History Literature / PaladinOfShadows

* AnAxeToGrind: Keldara have a ''long'' history of being skilled in axe fighting, hearkening back to their [[spoiler: Viking]] heritage. In modern times, they are still very good with hatchets and axes in both throwing and melee, and prefer them over knives as backup weapons.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: In ''A Deeper Blue'' an Afghani-immigrant maintenance man is forced at gunpoint to help pump VX into the water.

* BadassBystander: ''A Deeper Blue'' has Will Carter, a former National Guardsman who helps Mike load his LMG and punches out a terrorist. Carter is a FanCameo.

* BadassFamily: The Keldara. Well, ''five'' badass families, actually.

* BreakTheHaughty: Katya (FreudianExcuse who was sold into prostitution by her dirt-poor Russian parents and abused for years) starts out as a cold psychopathic bitch who's constantly causing troubles for the people, until ''Unto the Breach'', when she's in a helicopter forced to fly over a trio of enemy bunkers armed with heavy machine guns, and one of the people in the chopper gets their guts blasted all over her and the helicopter's interior by an HMG round. Seeing this happen to someone who was only there to rescue ''her'' breaks her the way earlier threats of being killed for acting like a bitch hadn't. Later she's said to occasionally even be helpful to those she hassled earlier, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness though many people find her sudden change of behavior unsettling]], and aren't sure if the change of heart will actually hold.

* AnAxeToGrind: Keldara have a ''long'' history of being skilled in axe fighting, hearkening back to their [[spoiler: Viking]] heritage. In modern times, they are still very good with hatchets and axes in both throwing and melee, and prefer them over knives as backup weapons.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: In ''A Deeper Blue'' an Afghani-immigrant maintenance man is forced at gunpoint to help pump VX into the water.

* BadassBystander: ''A Deeper Blue'' has Will Carter, a former National Guardsman who helps Mike load his LMG and punches out a terrorist. Carter is a FanCameo.

* BadassFamily: The Keldara. Well, ''five'' badass families, actually.

* BreakTheHaughty: Katya starts out as a cold psychopathic bitch who's constantly causing troubles for the people, until ''Unto the Breach'', when she's in a helicopter forced to fly over a trio of enemy bunkers armed with heavy machine guns, and one of the people in the chopper gets their guts blasted all over her and the helicopter's interior by a round. Seeing the effect breaks her the way earlier threats of being killed for acting like a bitch hadn't. Later she's said to occasionally even be helpful to those she hassled earlier, though the others aren't sure if the change of heart will actually hold.

* AnAxeToGrind: Keldara have a ''long'' history of being skilled in axe fighting, hearkening back to their [[spoiler: Viking]] heritage. In modern times, they are still very good with hatchets and axes in both throwing and melee, and prefer them over knives as backup weapons.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: In ''A Deeper Blue'' an Afghani-immigrant maintenance man is forced at gunpoint to help pump VX into the water.

* BadassBystander: ''A Deeper Blue'' has Will Carter, a former National Guardsman who helps Mike load his LMG and punches out a terrorist.

* BadassFamily: The Keldara.

* TheCommiesMadeMeDoIt: Dr. Arensky was forced into working for the villains because his daughter was taken by them.

* AnAxeToGrind: Keldara are very good with hatchets in both throwing and melee.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: In ''A Deeper Blue'' an Afghani maintenance man is forced at gunpoint to help pump VX into the water.

A modern military fiction series written by Creator/JohnRingo, focusing on Mike "Ghost" Harmon/Jenkins, a [[RetiredBadass former Navy SEAL]], and all-around AntiHero. The first book is a self-admitted author wank piece with a significant focus on BDSM that was originally not intended for publication. However, between fan response to a snippet posted on Baen's Bar, and the head of Creator/BaenBooks (at the time, Jim Baen, who has since passed away) insisting that it be printed, it was published for release to the public. Works later in the series (starting with ''Kildar''), however, tend more towards, as described elsewhere in the comments to the linked LiveJournal entry, below, "man builds stuff and gets lots of pussy".

* ClosestThingWeGot: In ''Choosers of the Slain'', there's a conversation between Mike and one of the girls he rescued [[spoiler:from the snuff house in Rozaje, Montenegro]] in the course of a mission. He points out that he's not an expert in [[spoiler:rape counselling]], and what little he knows is from a former lover who did it professionally, but the girl replies that Mike is as close as she can get to one at the moment given the Keldara are still on the mission at the time.
* ColdSniper: Lasko Ferani.

* ClosestThingWeGot: In ''Choosers of the Slain'', there's a conversation between Mike and one of the girls he rescued [[spoiler:from the snuff house in Rozaje, Montenegro]] in the course of a mission. He points out that he's not an expert in [[spoiler:rape counciling]], and what little he knows is from a former lover who did it professionally, but the girl replies that Mike is as close as she can get to one at the moment given the Keldara are still on the mission at the time.

* AwesomenessInducedAmnesia: In ''Unto the Breach'', a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeful berserker rage]] about deaths from a trio of armed bunkers her overloaded helicopter is forced to fly over, Kacey takes the armed [[ReportingNames Hind]] helicopter back to the bunkers, and in a whirling dervish of destruction to the sounds of Music/{{Dragonforce}} leaves them "fucking vaporized", as an observer to the carnage describes it. Afterward, however, in the narration it's noted that she doesn't remember any of it, between her vengeful thoughts and being "In The Zone".

* VomitIndiscretionShot: In ''Unto the Breach'' a lot of people, including the US President, go vomiting after seeing a Chechen commander get PinkMist'd live on international TV. At dinnertime in the States, no less. The Secret Service is told about a second before it happens and rushes the First Lady out of the room. When she comes back in, she's still holding her fork, which is enough to set the President off again.

*** Or... It's just because the stories don't take place in the Valley of the Keldar.

* {{Expy}}: The President apparently with the last name Cliff, by a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it name drops in the first book is one of GeorgeWBush. The first and second Iraq wars are mentioned in passing, and the president even remarks that not forcing a regime change is what one of the things that cost his father the election in 1991.

** In ''Tiger by the Tail'' the inital op is titled "Operation Joss Whedon Is A God" and the teams are named after the characters of ''{{Firefly}}''

* EagleLand: a proud, idealistic, patriotic version of this that resembles a less ironic take on TeamAmericaWorldPolice.

* LudicrousGibs: [[spoiler: Viktor Mahona]] takes a 12.7 round through his abdomen and much of his body simply disappears.

** Jay, in the books starting ''Unto the Breach''.
** Kurt Schwenke is suggested to be this, in ''A Deeper Blue''.

* [[Memes/{{Literature}} Memetic Mutation]]:
** All together now... '''"OH JOHN RINGO NO!"''' Also, Mike "collects hookers [[CrazyCatLady like cats]]!"
** That's not a harem, it's a fucking entourage.

-->'''''Dr.'' Arensky''': ''Because as you were bundling me about and threatening me I was slipping three small needles into your thigh. ...You probably didn't notice the slight pain what with everything else. One of them was coated in a product derived of argot. That's bread mold to you. It causes a reaction called Saint Vitus' Dance. Think of it as LSD. Psychotropic, hallucinogenic, very effective. You're probably already feeling the effects; it's fast stuff. If that didn't get you, the second was coated in a nasty little microbe that is found in sink drains world-wide. Very rarely kills anyone despite that; most people don't eat food they pick out of the sink drain. However, if it is cultured by an expert and then stuck into someone's thigh, it will spread through the bloodstream rather fast. Oh, it's not going to kill you for three or four days, but that one was guaranteed. The last was, I'm pretty sure, botulinus toxin. One of the tins of meat you left us was rather swelled and the resultant culture sure looked like botulinus. And botulinus is nasty. A teaspoon would kill a city. The amount I gave you would only kill, say, an elephant. By the way, that would have killed me if I'd eaten it. Such great care you took, too...'' (cue car crash)

-->'''''Dr.'' Arensky''': ''Because as you were bundling me about and threatening me I was slipping three small needles into your thigh. ...You probably didn't notice the slight pain what with everything else. One of them was coated in a product derived of argot. That's bread mold to you. It causes a reaction called Saint Vitus' Dance. Think of it as LSD. Psychotropic, hallucinogenic, very effective. You're probably already feeling the effects; it's fast stuff. If that didn't get you, the second was coated in a nasty little microbe that is found in sink drains world-wide. Very rarely kills anyone despite that; most people don't eat food they pick out of the sink drain. However, if it is cultured by an expert and then stuck into someone's thigh, it will spread through the bloodstream rather fast. Oh, it's not going to kill you for three or four days, but that one was guaranteed . The last was, I'm pretty sure, botulinus toxin. One of the tins of meat you left us was rather swelled and the resultant culture sure looked like botulinus. And botulinus is nasty. A teaspoon would kill a city. The amount I gave you would only kill, say, an elephant. By the way, that would have killed me if I'd eaten it. Such great care you took, too...'' (cue car crash)

Currently, the series consists of the following books:

* FanNickname: Katya, aka "Whoreverine".

* MoneyDearBoy: [[http://johnringo.nitro.gen.nz/FAQ/PaladinofShadowsFAQ.aspx Ringo originally didn't even want to write the first book, but it was preventing him from writing anything else until he got it out. When he did so, he originally was not going to publish it under his own name, not even with his usual publisher, until his regular publisher read it and waved money under his nose. And Ringo had a mortgage to pay.]]

* OldShame: ''Ghost'' was John Ringo clearing his head of ideas that he couldn't shake. His [[http://hradzka.livejournal.com/199220.html gleeful participation]] in the "OH JOHN RINGO NO" meme should show you what he thinks of it. WordOfGod says that the working title was ''The Wanker Piece'' before marketing forced him to drop it.

* DyingDream: Ringo said that at one point he was tempted to make the entirety of the series be the dying dream of the protagonist as he died of hypothermia and anoxia while hidden in the nose wheel well of the airplane he snuck aboard in ''Ghost''. He joked that what made him not take that route was that many of his readers (especially of this series) tend to be well armed.

* NominalHero: Mike starts as this in "Ghost" but tones down...[[UnscrupulousHero a bit]] in the later books. Katya remains one throughout the series.

** For the series as a whole, we have Katrina Devlich. The first Keldara Mike meets in ''Kildar'', she's obviously set up for more (with a desire to be "Kildaran," a position that isn't explained but is strongly implied to be essentially the Kildar's wife) during ''Kildar'' and ''Choosers of the Slain'', but her presence is markedly reduced in ''Unto the Breach'' (apparently in favor of [[spoiler:Gretchen]]), and then she '''completely vanishes''', not even mentioned in ''A Deeper Blue'' or ''Tiger by the Tail''.

** For the series as a whole, we have Katrina Devlich. The first Keldara Mike meets in ''Kildar'', she's obviously set up for more (with a desire to be "Kildaran," a position that isn't explained but is strongly implied to be essentially the Kildar's wife) during ''Kildar'' and ''Choosers of the Slain'', but her presence is markedly reduced in ''Unto the Breach'' (apparently in favor of [[spoiler:Gretchen]]), and then she '''completely vanishes''', not even mentioned in ''A Deeper Blue'' or ''Tiger by the Tail''..

** For the series as a whole, we have Katrina Devlich. The first Keldara Mike meets in ''Kildar'', she's obviously set up for more (with a desire to be "Kildaran," a position that isn't explained but is strongly implied to be essentially the Kildar's wife) during ''Kildar'' and ''Choosers of the Slain'', but her presence is markedly reduced in ''Unto the Breach'' (apparently in favor of [[spoiler:Gretchen]]), and then she '''completely vanishes''' in ''A Deeper Blue'' and ''Tiger by the Tail'', with nary a word on what happened to her.

** For the series as a whole, we have Katrina Devlich. The first Keldara Mike meets in ''Kildar'', she's obviously set up for more (with a desire to be "Kildaran," a position that isn't explained but is strongly implied to be essentially the Kildar's wife) during ''Kildar'' and ''Choosers of the Slain'', but her presence is markedly reduced in ''Unto the Breach'' (apparently in favor of [[spoiler:Gretchen]]), and she '''completely vanishes''' in ''A Deeper Blue'' and ''Tiger by the Tail'', with nary a word on what happened to her.

** For the series as a whole, we have Katrina Devlich. The first Keldara Mike meets in ''Kildar'', she's obviously set up for more during ''Kildar'' and ''Choosers of the Slain'', but her presence is markedly reduced in ''Unto the Breach'' (apparently in favor of [[spoiler:Gretchen]]), and she '''completely vanishes''' in ''A Deeper Blue'' and ''Tiger by the Tail'', with nary a word on what happened to her.

** For the series as a whole, we have Katrina Devlich. The first Keldara Mike meets in ''Kildar'', she's obviously set up for more during ''Kildar'' and ''Choosers of the Slain'', but her presence is markedly reduced in ''Unto the Breach'', and she ''completely vanishes'' in ''A Deeper Blue'' and ''Tiger by the Tail'', with nary a word on what happened to her.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Three in ''A Deeper Blue'':
** Jay shows up briefly early on and then disappears.
** [[spoiler: Kurt Schwenke]] somehow gets away again.
** Colonel Olds is gradually built up as having a disdain for Mike that he tries to act on, but nothing seems to come of it.