History LIterature / GloryRoad

* ShoutOut: Numerous shout outs to myth, legend and the few fantasy novels in existence in 1963, including references to NorseMythology, ''TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and Cyrano de Bergerac (the Never-Born).

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Grandmother actually, in an immortality (or something similar) take on the trope. Star is Igli's grandmother, but looks much younger due to their both undergoing the [[ImmortalityInducer "longevity treatment"]] but having differing preferences as to desired physical age.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Eater of Souls, a witty, FauxAffablyEvil construct set at the heart of the Tower of the Egg who waits for TheHero to come so he can [[HannibalLecture dissect his character]], shortly before dissecting his body.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Count Cagliostro, an adventurer/con artist who claimed to be immortal is explained as being one of Star's relatives who underwent the same immortality treatment.

* SpankTheCutie: [[AuthorAppeal Typically for a Heinlein novel]], originally as a threat by Scar following the BlueAndOrangeMorality incident mentioned above, and later as foreplay.

* DeathWorld: Karth-Hokesh. Humans can survive there for only a few hours.
** It may also count as {{Mordor}}, since the novel hasn't dropped all pretense of being a fantasy story by that point.

* GoodBadGirl: Star.

* IHaveManyNames: Star has truckloads.

* StandardHeroReward: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Oscar's much happier out on the road slaying dragons than as the pampered, but ultimately useless consort of an Empress.

* AWizardDidIt: Oscar reflects that the technology in use by Star's folks is so advanced that it might as well be magic.

* ShoutOut: Numerous shout outs to myth, legend and the few fantasy novels in existence in 1963, including references to NorseMythology, ''TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', ''TheHobbit'' and Cyrano de Bergerac (the Never-Born).

* GeniusBruiser: Oscar and Star; probably Rufo, too.

* NamedWeapons: Oscar's sword, "Lady Vivamus". He named it from the motto etched onto it, "Dum vivamus, vivamus!" (While we live, let us live.)

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* FountainOfYouth: Longevity therapy is standard in Star's culture (very similar in principle to that discussed in ''TimeEnoughForLove''). She herself has lived several centuries and has Oscar treated the same way, unknowingly.

* EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Embarrassingly averted; Earth is such a backwater that Star's civilization hasn't even got an embassy there. It's just very convenient as a major hub in the PortalNetwork.

!!This novel provides examples Of:

''Glory Road'' is a ScienceFiction novel written by RobertAHeinlein and published in 1963, originally in serial form. It is a {{Reconstruction}} of the standard pulp adventure novels of the era.

* DraftDodging: Oscar tries very hard to avoid getting into the unnamed conflict in Southeast Asia, but eventually resigns himself to it as there are no other viable options. Interestingly, the conflict seems to be in Vietnam, although the book was published in 1963, well ''before'' the period of major U.S. combat involvement there began.

* HideousHangoverCure: Star knows one, and the mnemonic for it is a ShoutOut to ''{{MacBeth}}'': "Eye of newt and toe of frog..."

* IHaveManyNames: Star has truckloads.

* WaterfallShower: Oscar and Star bathe under several waterfalls in the area called the Singing Waters (so named for the sounds the water makes falling over them).

!!Provides Examples Of:

* ShoutOut: Numerous shout outs to myth, legend and the few fantasy novels in existence in 1963, including references to NorseMythology, ''TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', and ''TheHobbit''.

* VertebrateWithExtraLimbs: Horses with eight legs (which are a ShoutOut to Sleipnir, Odin's horse in Norse myth).

* ShoutOut: Numerous shout outs to myth, legend and the few fantasy novels in existence in 1963, including references to Norse myth, ''TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', and ''TheHobbit''.

Together they embark on a swashbuckling romp to confront the thief, in which all of Oscar's qualities come into play. After an exceedingly narrow victory, the triumphant hero travels to Star's planet where he [[StandardHeroReward marries her and becomes her consort]], with all the riches and knowledge of the Fifty Universes at his command. Then he discovers that he's [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow completely unsuited to this life]] and is far happier out on the Glory Road [[InHarmsWay having adventures]].

* TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay: Although Star rules the Fifty Universes, it is unclear whether any of them managed to get out of their local version of the Milky Way -- if they even have one, as the laws of physics are different in each one.

* ReallyGetsAround: Star, partly as a result of the FreeLoveFuture but also as an acknowledged relief valve for the enormous stress of running the Fifty Universes.

* SoWhatDoWeDoNow: What does a Hero do after beating the bad guy, saving the Fifty Universes, and marrying the Empress? Oscar finds himself asking this exact question.

TheHero, Oscar Gordon, is a dashing ne'er-do-well who gets through life mainly by figuring out creative ways to avoid any real responsibility, while practicing such esoteric arts as swordsmanship. The DistressedDamsel, Star, is in reality an Empress, who is seeking out Oscar because a very sophisticated computer analysis determined him to have precisely those qualities needed to rescue the [[MacGuffin Egg of the Phoenix]], a device containing all the accumulated wisdom of millennia of Emperors and vital to ruling the Fifty Universes. She is accompanied by a shifty fellow by the name of Rufo who seemingly embodies all the [[CombatPragmatist dirty fighting]] tricks known to mankind.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Star is shocked to find out that sex is a salable commodity in Oscar's reality. In her world, a woman's sexuality is considered an integral part of her spiritual existence and it can not be bought and sold, only partaken of as a gift of the woman. She's also horrified to find out that Oscar turned down the sexual advances of their host's daughter and wife the night before. While he thought he was protecting the sanctity of his host's home and family by not taking advantage of the man's family, their host was so insulted that he turned down their gift that he expelled them from his home at first light.

* DraftDodging: Oscar tries very hard to avoid getting into the unnamed conflict in Southeast Asia, but eventually resigns himself to it as there are no other viable options. Interestingly, conflict seems to be in Vietnam, but the book was published in 1963, well ''before'' the period of major U.S. combat involvement there began.

TheHero, Oscar Gordon, is a dashing ne'er-do-well who gets through life mainly by figuring out creative ways to avoid any real responsibility, while practicing such esoteric arts as swordsmanship. The DistressedDamsel, Star, is in reality an Empress, who is seeking out Oscar because a very sophisticated computer analysis determined him to have precisely those qualities needed to rescue the [[MacGuffin Egg of the Phoenix]], a device containing all the accumulated wisdom of millennia of Emperors and vital to ruling the Fifty Universes. She is accompanied by a shifty fellow by the name of Rufus who seemingly embodies all the [[CombatPragmatist dirty fighting]] tricks known to mankind.

* AchievementsInIgnorance: Oscar, knowing nothing of hypergeometry, somehow manages to feed Igli ''to himself'', thereby killing the unkillable construct. He is complimented on this by Star and Rufus.

* BigLabyrinthineBuilding: Where the bad guys took the Egg. It's so elaborate, in fact, that hundreds of Star's spies died figuring out the route to its hiding place.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Star is shocked to find out that sex is a sellable commodity in Oscar's reality. In her world, a woman's sexuality is considered an integral part of her spiritual existence and it can not be bought and sold, only partaken of as a gift of the woman. She's also horrified to find out that Oscar turned down the sexual advances of their host's daughter and wife the night before. While he thought he was protecting the sanctity of his host's home and family by not taking advantage of the man's family, their host was so insulted that he turned down their gift that he expelled them from his home at first light.

* CongruentMemory: Rufus learned to shave by doing it on corpses, so he can only shave Oscar while he's lying down. He claims to have learned this from his time as an undertaker. Star says she can't remember him ever being an undertaker, but since both of them lie as easily as they breathe, it's hard to tell who's being honest there.
* DagwoodSandwich: Oscar offers to create one for a girl he meets at a party on Center. Primitive Earth culture at least has novelty to offer.
* DangerouslyCloseShave: Related to CongruentMemory, above, Rufus and Oscar start a semi-serious RunningGag with the DeadlyEuphemism, "shaving a corpse."

* DraftDodging: Oscar tries very hard to avoid getting into the Vietnam war, but eventually resigns himself to it as there are no other viable options. Interestingly, the book was published in 1963, well ''before'' the period of major U.S. combat involvement began.

* GoodBadGirl: Star
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Oscar is named by Star for the scar on his face, earned during a bayonet fight with a Vietnamese soldier.

* HideousHangoverCure: Star knows one, and the mnemonic for it is a ShoutOut to {{MacBeth}}: "Eye of newt and toe of frog..."

* TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay: Although Star rules Fifty Universes, it is unclear whether any of them managed to get out of their local version of the Milky Way -- if they even have one, the laws of physics being different in each.
* MummiesAtTheDinnerTable: Rufus relates a tale of a woman who had her deceased husbands stuffed and mounted and kept them in her house.

* VertebrateWithExtraLimbs: Horses with eight legs.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Occurs almost literally to Oscar in the Tower of the Egg -- crawling through a lightless tunnel with [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes rats]] for company. The fact that it may have been an illusion created by the Eater of Souls makes him no less brave for overcoming it.