History Literature / TheCobraTrilogy

** TheChick: Cobra Lorne Moreau Broom, empathetic and caring.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Early on in the Cobra Worlds, Jonny Moreau had to prevent a coup by some Cobras who believed this trope gave them the right to rule. Even later on, a compromise is reached by which Cobras have a double vote in Cobra Worlds elections.

* GuileHero: Every single Moreau. Seriously, ''[[UpToEleven every last one of them.]]''

** ''Cobra''
** ''Cobra Strike''
** ''Cobra Bargain''

** ''Cobra Alliance''
** ''Cobra Guardian''
** ''Cobra Gamble''

** ''Cobra Slave''
** ''Cobra Outlaw''
** ''Cobra Traitor''

** While the Qasamans, being [[SpaceJews Space Muslims]], are quite patriarchal in general, interestingly even the mainstream Dominion of Man seems to take this attitude to the military, not allowing women to serve even in non-combat roles. This isn't just SocietyMarchesOn, because militaries were already more open than this in TheEighties when the first book was written. It may concern the later history of the Dominion, but has never been explicitly explained.

* NotSoDifferent: A running theme between the Cobra Worlds and Qasama (after Qasama's first appearance).

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When Jonny comes back from the Troft war, he has a lot of trouble re-integrating into his sleepy hometown on his backwoods colony world. Not all of his Cobra equipment could be safely removed, so he still has his unbreakable bones, SuperStrength, fingertip lasers, and nanocomputer with all its programming. His dad asks him to use his lasers to help out at the auto body shop, but Jonny doesn't feel up to using his lasers yet, the memories of the war are too fresh. The only jobs he can find are manual labor exploiting his cybernetic strength, and Jonny can't bring himself to stay in them for more than a few days at a time, which causes friction between him and his girlfriend (who'd been seeing someone else while Jonny was away). And people are afraid of him because they don't know what he can or will do, to the point where his brother even warns him against pointing his fingers at people (even though the fingertip lasers are in the pinkies, not the forefingers). Finally, some kids give Jonny trouble in a nightclub, and when he leaves, two of them try and run him over with their car (though they were just playing a variant of "chicken.") Jonny's nanocomputer includes combat reflexes and analysis programs, and determines that Jonny is under attack and responds by firing with the fingertip lasers, wrecking the car and killing the two teens inside in the crash. While punched up for the setting's science fiction setting, all this is clearly allegorical for the problems veterans returning from war have to deal with in trying reacclamate to civilian life. Given the first novel was written in the early 80s, it's likely referencing Vietnam veterans, though the allegory is just as valid for veterans of TheWarOnTerror.

* ClarkesThirdLaw: Subverted. While the Qasamans call Cobras "demon warriors," they're aware they just have access to technology in advance of that of Qasama.

* DeathWorld: Caelian, largely because of the way its flora and fauna gang up on any unwelcome intruder.

* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: When Cobras don't want to kill enemy combatants, they'll use their [[ImprobableAimingSkill target locks]] to blast their weapons.

* {{Anvilicious}}: When Jonny comes back from the Troft war, he has a lot of trouble re-integrating into his sleepy hometown on his backwoods colony world. Not all of his Cobra equipment could be safely removed, so he still has his unbreakable bones, SuperStrength, fingertip lasers, and nanocomputer with all its programming. His dad asks him to use his lasers to help out at the auto body shop, but Jonny doesn't feel up to using his lasers yet, the memories of the war are too fresh. The only jobs he can find are manual labor exploiting his cybernetic strength, and Jonny can't bring himself to stay in them for more than a few days at a time, which causes friction between him and his girlfriend (who'd been seeing someone else while Jonny was away). And people are afraid of him because they don't know what he can or will do, to the point where his brother even warns him against pointing his fingers at people (even though the fingertip lasers are in the pinkies, not the forefingers). Finally, some kids give Jonny trouble in a nightclub, and when he leaves, two of them try and run him over with their car (though they were just playing a variant of "chicken.") Jonny's nanocomputer includes combat reflexes and analysis programs, and determines that Jonny is under attack and responds by firing with the fingertip lasers, wrecking the car and killing the two teens inside in the crash. While punched up for the setting's science fiction setting, all this is clearly allegorical for the problems veterans returning from war have to deal with in trying reacclamate to civilian life. Given the first novel was written in the early 80s, it's likely referencing Vietnam veterans, though the allegory is just as valid for veterans of TheWarOnTerror.

* ScaramangaSpecial: York carries one of these, a Marine-issue palm mate made from his calculator watch, pen, and star sapphire ring, in ''Cobra Strike''.

* HufflepuffHouse: Of the Cobra Worlds, most of the action takes place on Aventine, and we hear much about Caelian's lethal ecology before we actually get to see it. Palatine is only ever mentioned, and that sparsely, along with later Esquiline and Viminal.