Line #60 Literature/Havemercy


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/havemercycover.png]]
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3	->''Metal dragons, gay magicians, and explosions!''
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5	''Havemercy'' is the creation of Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, two college students and LJ users who decided there were entirely not enough of the three above things in their lives, and set out to write a charming, exciting, funny [[SteamPunk steampunk]] fantasy. They've garnered a loyal fanbase pretty quickly, which likely has something to do with the fact that Ms. Jones is the coauthor of [[http://community.livejournal.com/shoebox_project/profile The Shoebox Project]], which... possibly has an even loyaler fanbase.
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7	Anyways, ''Havemercy'' tells the story of four men in the alternate-Russia-based country of Volstov: Royston, the magician; Hal, the quiet country boy; Thom, the scholar; and Rook, the airman. And, oh yes, the airmen ride dragons. But not just any dragons. No, these dragons... [[OurDragonsAreDifferent they're made of metal]]. And they're Volstov's greatest weapon in the war against their neighbors, the Ke'Han.
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9	... A war that takes a bit of a backseat for most of the novel, because other elements are far more interesting. Royston is banished to his brother's home in the countryside for being... [[StraightGay different]]. It's there that he meets Hal, and something starts to stir. Meanwhile, after a ''bit'' of an incident involving the wife of a diplomat, Thom is asked to teach etiquette to the Dragon Corps, including the [[JerkJock boorish, foulmouthed, snarky]] Rook.
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11	In essence, it's a [[{{Fanservice}} fangirl-friendly]], HoYay-packed, very clever sort of high fantasy.
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13	The sequel, titled ''Shadow Magic'', was released in the summer of 2009. It follows the story of diplomatic peace talks with the [[{{Wutai}} Ke-Han]], involving a new cast of main characters. Caius and Alcibiades, who both featured minor roles in the first book, are both sent as part of a group of diplomats to the Ke-Han capitol. Caius is a slightly crazy, very effeminate young man who will [[MindRape mess you up.]] Alcibiades is a gruff soldier who is not at all happy with the job he's been given. Joining them are Mamoru, a prince of the Ke-Han who is probably the nicest person you will meet in this book, and Kouje, his loyal, duty-bound retainer. The general consensus is that the second book is just as good, if not better, than the first, with what might possibly be even ''more'' HoYay stuffed in.
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15	The third book, ''Dragon Soul'', released in the summer of 2010, runs approximately concurrently with ''Shadow Magic''. It follows Rook and Thom, returning from ''Havemercy'', this time on a journey to the Hanging Gardens of Eklesias, despite the fact that Rook doesn't even know where the fuck they are. Said journey gets derailed almost immediately once Rook finds out people are digging up and selling bits and pieces of [[spoiler: the dragons destroyed at the end of ''Havemercy'', possibly including Havemercy herself.]] He is not pleased. Madoka, a Ke-Han scavenger, is also roped into the plot, very much against her will, and Malahide is sent out as a spy for the Esar to [[spoiler: find out who's selling the dragon parts.]]
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17	The fourth and, at least for now, final book in the series, ''Steel Hands'', was released in August of 2011. It features Balfour and Adamo, two of the airmen from the first book, as narrators, as well as two new characters, Laure and Toverre. It deals with a continuation of the plot of ''Dragon Soul'', and the effects the events of that book have on Thremedon.
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19	----
20	!!This novel provides examples of:
21	* AcePilot: The entire Dragon Corps, really. One is even named Ace.
22	* AgentPeacock: Royston spends forever picking out his clothes in the morning, is embarrassed to be seen with a red nose, and [[AllGaysLoveTheater loves theater]], not to mention the open gayness. He can also [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]] by thinking about it. Caius is another example: he wears feminized versions of male clothing, primps and preens, and likes fluttering about with a fan... which happens to hold retractable knives in the creases. That's the ''least'' dangerous he gets.
23	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Rook. Selfish, nasty, narrow-minded, misogynistic, violent, vulgar, at times outright sociopathic. The ladies are not deterred in the least.
24	* AllMenArePerverts: Well, within the walls of the Airman, this is certainly true. Except for poor Balfour...
25	* {{Ambadassador}} The whole Volstovic delegation to Ke-Han in ''Shadow Magic'', as shown by what happens when [[spoiler: their hosts turn on them]].
26	* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics - ''velikaia'' in Russian is female form (Russian has grammatic gender) of "great one".
27	* BackFromTheDead: In a way. One presumed-dead character returns near the end of ''Steelhands'', although he was never really dead in the first place.
28	* BackToBackBadasses: [[spoiler: Alcibiades and Lord Temur]] towards the end of ''Shadow Magic''.
29	* BadassNormal: Madoka. Despite being untrained in either magic or combat, she still holds her own, mostly through sheer force of will. [[spoiler: She even manages to take down ''Dragon Soul'' 's main antagonist, a dangerous sorcerer.]]
30	* TheBeard: Laure for Toverre, although [[spoiler:predictably, in the end, they decide to call the engagement off.]]
31	* BigEater: According to Rook, Thom in ''Dragon Soul''.
32	* BigDamnHeroes: ALL of the Airmen at the end of ''Havemercy''
33	** Also, Prince Mamoru, Kouje, the Margraves, and all of the Esar's army at the end of ''Shadow Magic.''
34	* BloodKnight: Rook is always at his happiest when he's fighting.
35	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Again, it's stated that the vulgarity and insanity that occurs amongst the Airmen is ignored simply because no one else could do the job they do.
36	* {{Calvinball}}: The darts game between the airmen
37	* CampGay: Toverre. He constantly insists on dressing Laure, although part of this may also stem from his rather OCD tendencies.
38	** Royston, too, although he combines this with a healthy dose of badassery. He spends forever picking out his wardrobe in the morning, is so vain that he dreads being seen in public with a cold, and buys theater season tickets.
39	* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: The cast is really entirely male (except for ''one'' character), and if you take fanart at its word, almost ''all'' of them are gorgeous. The third and fourth books remedy this slightly by adding more female characters as narrators and major players.
40	* ClockPunk: The dragons combine this with {{Magitek}}
41	* ClusterFBomb: Rook
42	* TheDandy: Caius Greylace. His obsession with being pretty annoys Alcibiades, but no one else seems too bothered by it (or they don't care). Also, in ''Steelhands'', Toverre. The back of the book says that he is 'more interested in his wife-to-be's clothes than her bed', which is completely accurate.
43	* TheDeterminator: Rook, particularly toward the end of ''Dragon Soul''. Madoka also has her moments.
44	* DisguisedInDrag: While on the run, Mamoru (very convincingly) disguises himself as a woman in order to avoid suspicion.
45	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Ke-Han = feudal Japan[=/=]Manchu Dynasty China. Volstov also bears a striking similarities to Russia (say th'Esar and th'Esarina too quickly and it sounds like Tsar and Tsarina), and the Arlemagne naming scheme, at least, sounds quite French. The desert nomads in "Dragon Soul" are definitely Bedouins
46	* FindTheCure: The point of [[spoiler:Hal, Royston, and the magicians' discussions in the Basquiat]], though it's less "exciting quest" and more "long, anxious discussions."
47	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Though they don't travel together, the four protagonists can definitely be seen as an example of this; Royston is phlegmatic, Rook is choleric, Thom is melancholic, and Hal is sanguine.
48	** In Shadow Magic, Caius is sanguine, Alcibiades choleric, Mamoru melancholic, and Kouje phlegmatic.
49	* GovernmentConspiracy: On the milder side, perhaps, but th'Esar's [[spoiler:coverup of the plague]] probably counts.
50	* GirlOnGirlIsHot / GuyOnGuyIsHot:
51	** Although not terribly explicit, the book contains numerous cases of open gay lust and ''endless'' HomoeroticSubtext. Aside from the actual canon, Rook and Thom--their animosity borders on SlapSlapKiss territory--are the biggest offenders, followed, in descending order, by Thom and Hal, Thom and Balfour, Royston and Adamo...oh, hell, everyone.
52	** The sequel's no different. Both Caius and Alcibiades, and [[BodyguardCrush Mamoru and Kouje]] have HomoeroticSubtext in simply staggering amounts.
53	** Which does not even begin to cover ''Steelhands'', which is possibly even gayer than ''Havemercy'' was. There's Toverre and pretty much every attractive male he meets, [[spoiler: including, hilariously, Hal,]] and the airmen are once again in the spotlight, meaning that the homoerotic dynamics are back in full force. This doesn't even include Royston and Hal being quietly adorable in the background.
54	** Malahilde seems almost like she's flirting with Madoka at points in ''Dragon Soul.''
55	* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Rook. Just...''Rook''.
56	* HeroicSacrifice
57	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Only one half of the Royston-Alcibiades friendship is actually heterosexual, but they are lifelong platonic friends and confidants who trust one another with everything, except cooking decent food.
58	* [[HideYourLesbians Hide Your Gays]]: Not the books themselves (obviously) but the front flap description for Havemercy makes no mention whatsoever of Hal or Royston.
59	* IGotYouCovered
60	* {{Irony}}: At the very beginning of ''Havermercy'', Royston remarks that many people find it odd and/or distasteful that th'Esar chose a commoner to be Provost. Two books later in ''Dragon Soul'', it's revealed that [[spoiler: the Provost is th'Esar's illegitimate child.]]
61	* LongLostSibling: [[spoiler:Rook and Thom. Er... John and Hilary?]]
62	* MindControl: Caius exercises this over a certain Ke-Han warlord in ''Shadow Magic''.
63	* MindRape: [[spoiler:Apparently how Caius tortures people,]] though the details aren't too explicit. We get to see it in a bit more detail in the sequel.
64	* NewMeat: Apparently what happened to Balfour upon first joining the Corps... as well as Thom, though he never truly "joins" anything.
65	* NotUsingTheZedWord: Magicians as margraves, and psychic magicians as ''velikaia''.
66	* OddFriendship: The cultured, sarcastic Royston and the gruff, foulmouthed Adamo fit this, though it's somewhat subverted in that they've apparently been close since before the novel started - WordOfGod has confirmed that they've been close since they were students. This is elaborated on a bit more in ''Steelhands'', where we get to seem them interact a bit more.
67	** Caius and Alcibiades in ''Shadow Magic''. Alcibiades pretty much hates Caius's guts, and yet they still spend the majority of the book together.
68	* OfficialCouple: Royston and Hal.
69	* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Rook and Thom's]] parents left them to fend for themselves at a very young age. Also, Dmitri's father, [[spoiler: that is, th'Esar]] dumped him at an orphanage because Dmitri is [[spoiler: an illegitimate child he had with Antoinette.]]
70	* SociopathicHero: ''Rook.'' Caius isn't as brutish, but still has a dubious conscience, based on his willingness to torture anyone who gives him even half an excuse.
71	* SensitivityTraining: For the Dragon Corp after Rook thought the Arlemagne diplomat's wife was a whore.
72	* ShrinkingViolet: A rare male example in mousy, bookish, freckle-faced Hal. [[spoiler: True to type, he comes into his own at the end, leaving Nevers with Royston when his exile is cut short and eventually saving the country from magical plague.]]
73	* SiblingYinYang [[spoiler: Rook and Thom, in ''spades''. Although, as Havemercy herself notes, there are times when they're not that different after all.]]
74	* StuffBlowingUp: Royston's talent is that he ''makes things explode''.
75	* TheQuietOne: Ghislain
76	* {{Telepathy}}: While the books have different kinds of telepaths, all get lumped into the category of ''velikaia'', at least in Volstov.
77	* TortureForFunAndInformation: Performed on Rook during his captivity in Ke-Han, and by Caius on whomever gives him an excuse.
78	* TraumaCongaLine: [[BreakTheCutie Mamoru]] in ''Shadow Magic'' and Madoka in ''Dragon Soul'' (not to the extent of that other [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Madoka]], [[HilariousInHindsight though the circumstances aren't far off]]). The entire series could be considered one for Rook [[JerkAssWoobie though he's far from an innocent victim]].
79	* UnequalPairing: One of Royston's major problems in engaging in a relationship with Hal. Royston loses the battle.

Context Literature / Havemercy