History TakingTheBullet / Literature

* In ''The Last English King'', a novel about 1066 and the Norman Conquest, Harold Godwinson's housecarl Walt puts out his arm to stop a sword slicing down at King Harold. The sword lops Walt's arm clean off and strikes Harold anyway. Walt later bitterly regrets not taking the sword strike with his whole body.

* ''Literature/RichAndJadeChanceSeries'': {{Invoked}} when Crown Prince Ali is thrown in front of his own assassin's bullet, so that they can make it look like he died saving his nephew who he tried to have killed in the first place.

* Nolan of the ''Ashtown Burials'' series does this for Cyrus in the [[BossBattle climactic battle]] at the end of ''Empire of Bones'', covering for the sharp-edged debris from a gigantic exploding statue instead of a bullet. Cyrus escapes with a few cuts from the high-speed shrapnel, while Nolan is shredded. [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Good Thing He Can Heal]].
** An earlier plan of attack involves the Captain and Nolan, as the two immortal party members, doing this deliberately to cover the rest of the team as they advance. Nolan sulks because not dying doesn't mean it doesn't ''[[ImmortalityHurts hurt]]''.

** In ''[[Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy I, Jedi]]'', Mara Jade and Corran Horn spend some time honing their Jedi laser-deflection skills on several remotes. If a remote's laser hits flesh, it really stings, but there's no permanent damage. At one point while the two are engaging in CasualDangerDialog Mara is almost shot in the face, but Corran intercepts with his hand. Amused, Mara says she owes him one. She delivers in a BigDamnHeroes moment.

* Literature/TogetherlyLong: Chiisai does this for Oukii when the evil [[GalacticConqueror Emperor Von Mal]]'s about to shoot him with his ray gun. Things don't quite go as expected, however, because Chiisai ends up [[GenderBender transforming from a boy into a girl]].

* In ''The Last English King'', a novel about 1066 and the Norman Conquest, Harold Godwinson's housecarl Walt puts out his arm to stop a sword slicing down at King Harold. The sword lops Walt's arm clean off and strikes Harold anyway. Walt later bitterly regrets not taking the sword strike with his whole body.
* In the first ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' novel, ''A Spell for Chameleon'', Bink's to-that-point unknown talent was revealed when an increasingly implausible string of obstacles kept intercepting Trent's transformation spells. Turns out Bink can't be hurt by magic means. Which simply caused the ever-pragmatic Trent to draw his completely un-magical sword and try to run Bink through. Leading to ''a second'' bullet catch, as Chameleon (changed into a deer by Trent's spell) took the blade instead.
* Subverted for the premise of David Allan Greer's short-lived sitcom, ''D.A.G.'': Greer's Secret Service agent dove to take a bullet aimed at the President, but dove the wrong way, leading everyone to assume he was diving out of the way and to his demotion to the First Lady's security detail.

* ''Literature/CiaphasCain''
** A minor tech-priest does this to protect Ciaphas from a Necron shot. Unfortunately, given the power of Necron weapons, he is instantly torn apart and vaporized, but he manages to save Cain, even if Cain loses a couple fingers from the sheer ''proximity'' of the horrible weapon fire.
** A villainous version in "Cain's Last Stand", where the defenders nearly managed to take out a Chaos battleship with an explosive-filled shuttle. Unfortunately, one of the escorts got in the way before it hit, destroying itself.
* Rockjaw Grang in the ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' novel ''The Long Patrol'', right before his YouShallNotPass moment. Also, Veil took a spear to protect his adoptive mother. It's unclear if this was a HeelFaceTurn or not, because even as he's dying he bitches her out and won't accept comfort, and she decides that everyone who said he was bad to the bone during his life was right.
* In ''Literature/ArtemisFowl - The Eternity Code'', just as Butler realizes he left Artemis unattended he rushes back and sees Artemis about to get shot, jumping in and taking the hit. Butler [[spoiler:dies of his injuries]], but Artemis is quick enough to [[spoiler:rig up a makeshift cryogenic chamber and call in a fairy for some magical healing.]]
* Inverted in ''Literature/{{Airman}}'', by Eoin Colfer; Victor performs a dramatic leap in front of a bullet to save King Nicholas, but, because he's just that bit too old, the bullet hits the webbing between his outstretched fingers and hits its intended target anyway. And then Victor gets shot, too.

* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': the elf lady Aredhel takes a javelin thrown by her husband and meant for their son. It's only a flesh wound, so she asks of the king her brother that her husband be spared... and then she dies in the night, because the weapon was poisoned.
* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', Eponine takes a bullet for her unrequited crush Marius. [[{{Irony}} Ironic]], because she [[LoveMakesYouEvil deliberately]] [[IfICantHaveYou led him to the barricades]] so that he would be killed and [[ClingyJealousGirl wouldn't be with his love Cosette.]]
* ''Literature/TheActionHerosHandbook'' has a ''chapter'' on how to properly take a bullet (so you can survive with minimal injuries to yourself).
* In ''Literature/{{Tigana}}'', Dianora combines this trope with HumanShield by jumping in front of a crossbow bolt.... but yanking a guy she doesn't like along with her. He winds up taking the shot in the shoulder.
* In the climatic battle at the end of the first ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' book ''Off Armageddon Reef'', a midshipman tries to Take The Crossbow Bolt for his king. King Haarahld instead grabs the midshipman to Take The Bullet for ''him'' instead. The king dies from bloodloss soon after, though his HeroicSacrifice makes him a martyr and hero to his people.
* In Creator/RobertAntonWilson's ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' series novel, ''The Widow's Son'', the elderly schemer Pietro Maldonado intervenes in a duel where his nephew Sigismundo, a hothead who knows nothing about guns, has trapped himself into a duel with the best pistol-shooter in all of Napoli. Pietro, in his intervention, surprises the protagonists and takes the bullet meant for his nephew. Who, on his very first go with a firearm, has BeginnersLuck in that he shoots the best gun in town full in the groin.

* Prince Almorante in ''Literature/ChroniclesOfMagravandias'' dies taking a sword for his enemy Valraven. People who hated him only minutes before were moved to tears by his sacrifice.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** In ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'', the orbital shipyard ''Cradle'' pulls an epic one, maneuvering into position between the UNSC and Covenant fleets and using its massive bulk to absorb the Covenant fire.
** In ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'', [[spoiler:Holly]] saves Kelly from two Hunters by jumping in the way of their fire, getting completely vaporized in the process.
* In Malinda Lo's ''Literature/{{Adaptation}}'' Amber takes a bullet for Reese. She gets better, thanks to her [[HealingFactor healing powers.]]
* Happens twice in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' by Creator/TamoraPierce. In the second book, Alanna takes an arrow for Prince Jon, but it only results in a painful arm wound. In the fourth, [[spoiler:Liam Ironarm dies by taking ''several'' arrows for now-King Jon during the coronation coup]].
* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'': Fawkes (a phoenix) is able to swallow an Avada Kedavra curse, expire as a result, and then return to life.
* In ''[[Literature/{{Newsflesh}} Blackout]]'', Shaun does this to protect [[spoiler:President Ryman]] from a dart loaded with live Kellis-Amberlee virus. [[spoiler: He's the only one in the room at the time who knows he's immune to [=KA=].]]

* In ''Literature/LastSacrifice'', Tasha Ozera fires bullets at Lissa. Both Rose and Dimitri throw themselves before her. Rose takes the bullet.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' novel ''[[Recap/NewSeriesAdventuresEnginesofWar Engines of War]]'', Cinder jumps in between a shot fired by Karlax and the Doctor. "You said I'd only get in the way."
* In ''Literature/PanTadeusz'', [[spoiler: father Robak]] who is TheAtoner, does it for a distant relative of the person he's atoning for murdering.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': During the Quarter Quell, [[spoiler: one of the morphlings is killed by an attack from a vicious monkey that was meant for Peeta]].
* In the ''Literature/{{Nightrunner}}'' novel ''Shadows Return'', [[spoiler: Alec takes the arrows meant for Seregil and dies. Fortunately, they were traveling with a magical creature that could bring the dead back to life at the time]].

* ''Literature/TheInfected'': By the same author as the above, has a number of bulletproof or armored characters doing this at various points. One standout is Marcia Turner, Quartz, sprinting at a rocket-propelled grenade, so none of her friends will be in the blast radius when it explodes.
* In John French’s ''Literature/ThousandSons'' trilogy, Sanakht took a psychic attack from a rival sorcerer on behalf of his master Ahriman at some point in the backstory. Sanakht survived, but the attack burnt out much of his psychic potential, and now he struggles to perform the most basic psychic feats like {{Telepathy}}, though he remains a deadly MasterSwordsman.

* In ''Literature/ArtemisFowl - The Eternity Code'', just as Butler realizes he left Artemis unattended he rushes back and sees Artemis about to get shot, jumping in and taking the hit. Butler loses consciousness from blood loss, leaving Artemis to quickly contact Holly to save him, the healing managed to recover him but with some [[CastFromLifespan complications.]]

* Happens in the third ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' book, ''The Eternity Code''.

* In Creator/RobertAntonWilson's ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' series novel, ''The Widow's Son'', the elderly schemer Pietro Maldonado intervenes in a duel where his nephew Sigismundo, a hothead who knows nothing about guns, has trapped himself into a duel with the best pistol-shooter in all of Napoli. Pietro, in his intervention, surprises the protagonists and takes the bullet meant for his nephew. Who, [[CueIrony on his very first go with a firearm]], has BeginnersLuck in that he shoots the best gun in town full in the groin.

** In the novel ''Discworld/MakingMoney'', Moist von Lipwig saves Lord Vetinari from public embarrassment by taking ''a PieInTheFace'' for him.
** Done with a crossbow bolt in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', and several times with actual gun-fired bullets in ''Discworld/MenAtArms'' as well. Detritus proudly says that there's five shots in his breastplate but not his backplate because his body got in the way. He oozed quite a bit though. Carrot takes a shot in the shoulder for the Patrician. Angua takes four shots to her body for Carrot and Vimes.