History Literature / PatriotGames

** In addition, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_of_Nobility_Clause Article I, Section 9, Clause 8]] of the Constitution allows receipt of foreign honors with the permission of Congress. Given Jack's heroics, that shouldn't be hard to come by.

* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Sean Miller's lawyer attempts to trip up Ryan during the trial by berating him for not doing this to the terrorist he killed.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: The CIA personnel are able to make some solid guesses on how many people are in a desert camp by measuring how many of the tents have heaters running - even in the summer time, deserts get rather cold at night. Thus, they are able to tell when a camp takes on many new residents who take care to avoid being seen by the SpySatelites, which they infer to be the ULA operatives being trained in secret when combined with various other clues.

* BritishRoyalFamily: See AnonymousRinger above.

* UsefulNotes/TheIrishDiaspora: Jack Ryan is Irish-American, which gets mentioned when he becomes a local celebrity in England after saving the Royal Family.

** There's also the fact that Ryan re-joins the CIA to investigate the attack on Cathy and Sally.

* BadassBookworm: Chronologically, this is the first instance of Jack Ryan actually leaping into action to save the day (not counting his apprehending Boris Strokov in ''Literature/RedRabbit'').

** Possible FridgeBrilliance - This could explain his obsessive desire for revenge against Ryan. He tells his leader he wants to kill Ryan to help the cause; perhaps he's telling himself he's so determined because he wants vengeance for the botched kidnapping. But he goes well beyond reason, even for a terrorist, in his persecution of Jack Ryan. If he's sublimating the trauma from the rape under his political beliefs, his actions would seem less VillainBall and more ItsPersonal.

** Possible FridgeBrilliance - This could explain his obsessive desire for revenge against Ryan. He tells his leader he wants to kill Ryan to help the cause; maybe he's telling himself that he's so determined because he wants vengeance for the botched kidnapping. But he goes well beyond reason, even for a terrorist, in his persecution of Jack Ryan. If he's sublimating the trauma from the rape under his political beliefs, his actions would seem less VillainBall and more ItsPersonal.

** Possible FridgeBrilliance - This could explain his obsessive desire for revenge against Ryan. He tells his leader he wants to kill Ryan to help the cause, and maybe he's telling himself that he's so determined because he wants vengeance for the botched kidnapping. But he goes well beyond reason, even for a terrorist, in his persecution of Jack Ryan. If he's sublimating the trauma from the rape under his political beliefs, his actions would seem less VillianBall and more ItsPersonal.

* KnightFever: Ryan is knighted as a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order for his heroic deeds. It's commented on that due to Jack being a US citizen, the title would be more honorary than actual.

* ClosestThingWeGot: When the [=ULA=] attacks [[spoiler:the ferry that Sean Miller is being transported on to his future prison]], the only medical expert on the scene is a veterinarian who has no experience treating gunshot wounds. At least two people end up dying because of this, though the rest do survive.

* DumbMuscle: Eamon "Ned" Clark, a former [=PIRA=] killer, is selected for the first attempt to kill Ryan. He was picked largely because his only true strength was his loyalty, and would be unable to tell the authorities very much in the event that he were captured.

** [[spoiler:O'Donnell's ultimate goal was the elimination of the [=PIRA=] leadership and then replacing them as the leader.]]

* FalseFlagOperation: The attempt to kill Ryan and his family on American soil is ultimately this, as it ends up being mistaken as a [=PIRA=] operation.

* HiddenAgendaVillain: As the FBI and MI-5 note, the Ulster Liberation Army's motives are completely unknown; they break every "rule" that the [=PIRA=] has followed (don't attack the royal family, don't operate on American soil), with no clear end goal. [[spoiler:Turns out, O'Donnell simply wants to do enough damage to the [=PIRA=] and eliminate their leadership so that he can take over.]]

* ItsPersonal: Sean Miller's entire crusade throughout the novel to kill Ryan. While he is chastised for it by O'Donnell a few times, he is ultimately allowed to continue on since the missions still further the [=ULA=]'s goals. Of course, Miller does become more and more unstable as he fails, eventually culminating with [[spoiler:killing Alex Dobbens for rightly calling his failures out after he allows Ryan and the Prince of Wales to escape]].

* TheMole: The [=ULA=]'s primary informant within the British government, who is responsible for making possible virtually all of their major missions, is [[spoiler:Geoffrey Watkins]]. They also have various moles within the [=PIRA=], from the days when O'Donnell was their counter-intelligence chief.

* PantsPositiveSafety: Near the end of the novel, [[spoiler:after escaping the [=ULA=] attack on his home]], Ryan absentmindedly shoves a loaded semi-auto pistol down his waistband, with the safety off and the hammer cocked[[labelnote:*]]as in an inadvertent bump would be all that was needed to set it off, ending his line at Jack Jr.[[/labelnote]]. Gunny Breckenridge takes the gun out, puts the safety on and gives it back.

* RenegadeSplinterFaction: The Ulster Liberation Army to the Provisional [=IRA=].
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: After the second attempt on his life by the [=ULA=], Prince Charles decides that he's had enough of simply standing around like a target and actually works to apprehend the terrorists.

* {{Scotireland}}: The [=ULA=] takes advantage of Americans' tendency to fall for this trope, as it is hard for an American ear to tell the difference between a Scottish and Irish accent.

* SpySatellites - Averted in a zig zag fashion. When CIA intelligence analysts use a spy satellite to figure out which of several camps belongs to a rogue faction of the IRA, they are forced to use a still picture and to make some rather ambitious inferences to determine that the camp belongs to the bad guys - the camera can't show them faces. On the other hand, when an DGSE platoon raids the camp at night, the infrared spy satellite watching the action appears to give a perfect 'camera in the sky' view of the action. On the other hand, the raiders complete their mission in a matter of a few minutes.

* TheStarscream: During his stint as the [=PIRA=]'s counter-intelligence chief, O'Donnell actively purged members whose political views differed from his own. When he ended up being found out, he founded the [=ULA=] in an attempt to [[spoiler:kill the [=PIRA=]'s leadership and take their place]].
* TheTroubles
* WesternTerrorists: The [=IRA=] and [=ULA=] notwithstanding, there's also Alex Dobbens and his group of revolutionaries on US soil.

The second Literature/JackRyan novel written by TomClancy, and the second one chronologically (until ''Literature/WithoutRemorse'', it was the first chronologically). The book was published in 1987, and takes place in 1981.

Intended to be the first of the ''Jack Ryan'' series, it was initially only alluded to in what actually was the first book of the series, ''TheHuntForRedOctober''. After ''Red October'''s success though, Clancy decided to publish Ryan's prior feats in another book. Among the characters introduced in this novel was Robby Jackson, formerly a MauveShirt in ''Red October'', {{RetCon}}ned now to be Ryan's best friend.

* {{Interquel}}: Originally a {{Prequel}} to ''TheHuntForRedOctober'', it became this with the publishing of ''Literature/WithoutRemorse''.

* Prequel: To ''TheHuntForRedOctober''.

* PantsPositiveSafety: Near the end of the novel, [[spoiler:after escaping the [=ULA=] attack on his home]], Ryan absentmindedly shoves a loaded semi-auto pistol down his waistband, with the safety off and the hammer cocked*. Gunny Breckenridge takes the gun out, puts the safety on and gives it back.

The novel was later adapted into [[PatriotGames a film of the same name]].

!!''Patriot Games'' provides examples of the following tropes:

The second Literature/JackRyan novel written by TomClancy, and the second one chronologically (before ''Literature/WithoutRemorse'', it was the first chronologically), it was published in 1987, with the story taking place in 1981.

Intended to be the first of the ''Jack Ryan'' series, it was initially only alluded to in what actually was the first book of the series, ''TheHuntForRedOctober''. After its success though, Clancy decided to publish his prior feats in another book. Among the characters introduced in this novel was Robby Jackson, formerly a MauveShirt in ''Red October'', {{RetCon}}ned now to be Ryan's best friend.

'''''Patriot Games'' provides examples of the following tropes:'''

** BadassBystander: Ryan was initially discussing where he and Cathy would have dinner when they were rudely interrupted by an Irish terrorist attack.

** Also happens to [[spoiler Alex Dobbens and his men]] during the second attempt to kill Ryan and his family.

* I Want My Beloved to Be Fashionable: Cathy has Jack buy some rather nice English suits during their trip to England. It's extended on and commented on throughout many of the subsequent novels.

* MoscowCentre: With possibly their smallest role in any of the novels before ''Teeth of the Tiger'', Ryan is probed by a KGB "legal" spook for possible recruitment during a seminar at Georgetown. This becomes a ChekhovsGun later in ''Cardinal of the Kremlin''.

* Pants Positive Safety: Near the end of the novel, [[spoiler:after escaping the [=ULA=] attack on his home]], Ryan absentmindedly shoves a loaded semi-auto pistol down his waistband, with the safety off and the hammer cocked*. Gunny Breckenridge takes the gun out, puts the safety on and gives it back.

* WesternTerrorists: The [=IRA=] and [=ULA=] notwithstanding, there's also Alex Dobbens and his group of revolutionaries on US soil.

Historian and former Marine Jack Ryan is on a working vacation with his wife and daughter, when he witnesses Irish terrorists ambushing a car in broad daylight. Acting on instinct, Ryan quickly subdues one of the terrorists and kills the other, getting shot in the shoulder in the process. Later on, he learns that the terrorists' would-be victims were the Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their son. Ryan is suddenly catapulted into the limelight of the world stage for his heroism, but also becomes a political target for the terrorists because of his actions.

Intended to be the first of the ''Jack Ryan'' series, it was initially only alluded to in what actually was the first book of the series, ''TheHuntForRedOctober''. After its success though, Clancy decided to publish his prior feats in another book. Among the characters introduced in this novel was Robby Jackson, formerly a MauveShirt in ''Red October'', {{RetCon}}ned now to be Ryan's best friend.