Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 10:52:36 -0500
From: Vel Natarajan <vel@enteract.com>
Subject: LRO: Re: Rovers in WWII
On Wed, Apr 04, 2001 at 01:21:02PM +0100, Frank Elson wrote:
>
>> Tom Clancy, universally acclaimed for getting his facts right, had someone
> driving a 'Land Rover Jeep'...
>I think I see a pattern. I've found a couple of cases where Clancy is
a little shaky on his automotive facts.
It would be interesting to know just how much of his own research and writing
Tom Clancy does these days. As authors get popular and the demand from
their publishers for output goes up, it's not uncommon for some of them to
build up a staff of researchers and even writers to help churn out the books.
James Mitchner did this, and I recall reading that a fair amount of his later books
were largely written by his staff. He would rework the "ghost written" sections,
of course, to suit his style, but unless a writer is very well versed in the
history of cars, planes, kitchen sinks, etc., they will rely on their research
team for accuracy in the facts. If the researchers slip up, there's no way the
author's going to know this.
I have no idea if Clancy has to work this way these days. He may still research and
write all his own stuff. But I think the best book he ever wrote was "Red October."
The books that came immediately after were okay, but by the time he got to "Clear and
Present Danger," I thought his style was becoming predictable and the stories rather
labored.
I think some of the other authors of tech-spy-suspense-action-dramas have held up
better over time. I think Frederick Forsyth's books are all pretty good, from Day of the
Jackal through The Fist of God. Len Deighton is another author who's done a superb job
of maintaining an excellent style (in my opinion). One of his books that's well worth
reading, although maybe not so well known as his other works, is Bomber. It's a novel
about a single bombing raid in WWII told from the perspective of both sides, the people
in the plane and the people in a town down below. This book is where I learned the term
"walkback" and what a devastating effect it had on people who were not even in the
target area.
___________________________
C. Marin Faure
(original owner)
1973 Land Rover Series III-88
1991 Range Rover Vogue SE
Seattle
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