Worlds of Shadow

Worlds of Shadow is the three-book series by Lawrence Watt-Evans. It's the tale of an Unlucky Everydude and his friends and family as they find themselves caught up in a battle against an Evil Overlord who's taken over a fantasy universe and is attacking a sci-fi one. According to the author, "That would imply that the series is science-fantasy, blending two genres -- but actually, it's more like horror, because in none of the three worlds do the good guys always win."


 * Aliens Speaking English / Human Aliens: Justified?there are an infinite number of parallel universes, but contact can be made only if those sending and receiving are of similar species and speak a similar language.
 * Anyone Can Die
 * Arbitrary Skepticism: One character is convinced the events of the story are All Just a Dream, and essentially goes insane as a result.
 * Boring Failure Hero: The reason (or rather, a reason) some people really, really hate the first book.
 * Cain and Abel: Raven and his brother.
 * Deus Angst Machina: There's a reason there aren't any tropes here from the second or third book.
 * Humans Are White: Lampshaded in the sci-fi universe in such a manner as to give Inferred Holocaust a new meaning.
 * It's Personal:
 * Mind Over Manners: Played straight in that psychics follow it, subverted in that most people don't believe they follow it, and consequently don't trust them.
 * Red Shirt: Characters with no first name have a poor survival rate. Interestingly enough, the main character considers himself a Red Shirt.
 * Refusal of the Call: Played with.
 * This Is Reality: Not to mention something of a Take That to two entire genres and their idealistic tendencies. The main character also qualifies as Wrong Genre Savvy.