History Creator / RALafferty

--->On his next voyage he changed his name to Blaze Bolt and ruled for ninety-seven days as king of a sweet sea island in M-81, [[NoodleIncident but that is another and much more unpleasant story]].

-->The mad dream disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. The world came back to normal with an embarrassed laugh. It was all over. It had lasted from its inception six weeks.

* TheHiddenHour: The former kind of time in "Days of Grass, Days of Straw"

* PlausibleDeniability: A supercomputer in "What's the Name of That Town" reveals that there used to be a city called [[spoiler: Chicago]] that was destroyed in a horrendous accident. As soon as the story is told, all the listeners forget, as does the computer.

->'''Atrox Fabulinus, the Roman Rabelais, once broke off the account of his hero Raphaelus in the act of opening a giant goose egg to fry it in an iron skillet of six yards' span. Fabulinus interrupted the action with these words: "Here it becomes necessary to recount to you the history of the world up to this point.''

->''After Fabulinus had given the history of the world up to that point, he took up the action of Raphaelus once more. It happened that the giant goose egg contained a nubile young girl. This revelation would have been startling to a reader who had not just read the history of the world up to that point: which history, being Fabulinian in its treatment, prepared him for the event.'''
-->-- ''The Fall of Rome'''''[[note]]A non-fiction book, but it's written in an oral style. Fabulinus is invented for this chapter and is just Lafferty [[LampshadeHanging lampshading his writing style]][[/note]]

* BiggerOnTheInside: In ''Narrow Valley'' an entire valley resembles a ditch from outside. "Its like one of those trick topographical drawings."

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty (1914 – 2002), more commonly known as R.A. Lafferty, was an American author of ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}}. He is most associated with the state of Oklahoma, where he spent most of his life, although he was born in Iowa. Something of a late bloomer, he first started publishing fiction in his mid forties, midway into a successful career as an engineer and well after a stint in the army during WorldWarTwo. Lafferty's fiction is blatantly anti-realistic, taking as its model tall tales, oral folklore, and standup comedy more than mainstream fiction or non-fiction, and the FourthWall is [[BreakingTheFourthWall frequently broken]]. He is also one for MoodWhiplash, and his stories and novels often start off in the comic realm before switching to tragedy or horror and '''maybe''' coming back.

-->-- ''The Fall of Rome'''''[[note]]''The Fall of Rome'' is a non-fiction book, but it's written in an oral style. Fabulinus is invented for this chapter and is just Lafferty [[LampshadeHanging lampshading his writing style]][[/note]]

-->-- '''Auctore, ''The Fall of Rome'''''[[note]]Auctore in Latin can mean Author. Lafferty did write a non-fiction book called ''The Fall of Rome'' but the above excerpt, from ''East of Laughter,'' is him [[LampshadeHanging lampshading his writing style]][[/note]]

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty, more commonly known as R.A. Lafferty, was an American author of ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}}. He is most associated with the state of Oklahoma, where he spent most of his life, although he was born in Iowa. Something of a late bloomer, he first started publishing fiction in his mid forties, midway into a successful career as an engineer and well after a stint in the army during WorldWarTwo. Lafferty's fiction is blatantly anti-realistic, taking as its model tall tales, oral folklore, and standup comedy more than mainstream fiction or non-fiction, and the FourthWall is [[BreakingTheFourthWall frequently broken]]. He is also one for MoodWhiplash, and his stories and novels often start off in the comic realm before switching to tragedy or horror and '''maybe''' coming back.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: In the short story "Nine Hundred Grandmothers", the [[SpacePatrol Special Aspects Men]] all give themselves names like Manbreaker Crag, Heave Huckle, and (in a name [[ShoutOut that turned up later]] on a sample character in the first edition ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeon Master's Guide]]'') Gutboy Barrelhouse. The one exception is the story's protagonist, [[FailOSuckyname Ceran Swicegood]].

* AwesomeMcCoolname: In the short story "Nine Hundred Grandmothers", the [[SpacePatrol Special Aspects Men]] all give themselves names like Manbreaker Crag, Heave Huckle, and (in a name that turned up later on a sample character in the [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide]]) Gutboy Barrelhouse. The one exception is the story's protagonist, [[FailOSuckyname Ceran Swicegood]].

AwesomeMcCoolname: In the short story "Nine Hundred Grandmothers", the [[SpacePatrol Special Aspects Men]] all give themselves names like Manbreaker Crag, Heave Huckle, and (in a name that turned up later on a sample character in the [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide]]) Gutboy Barrelhouse. The one exception is the story's protagonist, [[FailOSuckyname Ceran Swicegood]].

-->-- '''NeilGaiman'''

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Despite acclaim from fellow authors like NeilGaiman, comedian BillHader and several awards Lafferty tends to fall out of publication from time to time. Some of his books can go for three times their original worth second hand. His only historical non-fiction book, ''The Fall of Rome'', has never been republished since the 70's.

** The three "eminent scientists" Dr. Velikof Vonk, Arpad Arkabaranan and Willy McGilly (whose scientific method is magic) who usually function as a team.

* BearsAreBadNews: ''Snuffles'' intially subverts this. Snuffles is an somewhat intelligent alien creature that resembles a bear and is very friendly [[spoiler: until the second chapter where its played straight, then taken UpToEleven before becoming HighOctaneNightmareFuel.]]

--> [[ItMakesSenseInContext ''This way lies madness and rump of skunk.'']]

* WorldOfSymbolism / RuleOfSymbolism: Prevalent in most of his novels, though not in his short stories so much. Lafferty remarked that his novels were 'more rewarding' than the short stories.

* UnreliableNarrator: Lafferty is one of the few authors who could [[PlayingWithATrope play with this]] in the Third Person, usually to great effect. For instance, ''The Name of the Snake'' is about a [[TheMissionary Catholic Priest]] who sets out to convert the Analoi on a distant planet. A first it seems like a normal, if jocular, third person narration until [[MoodWhiplash the end]] [[spoiler: where you realize that the story is being told by an Analoi who, in the last paragraphs, brags about [[ToServeMan what a good meal the Catholic missionary made]].]]

* ViewersAreGeniuses: Lafferty's prose is filled with language and historical jokes that few will perceive.

* BiggerOnTheInside: In ''Narrow Valley'' an entire valley resembles a ditch from outside. "Its like one of those trick topographical drawings."

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Despite acclaim from fellow authors like NeilGaiman and several awards Lafferty tends to fall out of publication from time to time. Some of his books can go for three times their original worth second hand. His only historical non-fiction novel, ''The Fall of Rome'', has never been republished since the 70's.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Despite acclaim from fellow authors like NeilGaiman and several awards Lafferty tends to fall out of publication. Some of his books can go for three times their original worth second hand.

-->-- '''Auctore, ''The Fall of Rome'''''[[note]]Auctore in Latin can mean Author. Lafferty did write a non-fiction book called ''The Fall of Rome'' but the above excerpt is him [[LampshadeHanging lampshading his writing style]][[/note]]

* PlausibleDeniability: A supercomputer in "What's the Name of That Town" reveals that there used to be a city called [[spoiler: Chicago]] that was destroyed in a horrendous accident. As soon as the story is told, all the listeners forget, as does the computer.

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty, more commonly known as R.A. Lafferty, was an American author of ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}}. He is most associated with the state of Oklahoma, where he spent most of his life, although he was born in Iowa. Something of a late bloomer, he first started publishing fiction in his mid forties, midway into a successful career as an engineer and well after a stint in the navy during WorldWarTwo. Lafferty's fiction is blatantly anti-realistic, taking as its model tall tales, oral folklore, and standup comedy more than mainstream fiction or non-fiction, and the FourthWall is [[BreakingTheFourthWall frequently broken]]. He is also one for MoodWhiplash, and his stories and novels often start off in the comic realm before switching to tragedy or horror and '''maybe''' coming back.

* TheFairFolk: The {{Creepy Child}}ren in ''Space Chantey'' are supposed to be aliens, but behave more life enigmatic and mischievous fairies.