Michael’s answer to “Tell us about the first time the idea for a Harry Bosch character came to your mind?” > Likes and Comments
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"The Last Coyote", was my favorite book. It was so revealing about Harry Boschs' character. Was it difficult to write?
One of the most interesting respones I've heard to a "....how did you come up with?" type of question. Agree being a tunnel rat sounds terrifying
Michael, I was curious to know why you and the other writers had decided to update Harry's war time experience as a tunnel rat from Vietnam to one in Afghanistan. I was unaware that there even WERE tunnel rats in Afghanistan... I had thought that was a tactic exclusive to the Viet Cong. It was the only thing I found distressing in the show...
Penny: That's easy, Viet Nam vets are all in their 60s & 70s now. Be kinda hard to explain, eh?
Yeah, but Harry is supposed to be in his fifties, maybe close to 60. I was in my teens during Vietnam, and I know a lot of guys who enlisted at sixteen and seventeen. No reason why Harry couldn't have been in Vietnam....
I have to admit that I haven't read THE BLACK ECHO yet, so, the age thing with Harry and Vietnam war US Army tunnel rats doesn't bother me. While I was class of '64 and the war was the one of my generation, I worked with a chap who was a tunnel rat, and he was in the army in early 1960's before it escalated. The war ran a long time. I became friends later with the widow of the last California soldier killed in Vietnam. He was a career NCO, was in Germany in late 50s and early 60s, and was killed in Vietnam in 1972 in an accident clearing tunnels with grenades. Hate to get stuck on this, but MIchael's Bosch character and Florida settings as well as California have had me hooked a while. I am from San Joaquin Valley and have kin in Palm Coast [Flagler Beach side] and Crystal River [on Gulf side] and have flown in and out of Daytona and Tampa. The connections are unreal. I am not a cop nor a reporter, but am an artist learn from Harry.
Noticed on the Amazon tv series Harry became a vet of Iraq and Afghanistan, no mention of the tunnels.
My father was interviewed for the War Tales web site by a former tunnel rat. I had not read the Black Echo at the time and now I wish I had. I have the utmost respect for the men and woman who serve our country.
Nice. Good illustration of the way the creative process works.
Thank you for writing my first read of yours, The Black Echo; I began with Dick Francis' Reflex, in 1982 or so, and through several mystery writers including Lawrence Block, Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, Gregory Mcdonald, John D. MacDonald, John Grisham, Randy Alcorn, Randy Singer, David Baldacci, and now yourself, The Black Echo is not only one of the best mysteries, but one of the best books I've read among many.
I have always had a problem with Harry being a tunnel rat because the tunnel rats were the smallest guys in the outfits. They had to be to fit into the tunnels - in and back out again. Usually 5'5" and under. The tunnels weren't walk-in tunnels - they were small like for rats and they had to be crawled into which is why they were called "tunnel rats". The tunnels were long in distance and the caves for enemy troops were at the end of the tunnels.
Harry was almost 6' tall. There is NO WAY he was a tunnel rat - in any war.
I'm from the Vietnam War Era and had a friend who WAS a tunnel rat. He was called The Leprechaun, was only 5'2" tall and weighed less than I did.
Honestly, I love the Bosch novels (have finished all in the series) but I have always thought that making Harry a tunnel rat was a disservice to those soldiers who actually were.
I feel like Harry Bosch is someone I know. LOL
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Bob
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Feb 14, 2015 11:54AM
"The Last Coyote", was my favorite book. It was so revealing about Harry Boschs' character. Was it difficult to write?
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One of the most interesting respones I've heard to a "....how did you come up with?" type of question. Agree being a tunnel rat sounds terrifying
Michael, I was curious to know why you and the other writers had decided to update Harry's war time experience as a tunnel rat from Vietnam to one in Afghanistan. I was unaware that there even WERE tunnel rats in Afghanistan... I had thought that was a tactic exclusive to the Viet Cong. It was the only thing I found distressing in the show...
Penny: That's easy, Viet Nam vets are all in their 60s & 70s now. Be kinda hard to explain, eh?
Yeah, but Harry is supposed to be in his fifties, maybe close to 60. I was in my teens during Vietnam, and I know a lot of guys who enlisted at sixteen and seventeen. No reason why Harry couldn't have been in Vietnam....
I have to admit that I haven't read THE BLACK ECHO yet, so, the age thing with Harry and Vietnam war US Army tunnel rats doesn't bother me. While I was class of '64 and the war was the one of my generation, I worked with a chap who was a tunnel rat, and he was in the army in early 1960's before it escalated. The war ran a long time. I became friends later with the widow of the last California soldier killed in Vietnam. He was a career NCO, was in Germany in late 50s and early 60s, and was killed in Vietnam in 1972 in an accident clearing tunnels with grenades. Hate to get stuck on this, but MIchael's Bosch character and Florida settings as well as California have had me hooked a while. I am from San Joaquin Valley and have kin in Palm Coast [Flagler Beach side] and Crystal River [on Gulf side] and have flown in and out of Daytona and Tampa. The connections are unreal. I am not a cop nor a reporter, but am an artist learn from Harry.
Noticed on the Amazon tv series Harry became a vet of Iraq and Afghanistan, no mention of the tunnels.
My father was interviewed for the War Tales web site by a former tunnel rat. I had not read the Black Echo at the time and now I wish I had. I have the utmost respect for the men and woman who serve our country.
Nice. Good illustration of the way the creative process works.
Thank you for writing my first read of yours, The Black Echo; I began with Dick Francis' Reflex, in 1982 or so, and through several mystery writers including Lawrence Block, Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, Gregory Mcdonald, John D. MacDonald, John Grisham, Randy Alcorn, Randy Singer, David Baldacci, and now yourself, The Black Echo is not only one of the best mysteries, but one of the best books I've read among many.
I have always had a problem with Harry being a tunnel rat because the tunnel rats were the smallest guys in the outfits. They had to be to fit into the tunnels - in and back out again. Usually 5'5" and under. The tunnels weren't walk-in tunnels - they were small like for rats and they had to be crawled into which is why they were called "tunnel rats". The tunnels were long in distance and the caves for enemy troops were at the end of the tunnels.Harry was almost 6' tall. There is NO WAY he was a tunnel rat - in any war.
I'm from the Vietnam War Era and had a friend who WAS a tunnel rat. He was called The Leprechaun, was only 5'2" tall and weighed less than I did.
Honestly, I love the Bosch novels (have finished all in the series) but I have always thought that making Harry a tunnel rat was a disservice to those soldiers who actually were.
I feel like Harry Bosch is someone I know. LOL
