History Creator / GraemeBase

His books include ''Animalia'', ''The Eleventh Hour'', ''The Sign of the Seahorse'', ''The Worst Band in the Universe'', and ''Jungle Drums''.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Subverted, then played straight. Everyone assumes the Musical Inquisitor earned his position by being the best at Splingtwanger playing (which passes for combat on Blipp), but when Sprocc confronts him, his citizens discover [[spoiler:he can't play at all. He attempts to destroy the temple in revenge, but the Eldest One's talent on the Splingtwanger saves the day.]]

* FiveManBand: On [=WasteDump=] B19.
** TheLeader = Sprocc
** TheLancer = Skat
** TheSmartGuy = [=ButtonPusher=]
** TheBigGuy = Stickman (who is actually the drummer in Sprocc's band, appropriately)
** TheChick = Breather

* NoNameGiven: The Swan is the only party guest whose given name is nowhere to be found in any of the verses or hidden clues. [[spoiler:In a bit of FridgeBrilliance, she is the only guest aside from the actual culprit who doesn't flat-out state that she wasn't guilty (she merely casts suspicion on Oliver the Pig), but as we don't know her name, it can't be used to decode the final cipher.]]

* DumbMuscle: Stan and Ted, the Groper's shark enforcers of "dubious [=IQs=]."

* LoveAtFirstSight: Pearl and Bert knew the moment they looked into each other's eyes("first one stalk, then the other"). [[StarCrossedLovers Unfortunately]], he is called away on duty before the two can even speak.

* ''AnimalVehicleHybrid'': Truck Dogs features dogs with vehicle body parts.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: " . . . as Finny freed his friends"
* AppropriateAnimalAttire: The amount of clothing worn varies from character to character. Bert sports elaborate officer's attire (complete with boots, epaulettes, and one white glove), Stan and Ted wear suit tops . . . but not bottoms, and Pearl is usually seen in only a [[PunnyName pearl]] necklace.

* GangBangers: Subverted. The Catfish Gang, described as "a motley mixture of rough diamonds" . . .

* ThrowingDownTheGauntlet

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure[=/=]RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Eldest one is sympathetic to Sprocc's cause and [[spoiler:eventually saves the day.]]

* NoNameGiven: The swan is the only party guest whose given name is nowhere to be found in any of the verses or hidden clues. [[spoiler:In a bit of FridgeBrilliance, she is the only guest aside from the actual culprit who doesn't flat-out state that she wasn't guilty (she merely casts suspicion on the pig), but as we don't know her name, it can't be used to decode the final cipher.]]

* MixAndMatchCritters: ''Truck Dogs'' features dogs with vehicle body parts.

* {{Allusion}}
-->'''Musical Inquisitor:''' I have a dream, a Brave New World, where every note is fixed . . .

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure/RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Eldest one is sympathetic to Sprocc's cause and [[spoiler:eventually saves the day.]]

* HiddenHeartOfGold: Skat acts like a {{Jerkass}}, but he turns out to be a bit of a hero himself.

* StandardTimeUnits: Sprocc's age is given as "thirteen standard years."

* TwoOfYourEarthMinutes: Sprocc's age is given as "thirteen standard years."

* BattleOfTheBands: ''The Worst Band in the Universe''
* CulturePolice: ''The Worst Band in the Universe'' is set in a society with strictly-policed ideas about what's acceptable in music.
* ExactWords: In ''The Eleventh Hour'', every party guest denies being responsible for stealing Horace's birthday feast, and a clue near the end confirms that they have all told the truth--yet one of them is still the culprit. The final solution explains that [[spoiler:Kilroy the Mouse was correct when he gave his denial in the form 'one mouse could never eat it all' - he let in 111 fellow mice as accomplices and they stole and ate it together]].
* GuideDangIt: The complex puzzles in ''The Eleventh Hour'' provoked many such a moment. Originally you had to send off for an answer booklet, in later editions this was included with the book.

* RedHerring: ''The Eleventh Hour'', a mystery story, features many clues in the illustrations, some of which are red herrings. There's also at least one ''literal'' red herring.
* TryEverything: The final solution to ''The Eleventh Hour'' is unlocked by decoding a message on the last page using the first letter of the culprit's name as an alphanumeric cipher. The answer book acknowledges it is perfectly possible to brute-force the answer (especially since there are only 11 suspects [[spoiler:and the leap of logic would suggest the 11th letter of the alphabet]]) but both it and several hidden clues near the end of the story advise that the reader will have more fun if they use observation and deduction to find the culprit first.

* GeniusBonus: His works are full of them, especially in ''The Eleventh Hour'' (some of which are discussed in the answer booklet).

* OneOfUs: In ''Animalia'', there's a [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek]] on the D spread.

* TryEverything: The final solution to ''The Eleventh Hour'' is unlocked by decoding a message on the last page using the first letter of the culprit's name as an alphanumeric cypher. The answer book acknowledges it is perfectly possible to brute-force the answer (especially since there are only 11 suspects) but both it and several hidden clues near the end of the story advise that the reader will have more fun if they use observation and deduction to find the culprit first.

* ExactWords: In ''TheEleventhHour'', every party guest denies being responsible for stealing Horace's birthday feast, and a clue near the end confirms that they have all told the truth--yet one of them is still the culprit. The final solution explains that [[spoiler:Kilroy the Mouse was correct when he gave his denial in the form 'one mouse could never eat it all' - he let in 111 fellow mice as accomplices and they stole and ate it together]].