Dark Lord of Derkholm: Difference between revisions

* [[Gadgeteer Genius]]: Callette is one of these... and she's a ''griffin.''

* [[Massive Numbered Siblings]]: Seven in the first book, {{spoiler|nine in the second}}.

* [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]]

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Elda loves fresh fruit--oranges especially.

* [[Our Mermaids Are Different]]: Throughout the book, the hero, Derk, attempts to figure out what to make his next project. He spends a lot of it mulling over making mermaids {{spoiler|in the hopes that collaborating to carry and raise a mermaid child will help bring him and his wife closer together.}}

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: {{spoiler|Think Sukey is just a [[Brainless Beauty]]? Think again.}}

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: Elf Prince Talithan, and Scales. Talithan is at one point highly upset because the city [[Designated Villain|he was going to sack]] {{spoiler|didn't have any people in it}}.

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: Derk is perhaps the ultimate example. He isn't even ''evil.'' He ''has'' to play the Dark Lord because his boss sucks.

* [[Winged Humanoid]]: {{spoiler|What Derk decides to make at the end of the book. We see these two children in the sequel.}}

* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: ''Inverted,'' of all the crazy things. {{spoiler|Derk is genuinely clueless. However, everyone around him hopes his cluelessness will convince the odious fellow abusing their world to leave them alone, and so they try to help him be ''more'' clueless than usual. Naturally, this is the exact time Derk decides to get competent, and kicks the bad guy out by doing the ''exact opposite of what everyone thought he'd do.''}}

 

=== Tropes featured in ''Year of the Griffin'' include: ===

* [[Parent Ex Machina]]: not literally; but the return of Querida and the older wizards to the University plays with this.

* [[Promotion to Parent]]: This is the backstory of Lukin; it caused him great frustration when his father came back and tried to treat him like a child again.

* [[Six-Student Clique]]: The students.

** The Head: Lukin

* [[Two-Teacher School]]: Not quite, but almost. There are about five teachers mentioned, but only two of them seem to have a role in teaching the six main characters- Corkoran (their tutor, who also gives lectures to them) and Wermacht (who teaches almost all the first-year classes). Neither is terribly competent. (One character mentions attending Myrna's lectures as well, but this comes up only once.)

* [[Volleying Insults]]: In marked contrast to his behavior in the rest of the book, Felim engages in this with {{spoiler|his brother the Emir.}}

 

{{reflist}}