I, Sniper is a novel by Stephen Hunter

Stephen Hunter

Stephen Hunter is an American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic.-Life and career:Stephen Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, a Northwestern University speech professor who was killed in 1975....

, published by Simon and Schuster in 2009. It is Hunter's sixth novel whose hero is Bob Lee Swagger

Bob Lee Swagger

Bob Lee Swagger is a fictional character created by Stephen Hunter. He is the protagonist in a series of books that relate his life after and during the Vietnam War—Point of Impact, Black Light, Time to Hunt, The 47th Samurai, Night of Thunder, I, Sniper and, most recently Dead Zero...

, a U. S. Marine Corps sniper who first appears in Point of Impact

Point of Impact

Point of Impact is a 1993 thriller novel by award-winning author Stephen Hunter.-Plot introduction:The plot revolves around a former Vietnam sniper named Bob Lee Swagger or Bob 'the Nailer'. This character is loosely based upon the real Vietnam sniper and Marine Corps legend Carlos Hathcock...

which is partially set in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. It is tenth in order of publication and sixth in the chronology of the character.

Bob Lee has been brought in as a consultant to analyze the data collected from the scene of the assassinations. He concludes that the shootings were not made by the accused perpetrator. When Carl Hitchcock turns up dead from an apparent suicide he decides to investigate further to clear a fellow sniper's name. Swagger begins investigating, by attending a demonstration of the supposed device used in the assassinations. The demonstration introduces a group of Irish soldiers who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The novel concludes with Swagger showing his ability to out last and out wit his enemy in a duel of snipers, clearing the name of the fallen Hitchcock in the process.

The characters include pseudonymous characters: Carl Hitchcock, a Marine Corps sniper based upon the real sniper, Carlos Hathcock

Carlos Hathcock

Carlos Hathcock was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. Hathcock's record and the extraordinary details of the missions he undertook made him a legend in the Marine Corps...

. Other characters are based upon Ted Turner

Ted Turner

Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...

, Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...

, Bill Ayers

Bill Ayers

William Charles "Bill" Ayers is an American elementary education theorist and a former leader in the movement that opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He is known for his 1960s activism as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction...

, and Chuck Mawhinney

Chuck Mawhinney

Charles Benjamin "Chuck" Mawhinney is an Oregon-born American who served in the United States Marine Corps as a sniper during the Vietnam War...

.