Technology

[Sic Transit Gloria]

This topic has bothered me ever since it truly took off in this book, although it is thankfully less noticeable in the third and fourth books. Really, the thing that irks me is that Flanagan went to all the trouble of learning a bunch of sailing terminology (even moreso than the usual author), and then neglected a few other important things.

The biggest problem I have is with the "giant crossbow". You know, the BALLISTA. An ancient weapon, predating medieval times by quite a ways, because really it's just a fancy expansion of a crossbow (although it is a little more complicated than that). I refuse to believe that Hal invented them in a lonely cove. I also refuse to believe that Hal is the first person who mounted one on a ship, as even the ancient Greeks (who also invented it) mounted ballistae on their ships.

This brings us to another point: the ineffectiveness of a small ballista. Wikipedia notes in the article on triremes that, "Artillery in the form of ballistas and catapults was widespread, especially in later centuries, but its inherent technical limitations meant that it could not play a decisive role in combat." Check out this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEcGV...) of a real life ballista. The bolt barely manages to puncture the door. And even if it does, it doesn't leave a very big hole to patch. You aren't going to be winning ship vs. ship battles simply because you have a ballista on your prow.

Oh, by the way, does anyone know what happens when you make something out of freshly cut (also known as green) wood? Hansen Building's article on green lumber states things like, "Nail 'pop'...gaps are created...mold can begin to grow...is prone to both 'warp' and 'check'(crack)...causing structural instability." Yeah, let's see how Heron's daggerboard (the technical name for the retractable fin) casing holds up over time.

There's much more, but these are the two big ones.