History Literature / TheRithmatist

* DarkerAndEdgier: Than kiddie counterpart ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'', {{Creator/Nickelodeon}}'s [[TastesLikeDiabetes sugary-sweet]] TurnOfTheMillennium cartoon.

* NonPOVProtagonist: The book is told almost entirely from Joel's point of view [[spoiler:except for some of last chapters which are from Professor Fitch's]].

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: Not quite Sanderson's signature style, as [[WordOfGod he explains in the afterword]].

* GoodIsNotNice: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]] with Professor Nalizar. If there was such a trope as [[{{Literature/HarryPotter}} The Snape]], Nalizar would be a perfect example. [[SmugSnake Arrogant]], [[SadistTeacher cruel]], [[SmugSuper very powerful at his magic]], [[ObviouslyEvil always suspiciously seeming to be involved in the bad things going on,]] and yet held to be above suspicion by the authority figures. In the climax, [[spoiler: Joel catches him red-handed, mixed up deeply in the attack on the school, and douses him with chalk-destroying acid, only to find that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the real bad guy is the federal investigator,]] and Nalizar was trying to fight him off! Climactic chalk-battles ensue, and in the end, he's defeated, and Joel has to admit that Nalizar really was a hero and a good guy after all... only to discover, a few days later, that there were ''two'' villains, and Nalizar helped take down his compatriot so as to establish himself as above suspicion in the very organization that is training the people who will be fighting the bad guys, so he really was EvilAllAlong!]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: More like "chaos cannot comprehend order," but the same basic principle is used here, both played straight and subverted. [[spoiler: Wild chalklings fear clocks because humans manage to take something inherently meaningless--the division of time into arbitrary lengths like hours, minutes and seconds--and turn it into orderly laws. But Nalizar does not fear clocks, because he's infiltrated human society and studied the system, and learned to understand the principles involved.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]] with Professor Nalizar. If there was such a trope as [[{{Literature/HarryPotter}} The Snape]], Nalizar would be a perfect example. Arrogant, [[SadistTeacher cruel]], very powerful at his magic, [[ObviouslyEvil always suspiciously seeming to be involved in the bad things going on,]] and yet held to be above suspicion by the authority figures. In the climax, [[spoiler: Joel catches him red-handed, mixed up deeply in the attack on the school, and douses him with chalk-destroying acid, only to find that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the real bad guy is the federal investigator,]] and Nalizar was trying to fight him off! Climactic chalk-battles ensue, and in the end, he's defeated, and Joel has to admit that Nalizar really was a hero and a good guy after all... only to discover, a few days later, that there were ''two'' villains, and Nalizar helped take down his compatriot so as to establish himself as above suspicion in the very organization that is training the people who will be fighting the bad guys!]]

* AlternateUniverse: The series is set on Earth... [[FictionalEarth sort of]]. Magic exists, the action takes place in the United Isles of America (there are 60 of them, encompassing all of North America, including Canada and Mexico, and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as per the name,]] most of the land is underwater,) and [[ChinaTakesOverTheWorld Korea has taken over Asia and Europe.]] (It's called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseon JoSeun]] in-universe.)

The story follows Joel, a 16-year-old student of an academy -- in a seriously ClockPunk AlternateUniverse America -- that teaches this world's own brand of magic (Rithmatics), though he can't do it himself. He gets free tuition, as his mother and late father both worked for, or in association with, the school.

Joel, named for the author's eldest son for whom the book is also dedicated, is fascinated by the art of Rithmatics (though not the art involved - chalklings, the principles of which confuse him) -- with its lines of power and ability to bring chalk drawings to life -- but only a few have the gift and he is not one of them. When Rithmatic students from Joel's school start disappearing, he is keen to investigate.

Since he's not a Rithmatist, Joel seems to be safe -- but others are dying. Can he find the killer (known as the Scribbler, ''The Scribbler'' also being the original title) before the killer realizes just what a threat Joel really is?

* ArtAttacker: the entire basis or Rithmatics.

* BoardingSchool: Armedius Academy, and presumably the other Academies (there are 8 of them in the United Isles)-- this is year-round for the Rithmatic students and whenever necessary, not a requirement, for the general students.

* DeathWorld: Not the whole world, but Nebrask is described this way: an entire Isle overrun by Wild Chalklings, whose base is at a great tower that didn't used to always stay in the same place (apparently it'd stopped doing that for a while before the time the book takes place). All Rithmatists get conscripted to fight at Nebrask for ten years (though you can get kicked out, or do a different job there than fight), in an ongoing holding action to keep them from reaching the other isles. The backstory implies that the entire United Isles used to be overrun (or at least inhabited) by wild chalklings before the invention of Rithmatics gave humans a way to fight back.

** There's some NothingIsScarier involved on all chalklings behalves with fear of the unknown. When chalklings are confused, they shy away -- like they did with Joel's chalk defenses. Wild Chalklings especially behave as such as they are not controlled by humans and are not integrated into society and so would be more confused by more of the advancements, e.g. clockwork. They soon recoil after having seen it before, though, so exposed mechanics only work effectively once (though that and Joel's rithmatic diagrams do stall them even after the first time).

* FormulaicMagic: Magic which is based in geometry. And is called Rithmatics.
** Can probably be compared with [[Franchise.HarryPotter Arithmancy]].

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Melody resents her Rithmatic powers, which she never asked for, because it means she's essentially been conscripted to train to fight the Wild Chalklings, and she doesn't actually have much skill at drawing defenses or strategizing. In this, she acts as a perfect {{Foil}} for Joel.

* IntangibleTheft: The Scribbler initially creates a drawing that steals their voices so that they cannot be heard screaming or fighting (or anything) while he's kidnapping them and the crime won't be discovered.

* MissedTheCall: [[spoiler: Joel ''could'' have been a Rithmatist, but something happened to keep the process from happening properly...''both'' times.]]
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Rithmatics is essentially idle doodling turned into a highly structured magic system. It ''is'' powerful and important, but many scenes seem almost designed to highlight how silly it looks - most notably, the faceoff between [[spoiler: Fitch]] and the Scribbler, where the narration describes in the most epic and dramatic way possible how the former... kneels down on the floor and starts drawing on it with pieces of chalk. [[DualWielding One in each hand.]]

* RuleOfCool: [[WordOfGod In an interview]], Sanderson explained that "[he] replaced the United States with the United Isles, turning the country into an archipelago. [He] shrank the planet, and [he] did really weird things to the history of the world because [he] thought it would be fun. For example, [he] let Korea conquer the world, because [he's] a fan of Korean history." Adding, 'It’s not like I’m sitting down and saying, “What is plausible?” I’m sitting down and saying, “What is awesome?” [[AwesomenessIsAForce Then I write a story in which that awesomeness can shine]].'

* VillainRespect: Near the end of the novel, [[spoiler: Nalizar]] actually apologises to Joel for not initially seeing him as the WorthyOpponent he has proven himself to be. He then takes it a step further in the final scene - as he sees Joel and Melody destroy another of his plans, he watches in what almost seems like a [[IntriguedByHumanity reversed,]] villainous form of AdmiringTheAbomination.