Turtledove
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Crossbow

Crossbows appear frequently in Harry Turtledove's writing.

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows using a bow. Historically, archery is used mainly for hunting and combat but in modern times it is mainly used for recreation. A person who uses an bow is called an 'archer' or a 'bowman'.

Literary comment[]

Numerous Harry Turtledove stories take place in societies where firearms have not been invented yet, and archery is an everyday part of hunting or war. This fact is germane only to a few of them.

Archery in Conan of Venarium[]

Archery tools for hunting purposes were among the meager weapons which the Aquilonian occupiers permitted their Cimmerian conquered subjects to keep.[1]

Archery in Every Inch a King[]

Crossbows were the primary firearm in the War of the Kingdoms. Prior to the war, a silver-tipped crossbow was used to kill the Vlach werewolf who had torn out the throats of the Crown Prince of the Dual Monarchy and his wife.

Archery in The Valley-Westside War[]

Due to unreliability of Old Time rifles and the limited number of rifles and muskets, and their slow reloading time, archery was the preferred method of combat in the feudal kingdoms of late 21st century California.

Dan, a conscript in King Zev's army during the Valley-Westside War of 2097, was initially an archer before he was re-equipped with a musket.

Archery in The War Between the Provinces[]

Archers, using crossbows, were the mainstay of both Detinan armies during the Detinan Civil War. They were used in offensive action but were also very effective when defending from entrenched areas. They were vulnerable at close quarters and protected by lancers or their own short swords (however, archers were not very skilled with their shortswords).

Rollant and Smitty were both archers on the southron side.

References[]

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