History Literature / BobLeeSwagger

#"Front Sight" (2024)

* ProperlyParanoid: Before leaving on a trip in ''Point Of Impact'', Bob Lee disables all of his rifles in such a way that they appear fully functional, but are unable to fire. Taking the firing pins out of his rifles when he puts them away would be just as effective at preventing accidents or unauthorized use, But Bob goes the extra mile and replaces them with custom-modified pins that will not fire. The only reason for this would be to fool someone who was deliberately trying to frame him. Which means he planned for that exact scenario. The book makes it clear that while he agrees to work with the government to stop the assassination, he doesn't trust them, and decides to prepare for specific eventualities after noticing that they collected some of his shell casings.

* TunnelKing: ''The Day Before Midnight'' involves the need to find Vietnam veteran tunnel rats (as suggested by a local mining expert who says that it's too complicated of a job for him) to dig through a coal mine under a missile silo. The only two who can be found on short notice are a ''North'' Vietnamese veteran (an ActionGirl who fought as a teenager) who eventually defected and [[BoxedCrook an African-American man who became a pimp and drug dealer -partially due to disillusionment from the racist treatment he got after his tour- and is recruited out of prison.]] Both are ShellShockedVeteran's reluctant to go back into the tunnels but understanding of the necessity.

* TunnelKing: ''The Day Before Midnight'' involves the need to find Vietnam veteran tunnel rats (as suggested by a local mining expert who says that it's too complicated of a job for him) to dig through a coal mine under a missile silo. The only two who can be found on short notice are a ''North'' Vietnamese veteran (an ActionGirl who fought as a teenager) who eventually defected and a [[BoxedCrook an African-American man who became a pimp and drug dealer -partially due to disillusionment from the racist treatment he got after his tour- and is recruited out of prison.]] Both are ShellShockedVeteran's reluctant to go back into the tunnels but understanding of the necessity.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Audie is the only member of the DreamTeam in ''Pale Horse Coming'' not to be at least middle-aged besides Earl himself.

** In ''Pale Horse Coming'', Earl Swagger recruits a large group of firearms experts to help him in StormingTheCastle. These include explicit expies of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Keith Elmer Keith]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_O%27Connor_(writer) Jack O'Connor]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_McGivern Ed McGivern]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Askins Charles Askins]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Jordan_(Marine) Bill Jordan]], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy Audie Murphy.]] In short, an absolute DreamTeam of the mid-40s firearms world.

''Point of Impact'' (1993)

''Black Light'' (1996)

''Time to Hunt'' (1998)

''The 47th Samurai'' (2007)

''Night of Thunder'' (2008)

''I, Sniper'' (2009)

''Dead Zero'' (2010)

''The Third Bullet'' (2013)

''Sniper’s Honor'' (2014)

''G-Man (2017)''

''Game of Snipers'' (2019)

''Targeted'' (2022)

'''Related or spin-off novels:'''

''The Master Sniper'' (1980)

''The Day Before Midnight'' (1989) -- A stand-alone novel published before the main series, but Hunter later connected some characters back to the events of this book

''Dirty White Boys'' (1994)

''The Second Saladin'' (1998) -- A stand-alone novel, but some characters are connected to side characters in the Swagger books

''Hot Springs'' (2000) — Features Swaggers father, Earl Swagger, as the main protagonist

''Pale Horse Coming'' (2001) — Features Swaggers father, Earl Swagger, as the main protagonist

''Havana'' (2003) — Features Swaggers father, Earl Swagger, as the main protagonist

''Soft Target'' (2012) – Features Ray Cruz, a character introduced in ''Dead Zero'' and [[spoiler:Swagger's son]] as the main protagonist

** The ever-treacherous state trooper turned CIA asset Frenchy Short (an antagonist in two of the Earl Swagger novels and novels and one Bob Lee Swagger one) is safe from being killed by the Swagger's.... because [[KickTheSonOfABitch he's tortured to death by a blowtorch wielding KGB agent in connection with the events of the standalone novel ''The Second Saladin''.]]

* MurderByMistake: The plot of ''Point Of Impact'' hinges around around a failed assassination attempt on the US president, which instead resulted in the death of a Salvadoran archbishop who was standing next to the president. [[spoiler:The archbishop was actually the real target all along; the conspirators knew that murdering him next to the president would make everyone assume it was a botched attempt on the president's life]].

* ShesGotLegs: One of the first things Bob Lee notes about BadassBureaucrat Susan Okada.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In-universe example in ''I, Sniper''; a New York Post reporter runs an article alleging Assistant Director Nick Memphis took bribes from FN Herstal to select their rifle for the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, along with a photo of Nick with execs, firing an FN PSR in 2006. Except it turns out that the rifle in question is a Remington VTR 2007, which was only introduced in 2008, meaning that the picture is false, and so is the rest of the article. The fallout kills the reporter's career... and it could have been avoided had he done his research. Notably, he neglected to verify the rifle type from an FN catalog an intern found.
** Bob also humiliates someone in court in ''Targeted'' when the concept of a "6.5 Creedmoor bullet" is brought up. Instead, Bob speaks at length about the history of the 6.5 Creedmoor ''cartridge''.

* BadassIsraeli: The BigBad of ''The Third Bullet'' refers to hiring a few for surveillance purposes, and Mossad has prominent roles in ''Sniper's Honor'' and ''Game of Snipers''.

* EvilUncle: An incidental version in ''The Day Before Midnight", when, as part of his plan, [[spoiler:Arkady Pashin is willing to set off a nuclear bomb in the cellar of an embassy where nis nephew works at to decapitate the American leadership. Despite some initial {{ Fauxshadowing}} The nephew is completely unaware of this]].

* WhoShotJFK: In ''Point Of Impact'', the antagonist Lon Scott is found to have in his possession a "curious collection of fired 162-grain .264-caliber bullets from some bizarre project or other in the early sixties". As this is similar to the bullet that killed JFK, it can be inferred that Scott performed the assassination himself and set up Lee Harvey Oswald as a FallGuy, as he intended to do with Swagger. ''The Third Bullet'' has Swagger following through with an investigation of the JFK assassination and confirming the theory.

Bob Lee Swagger is the protagonist of a series of novels by American author Stephen Hunter. After serving as a sniper in Vietnam with 87 confirmed kills, Swagger received a CareerEndingInjury and intends to retire to a quiet life in the country; however, his unique skillset keeps bringing him into contact with [[ChronicHeroSyndrome people who need his help]], as well as bringing him into conflict with former Soviet operatives, {{Yakuza}}, MiddleEasternTerrorists, TheCartel, and sinister government agents.

** In ''Havana'', Earl Swagger is tasked with assassinating Fidel Castro in Cuba. It can be assumed that he will not succeed, as the book takes place in the 1950s and the real life Castro lived until 2016.

** In ''Targeted'', one villain takes dozens of hostages, killing or wounding many people in the process. He then lets the FBI collect the wounded because their agonized screams are distracting, but killing them will use valuable bullets.

* SuicideNotMurder: A variant in [[spoiler:''The 47th Samurai'']] were, [[spoiler:Hideki Yano]] is assumed to have been killed by American soldiers on the battlefield, but ultimately turns out to have instead [[spoiler: Committed {{Seppeku}} after realizing that the American -Earl Swagger- he'd just overpowered and had at his mercy had been trying to beat his wounds]].
* TakeThat: ''I, Sniper'' is full of take thats to tacticool gun culture fetishish, irresponsible journalism, and the New York Times, the Washington Post's longtime rival.

* FallGuy
** In ''Point of Impact'', Bob Lee is ostensibly recruited to prevent an attempt on the president's life; however, it's all a trap to set him up to take the blame.

-->"I ain't no hero. I'm just the lucky sonofabitch who walked away from the shell that killed the ten other guys. They're giing me the medal of luck today, that's all."

* IOweYouMyLife: in ''G-Man'', Homer Van Meter provides covering fire for his fellow bank robbers, saving them from being killed or captured, and while Les/Baby Face initially refuses feeling any such sentiment, he later admits to feeling it after [[spoiler:Homer is killed by the police]].

* OvershadowedByAwesome: Plenty of snipers (both enemies and allies) experience this at Bob Lee's hands.
** In ''G-Man'' Jimmy Murray has this work to his benefit. He's a decent armed robber and planner who is RespectedByTheRespected but he's less active and flashy than the likes of Baby-Face, Dillinger and the others, causing him to be ignored by the FBI when they launch their campaign against the so-called Public Enemies (something Baby-Face briefly lampshades).

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: A plot element of ''Pale Horse Coming'' is the intentional infection of African-American men with syphilis; the novel was written not long after [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton US President Bill Clinton's]] official apology for the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study]] brought the issue back into the public consciousness.

** Much of the plot of ''Game Of Snipers'' is centered upon the villain recreating a 2,707 yard shot from British Sniper Craig Harrison, based on it being the longest confirmed sniper kill. However, by the time of the book's release, this has already been surpassed by an unnamed Canadian JTF-2 sniper, with a ''3800 yard'' shot. Admittedly, given the lack of information available on the latter, it would have been much harder to frame a plot around.

'''Please note that this is the page for tropes used in the book. For tropes in the Shooter film or series, please use the links above.'''

* EvilCripple: [[spoiler:Lon Scott, the real sniper. His immobility is a major plot point.]][[spoiler: Although in ''The Third Bullet'' Lon Scott is given a more sympathetic portrayal. He is shown to be a tragic figure whose disability and guilt over killing John F. Kennedy gradually turned him into the remorseless killer in ''Point of Impact''.]]

* ProperlyParanoid: Before leaving on a trip in ''Point Of Impact'', Bob Lee disables all of his rifles in such a way that they appear fully functional, but are unable to fire. Taking the firing pins out of his rifles when he puts them away would be just as effective at preventing accidents or unauthorized use, But Bob goes the extra mile and replaces them with custom-modified pins that will not fire. The only reason for this would be to fool someone who was deliberately trying to frame him. Which means he planned for that exact scenario. The book makes it clear that while he agrees to work with the government to stop the assassination, he doesn't trust them, and decides to prepare for specific eventualities

* ProperlyParanoid: Before leaving on a trip in ''Point Of Impact'', Bob Lee disables all of his rifles in such a way that they appear fully functional, but are unable to fire. This is how he avoids the assassination charges when one of his rifles is stolen to frame him -- he couldn't have done it, because the weapon was literally incapable of firing a bullet.

** In ''Pale Horse Coming'', Earl Swagger gathers a [[TheMagnificentSevenSamurai group of six other gunslingers wipe the HellholePrison he was kept in off the face of the map.

* TunnelKing: ''The Day Before Midnight'' involves the need to find Vietnam veteran tunnel rats (as suggested by a local mining expert who says that it's too complicated of a job for him) to dig through a coal mine under a missile silo. The only two who can be found on short notice are a ''North'' Vietnamese veteran (an ActionGirl who fought as a teenaged) who eventually defected and a [[BoxedCrook an African-American man who became a pimp and drug dealer -partially due tomdisillusionment from the racist treatment he got after his tour- and is recruited out of in prison.]] Both are ShellShockedVeteran's reluctant to go back into the tunnels but understanding of the necessity.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Much of the plot of ''Game Of Snipers'' is centered upon the villain recreating a 2,707 yard shot from British Sniper Craig Harrison, based on it being the longest confirmed sniper kill. However, by the time of the book's release, this has already been surpassed by an unnamed Canadian JTF-2 sniper, with a ''3800 yard'' shot. Admittedly, given the lack of information available on the latter, it would have been much harder to frame a plot around.

* MyGreatestFailure: Nick accidentally shooting Myra, even though it wasn't entirely his fault, has never quite left him. It hasn't done him any good.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Bob Lee and his allies go on their share of them, and in ''G-Man'', the final act of the novel is driven by Baby Face Nelson's determination to avenge the deaths of his fellow gang members.

Bob Lee Swagger is the protagonist of a series of novels by American author Stephen Hunter. After serving as a sniper in Vietnam with 87 confirmed kills, Swagger received a CareerEndingInjury and intends to retire to a quiet life in the country; however, his unique skillset keep bringing him into contact with [[ChronicHeroSyndrome people who need his help]], as well as bringing him into conflict with former Soviet operatives, {{Yakuza}}, MiddleEasternTerrorists, TheCartel, and sinister government agents.

* TheAlcoholic: Runs in the Swagger family; Bob Lee, his father Earl, and his Grandfather Charles all struggle with Alcoholism. Bob Lee and Earl both use alcohol to deal with their war trauma, and both are able to overcome the addiction.

* AndYourLittleDogToo: [[spoiler:Bad idea.]]
* AntiHero: Bob Lee Swagger is up there.

** The newest Swagger novel, ''G-Man'', reveals that [[spoiler: Bob's grandfather Charles was also this as well, proving to possibly be the most adept pistoleer in the Swagger line, effectively inventing the [[https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2017/6/30/col-jeff-coopers-modern-technique-of-the-pistol/ modern technique of the pistol]] in ''1934''. While he eventually grew into an alcoholic {{JerkAss}}, his combat skills cannot be denied.]]

* ChekhovsGunman: Just about any time a book has a repeatedly mentioned politician or rich guy throughout the first several acts in a seemingly minor manor, he turns out to be the BigBad.

* Everything's Better With Bob: Dr. Dobbler would like you to know that Bob Lee Swagger's first name is Bob. Not Robert, ''Bob''. In fact, the only sources to get this wrong are a few voices in the media circus, but that's the least of what they do.
* EvilCripple: [[spoiler:Lon Scott, the real sniper. His immobility is a major plot point.]]
** [[spoiler: Although in ''The Third Bullet'' Lon Scott is given a more sympathetic portrayal. He is shown to be a tragic figure whose disability and guilt over killing John F. Kennedy gradully turned him into the remorseless killer in ''Point of Impact''.]]

* HumbleHero: Bob Lee becomes uncomfortable whenever somebody calls him a hero, and insists that he isn't.

** The novel ''I, Sniper'' features a few examples. The character Carl Hitchcock is based on real-life Marine sniper and Vietnam vet Carlos Hathcock. The character Joan Flanders is based on Jane Fonda, and billionaire television mogul T.T. Constable is based on Ted Turner. Chuck [=McKenzie=] is based off Chuck Mawhinney, Marine Corps sniper with the highest confirmed killcount in Vietnam.

* AmbiguousSyntax: The related standalone novel "The Day Beofre Midnight" last mentions one of the American leaders as being "hit twice" in a way which makes it unclear if he is killed or injured.

* BadassFamily: Bob Lee, his father Earl, and [[spoiler: his son, Ray Cruz]] are all shown to be exceptional marksmen and gunfighters. [[spoiler: Bob's half-brother Lamar Pye]] counts as well, though as a darker version.

''The Day Before Midnight'' (1989) -- A standalone novel published before the main series, but Hunter later connected some characters back to the events of this book

''The Second Saladin'' (1998) -- A standalone novel, but some characters are connected to side characters in the Swagger books

'''There are also various related or spin-off novels:'''

* CIAEvilFBIGood: In Stephen Hunter's early novels, the CIA is usually portrayed as being shady and amoral. The FBI on the other hand is portrayed much more positively.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: A morally gray version comes from when [[spoiler: Red Bama]] kills the BigBad of ''Black Light'' [[spoiler: A United States Senator]] in cold blood and dryly notes that this well cost him a fortune to cover up, but he does indeed cover it up and walk free in court.