Council Wars: Difference between revisions

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{{tropework}}
A series of books by [[John Ringo]] that takes place in the 41st century. Advanced [[Nanomachines|nanotechnology]], [[Teleporters and Transporters|teleportation]], and other technologies which are essentially Clarke's law made real have created a [[Utopia|utopian society]]. All of this is controlled and coordinated by an Artificial Intelligence called [[Meaningful Name|Mother]].
 
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The series follows the Council members as they fight the New Destiny faction, and the [[Muggles]] who just try to survive the Fallen world, using methods vaguely remembered from historical reenactments.
 
The series thus far{{when}} includes:
 
* ''There Will Be Dragons'' (2003)
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* ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon'' (2006)
 
The series is not to be confused with [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_Wars:Council Wars|the other Council Wars]], which is what happened when racism met [[The Windy City]]'s machine politics in the worst possible way.
 
'''Spoilers below for those who haven't read the first book'''
 
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{{franchisetropes}}
These books provide examples of:
* [[After the End]] - The Fall.
* [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot]] - The AI Wars, and the subsequent law that no new ones may be produced.
* [[All of the Other Reindeer]] - Herzer got this before his disease was cured.
* [[All Trolls Are Different]] - Changed elves.
* [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] - Although most of New Destiny's forces were Changed against their will and are innocent victims, Celine designed them this way and so they get no mercy from the Good Guys because there's no way to Change them back unless the war is won.
* [[Asexuality]] - Rachel.
* [[Anyone Can Die]] - And does. None of the primary protagonists (yet), but some have had some very close calls. Some have the hope of being brought back, once the Net is back up, although there's no guarantee of that. Most everyone else is [[Deader Than Dead]], though.
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* [[Drop the Hammer]] - The preferred weapon of Edmund, aka {{spoiler|Charles the Hammer, former ruler of Anarchia}}. Given that he started as a blacksmith, this probably isn't surprising.
* [[Fantasy Gun Control]] - Played straight; Mother siphons off the energy of any explosion or other release of energy beyond a certain level, rendering guns useless.
* [[Finders, Rulers]] - Membership in the council is simply a matter of holding a Key. At least two people have made it to the council by stealing a Key.
* [[Fur Bikini]] - [[Justified Trope]], as it can be a way to distract men, while they are in freezing temperatures that don't have any effect on Bast.
* [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]] - Averted. Change is a common method of trying out something new, and common.
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* [[I Shall Taunt You]] - [[The Dragon|Dionys McCannock]] tries this, in the climactic battle of ''There Will Be Dragons'', but it's brushed aside by Edmund Talbot, who then replies with [[Crowning Moment/Literature|sheer awesomeness]].
* [[Mad Scientist]] - Celine Reinshafen (vampire hamster, anyone?)
** The creator of[[Shout -Out|Bun Bun]].
** The scientist responsible for creating one of the ancestors for a dragon carrier's captains. {{spoiler|She's a cat-girl, non-Changed. Her several-times great-grandmother was an actual cat, Changed to a humanoid cat-girl. The scientist responsible did this for ''exactly'' the reasons one would assume. The uplifted cat-woman did not respond well to discovering she'd been named "Muffins" and ended up breaking his heart by leaving for someone else - from which relationship the captain was indirectly produced}}
* [[Magic From Technology]] - The series is described as "Clarke's Law made real".
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* [[Scary Scorpions]]: In ''East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon''. Giant ones. At first, we don't even see them, only the results of their work. One character, based on evidence left behind initially confuses them for [https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Solifugae Solifugae], better known to 21st century audiences as Camel Spiders. They turn up later when sent to try and kill the protagonists, and again in the book's climax.
** Oh, and in the book's climax? The [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|scorpions can fight in space just fine.]] [[It Got Worse|And they shoot acid that eats through space suits.]]
* [[Schizo -Tech]] - Although the overall technology level of most of the world has been reduced to pre-industrial levels, they do have some equipment made pre-Fall that still works if it doesn't depend on power from the Net, and the Council members on each side supply their allies with the odd useful tool. Also, while most people are limited in what technology they can implement, what they can use is often vastly improved over what was historically available due to the accumulated knowledge humanity has acquired: better metal alloys and ways of working it, more efficient farming techniques (with genetically engineered crops), compound bow designs, sailing ships with flush toilets, and so on.
** The giant spaceship in orbit. It is kinda hard to get to, though.
* [[Selkies and Wereseals]]: In ''Against the Tide'', selkies are used with tongue-in-cheek humor, as the fantasy counterpart of Real Life U.S. Navy SEALs.
* [[Shout -Out]] - several, most notably Bun-bun from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''.
** The Wyverns in the council wars universe will eat anything if there's enough ketchup on it - probably a reference to the well known take-off on Tolkien's line about wizards.
* [[Social Darwinist]] - Paul Bowman, and the New Destiny group by extension.
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* [[The Spartan Way]] - The Blood Lords, who are an interesting combination of Roman legions and English longbowmen.
* [[We Have Reserves]] - Explicitly named as the military strategy of New Destiny.
* [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]] - Paul Bowman.
* [[Wooden Ships and Iron Men]] - Quite a lot of ''Emerald Sea'' and ''Against the Tide'' are about 40th century recreations of this era, due to the Fall and restrictions imposed by Mother, that make combustion-based engines beyond a certain low power output unavailable.
* [[Worthy Opponent]] - Edmund complains about the lack of these in ''There Will Be Dragons''.
* [[Writer Onon Board]] - Aside from the examples of [[Author Appeal]] and [[Author Filibuster]] mentioned above, the reader ''will'' learn John Ringo's views on gun control, welfare, sexual equality, the US invasion of Iraq...
* [[Write Who You Know]] - The merpeople in ''The Emerald Sea'' were based on the crew of a Caribbean cruise ship, as well as some Ringo fans given a fictional counterpart in the series.
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Military Science Fiction]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]
[[Category:CouncilMilitary Warsand Warfare Literature]]
[[Category:TropeWorks by John Ringo]]