fewer rounds in the magazine. But it had about ten percent more stopping power than the Glock. That was important to him. And it wasn't plastic.

 

[Laufen]

oh god the inaccuracies. Lets list them out.

1. The glock is not named for is mag capacity
2. barrel length does not equal accuracy
3. Beretta has 10% more stopping power lol

Maybe he's referring to stopping power as frictional drag if you're dragging it along behind you on your skateboard.

Reading crap like this just makes me mad.

 

[freedom]

I've read quite a few Reacher novels, and they are chocked full of things like this. Some of the "cultural" observances are way off and quite funny. I blame the authors Englishness for much of it. I did enjoy the movie being cast with 5'5" Tom Cruise because the author beats you over the head with Reacher's size.

 

[dial1911]

I have no idea who 'jack reacher' is but... Did someone actually write a book like that and sell it? Information aside, that was the worstest sentence structure I've ever seen. And that's coming from the engineer that usually writes in passive voice.

 

[AtlMedic]

Crap like that aside, the jack reacher books really are a good series.

 

[freedom]

Larry Correia is a sci-fi author who is also a firearms instructor. He gives an interview on the use of guns in fiction

http://ryanlanz.com/2014/12/13/guns-in-fiction-with-larry-correia/


Interview:

Ryan: What are the common pitfalls in fiction where it’s clear that the author has never held or fired a modern firearm?

Larry: It isn’t just guns, but any topic where the reader is an expert and the author is clueless. The problem is that when you write something that the reader knows is terribly wrong, it kicks them right out of the story and ruins the experience for them. Guns are especially hard because they are super common in fiction, and there are tons of readers who know about them.

Most of these really glaring errors can be taken care of with a little bit of cursory research. Technical things can be taken care of by a few minutes on the manufacturer’s webpage, which will keep your characters from dramatically flipping off the safety on a gun that doesn’t have one.

Beyond that, however, is the actual use of the gun. The character using it should have a realistic amount of knowledge based on their skill, knowledge, ability, and training. If you are gong to be writing about a character who is a professional gunslinger, then you need to do some research to make sure that person does what a professional gunslinger would do.

 

[freedom]

Crap like that aside, the jack reacher books really are a good series.

Enjoyable brain candy. I can knock one out in 2 or 3 hours if I want to, which makes them a good beach/camping book.

 

[Laufen]

Larry Correia is a sci-fi author who is also a firearms instructor. He gives an interview on the use of guns in fiction

http://ryanlanz.com/2014/12/13/guns-in-fiction-with-larry-correia/


Interview:

Ryan: What are the common pitfalls in fiction where it’s clear that the author has never held or fired a modern firearm?

Larry: It isn’t just guns, but any topic where the reader is an expert and the author is clueless. The problem is that when you write something that the reader knows is terribly wrong, it kicks them right out of the story and ruins the experience for them. Guns are especially hard because they are super common in fiction, and there are tons of readers who know about them.

Most of these really glaring errors can be taken care of with a little bit of cursory research. Technical things can be taken care of by a few minutes on the manufacturer’s webpage, which will keep your characters from dramatically flipping off the safety on a gun that doesn’t have one.

Beyond that, however, is the actual use of the gun. The character using it should have a realistic amount of knowledge based on their skill, knowledge, ability, and training. If you are gong to be writing about a character who is a professional gunslinger, then you need to do some research to make sure that person does what a professional gunslinger would do.

He's a mod over at www.thehighroad.org (ha we can do that here) and he's always seemed like a decent guy to boot.

 

[freedom]

He's a mod over at www.thehighroad.org (ha we can do that here) and he's always seemed like a decent guy to boot.

Didn't know that. I've read a few of his books and hit his blog every week or so. He wrote an excellent defense of gun rights after Sandy Hook that put him in my radar.