Dave Robicheaux: "Half Cocked" & Locked

NCTexan

NCTexan

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I know that many folks on the forum like the Dave Robicheaux series of books by James Lee Burke. He's really one of my favorite authors.

One of the things that makes the novels special is the inordinate and "right on" details and descriptions that he paints into the people, action and venues. Being able to visualize these details is one of the things that make his work so effective.

He's usually pretty good with his "gun stuff" and there's always plenty of gun action involved. But..........

In several of his books he's mentioned that Dave's primary piece is the "Government Model 45" that he brought back from Viet Nam. In his book "Burning Angel" he describes his steps in engaging the safety on his 45. He's done this same sequence in several of his books.

Safety1911.jpg


What's up with that?... or am I missing something?
 
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James Lee Burke isn't really much into guns. He's probably been around them a little, but, aside from the error you point out, he constantly has a cop carrying a gun that needs to have a round chambered, or be cocked, or something. Now, I'm sure that somewhere, someone who is an LEO is carrying a gun that isn't ready to use, but it may not be in the United States.

I kind of like Burke, also, but guns aren't his strong point, and neither is his confidence in his sexual identity.

Donald Hamilton & John Ross for me.
 
Having tried to set a safety on a .45 1911 with the hammer down, I have to say he probably has a problem with his safety.
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Yup... you can scuff up your thumb if you're too persistent.

I kind of like Burke, also, but guns aren't his strong point, and neither is his confidence in his sexual identity.
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We're listening to this book on audio... and my wife even commented... "He lets his 13 year old daughter go out on 'car dates' with a 16 year old boy... but worries about destroying her innocence by teaching her how to safely shoot a hand gun????? HELLOOOOO!"
 
I like his books... a lot. I've read them all to date. He's probably in my top five of authors.
Sonny
 
5Wire said:
That's a curious statement. not the guns part, care to exemplify?
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Can't quote you titles and page numbers, because all of his books that I read are back in the public library I borrowed them from. In more than a couple of his books, his main character seemed to have some kind of a hangup with some homosexual male that the plot had him being forced to interact with. In several cases, there seemed to be a certain amount of soul-searching and contemplation. I may be mistaken, but I believe that most heterosexual men range from slightly to considerably disgusted by homosexual behavior, and probably mostly don't even think about it unless it's right in front of them. I find the relatively high incidence of the behavior in his stories a LITTLE strange, but I'm not sure whether to chalk it up to a desire to be PC and "with it," or whether there is a different explanation. Either way, it is not to my taste, but, everything considered, I still pretty much like him as an author, even though I consider that and his errors on guns as things that I would rather not see.
 
Model520Fan said:
Can't quote you titles and page numbers, because all of his books that I read are back in the public library I borrowed them from. In more than a couple of his books, his main character seemed to have some kind of a hangup with some homosexual male that the plot had him being forced to interact with. In several cases, there seemed to be a certain amount of soul-searching and contemplation. I may be mistaken, but I believe that most heterosexual men range from slightly to considerably disgusted by homosexual behavior, and probably mostly don't even think about it unless it's right in front of them. I find the relatively high incidence of the behavior in his stories a LITTLE strange, but I'm not sure whether to chalk it up to a desire to be PC and "with it," or whether there is a different explanation. Either way, it is not to my taste, but, everything considered, I still pretty much like him as an author, even though I consider that and his errors on guns as things that I would rather not see.
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I've read all his novels and I can't recall an example of what you're referring to. Maybe I have CRS.
 
"...he constantly has a cop carrying a gun that needs to have a round chambered, or be cocked, or something. Now, I'm sure that somewhere, someone who is an LEO is carrying a gun that isn't ready to use, but it may not be in the United States."

In many countries around the world, police officers carry their handguns with empty chambers. I encountered this quite often while working in Kosovo.
 
I just finished Swan Peak, and there weren't any glaring gun errors. I just don't think Burke is that interested in guns.

I gotta admit, I've read a lot of his books, and the whole gay thing didn't jump out at me, either.
 
I've read most of his books, I think. The homosexual character I recall is Helen, the sheriff or chief of police, for the department he works for, Iberia (?) Parish. She happens to be gay, as some people are, but I don't recall it being particularly salient to the plots.

Then again, I just like to rip right through his books, without paying a whole lot of attention, so I may have missed another gay character in there. I read, and like, stuff like Burke's precisely because it doesn't require any thought on my part.
 
Model520Fan said:
Can't quote you titles and page numbers, because all of his books that I read are back in the public library I borrowed them from. In more than a couple of his books, his main character seemed to have some kind of a hangup with some homosexual male that the plot had him being forced to interact with. In several cases, there seemed to be a certain amount of soul-searching and contemplation. I may be mistaken, but I believe that most heterosexual men range from slightly to considerably disgusted by homosexual behavior, and probably mostly don't even think about it unless it's right in front of them. I find the relatively high incidence of the behavior in his stories a LITTLE strange, but I'm not sure whether to chalk it up to a desire to be PC and "with it," or whether there is a different explanation. Either way, it is not to my taste, but, everything considered, I still pretty much like him as an author, even though I consider that and his errors on guns as things that I would rather not see.
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I've noticed this in Robert B.Parker's books, too. But for all his sympathy with gays, his Spenser character has stayed with the same woman for almost the entire series. And his Sunny Randall (despite her gay bar owner pal) is straight, as is the police chief of Paradise, MA, Jesse Stone, played on TV by Tom Selleck. But Parker does introduce a number of gay characters in his books, always in sympathetic roles. Usually strong roles, too.

I've wondered about that.

T-Star
 
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I met Mr Burke when I lived in Missoula and had the impresion that he was a very nice person who was content to write about guns and violence but that neither came from his inner self.
 
mtgianni said:
I met Mr Burke when I lived in Missoula and had the impresion that he was a very nice person who was content to write about guns and violence but that neither came from his inner self.
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I wouldn't be at all surprised if you nailed it. I guess that's why they call it fiction. I had a friend who was in the radio broadcasting business, and he would occasionally remind us that every radio personality has a broadcast persona that usually (he said always) has NO relation to the individual's actual personality.
 
Careby said:
I've noticed he seems to regard the .25 auto more highly than, well, than just about anyone I've ever known.
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Clearly, you haven't been reading Jack Hggins's series about former IRA terrorist Sean Whatisname, now working for British Intelligence. Colt (yes!) .25's have a lot of power in those books.

Higgins is said on the covers to be a "marksman" as well as a SCUBA diver. But he seldom uses model numbers, just referring to brands, as with Browning, Ceska (CZ) or Walther. The Browning Hi-Power and Walther PPK are exceptions. Higgins holds at least one doctorate under his real name, Harry Patterson. He is a veteran of one of the famous regiments (Household Cavalry, I think) , having served during the Cold War. He's a good writer, but the Colt .25 seems improbable for a modern gun, and the .25 is nowhere near as powerful as he portrays it.

T-Star
 
You can set the safety with the hammer down on a Star Model B.
Like a lot of writers, he probably doesn't do any research.
 
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