Line #69 Literature/ChildrenOfTheRedKing


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6	''Children of the Red King'' is a series of fantasy novels by Jenny Nimmo which first began publishing in 2002. They describe the adventures of Charlie Bone.
7
8	The series begins with [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Charlie Bone]] accidentally getting the wrong photograph from the photo developer... And discovering that he can hear people talking in the photo. While he is perturbed at this [[{{Pun}} development,]] his [[{{Jerkass}} grandmother and great aunts]] inform him he has magical abilities and enroll him in [[WizardingSchool Bloor's Academy]] where he becomes part of the music department (because of his [[DisappearedDad supposedly dead father]], [[ChekhovsGun who played the piano]]). At Bloor's, Charlie makes [[TrueCompanions new friends]], encounters strange magic, and learns all about the history of his BigScrewedUpFamily.
9
10	[[AC: The books in the series are:]]
11	* ''Midnight for Charlie Bone'' (2002)
12	* ''The Time Twister'' (2003) (Also ''Charlie Bone and the Time Twister'')
13	* ''The Blue Boa'' (2004) (Also ''Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy'')
14	* ''The Castle of Mirrors'' (2005) (Also ''Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors'')
15	* ''Charlie Bone and the Hidden King'' (2006)
16	* ''Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf'' (2007) (Also ''Charlie Bone and the Beast'')
17	* ''Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock'' (2008)
18	* ''Charlie Bone and the Red Knight'' (2009)
19	* ''Henry and the Guardians of the Lost'' (2016)
20	* ''Gabriel and the Phantom Sleepers'' (2018)
21
22	There was also a spin-off series released in 2011, chronicling the story of the Red King and his family.
23
24	[[AC: The books in the trilogy are:]]
25	* ''The Secret Kingdom'' (2011)
26	* ''The Stones of Ravenglass'' (2012)
27	* ''Leopards' Gold'' (2013)
28
29	----
30	!!This series contains examples of the following tropes:
31	[[foldercontrol]]
32
33	[[folder: Main Series]]
34	* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Averted with Amy, who never forgets her husband Lyell even ten years after his disappearance.
35	* AcademyOfAdventure: Bloor's Academy is full of secrets, both dangerous and exciting.
36	* ActionGirl: Most of the endowed girls in Bloor's Academy. Particularly Emma, who fights in bird form during the final battle.
37	* AdultsAreUseless: Mostly averted. Most of the adults are fairly competent; when they're unable to help the kids it's for reasons that actually make sense, and when they ''do'' help out it makes a big difference. Plus, for every nice adult there's two who are {{Jerkass}}es or [[AxCrazy completely psychotic]].
38	* AlliterativeName: Several. The most prominent would be Tancred Torsson, and later Bartholomew Bloor and Titania Tilpin. Then there's Alice Angel, Christopher Crowquill, Yorath Yewbeam and his daughter Yolanda, not to mention Bertram Babbington Bloor and his sister Beatrice. Eustacia Yewbeam might qualify too, depending on how you pronounce it.
39	* AnimalEyes: Asa Pike's eyes are yellow, which just adds to his wolfish demeanor.
40	* ArchnemesisDad: A curse on Dagbert Endless' family ensures that when he turns thirteen, he will have to battle his father, Lord Grimwald, to the death. [[spoiler: He wins]].
41	* ArchEnemy: Harken for the Red King.
42	* TheAssimilator: Yorath is capable of this. [[spoiler: The victims were released upon his death, though]].
43	* BadPowersBadPeople: This almost seems to be the case when it comes to the endowed. Those with more destructive powers tend to be on the side of the Bloors, while those with more useless-sounding powers tend to be good. This is averted by Tancred and Lysander, who are easily the strongest of all the kids at the Academy, and who are both very firmly on Charlie's team.
44	%%* BadassAdorable
45	* BadassBookworm: Paton Yewbeam.
46	* BadassCrew: The children of the Red King.
47	* BadassFamily: The Gunns, who take on Asa in his beast form with only instruments at hand in the fourth book.
48	* BadassTeacher: Dr. Saltweather and Senor Alvaro, though barely mentioned at all in the final battle, make quite a team.
49	* BalanceOfGoodAndEvil: What Cook/[[spoiler:Treasure]] does. This actually is almost her downfall in the fourth book when the good children start getting systematically picked off by the bad ones.
50	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: [[spoiler:Miss Chrystal/Titania Tilpin]] gets increasingly ugly after she turns out to be an evil witch.
51	* BenevolentBoss: The Red King was certainly this, when he ruled the Red Castle centuries ago. He was kind and fair to all who were put under his care, and everyone respected and liked him.
52	%%* BerserkButton
53	%%* BewareTheNiceOnes
54	* BigBad: Ezekiel Bloor, until [[spoiler: Count Harken Badlock]] came around.
55	%%* BigDamnHeroes
56	* BigFriendlyDog: Runner Bean, Benjamin's faithful dog.
57	* BigGood: The Red King and Queen Berenice count as this.
58	* BigLabyrinthineBuilding: Bloor's Academy. The Red Castle as well.
59	* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Yewbeams, definitely. The Bloors as well.
60	* BoardingSchool: Bloor's Academy is this.
61	* BodyHorror: Asa when he changes from human to beast, or vice versa. Also Asa's ancestor, Cafal (called 'The Changer').
62	%%* BookDumb
63	* {{Bouncer}}: Norton Cross is a sort-of bouncer for the Pets' Cafe.
64	%% * BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu
65	* ButtMonkey: Poor Benjamin and his dog Runner Bean just can't catch a break.
66	* CastCalculus: Rotates through the books. Mostly involves Charlie and Billy, involves Emma and Olivia more often than not, and occasionally includes Gabriel, Tancred and Lysander.
67	** In the first book, Charlie, Benjamin, Fidelio and Olivia are most prominent in the plot. The second book has Charlie, Olivia, Fidelio,
68	* CatsAreMagic: Played straight in the case of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, otherwise known as the Flames. They used to be leopards belonging to the Red King, and are capable of turning themselves into fire, and occasionally can resume their true forms.
69	* CerebusSyndrome: The books seems to become darker after the fifth book, though they weren't that light-hearted to begin with.
70	* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: "Character Name and the X of Y" is the title of all of the books except the first in the U.S.
71	* CharmPerson: Joshua Tilpin, who is a human magnet in every sense of the word.
72	* ChekhovsGun: The wand Charlie steals from Skarpo in the second book becomes extremely important later on. [[spoiler: It not only helps free Henry from his prison, but saves Miss Ingledew from death, helps Charlie with any problem he has, and also is the key to fixing the damaged Mirror of Amoret.]]
73	* ChekhovsGunman: Mr. Pilgrim, who in the fifth book is revealed to be [[spoiler:Lyell Bone, Charlie's ten-years-estranged father. He's also the Red Knight.]]
74	* ChekhovsSkill: Mr Pilgrim's talent as a pianist clues the reader in to the fact that he is really [[spoiler:Lyell Bone, Charlie's lost father.]]
75	** In the second book knowledge of the Welsh language becomes important, as it is only through Welsh words that Charlie will be able to command Skarpo's wand to move the rock that is trapping Henry in his prison.
76	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Both Charlie and his father have this to some degree. Both can't stand by and do nothing when they see someone who needs their help. Timoken (aka The Red King) is the same, shown when he rescues Beri, Edern, Gereint, Peredur, Mabon and others from slavers in ''The Secret Kingdom''. He also rode around the countryside as a knight defending his people after the grieving period for his wife was over.
77	%%* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome
78	* TheClan: The Yewbeams and Bloors. The descendants of the Red King as a whole.
79	* ColdBloodedTorture: Yorath Yewbeam's feeding on Paton in ''Blue Boa''.
80	* ComboPlatterPowers: Usually the setting is fairly strict on OnePersonOnePower. However, Yolanda Yewbeam is both a shapeshifter and a hypnotist, Manfred takes up pyrokinesis after losing his hypnotism (only to get his old power back and keep his new one), Natalia Dobinski is a telekinetic conjurer, and Charlie is both a PortalPicture person and a hereditary wizard, though the latter only becomes clear as the series progresses. Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, had at least four endowments: psychic power, illusions, spirit-summoning, and witchcraft. Possibly justified in that she was so closely related to the Red King, but then again her siblings only seem to have had one endowment a piece.
81	* ConstantlyCurious: Joshua Tilpin has quite a few questions for Lord Grimwald in the last book.
82	* CoolUncle: Paton Yewbeam is very cool, unlike Charlie's other extended family members.
83	* CorruptTheCutie: In the third book, Yolanda does this to Dorcas Loom, to turn her to the side of the bad endowed. Olivia also has this done to her in the final book by Titania Tilpin, after the Bloors discover her illusionist powers. She gets better eventually, with a lot of help from Emma and Alice Angel.
84	* CreepyTwins: Idith and Inez Branko.
85	%%* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass
86	* DancesAndBalls: The Grand Ball in the fifth book.
87	%%* DarkerAndEdgier: Happens as the series goes along.
88	* DarkAndTroubledPast:
89	** Emma Tolly was given away by her own father when she was just two years old, and ended up being hypnotised for life by Manfred Bloor after the transaction went wrong. She was then given a new name and sent to live with a childless couple who neglected her emotionally. Emma herself tells Charlie that all her life she lived with people who didn't love her and that she'd never known true happiness before.
90	** Lyell Bone was hypnotised for life by Manfred Bloor after trying to stop Mostyn Tolly from giving away his daughter Emma. He was then made to crash his car into a quarry to fake his death and was taken back to Bloor's Academy, where he spent the next ten years helpless and lost without his memories or identity.
91	%%* DarkSecret
92	* DeadpanSnarker: Paton Yewbeam, though Charlie has a few good ones.
93	--> '''Charlie:''' It's just my grandma.
94	--> '''Billy:''' No, Charlie, this is different. Rembrandt says it smells of bad magic and things that should be dead.
95	--> '''Charlie:''' Like I said.
96	* {{Determinator}}: Charlie is set on finding his missing father and making his family whole again.
97	* DisabilityImmunity: Billy's albinism gives him poor eyesight, which makes him immune to HypnoticEyes.
98	* DisappearedDad: Lyell Bone, who was [[spoiler: hypnotized by Manfred and hidden away as a music teacher in the Academy for the next ten years. He's woken up in the fifth book and is finally reunited with his wife and son]].
99	* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Tancred is drowned by Dagbert Endless in ''Shadow'', but is brought back from the brink of death by the Flames]].
100	%%* DisproportionateRetribution
101	%%* DistressBall
102	%%* DividedWeFall
103	%%* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything
104	%%* TheDogBitesBack
105	%%* DoingResearch
106	* DontExplainTheJoke: "I think they only put 'FISH' up on that sign to explain the smell, if you catch me. And not because they're selling any."
107	* DramaQueen: Olivia Vertigo, as she's a drama student.
108	* DramatisPersonae: Each book has several pages at the beginning listing all the current major characters and their powers, as well as a copy of [[TangledFamilyTree Charlie's ever expanding family tree]] and in later books, the family of the Red King.
109	* TheDreaded: Count Harken Badlock has been this for many centuries, so much so that sorcerers like Skarpo refuse to even utter his name.
110	* DuelToTheDeath: The fight between the red knight and the green at the end of ''Charlie Bone and the Red Knight'' is this. Only one is expected to come out of it alive. [[spoiler: Luckily, it's the Red Knight who lives and Harken who dies, though Harken does come close to finishing the Red Knight off beforehand.]]
111	* DysfunctionalFamily: The entire family at number nine Filbert Street.
112	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding
113	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Paton Yewbeam and his sister Venetia could count, as both are on the tall side and have black hair.
114	%%* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas
115	* EveryoneIsRelated: Most of the main characters are related and almost ''everyone'' is descended from the Red King.
116	* EvilCounterpart: Titania Tilpin for Alice Angel.
117	* EvilMatriarch: Grandma Bone, though she's not really evil, but just mean and grumpy.
118	* EvilOldFolks: Quite a few, but Ezekiel Bloor deserves special mention; he's a GrumpyOldMan taken to the extreme.
119	%%* EvilTeacher
120	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Norton Cross]]. Dorcas Loom, to an extent. Previously she was neutral, and even hinted to be a good person. It wasn't until Yolanda came around that she became bad.
121	* FamousAncestor: The Red King and his children for the descendants of the Red King.
122	** Also the Knight of Toledo.
123	* FantasticRacism: The Yewbeams look down upon Charlie's mother and maternal grandmother because they're unendowed and without any impressive lineage. [[spoiler:Though unknown to them, they're actually descended from the Welsh wizard Mathonwy, who was a close friend of the Red King.]]
124	%%* FateWorseThanDeath
125	* FinalBattle: [[spoiler: Finally happens in the eighth book, against Count Harken and his army. The good guys win.]]
126	* FriendToAllChildren: Most of the good adults are this. The bad adults are definitely ''not'' this.
127	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, was said to be this.
128	%%* GangOfBullies
129	* GoneHorriblyRight: Ezekiel Bloor attempts to bring the brutal tyrant Borlath back to life, and seemingly succeeds - except that there's no way of controlling him. [[spoiler: It turns out that he actually brought back Queen Berenice, who was a loving mother and is compelled to protect the endowed children]].
130	** Before the beginning of the series, Manfred Bloor [[spoiler: hypnotises Lyell Bone to punish him for trying to stop the abduction of Emma Tolly. He also does it partially in an attempt to discern the whereabouts of Maybelle's will (which Lyell had hidden). However, while spellbound Lyell has LaserGuidedAmnesia and as such forgets where he put the pearl-inlaid box containing the will.]]
131	* GoodGuyBar: The Pets' Cafe.
132	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Amy Bone has brown-blonde hair and a very kind heart.
133	* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler:Billy Raven, at the end of the series.]] This is unfortunately subverted earlier on when his initial adopted parents turn out to be evil.
134	* HappilyMarried:
135	** [[spoiler:Paton and Julia Ingledew,]] at the very end of the series.
136	** [[spoiler:Amy and Lyell, before and after Lyell's disappearance.]]
137	** The Red King and Queen Berenice, before Berenice's DeathByChildbirth.
138	* HaveWeMetYet: [[spoiler:When Amy and Charlie go to Bloor's Academy in the fifth book to finally awaken Lyell, Lyell doesn't recognise them.]]
139	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Dagbert Endless, whose morality changes with the moon. [[spoiler:At the end, he seems to have finally settled somewhere on the "good" spectrum]]. Billy Raven switches to the bad side for several books before rejoining the heroes.
140	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Asa Pike, due to his nature as a Changer. It's implied that he actually might have rejoined the Bloors, had they not seen fit to lock him up for a few months in a cave, later on without sunlight (which is what he requires in order to be human). In other words, they deprived him of his humanity for several weeks and nearly starved him to death in the process. Their actions also led up to Asa's father being shot and killed by local hunters. It's no wonder he turned his back on them completely after that]].
141	* HeroicSacrifice: At the end of ''Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors'', [[spoiler: Billy Raven's guardian Christopher Crowquill sacrifices his life to save Paton's when Yorath Yewbeam tries to kill him, because he's dying anyway and Paton is the only one who can protect Billy. This makes him one of the very few non-evil characters to be KilledOffForReal]].
142	** [[spoiler: Asa's dad was shot to death trying to defend his son from hunters]].
143	* HeroWithBadPublicity: Christopher Crowquill was framed for robbery by the Bloors and sent to jail for seven years. After he gets out, he comments that the only person who still stood by him even though he was a criminal was Alice Angel.
144	** In ''Blue Boa'' Charlie becomes a pariah within the school for one day because of Skarpo's causing mayhem with his magic, as everyone knows that it was Charlie who released him out of his painting. A similar incident happens in the fifth book, with most students in the school becoming angry with Charlie because he managed to return his friends' pets and not anyone else's, and won't reveal where the rest of the animals are.
145	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Benjamin's private investigator parents occasionally reference being involved in interesting cases unrelated to the magical war between good and evil that dominates the plot (although this also causes them to neglect their son at times). In ''Midnight for Charlie Bone'', Mrs. Brown mentions how an investigation into the disappearance of a window washer who later turned up in a cave in Scotland. In the third and fourth books, they take their son to Hong Kong while spending several months on the trial of a stolen necklace.
146	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Emma and Olivia.
147	%%* HiddenDepths
148	* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler:Charlie's father. He was imprisoned in Bloor's Academy for years, where he posed as a piano teacher. When Charlie starts attending the Academy he sees him without ever realising who he really is. After finally discovering where he's been hidden, Charlie is quite bitter about this.]]
149	* HypnoticEyes: Manfred's original power, though it begins to wane to make way for a newer, [[PlayingWithFire much more destructive]] one.
150	* HypnotizeTheCaptive: [[spoiler:Essentially what Harken does to Amy Bone in the fifth book, to ensure that Lyell doesn't wake up from his trance.]]
151	* IAmWho: Charlie is surprised to find that he is descended from Mathonwy through his mother's family, and thus is the rightful owner of the wand Claerwen.
152	* IChooseToStay: Even after being lost in the ruin at the end of the first book, Charlie chooses to stay at Bloor's to help the good endowed children of the Red King fight against the bad guys.
153	** Emma Tolly also chooses to return to Bloor's Academy after her hypnotic trance is broken, for exactly the same reason as Charlie.
154	%%* IdiotHero
155	* IJustWantToBeNormal: Charlie frequently wishes to be normal, particularly when he first discovers his endowment and goes to Bloor's. He gets over this after discovering the extent of his power and how useful it is in helping other people and discovering truths no one has ever known before.
156	** Olivia goes through this in ''Castle of Mirrors'', when she goes into denial about being an endowed child of the Red King. In the end she accepts that she is endowed, though she feels more resigned to it than anything else.
157	* INeverToldYouMyName: Alice Angel knows Olivia's name immediately when she and Charlie walk into her shop, and uses it repeatedly. It doesn't say much for Charlie's intelligence that he doesn't think anything is wrong until Alice also says his name. It turns out that, unknown to them [[spoiler: Alice is Olivia's next door neighbor, godmother, and self-declared guardian angel and a friend of Charlie's Uncle Paton]].
158	* IconicSequelCharacter: Dagbert Endless, the most dangerous and complex of the younger antagonists in the series, takes six books to debut.
159	* IntergenerationalFriendship: Most of the good children are close friends with the Onimouses and Treasure/Cook, who are all middle-aged adults. Other notable friendships include that of Charlie and Paton, who become very close by the end of the series, and also Lyell and Bartholomew Bloor, who is old enough to be Lyell's grandfather.
160	* {{Interquel}}: ''Gabriel and the Phantom Sleepers'' is the latest book written to date but is apparently set some time before ''Charlie Bone and the Red Knight'', as [[spoiler:Bloor's Academy hasn't been renamed Bone's Academy yet and Ezekiel and Manfred are briefly mentioned in the present tense, meaning they are still alive.]]
161	* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: With a sufficient light source, Asa is human. But in the dark, he cannot retain that shape, instead automatically transforming into a beast -- the eponymous "Wilderness Wolf" of the sixth book. [[spoiler: Being trapped as an animal for too long can also have a bad effect on his sanity, though luckily he manages to hold himself together enough to not rip apart his rescuers when they come for him]].
162	** His ancestor Cafal had the same gift.
163	%%* {{Irony}}
164	* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: In the second book, Miss Ingledew gives Charlie a Welsh word dictionary which Paton had in his possession when he was run over. It ends up being the key to using Skarpo's wand.
165	* {{Jerkass}}: All of the evil endowed and adults are this.
166	* KaleidoscopeHair: Olivia likes to wear a different hairstyle every week.
167	* KilledOffForReal: In addition to [[spoiler:Christopher Crowquill in ''Castle of Mirrors'' and Mr. Pike, BigBad Manfred and his grandfather Ezekiel]] die at the end of the last book.
168	* KillItWithFire: What Borlath did to the Castle of Mirrors and its inhabitants. The only survivor was Amadis' youngest son, Owain.
169	* KissingCousins: Subverted. All of the endowed are descended from the Red King, but their respective families have drifted so far that they can no longer be considered related by any stretch.
170	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Lyell Bone and Emma Tolly have this as a result of their hypnotization. Later on in ''Blue Boa'', [[spoiler: Samuel Sparks also loses his memories when he is hypnotised by Yolanda Yewbeam.]]
171	* LastOfHisKind: The forest jinni who gives Timoken's family the magic ring and spider-web cloak.
172	* LeftHanging: It is never explained why the villainous faction was holding the famous pianist Alberto Tuccini hostage in the third and fourth books, nor what happens after he parts way with Charlie, Billy, and Paton.
173	%%* LittleMissBadass
174	* LivingPhoto: Charlie Bone has the power to hear people in photos talking, though they're not animate and mostly repeat what the subjects said at the time the photo was taken. Paintings, on the other hand, come to life and can converse with him, he can also jump into them.
175	* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Mr Pilgrim is revealed to be Charlie's father in the fifth book.]]
176	* MagicEnhancement: Paton Yewbeam is a "power booster", though this mainly extends just to electronics, lightbulbs in particular. He also knows how to utilize this power effectively, and even manages to fatally electrocute Yolanda with it.
177	* MagicWand: Charlie inherits one from his ancestor Mathonwy, [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield though it can only be used by one of his bloodline speaking in Welsh]]. [[spoiler: Later on after Manfred tries to destroy it, it becomes a white moth]].
178	* MakingASplash: Subverted with Dagbert, who drowns people by simulating the ocean. Somehow. It's implied he will inherit his father's water powers upon [[spoiler: killing him]], however.
179	* MasterOfIllusion: [[spoiler: Olivia Vertigo, after she accepts that she's endowed]].
180	** Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, was a talented illusionist.
181	%%* MeaningfulName
182	%%* MindControl
183	* MindOverMatter: Zelda Dobinski, Beth Strong, and Idith and Inez Branko have the power of telekinesis. They use this power against the heroes many times in the series.
184	* MissingMom: Dagbert Endless' mother is never seen and is only mentioned once in the series. It's revealed in the DramatisPersonae that she was killed by a fishing net when Dagbert was five years old.
185	* MuggleBestFriend: Benjamin Brown, Fidelio Gunn, and Olivia Vertigo [[spoiler: until she is revealed to be endowed as well]].
186	* MultigenerationalHousehold: Charlie's household consists of him, his mother, both his grandmothers, and his great-uncle.
187	* MundaneUtility: Charlie uses his wand to help him remember things he's studied for school. [[spoiler:Olivia sometimes uses her illusion power to stir up mischief when she gets bored.]]
188	** The endowed are generally discouraged from using their powers for "frivolous" things, however.
189	* MyGreatestFailure: Paton Yewbeam never really forgave himself for not helping Lyell at the cathedral on the day he disappeared.
190	* MyInstinctsAreShowing: Asa at times. Especially prominent where Yolanda was concerned, as he was attracted to her specifically because her powers were similar to his.
191	* MysteriousProtector: The Red Knight serves as this during the last three books. No one except a chosen few know who he is.
192	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
193	** Mr. Onimous sounds a lot like o'''m'''i'''n'''ous. [[SubvertedTrope He's one of the good guys though]].
194	** Count Harken Badlock.
195	* NeverFoundTheBody: In ''Midnight for Charlie Bone'' Paton mentions to Charlie that Lyell's body was never found in the car wreckage after the accident that supposedly killed him.
196	%%* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands
197	%%* NiceJobBreakingItHero
198	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: It is Charlie's entering Bloor's that begins to weaken Lyell's trance. The only reason Charlie began attending the Academy in the first place is because his grandmother, aunts and the Bloors wanted him there so that they could keep an eye on and control him and his endowment.]]
199	** [[spoiler: Ezekiel's attempt to resurrect Borlath in Hamaran's body only results in Berenice being brought back to life in the body of her favorite mare. Berenice proves to be completely on the side of the good endowed, and in the last three books carries the Red Knight while he rides around the city protecting the endowed children.]]
200	* NoSenseOfHumor: Grandma Bone.
201	* OfficialCouple:
202	** Paton and Julia Ingledew.
203	** Amy and Lyell, after [[spoiler: Lyell's awakening at the end of the fifth book]].
204	** Tancred and Emma count as well, as [[spoiler: at the end of the final book they have acknowledged their feelings for one another and are pursuing a relationship of some sort.]]
205	* OffingTheOffspring: What Lord Grimwald intends to do to Dagbert, due to their family's curse.
206	%%* OnlyICanKillHim
207	* OnePersonOnePower: Having more than one endowment is considered unusual in-universe. For some notable exceptions, see 'Combo Platter Powers' above.
208	* PapaWolf: Do not kill [[spoiler:Yolanda Yewbeam]] or [[spoiler:Tancred Torsson.]] Their fathers will be ''pissed''.
209	* ParentalAbandonment:
210	** Emma's dad, Mostyn Tolly, traded her to the Bloors for a replica of the Toledo knight when she was a baby. He eventually tries to put this right, but is murdered before he can.
211	** Naren Bloor's biological parents died in a flood when Naren was only four years old. She was later adopted by Bartholomew and Meng, who took her back to the Red King's city.
212	* ParentalSubstitute: Paton becomes this for Charlie as the series progresses.
213	%%* {{Patricide}}
214	* PlayingWithFire: Manfred Bloor, upon losing his hypnotism power, begins instead to develop fire powers like his ancestor Borlath. This is especially terrifying for the younger kids when the only other firestarter in the series was a cruel, brutal tyrant whose greatest sport was stated to be torture.
215	* PoliceAreUseless: Justified, since there's not much the police can do about magical crimes, especially when they've got their hands full with the mundane variety already. Though one does help [[spoiler: Charlie's mother]] offscreen in the last book.
216	* PortalPicture: Charlie's endowment, though it first manifests as simply hearing voices in the pictures.
217	%%* ThePowerOfFriendship
218	%%* ThePowerOfLove: It's Amy's remembering Lyell that keeps him alive during his trance, and she does this because she loves him. When she starts to forget him, Lyell begins to fade away.
219	* {{Psychometry}}: Gabriel Silk can experience the thoughts and feelings of people whose clothes he puts on.
220	* PunnyName: An example that overlaps with NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Belle Donner, a riff off the toxic belladonna plant. [[spoiler:Who is actually [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Yolanda Yewbeam]].]]
221	* PutOnABus: Beth and Bindi after ''Time Twister''.
222	* Really700YearsOld: Yolanda Yewbeam, who's over one-hundred years old by the time of her appearance in ''Blue Boa'' but looks like a little girl, and also her father Yorath.
223	* RedHerring: Bartholomew is implied to be the Red Knight in the last three books, because someone with his jacket is seen taking the Red King's cloak from Mr Silk. [[spoiler: In actuality, it's Lyell Bone.]]
224	%%* RescueRomance
225	* ResignedToTheCall: Olivia at the end of ''Castle of Mirrors'', [[spoiler: after finding out about her endowment]].
226	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Yorath Yewbeam, after Paton kills his daughter Yolanda, swears to revenge himself on him however he can.
227	** Also Olga goes on this when Lilith is taken away from the Red Castle by Amadis, using her telekinetic powers to wreak havoc.
228	* SadistTeacher: Tantalus Ebony, otherwise known as [[spoiler:Yorath Yewbeam.]]
229	* SchoolForScheming: A lot of scheming goes on at Bloor's Academy, by both the good and bad endowed. Usually the good endowed are trying to foil the bad endowed's plans, while the bad endowed hatch evil plots.
230	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Both Charlie and Lyell have this attitude.
231	* SealedEvilInACan: The Shadow/[[spoiler:Count Harken Badlock]].
232	* SecondLove: Meng for Bartholomew Bloor.
233	%%* SecretIdentity
234	* SecretLegacy:
235	** In the third book, it's revealed that Charlie is really a descendant of the wizard Mathonwy, and as a result is the rightful owner of the wand Claerwen (which he originally stole from Skarpo the Sorcerer).
236	** [[spoiler:It turns out that Lyell Bone is the true heir to Maybelle's will, and thus heir to the Bloor's immense fortune.]]
237	* SelfMadeOrphan: Dagbert Endless, thanks to a nasty curse on his family.
238	* ShapeshifterLongevity: Shapeshifters are shown to possess incredible longevity, with Yolanda Yewbeam (who was born in 1900) still alive and very much looking her age when in her true form) by the time she is first encountered by series protagonist Charlie Bone in the early 2000s; her father Yorath (who was born in 1850) is also still alive at that point.
239	* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Billy Raven's endowment allows him to do this.
240	* ShipTease:
241	** Emma and Charlie, until it is revealed that [[spoiler: Emma has a crush on Tancred]].
242	** Olivia and Charlie.
243	* SpoilerOpening: The DramatisPersonae at the beginning of ''Charlie Bone and the Time Twister'' gives away the fact that Emma's endowment allows her to turn into a bird - information that otherwise isn't revealed until halfway through that book.
244	* SternTeacher: Arthur Saltweather, the Head of the Music Department.
245	%%* StunnedSilence
246	* StupidScientist: Ezekiel has shades of this, crossed with GenreBlindness. He literally had no other plan for controlling Borlath except that since he was Borlath's descendant, he'd of course be obligated to help him out.
247	* SwordCane: Uncle Paton has one in his walking stick, used in the final battle. And it's electrified.
248	%%* SuperpowerfulGenetics
249	* TellMeAboutMyFather: Charlie asks this of his mother at the beginning of ''Midnight for Charlie Bone''.
250	* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Lucretia, Eustacia, and Venetia Yewbeam live at 13 Darkly Wynd.
251	** Parodied. They don't all live at the same house, their street has three No. 13s.
252	* TimeSkip: Each story takes place at least a few months after the previous one.
253	%%* TookALevelInBadass: Lyell and Amy in the last three books.
254	** Emma in ''Time Twister'', when she, as a tollroc, saves Olivia from Zelda and Beth in the Academy grounds.
255	* TookALevelInJerkass: Dorcas Loom in ''Blue Boa'', as a result of being corrupted by Yolanda Yewbeam.
256	%%* TooDumbToLive
257	%%* TragicKeepsake
258	* TheTrapParents: Billy Raven is temporarily adopted by Florence and Usher de Grey in ''The Castle of Mirrors'' and is excited about getting a family but quickly discovers that the de Greys are abusive and only adopted him to have him spy on Charlie Bone's group.
259	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: Most of the evil endowed exhibit this. Particularly Manfred, who crushed his own mother's hand and used his endowment to render a grown man utterly helpless, all when he was just thirteen and nine years old respectively.
260	* TwoActStructure: The first five books focus on Charlie and his friends as they try and foil the Bloors' evil plans and rescue some of the Bloors' many victims. Throughout it all Charlie strives to find his father, who was hypnotised and lost long ago. [[spoiler:He does eventually, and they bring him home in the fifth book.]] The last three books focus on the quest to find Maybelle's will and lead up to [[spoiler: Harken's second (and final) attempt to take over the city.]]
261	* UnexpectedInheritance: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Red Knight'' it's revealed that ''Lyell'' was the true inheritor of Maybelle's will, which means that he inherits all of the Bloors' fortune ''and'' Bloor's Academy.]]
262	* UnfazedEveryman: Benjamin, Fidelio, and Olivia [[spoiler: until she turns out to be endowed in the fourth book.]]
263	%%* UnwittingPawn
264	%%* WhamEpisode
265	%%* WhatHappenedToTheMouse
266	* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. Some of the endowed have powers that initially seem lame, but most of them turn out to be [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Guns]] or more powerful than you'd think.
267	%%* WhatTheHellHero
268	* WheelChairAntics: Ezekiel Bloor engages in this at least once. In ''Hidden King'', he attaches sparklers to the back of his wheelchair and rides around through a crowd like that.
269	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler:It would've been much easier for the Bloors if they'd just killed Lyell in that car accident in 1994. The only reason they didn't was because Grizelda insisted on sparing him, and they also wanted to find out from him the location of the pearl-inlaid box that contains Maybelle's will. However, this is subverted in the fifth book, when Harken (with the Bloors' and Yewbeams' full knowledge) makes Amy forget Lyell to stop him waking up from his trance, as it's heavily implied, if not stated outright, that Lyell will ''die'' if Amy forgets him completely. Then in the last three books the Bloors resort to trying to drown him before he remembers where he put the pearl-inlaid box.]]
270	* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForEvil: Grizelda Bone often complains that Charlie and Lyell refuse to 'toe the line' and side with the Bloors in the ongoing fight between the descendants of the Red King.
271	[[/folder]]
272
273	[[folder: Chronicles of the Red King]]
274	* AdultsAreUseless: Mostly averted.
275	%%* AnimalEyes:
276	* ArchEnemy: Harken for the Red King.
277	* BadPowersBadPeople: This almost seems to be the case when it comes to the endowed. Those with more destructive powers tend to be on the side of the Bloors, while those with more useless-sounding powers tend to be good. This is averted by Tancred and Lysander, who are easily the strongest of all the kids at the Academy, and who are both very firmly on Charlie's team.
278	%%* BadassAdorable
279	* BadassBookworm: Paton Yewbeam.
280	* BadassCrew: The children of the Red King.
281	* BadassFamily: Timoken and his family in the third book.
282	* [[BenevolentBoss Benevolent Ruler]]: The Red King was certainly this, when he ruled the Red Castle centuries ago. He was kind and fair to all who were put under his care, and everyone respected and liked him.
283	%%* BerserkButton
284	%%* BewareTheNiceOnes
285	* BigBad: Count Harken Badlock.
286	%%* BigDamnHeroes
287	* BigGood: The Red King and Queen Berenice.
288	* BigLabyrinthineBuilding: The Red Castle.
289	%%* BigScrewedUpFamily:
290	%%* BodyHorror: Also Asa's ancestor, Cafal (called 'The Changer').
291	* CatsAreMagic: Played straight in the case of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, otherwise known as the Flames. They used to be leopards belonging to the Red King, and are capable of turning themselves into fire, and occasionally can resume their true forms.
292	%%* ChekhovsGun:
293	%%* ChekhovsGunman:
294	%%* ChekhovsSkill:
295	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Timoken (aka The Red King), shown when he rescues Beri, Edern, Gereint, Peredur, Mabon and others from slavers in ''The Secret Kingdom''.
296	* TheClan: The Yewbeams and Bloors. The descendants of the Red King as a whole.
297	%%* CorruptTheCutie:
298	* ComboPlatterPowers: Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, has at least four endowments: psychic power, illusions, spirit-summoning, and witchcraft. Possibly justified in that she is so closely related to the Red King, but then again her siblings only seem to have one endowment a piece.
299	** Borlath is revealed to be a hypnotist as well as a fire-user.
300	%%* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass
301	%%* DarkAndTroubledPast:
302	%%* DarkSecret
303	%%* DeadpanSnarker:
304	%%* {{Determinator}}:
305	%%* DisabilityImmunity:
306	* DisneyDeath: Timoken's sister Zobayda is presumed drowned after she throws herself into a river to protect Timoken from the viridees. [[spoiler: Turns out she survived and was taken in by a merchant, who she eventually fell in love with and married.]]
307	%%* DisproportionateRetribution
308	%%* DistressBall
309	%%* DividedWeFall
310	%%* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything
311	%%* TheDogBitesBack
312	* DramatisPersonae: Each book has several pages at the beginning listing all the current major characters and their powers.
313	%%* TheDreaded:
314	* DysfunctionalFamily: Timoken's family in the third book.
315	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding
316	%%* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette:
317	* FamousAncestor: The Red King and his children for the descendants of the Red King.
318	** Also the Knight of Toledo.
319	%%* FateWorseThanDeath
320	* FriendToAllChildren: Most of the good adults are this. The bad adults are definitely ''not'' this.
321	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, is this.
322	%%* GangOfBullies
323	* HappilyMarried: The Red King and Queen Berenice, at some point after ''The Stones of Ravenglass''.
324	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: By nature, Cafal is this. His alignment changes depending on the moon.
325	%%* HeelFaceTurn:
326	%%* HeroWithBadPublicity:
327	* HeroicSacrifice: Zobayda, who throws herself into a river in the first book to protect Timoken and stop the viridees from obtaining the jinni's ring.
328	%%* HiddenDepths
329	%%* HiddenInPlainSight:
330	* HypnoticEyes: Borlath has hypnotic powers as well as the ability to manipulate fire.
331	%%* IChooseToStay:
332	%%* IdiotHero
333	%%* IJustWantToBeNormal:
334	%%* IntergenerationalFriendship:
335	* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Cafal.
336	%%* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest:
337	* {{Jerkass}}: All of the evil endowed children and adults are this.
338	%%* KilledOffForReal:
339	* LastOfHisKind: The forest jinni who gives Timoken's family the magic ring and spider-web cloak.
340	%%* LittleMissBadass
341	* MagicWand: As a wizard, Eri has a magic wand.
342	* MasterOfIllusion: Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, is a talented illusionist.
343	%%* MeaningfulName
344	%%* MindControl
345	* MindOverMatter: Olga has telekinetic powers.
346	%%* MultigenerationalHousehold:
347	%%* MundaneUtility:
348	%%* MyInstinctsAreShowing:
349	%%* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
350	%%* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands
351	%%* NiceJobBreakingItHero
352	%%* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
353	%%* NoSenseOfHumor:
354	* OfficialCouple: Timoken and Beri.
355	%%* OnlyICanKillHim
356	* OnePersonOnePower: Having more than one endowment is considered unusual in-universe. For some notable exceptions, see 'Combo Platter Powers' above.
357	%%* ParentalAbandonment:
358	%%* ParentalSubstitute:
359	%%* {{Patricide}}
360	* PlayingWithFire: Manfred Bloor, upon losing his hypnotism power, begins instead to develop fire powers like his ancestor Borlath. This is especially terrifying for the younger kids when the only other firestarter in the series was a cruel, brutal tyrant whose greatest sport was stated to be torture.
361	%%* ThePowerOfFriendship
362	%%* RedHerring:
363	%%* RescueRomance
364	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Olga goes on this when Lilith is taken away from the Red Castle by Amadis, using her telekinetic powers to wreak havoc.
365	%%* SecretIdentity
366	* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Amadis has the ability to understand and talk to animals.
367	%%* SuperpowerfulGenetics
368	* TimeSkip: ''The Stones of Ravenglass'' takes place a year after ''The Secret Kingdom''. The third book takes place at least twenty years after the second one.
369	%%* TookALevelInBadass:
370	%%* TookALevelInJerkass:
371	%%* TooDumbToLive
372	%%* TragicKeepsake
373	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour:
374	%%* UnwittingPawn
375	%%* WhatHappenedToTheMouse
376	%%* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway:
377	%%* WhatTheHellHero
378	[[/folder]]
379
380
381

Context Literature / ChildrenOfTheRedKing