Plenty is happening since the launch of The Writer’s Guide to Weapons last week. I tried to condense everything into some social posts, but it got too long. Here’s the recap.
Pictured: My hand modeling audition.
The Writer’s Guide to Weapons is available everywhere, but only as a paperback so far. The digital version will be available soon, which will weigh considerably less than the one-pound print edition.
Smart guns use a variety of tech to prevent unintentional use. This German-made Armatix iP1 will only fire if its accompanying watch is within range. The semi-auto pistol itself holds 10 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition. (Armatix photo)
TLDR: Smart guns use emerging technology to limit their use to pre-approved people and/or places. Feel free to explore them in fiction, but don’t expect to see them in reality all that much.
A trench knife is a like a combination between brass knuckles and a fixed blade knife. This type of knife has been around for quite a while, but it’s only recently that something like this comes along:
TLDR: Yes, but not much.
Holy Hannah, what a question. This one came from crime writer James Pierson, who tells me he’s nearing completion of his crime novel. Here’s how he laid it out:
So I have my rogue special forces guy and everyone is hunting him. He’s taken shelter in a cottage where he had to kill some guys, all of whom were wearing body armour. Anyway, the bad guys have reinforcements on the way. I mean a lot of cavalry, all armed with carbines and military-grade weapons.
My guy dons body armour. He then makes a human wall from the guys he killed earlier. Let’s say it’s two bodies high, two bodies wide. He doesn’t strip the bodies of their body armour. So the bad guys’ cavalry charge in, and they’re faced with the hero hiding behind a stack of bodies. The requisite firefight follows. Let’s say the firefight takes place over a distance of say 20 feet, so pretty close range.
So here’s the question. How much protection would dead bodies provide?
To clarify, Pierson said all of the bad guys are military characters.
The verdict depends on two primary variables. I’ll go over each separately.
TLDR: The military uses many kinds of knives, but few can match the iconic KA-BAR USMC.
BJ Wolf is a crime writer (check out her website here and follow her on Twitter here) working on the first in a trilogy of novels featuring detective Karen Yellowtail. She sent me a note looking for some feedback on assigning an ex-military character a knife for some unsavory work.
The Writer's Guide to Weapons 