History Literature / SeventhSon

* CloningBlues: Fr. Thomas fears that he has no soul.

* MisappliedPhlebotinum: Who's worse, John Alpha or the men who created him? The published book has an added scene the reveals [[spoiler: [[ThereIsAnother John was the second attempt]]. His older sister was abandoned because the cloning process wasn't perfected yet.]] ]]

No relation to [[Film/SeventhSon2015 the movie with the same title]], which is based on [[Literature/TheWardstoneChronicles an entirely different book series]].

%%* {{Badass}}: Michael and Fr. Thomas.

''7th Son'' is a trilogy of science fiction techno-thriller novels written by J.C. Hutchins. They are, in order: ''Book One: Descent'', ''Book Two: Deceit'' and ''Book Three: Destruction''. The novels were originally released as {{podiobooks}}--free serialised audio books--over the course of 2006 and 2007 to critical acclaim and record download numbers. In 2008, Hutchins oversaw ''7th Son: Obsidian'', an anthology of short stories set in the ''7th Son'' universe and written by other noteworthy podiobook authors. In 2009, ''Descent'' was picked up for publication by St. Martin's Press and released in late October. A short anthology of prequel stories entitled ''7th Son: 7 Days'' was released in October, preceding the release of the ''Descent'' print edition. Hutchins also recorded a new podcast of ''Descent'' that reflects the edits made between the original podcast and the print edition.

* ShoutOut: Hutchins is well known for his "rivalry" with fellow PodioBooks writer, Scott Sigler. If you've read/listened to Sigler's Infected series, you might recognize a certain Lt. Dawsey who bears a "striking resemblance to a certain former college linebacker".

* {{Podiobooks}}: One of the best and most well-known examples.

* RecycledPremise: Inverted. ''7th Son'' predates ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'', thank you very much.

* RecycledPremise: Inverted. ''7th Son'' predates ''{{Dollhouse}}'', thank you very much.

No relation to [[Film/SeventhSon the movie with the same title]], which is based on [[Literature/TheWardstoneChronicles an entirely different book series]].

* ReCut: The print edition, free PDF and remastered podcast of ''Descent'' is significantly different to the original podcast. For example, "Jonathan" was renamed "Jay" to avoid confusion, and one character's villainous reveal occurs an entire book earlier. It also includes a MythologyGag of having [[spoiler: Father Thomas and John switching rolls later in the novel]]. John even says he was thinking about doing it before his brother volunteered.

The so-called Beta Clones have been assembled because the prime suspect in the President's assassination is the man they were cloned from, John Alpha. Once believed to have committed suicide, John Alpha is now running free in the world, capable of reproducing 7th Son's advanced cloning and memory manipulation technology and with an endgame no one can predict--except, possibly, the Betas.

** [[spoiler:And not necessarily succeeding.]]

* {{Badass}}: Michael and Fr. Thomas.
* BigBad: John Alpha

* TheChessmaster: John Alpha
* ChekhovsGunman: Special K, Peppermint Patty, Klaus Bregner
* ChekhovsSkill: The Betas all have one, by the design of Hill and Kleinman. John Alpha manages to turn them to his advantage.
* CloningBlues: Fr. Thomas in particular, who fears that he has no soul.
* CloningGambit: John Alpha.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Hill and Kleinman feared that John Alpha had killed one of the clones and taken their identity.
** When they realise the potential of NEPTH-charge, this takes on a whole new dimension.
* DidntSeeThatComing: Or as John puts it "coloring outside the lines". [[spoiler: Alpha and Bregner didn't think that Jack would escape his deathtrap, that Kilroy 2.0 had an unknown ally, or that his father would kill his psi-jacked ex-wife before she could gas everyone at 7th Son.]]
* TheDragon: Doug Devlin
* EvilCounterpart: {{Inverted}} with John Smith.

* KansasCityShuffle: Everyone is trying to figure out how to stop John Alpha's RoaringRampageOfRevenge...
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:John Alpha isn't exactly working alone...]]
* MisappliedPhlebotinum: Who's worse, John Alpha or the men who created him?
** The published book has an added scene the reveals [[spoiler: [[ThereIsAnother John was the second attempt.]][[KickTheDog His older sister was abandoned because the cloning process wasn't perfected yet.]] ]]
* [[spoiler:MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: John Alpha. More than once, actually.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When John Alpha was 13, Hill and Kleinmen brought him in on the experiment and taught him the secrets of 7th Son's technology, hoping he would become a project leader. Stupid, stupid plan...
** Won't that fall under ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: With eight separate characters named John Michael Smith, it's kinda necessary. Hence: John, Jack, Jay, Dr. Mike, Michael, Fr. Thomas, Kilroy 2.0 and John Alpha.
* ReCut: The print edition, free PDF and remastered podcast of ''Descent'' is significantly different to the original podcast. For example, "Jonathan" was renamed "Jay" to avoid confusion, and one character's villainous reveal occurs an entire book earlier.
** It also includes a MythologyGag of having [[spoiler: Father Thomas and John switching rolls later in the novel]]. John even says he was thinking about doing it before his brother volunteered.
* RecycledPremise: Inverted. ''7th Son'' predates ''{{Dollhouse}}'', thankyou very much.
* TheReveal: Lots and lots.

* XanatosRoulette: John Alpha's plan has been years in the making.

* ShamelessSelfPromoter: Until ''Descent'' was picked up by St. Martin's Press, the only publicity that Hutchins could get was whatever he could drum up himself and word of mouth.
** He continued to be the alpha of ShamelessSelfPromoter even after St. Martin's picked up and published Descent, hence the release of the 7th Son: 7 Days prequel and many other promotions to ramp up excitement.

-->"''The president of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy...''"
---> - Opening line of ''Book One: Descent''

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7th_Son_Descent.jpg
[[caption-width:198:Cover of ''Book One: Descent'']]

---> - '''Opening line of ''Book One: Descent'''''

'''''7th Son''''' is a trilogy of science fiction techno-thriller novels written by J.C. Hutchins. They are, in order: ''Book One: Descent'', ''Book Two: Deceit'' and ''Book Three: Destruction''. The novels were originally released as {{podiobooks}}--free serialised audio books--over the course of 2006 and 2007 to critical acclaim and record download numbers. In 2008, Hutchins oversaw ''7th Son: Obsidian'', an anthology of short stories set in the ''7th Son'' universe and written by other noteworthy podiobook authors. In 2009, ''Descent'' was picked up for publication by St. Martin's Press and released in late October. A short anthology of prequel stories entitled ''7th Son: 7 Days'' was released in October, preceding the release of the ''Descent'' print edition. Hutchins also recorded a new podcast of ''Descent'' that reflects the edits made between the original podcast and the print edition.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: John Alpha just keeps bringing it, starting with his spree of NETPH-charges and psi-jackings.

* MagnificentBastard: John Alpha. Boy howdy, John Alpha.

* ParanoiaFuel: ''You'' could be a clone, your childhood memories uploaded into your head from the original.
** Your parents acting strange? Your friends? ''Your children''? Maybe their personalities were deleted and replaced by that of a rogue government assassin bent on murder and anarchy.

The novels provide examples of: