History Literature / DoctrineOfLabyrinths

The character-driven plot is too complex to relate here; there are many sub-plots, minor characters, and dangling plot threads. As a whole, the books mainly focus on the emotional and psychological trauma that accompany Mildmay and Felix, the trials and tribulations that their (again, extremely dysfunctional) defense mechanisms result in, and how those trials and tribulations have fractured their emotional states even ''more''.

The series consists of the books ''Mélusine'', ''The Virtu'', ''The Mirador'', and ''Corambis''. [[hottip:***: A septad is seven of something, usually seven years. A decad is ten days. An indiction is one year. Any other terms the reader is unfamiliar with can probably be found in a larger, more extensive dictionary; they are all historical in nature.]]

* AgentPeacock: Felix is this trope to the very core: beautiful, vain, cruel, and shallow, but still an extremely powerful wizard.

* AnimalMotifs: The people Felix mistakenly believes are animals while insane. Perhaps tellingly, Gideon is just a green blob.

* {{Antihero}}: Felix is the Type IV variety, sometimes skirting type V (for example, when [[spoiler: ordering Mildmay to kill Vey Coruscant or when torturing prostitutes]]). Mildmay at his best is Type II, but he generally stays at Type III and his past indicates Type IV.

* {{Badass}}: Mildmay, through-and-through,[[spoiler: even after his leg goes wonky]]. His reputation as a badass kept even an extremely powerful blood witch away from him and his girlfriend[[spoiler:, until ItGotWorse, and he was sold out to the police]].
** Also, Kay.

* BlackMagic: Noirant magic.

** Color-wise, Corbie's eyes are MidnightBlueEyes, but this is met with a more InnocentBlueEyes personality, particularly after she sheds the adult hardness of being a prostitute and acts more her age.

* BrainsAndBrawn: This is what Felix and Mildmay are, respectively, to outside eyes. However, it's really subverted, because while Mildmay never had formal education, he's still more sensible than Felix. Felix, who ''was'' educated, but only pragmatically, and as such has huge holes in his knowledge and habitually makes terrible decisions.

* {{Buttmonkey}}: Just about every protagonist in the series is this to one degree or another. Most notably every character who gets a POV... and also Gideon.

* CardSharp: Mildmay is such a good card player that he pays his and Felix's traveling expenses without even needing to cheat.
* CatchPhrase: "Fuck me sideways 'til I cry!" "''Darling''." "Acting the swan daughter."
** Also: "Fuck this for the Emperor's snotrag!" and "Fuck this for a half-wit dog."

* ChildSoldiers: The wizards of the Bastion [[spoiler: (like Gideon)]] are drafted into the military at age 13 or 14, and then [[HarmfulToMinors sexually preyed upon by the older wizards]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Mirador''. It's like peering into a pitch-black cave.

* DeadpanSnarker: Felix's legendary acid tongue.

* DeathByOriginStory: Methony, Joline, Iosephenus Pompey, Zephyr Wolsey, [[spoiler: Gerrard Hume]] and the list goes on...

* DownerEnding: All of the books have quite somber endings, but ''The Mirador'' takes the cake in the 'depressing ending' department.

* FaceOfAThug: Mildmay's face is mentioned to be incredibly frightening-- to the point where he never smiles because he knows it would scare ''other'' people.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: More or less, the Troians = Ancient Greek, the Marathines = Anglo-French with a dash of Renaissance Europe, and the Kekropians = Modern Greek/Roman. Norvenans are obviously German, and the Merrows are obviously Russian. Midlanders may be Italian? Mind, this is mostly in terms of naming, architecture and language, instead of actual culture... with the exception of Cymellume and Lucere, which seem to be the spiritual ancestors of Ancient Rome and Byzantium. Clear as mud? Cool!

** Also Corbie at the Institution due to their general attitude towards women practitioners.

* GambitPileup: ''The Mirador''.
* GenreBusting: At first glance the series seems to be fantasy, then a horror trip into a crazy guy's head, then a book about people trying (and failing) to overcome the incredible traumas in their lives. Then it throws in some murder-mystery-conspiracy-politics and a whole assload of psychology, and then it ambles on over to {{Steampunk}} territory.

* GentlemanSnarker: Felix again. Sometimes, the people he insults actually ''flee the room'' rather than try to retort.
* GentlemanThief: Mildmay is again a deconstruction of this. He is ''not'' a gentleman, and actually he hates burgling.

* HandicappedBadass: Mildmay, who, as of the end of ''Mélusine'', has a [[spoiler: nearly lame right leg]], and Kay, who is, from the get-go of ''Corambis'', completely blind.

* IKnowYourTrueName: In ''Mélusine'', Mildmay warns Ginevra not to use her real name when they go to meet Vey Coruscant. At one point she says his name out loud, but at the time she only knew him by an alias.

* JerkJustifications: Of the third type. To quote Felix, talking to Mildmay about why he isn't able to treat Mildmay any better:

* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Done in ''The Mirador'', and set-up for in the previous two books.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Corambis'', while still very dark, is a freaking carnival ride compared to the rest of the series.

* MindScrew: Many of Felix and Mildmay's dreams.
* MismatchedEyes: Felix has one yellow eye and one (nearly-blind) blue eye, which is blue because he sustained an injury to that eye as a child.

** And Kolkhis and Vey Coruscant.
** Louis Goliath, the spymaster of the Bastion.

* ProfessionalKiller: Mildmay is a deconstruction of this. He's neither well-dressed, nor educated, and all the money he got for his jobs never touched his hands. He ''was'' the most terrifying and capable assassin in the city, though, and he takes excruciating pains to keep that fact under wraps, because he's ashamed, and because it's dangerous to let that information float around in the breeze.

* RapeAsDrama: There is at least one rape or implied rape every book.

* ReallyGetsAround: Felix. Gideon comments (accurately) that Felix doesn't even know the names of all the men he's slept with in the past two months.
* RedHeadedHero: Felix and Mildmay.
* RedLightDistrict: Pharaohlight

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Or magic, works either way, more or less.
* SeenItAll: Mildmay.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Felix. Dear God, Feeeeliiiiiiix. And most other wizards, to an extent. Every pages, Felix would use some new, incredibly obscure word.

* SingleIssuePsychology: Painfully, painfully averted. Life in general would be so much easier for Mildmay and Felix if all their defense mechanisms and dysfunctions could be traced back to one thing, but they can't.
* ShoutOut The author seems to love referencing literary works for geographical names (and occasionally characters). This can be ''extremely'' disorienting for some people wondering when the significance of places called [[TheFaerieQueene Britomart]] and [[TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]] will kick in. (Hint: Never.)
** And the beginning line of the Mirador, which is a shout-out to Charles Dickens.

* StepfordSmiler: Felix, Mildmay, and Mehitabel all ''seem'' good enough to get by on when viewed from the outside. Inside is a completely different story.

* TechnicallyASmile: You really, really don't want Mildmay to smile.

* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Mildmay. From what is known about [[spoiler: Malkar]], and from what Felix tells us about him, it's heavily implied that Mildmay suffered [[spoiler: sexual, psychological, and physical torture at his hands]]. But even when Mildmay ''does'' remember, he refuses to talk or even think about it.

* UnEqualRites: There are different schools of magic in each country, so a lot of the rivalry is tied up with politics. Most wizards don't study other schools of magic for this reason, even though they would probably be capable of more than one type of spells. Also, wizards visiting another country have to be very careful what they do—for example, in Mélusine it's considered heresy to cast a spell of any kind on a person.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Felix and Mildmay look shockingly like each other, and equally shockingly unlike everyone else.

* UpperClassWit: Felix especially, but in general it doesn't seem as if the wizards of the Mirador do much more than bicker and gossip amongst themselves and attend parties.

* WeaselWords: Mavortian von Heber does this constantly, to the point where Mildmay actually calls him out on it, literally telling him, "them's weasel words." Inverted when, just afterward, Mildmay notes that kind of talk 'sounds great in stories', but in real life you have to watch the guy who's doing it very carefully regardless of what you said, or you'll get fucked over.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: Mildmay's absolutely epic line about helping the cook on the ''Morskaiakrov'': "When it comes to scrubbing potatoes, I don't fuck around."

* YouCantFightFate: The huphantike Thamuris seals when he does pythian casting with Mildmay.

* XanatosGambit: The plot to put [[spoiler: Shannon Teverius on the throne]], as formulated by [[spoiler: Vey Coruscant, Kolkhis, and a spattering of the Polydorii]].

* UnEqualRites: There are different schools of magic in each country, so a lot of the rivalry is tied up with politics. Most wizards don't study other schools of magic for this reason, even though they would probably be capable of more than one type of spells. Also, wizards visiting another country have to be very careful what they do—for example, in Mélusine it's considered heresy to cast a spell of any kind on a person.

* BlueEyes: Shannon. Probably closest to the InnocentBlueEyes variety as while he can be a nasty person, he is also ''extremely'' sheltered and naive.

** Color-wise, Corbie's eyes are MidnightBlueEyes, but this is met with a more InnocentBlueEyes personality, particularly after she sheds the adult hardness of being a prostitute and acts more her age.

* EverybodyLovesBlondes: Corbie is exceedingly popular with the boys at the Institution and seems to have them wrapped around her little finger before Felix or Mildmay even set foot on campus.

* AttemptedRape: Far less common than actual rape. [[YourMileageMayVary Discussion continues]] over whether this is a subversion, making the story [[ThisIsReality more realistic]], or... [[RapeAsDrama not]].

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Mildmay, until Mavortian forced him to stop dying his hair. Kolkhis is also mentioned as having this complexion, leading many people who knew Mildmay as a kept-thief to assume they were related... and ergo committing incest regularly for years.

* FirstPersonSmartass: Mildmay is the absolute king of this trope. His description of [[spoiler: Rindleshin's attempted attack on him during the ride through Melusine]] had this troper practically dying with laughter.

* HandicappedBadass: Mildmay, who, as of the end of ''Melusine'', has a [[spoiler: nearly lame right leg]], and Kay, who is, from the get-go of ''Corambis'', completely blind.

* HeroicBSOD: Felix when Malkar rapes him and uses his magic to break the Virtu, and again throughout the course of ''Melusine'' as he bobs in and out of insanity, then ''again'' in ''The Mirador'' when [[spoiler: Gideon]] is killed. Mildmay suffers one in ''The Virtu'' when [[spoiler: Malkar tortures him]], and then again in ''The Mirador'' as he remembers all, exactly, [[spoiler: what was done to him]].

** And the White-Eyed-Lady.
* OurMermaidsAreDifferent Cat-fish.

* ParentalAbandonment: Felix and Mildmay's mother, Methony, sold them at the ages of five and three, respectively, to their incredibly sadistic Keepers.

* PeopleOfHairColor

* SmarterThanYouLook: Mildmay is a shining example of this.
* SpotofTea: The Corambins, in keeping with the fourth book's {{Steampunk}} feel.

* UnEqualRites: There are different schools of magic in each country, so a lot of the rivalry is tied up with politics. Most wizards don't study other schools of magic for this reason, even though they would probably be capable of more than one type of spells. Also, wizards visiting another country have to be very careful what they do—for example, in Melusine it's considered heresy to cast a spell of any kind on a person.

* VestigialEmpire
* WeaselWords: Mavortian Von Herber does this constantly, to the point where Mildmay actually calls him out on it, literally telling him, "them's weasel words." Inverted when, just afterward, Mildmay notes that kind of talk 'sounds great in stories', but in real life you have to watch the guy who's doing it very carefully regardless of what you said, or you'll get fucked over.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: Mildmay's absolutely epic line about helping the cook on the Morskaiakrov: "When it comes to scrubbing potatoes, I don't fuck around."

* XMeetsY: Self-described [[WordOfGod by the author]]: "It's [[JaneEyre Jane Eyre]] meets [[HuckleberryFinn Huckleberry Finn]]... with magic!"

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Due to his scar and his emotionless expression, Mildmay is consistently taken for being much older than he is. By the time ''Melusine'' starts, he's a little over 19; when they meet, Felix thinks he's much older than that. And throughout the series, Felix often makes comments to himself about how young Mildmay actually is.

* GentlemanWizard: Nearly all wizards. Magic is often-- though not always-- shorthand for class.

* CareerKiller: Mildmay is a deconstruction of this. He's neither well-dressed, nor educated, and all the money he got for his jobs never touched his hands. He ''was'' the most terrifying and capable assassin in the city, though, and he takes excruciating pains to keep that fact under wraps, because he's ashamed, and because it's dangerous to let that information float around in the breeze.

** Felix, whose right eye is most definitely a [[CreepyBlueEyes Creepy Blue Eye]]. Given his left eye is [[EyesOfGold yellow]], it creates an overall eerie effect that even Mildmay refers to as "spooky eyes."

* ComeToGawk

** Melusine (the city, not the book) is just chock full of cults!

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: More or less, the Troians = Ancient Greek, the Marathinians = Anglo-French with a dash of Renaissance Europe, and the Kekropians = Modern Greek/Roman. Norvenans are obviously German, and the Merrows are obviously Russian. Midlanders may be Italian? Mind, this is mostly in terms of naming, archetecture and language, instead of actual culture... with the exception of Cymellume and Lucere, which seem to be the spiritual ancestors of Ancient Rome and Byzantium. Clear as mud? Cool!

* RapeAsBackstory

** Also, [[spoiler: Kay]].

* BedlamHouse
* BeautyEqualsGoodness Ha ha ha ''no''.
* BewareTheNiceOnes Gideon, apparently. Mildmay makes some remark in "the Mirador" about this...

* BloodMagic

* BoringReturnJourney Happily subverted in ''The Virtu''

* BrotherSisterIncest: It's hinted that Mad Elinor slept with her brother to produce her heir, Henry Ophidius. They were a little peculiar.

* TheCaligula: Gloria Aestia, although she's long dead by the start of the series. She was so crazy people are afraid to let her son anywhere near the throne.

** Mildmay could count as this is some situations. As well as Gideon [[spoiler: even after "The Virtu" when his tongue has been cut out. His conversations with Felix and Simon imply this.]] And Stephen, if the end of "the Mirador" is anything to go by.
* DeathByOriginStory: Methony, Joline, Iosephenus Pompey, Zephyr Woosey, [[spoiler: Gerrard Hume]] and the list goes on...
* {{Deconstruction}}: The series is a massive, excruciatingly realistic deconstruction of the fantasy genre in general and the over-the-top traumatic pasts most (suspiciously well-adjusted) fiction characters have in particular. In general, it relys on invoking the tropes in question (tramatic pasts especially) and then playing them as realistically as possible, showing it's not so glamorous to have been raised as a beautiful prostitute, a deadly assassin, a skilled spy, or a noble warrior.

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Averted with Stephen, Thamuris, and Julien. Otherwise played straight by most of the cast.

* CityGuards

* CursedWithAwesome: most of the characters with any significant talent, be it magic, larceny or good looks, end up paying for it more than they benefit. If they don't end up loosing those skills outright in the most thematically ironic way possible.
** "For all things worthwhile, you must suffer."

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Mildmay, until Mavortian forced him to stop dying his hair. Kolkhis is also mentioned as having this complexion, leading many people who knew Mildmay as a kept-thief to assume they were related... and ergo committing incest regularly for years.
--->'''Mildmay:''' "What was I doing wrong that everybody thought I was committing incest once a decad?"

* SquishyWizard

* TechnicallyaSmile: You really, really don't want Mildmay to smile.
* TheQuietOne: Mildmay. In fact, whenever he says more than around two sentences in a row, there's a 50-50 chance that the character he's speaking to is going to make a (usually snide) comment about his sudden loquaciousness.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Hugo Chandler!]]
* TheStoic: Mildmay again. He mentions once or twice that it's because his Keeper, Kolkhis, liked to screw with his emotions so much, and eventually he figured out how to keep himself from reacting.
* TheWhitePrince: Sheltered, rich, royal Shannon. Gerrard, who actually is a prince/king, counts too.

* WhatItSaysOnTheTin: ''The Doctrine of Labyrinths'' has a labyrinthine plot (the kind with tangles and threads that ultimately go nowhere, not the kind where one path winds in on itself). Or is it about how the characters have had emotional pasts and now have to navigate the labyrinth of their own emotional states? Or is it about different schools-- or doctrines-- of magic and how all of them borrow from each other, creating a labyrinth? Or is it about the Sand's ''De Doctrina Laborinthorum''? The answer is: Yes.

* PaleSkinnedBrunette: Mildmay, until Mavortian forced him to stop dying his hair. Kolkhis is also mentioned as having this complexion, leading many people who knew Mildmay as a kept-thief to assume they were related... and ergo committing incest regularly for years.

[[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mildmaythefoxnarmcover.jpg]]

[[quoteright:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mildmaythefoxnarmcover.jpg]]

[[caption-width-right:322:Mildmay the Fox. Not actually a fox.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mildmaythefoxnarmcover.jpg[[caption-width:322:Mildmay the Fox. Not actually a fox.]]

* RapeIsOkayWhenItsFemaleOnMale: There aren't very many characters in the series who think the fact that Kolkhis started sexing Mildmay up when he was ''fourteen'' is wrong, but no one ever outright calls it rape. In ''The Mirador'', Mildmay says that "she could make [him] do it, whether [he] wanted to or not." Even Mildmay doesn't seem to think of it as abuse. Surprisingly, Felix ''does''.
** Subverted in Corambis by Edwin Beckett's attempt to restart the Clock of Eclipses.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mildmaythefoxnarmcover.jpg[[caption-width:322:Mildmay the Fox. Not actually a fox.]]]]

* RapeIsTheNewDeadParents: Not to imply Felix's parents aren't dead, of course.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mildmaythefoxnarmcover.jpg[[caption-width:322:Mildmay pulling a standard cat-burgling maneuver. [[CoversAlwaysLie And no, we have no idea WTF the knife is for.]]]]

* AgentPeacock: Felix is this trope to the very core: beautiful, vain, cruel, and shallow, but still an extremely powerful wizard. And also? He is ''rolling'' in tail of both sexes. Several characters in each and every book come on to him.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: Felix and Mildmay [[spoiler: heading off to Grimglass]] at the end of ''Corambis''.

* TheApprentice: Felix takes Corbie as an apprentice after swearing off taking an apprentice for years for fear he'd abuse a young wizard as he was abused. To his amazement, he does a pretty good job.
* ArcWords: Arguably, "The doctrine of labyrinths.", or "Every maze has a monster at its heart."
* AssholeVictim: Austin.
** [[spoiler: Isaac Garamond, somewhat]]
* AttemptedRape: Far less common than actual rape. Discussion continues over whether this is a subversion, making the story [[ThisIsReality more realistic]] in the face of rape, or... [[RapeAsDrama not]].
* AttentionWhore: Methony is implied to be one. Felix can sometimes be one, too. It would be an understatement to say he loves attention.
* {{Badass}}: Mildmay, through-and-through, even after [[spoiler: his leg goes wonky]]. His reputation as a badass kept even an extremely powerful blood witch away from him and his girlfriend, until ItGotWorse, and he was sold out to the police.

* BadassNormal: Despite the fact that Mildmay is completely annemer, he never gets lost (even in ancient labyrinths and mazes), and is fully capable of taking out (read: killing) powerful wizards, including [[spoiler: Vey Coruscant, Queen Blood]]. But not [[spoiler: Malkar]], although it might be justified in that Mildmay was batfuck insane from torture at the time.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness Heavily subverted.

* {{Bishonen}}: Felix is described as "as beautiful as sunlight". Unfortunately for others, he also shamelessly uses his beauty to manipulate and control...

* BrainsAndBrawn: This is what Felix and Mildmay are, respectively, to outside eyes. However, it's really subverted, because while Mildmay never had formal education, he's still more sensible than Felix. Felix, who ''was'' educated, but only pragmatically, and as such has huge holes in his knowledge-- most of which is largely theoretical and academic-- and habitually makes terrible decisions.

* CampGay: Felix is very fashion-conscious, refers to other people of both sexes as "darling" (usually when he wants to be mocking; it's something he picked up from Malkar), and also is extremely beautiful. However, he manages to keep a sense of masculinity even while crying about his boyfriend, and other characters are unable to identify him as gay.

* CareerKiller: Mildmay is a deconstruction of this. He's neither well-dressed, nor educated, and all the money he got for his jobs went straight to his Keeper, Kolkhis. He ''was'' the most terrifying and capable assassin in the city, though, and he takes excruciating pains to keep that fact under wraps.

** Also: "Fuck this for the Emperor's snotrag!" and "Fuck this for a half-wit dog." Mildmay really does like his curse-words.
** Felix's series of "darling"s and "dearest"s count, too.

* ChildSoldiers: The wizards of the Bastion {including [[spoiler: Gideon]]) are drafted into the military at age 13 or 14, and then [[HarmfulToMinors sexually preyed upon by the older wizards]].

* DarkSkinnedRedhead: The inhabitants of Caloxa and Corambis are naturally dark skinned and red-headed.
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Mirador''. Waaay darker. It's like peering into a pitch-black cave. Felix starts [[spoiler: getting memory black-outs and having S&M sex with random whores to sooth his murderous rage, beating some of them nearly to death, and becomes increasingly bipolar and prickly]], while Mildmay [[spoiler: goes back to his Keeper, Kolkhis, for answers as to who killed Ginevra. And inadvertently stumbles across a plot to overthrow the government while he's at it]]. And then [[spoiler: Gideon]] is murdered. By [[spoiler: Isaac Garamond, who Felix was screwing behind Gideon's back. And Felix knew all the while that the guy was working for the Bastion]]. Ouch.
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: The court of the Mirador.

* DownerEnding: All of the books have quite somber endings, but ''The Mirador'' takes the cake in the 'depressing ending' department. Gideon has been [[spoiler: killed by Isaac Garamond, who Felix was fucking ''behind Gideon's back'', and Felix has sex with Isaac ''after'' he kills Gideon]], Mildmay remembers that the guy was helping [[spoiler: Malkar torture him]], Mehitabel reveals that [[spoiler: she thinks Isaac killed Gideon]], Felix destroys his mind (which is heresy), and Felix and Mildmay are [[spoiler: banished from Marathat]]. And of course Felix is as pissy a bastard as ever.

* DreamingOfThingsToCome

** Mildmay has horrible self-esteem and huge trust issues, is self-degrading, only wants to be loved in a non-sexual way, and still hangs around Felix even after Felix does and says seriously horrible things to and about him. While he was Kolkhis's assassin, he was clinically depressed. He falls back into that after [[spoiler: Ginevra dies, pulls himself out of it when he meets Felix, and then falls right back into it again after Felix sends him, using the obligation d'ame, to murder Vey Coruscant, which he does. Malkar catches him and tortures him for around a month]]. And he has amnesia regarding what happened.

** "She's mostly there expressly in order for Felix to reject getting embroiled in That Kind of Fantasy Novel." From the author's lj

* FaceOfAThug: Mildmay's face is mentioned to be incredibly frightening-- to the point where he never smiles because he knows it would scare ''other'' people. For bonus points, he also has his (self-described) "fuck-with-me-and-I'll-kill-you" knife-fighter's voice.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: More or less, the Troians = Ancient Greek, the Marathinians = Anglo-French, and the Kekropians = Modern Greek/Roman. Norvenans are obviously German, and the Merrows are obviously Russian. Midlanders may be Italian? Mind, this is mostly in terms of naming, archetecture and language, instead of actual culture... with the exception of Cymellume and Lucere, which seem to be the spiritual ancestors of Ancient Rome and Byzantium.
* FemmeFatale: Mehitabel. It's mentioned that she has around 5 guys on her string at any one time. Then she gets in bed with the [[spoiler: Lord Protector]]. Inverted as she does this as a last resort and because it's the only intelligent means of keeping her afloat, not as her first weapon of choice.

* ForgetsToEat: Mildmay, especially when Felix is being mean to him. Also hates having people watch him eat, because of his scar.
* FriendsWithBenefits: Mildmay and Mehitabel. [[spoiler: He ends up wanting a more emotional relationship. Heartbreak ensues.]]

* GentlemanThief: Mildmay is again a deconstruction of this. He is ''not'' a gentleman, and actually he hates burgling. He was made to do it, though, by his Keeper.
* GentlemanWizard: The wizards of the Mirador and other schools of magic.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Felix. Twice.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Downright ignored.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: The greatest distinguishing characteristic of Mildmay is the large scar that distorts his upper lip and stretches up the entire left side of his face (missing his eye believe it or not), which has left that side of his face nearly dead. He also has minor scars on his hands and acquires another serious one on his right leg. Felix's back is a mess of ugly scars, though they're easily hidden under clothing.

** Mildmay actually tells two different people (Felix and Astyanax) that he killed so many people he can't even remember how many he killed. Think about that for a second.

* ItGotWorse: All the time, especially in ''The Mirador''. Not only is Felix [[spoiler: being a raging asshole, bitch-slapping Mildmay, drinking and possibly imbibing in phoenix, and visiting brothels in order to drive the male martyrs to tears, Gideon leaves him! And then? Gideon gets murdered by the guy he left Felix because of, and then Felix has sex with that same guy right after he murders Gideon]]. Um...

* IncestIsRelative: [[spoiler: Felix]] has an unrequited lust for [[spoiler: Mildmay]]. Also, Kolkhis and Mildmay may be an example, considering that Kolkhis raised him from the time he was three, and began sleeping with him when he was fourteen.
* InsistentTerminology: Thaumaturgical architecture vs. architectural thaumaturgy.

* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Done in ''The Mirador'', and set-up for in the previous two books. [[spoiler: Hugo Chandler. HUGO FUCKING CHANDLER. WTF.]]
** [[spoiler: THE GODDAMN RABBIT]]
* KickTheDog: A lot of things Felix does qualify as this. One of the most apparent is when he forced Mildmay to [[spoiler: assassinate Vey Coruscant, and ergo, admittedly inadvertently, sent him into Malkar's clutches]]. And Mildmay, due to the [[spoiler: obligation d'ame]] had precious little choice.
* KnifeNut: Mildmay is an expert knife-fighter, specifically with [[ButterflyKnife butterfly knives]]. He flips them absentmindedly when upset or annoyed.
* KnowledgeBroker: Mildmay's former Keeper, Kolkhis.
** Elvire, the madame of the Goosegirl's Palace, too.

* MeaningfulName: Cressida is a suiting codename for Mehitabel, if you know the story "Troilus and Cressida"

* MindRape: Though there's some actual rape involved, too. Sometimes at the same time.

* MismatchedEyes: Felix has one yellow eye (typical of [[spoiler: Troians]]) and one (nearly-blind) blue eye, which is blue because he sustained an injury to that eye as a child.

* MysteriousPast: We are never told what, exactly, happened to many characters, [[spoiler: most notably Malkar, Gideon, and those featured prominently in ''The Mirador'']] that made them so traumatized and/or evil.

* SlidingScaleofIdealismVsCynicism: The series falls pretty evenly down the middle of the scale, despite the horrific abuses that happen to the characters. And [[spoiler: it still has a (relatively) happy ending]].

* WhatItSaysOnTheTin: ''The Doctrine of Labyrinths'' has a labyrinthine plot (the kind with tangles and threads that ultimately go nowhere, not the kind where one path winds in on itself) and learning how to navigate those labyrinths. Or is it about how the characters have had emotional pasts and now have to navigate the labyrinth of their own emotional states? Or is it about different schools-- or doctrines-- of magic and how all of them borrow from each other, creating a labyrinth? Or is it about the Sand's ''De Doctrina Laborinthorum''? The answer is: Yes.