RE: RARA-AVIS: Gun Work

From: Ron Clinton (clinton65@comcast.net)
Date: 05 Dec 2008

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    > Behalf Of Juri Nummelin
    > That's exactly what I thought, and I kept asking myself why everyone was
    > saying things like "this is one speed-bullet of a novel?" That said, there
    > are some good things about the book (and I didn't note any gun errors;
    well,
    > I've never fired one shot in my life) and it's well-written.

    No argument that it's well-written; Schow is a talented writer, and I've read most of what he's written. Good to hear, though, I wasn't alone in questioning the pacing of the book.

    I noted, as I recall, five gun-related errors...though I can only recall two this morning. The SIG P229 is a double-stack, not a single-stack, and the old Colt .45 1911s hold either seven or eight rounds (depending on which magazine one wishes to use), not nine (unless one utilizes an extended magazine -- but even there it'd be more than nine). There was something flaky in the scene where the recovering protagonist was nearly assassinated...but I can't dredge it up right now. Seems like there were one or two other things as well. Minor details that most wouldn't catch -- but it was unfortunate to see in a firearms-centric book. I'll give Schow credit, though -- he did include some details that were on the money and off the beaten track. The .40 to .357SIG barrel swap in the P229, for instance, and the comparatively loud volume of the .357SIG round...that's beyond the usual shoot-'em-up stuff a crime fiction reader typically reads.

    Ron



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