Line #46 Literature/TheLordsOfCreation


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_lords_of_creation.png]]
2	A series of AlternateHistory science fiction novels by Creator/SMStirling. A {{Reconstruction}} of classic PlanetaryRomance novels and tropes for the modern audience, the novels explore a world built around a simple concept: what if Mars and Venus really were approximately like we envisioned them before all that boring reality got in the way?
3
4	The series thus far consists of:
5	* ''The Sky People'' (2006)
6	* ''In the Courts of the Crimson Kings'' (2008)
7	* "Swords of Zar-Tu-Kan", published in the anthology ''Literature/OldMars'' (2013)
8
9	As scientific observation of our nearest planetary neighbors intensifies during the early 20th century, it becomes clear that both worlds have oxy-nitrogen atmospheres much like our own. By 1948, the possibility of life on both is so strong that the Space Race kicks in early and ''keeps going'', radically altering political history from that point on as the UsefulNotes/ColdWar begins to lose importance and military spending is diverted to exploration. And when the Russians finally land a probe on the surface of Venus in 1962, the first image its cameras send back is of a dinosaur-infested jungle. And the ''second'' image is of ''[[NubileSavage a beautiful blonde woman]] in a FurBikini being chased by a savage horde of neanderthals''.
10
11	Two months later, when the American Viking probe tells us about [[UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} the canal-building biotech-using humanoid Martians]], the race to land on both worlds shifts into high gear.
12
13	But once contact has been made and permanent scientific studies begin, oddities begin to creep up. For one thing, the humans of Venus are entirely ''too'' human to be a product of parallel evolution -- a conclusion reinforced by the simultaneous discoveries that some tribes speak a language clearly descended from Indo-European, and that only two hundred million years ago the planet was an uninhabitable acid-veiled hothouse, becoming Earthlike practically in the blink of an eye as far as the cosmic time scale goes.
14
15	As evidence mounts that someone has been ''tinkering'' with the worlds of the solar system for millions of years, continuing right into the last few millennia, the question humanity must ask is: Who are the Lords of Creation, and what do they intend for their great multiplanetary experiment?
16
17	Not to be confused with ''TabletopGame/LordsOfCreation'', a very weird [[TabletopGames role-playing game]] published in the mid-Eighties.
18	----
19	!!This series provides examples of:
20
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Series]]
24	* AliensNeverInventedDemocracy: Downplayed as the "aliens" are all human transplants, but the earth is the only planet with any form of democracy. Mars has a centuries-old stagnant monarchy and Venus is just clawing its way out of tribalism.
25	* AlienSpaceBats: The Duology, and one short story, is set in an alternate history where Mars and Venus are habitable (having been made so millions of years ago by the eponymous advanced alien race, for reasons never revealed).
26	* AlternateHistory: Explored in the chapter breaks. People have suspected that Mars and Venus were inhabited for centuries, but the dawn of space travel gave them proof. The political situation on Earth became ''much'' less volatile once life is discovered on the other planets, but the Cold War has been exported to Venus and Mars.
27	* AmazonianBeauty: Both the female protagonists for ''vary'' different reasons.
28	* AmazonChaser: Both of the human male protagonists, though for different reasons. Both the female protagonists fit the trope in different ways.
29	* AncientAstronauts: The titular Lords of Creation have been mucking about in the Sol System for tens of millions of years.
30	* BadassBookworm: Every Earth person not actually on Earth, as you ''have'' to be this just to qualify for the space program.
31	* CosmicHorrorStory: Downplayed but it's there. The Sol system has been the playground of an alien species and telescopes have picked up superstructures in the Galaxy; we are definitely ''not'' alone.
32	* HumanSubspecies: The Venusians ''are'' human, or can at least breed with Earthlings. The Martians have genetically engineered themselves to hell and have a FantasticCasteSystem, but are still close enough to find humans attractive (though most see us as uncultured, gluttonous dwarves that practically ''ooze'' sweat). There are even some Neanderthals around!
33	* IndoEuropeanAlienLanguage: {{Justified}} as the TransplantedHumans living on Venus and Mars have had their language evolve and change over time.
34	* LostTechnology: All over the place, in the form of the Lords of Creations' stuff, but also the fact that the Martians are said to have lost a great deal of their own biotech.
35	* NoBiochemicalBarriers: {{Justified}} as all flora and fauna, micro and macro, is ultimately Earth derived, with the expected parallel evolution there are unique diseases and allergies that show up.
36	* PlanetaryRomance: {{Justified}} as the douology, and one short story, use real science to justify the tropes. There admittedly need to be AlienSpaceBats to do it but pretty much all the genre tropes show up here. The Moon doesn't seem to be inhabited, nor Mercury or the larger local gas giant moons.
37	* {{Precursors}}: the Lords of Creation, except that it seems they're not so much Pre- as ''Present''cursors. They're also [[NeglectfulPrecursors neglectful]], as ''something'' has gone wrong with their monitoring system and its "schedule" for the three worlds.
38	* ScienceHero: All astronauts from Earth are an example of this otherwise they couldn't survive on the planet. More specifically the main male protagonists are directly aided by their specialties, Mac by his ability to control animals and Jeremy with his Archeological expertise helping him get out of a labyrinth.
39	* ShoutOut:
40	** Teesa's dead former mate Jondlar, named after Jondalar from the ''Literature/EarthsChildren'' series.
41	** The zeppelin ''Vepaja'' is named after the major friendly nation on Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' Venus.
42	** ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAge Scrat]]'', of all rodents, has a cameo on Venus.
43	** Christopher Blair is named after the same character from ''VideoGame/WingCommander''.
44	** ''Franchise/StarTrek'' is referenced through the ShowWithinAShow ''New Frontier'', and is used throughout the books to make even more specific nods:
45	*** At one point a character notes "Hey, that's a stereotype. Like the unemotional half-Martian Science Officer on the Federation Starship ''New Frontier''..." This is also a DevelopmentGag, as Spock was almost a Martian. The green makeup tested better on Nimoy than the red.
46	*** A moment where someone says, "Resistance is futile," and one of his hearers' grumbles, "Now he's quoting from a ''New Frontier'' episode...."
47	** The title "In The Court of the Crimson Kings" is a shout-out to the Music/KingCrimson album "Music/InTheCourtOfTheCrimsonKing".
48	** The convention scene in the opening chapter of "Courts of the Crimson Kings" features just about every significant science-fiction author of the time.
49	** The "very weird dig" in Arizona that was the only exciting thing to happen to Jeremy Wainman before he went to Mars appears to be [[http://www.literature.org/authors/burroughs-edgar-rice/a-princess-of-mars/chapter-28.html the cave in which John Carter's body lay during his first astral trip to Barsoom]].
50	** When the excavating party are attacked by [[ItMakesSenseInContext feral engines]], there are [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy 42]] of them, and the description of them sounds a lot like larger versions of [[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds H.G. Wells']] Martians. (It's even mentioned that if bred with too much intelligence, they'd try to escape. Escape to Earth, perhaps?)
51	** RodentsOfUnusualSize are found in the caverns under Olympus. Mind you, the [[{{Inverted}} "unusual" size is ''small'']]. Their threat to the protagonists comes from the fact there's [[TheSwarm thousands of them]].
52	** Martians have their wounds close up so fast they might as well be [[Franchise/{{Dune}} Fremen]].
53	* SingleBiomePlanet: Averted sort of; Mars has several ''varieties'' of "cold and dry", for example. Venus is like Earth only wetter and more tropical.
54	* TransplantedHumans: To both Venus and Mars, combined with HumanSubspecies. Given that the main Terrens are all scientists, this is Discussed to Jove and back. The jury's still out on the other planets in Sol.
55	* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Used by the Earthling explorers on Venus and, in slightly more fantastical airship form, by the native Martians.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:''The Sky People'']]
59	* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated: DoubleSubverted The others are not happy about Marc Vitrac raising a great wolf pup as a pet, thinking it will turn on him when it grows up. However, Marc is well aware of the history of domestication and has owned dogs and wolfdogs before and knows how to break one to bridle.
60	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Neanderthals of Venus are presented as undiluted vile and filthy creatures.
61	** Though they're only seen from the viewpoints of their enemies and/or victims.
62	** At one point a group of Neanderthals give their lives so the women and children can escape, and the main characters reflect that they might have misjudged them.
63	* ArtisticLicensePaleontology:
64	** {{Justified}} in that the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Lords of Creation]] seeded Venus with Earthly lifeforms two hundred million years ago, and have been coming back and adding new batches of Earthly life roughly every two million years since then, including human specimens only a few thousand years ago; with no mass extinction on Venus, dinosaurs coexist semi-peacefully with critters from every era since. The harsher Martian climate, coupled with extensive bioengineering, averts this.
65	** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] InUniverse when an actual paleontologist examines some fossils (and the surrounding rock) and realizes that what she's seeing isn't possible.
66	* [[BambooTechnology Shamboo Technology]]: Space travel is EXPENSIVE, which means the Venusian colonists have to make do with bronze age materials for their equipment wherever they can.
67	* BigCreepyCrawlies: {{Justified}}. The combination of low gravity and higher oxygen pressure on Venus allows insects to grow to the size of Chihuahuas.
68	* DeathWorld: Venus and Mars are this to earthlings. They don't all die and the native humans have adapted somewhat but EverythingTryingToKillYou is in full effect.
69	* DomesticatedDinosaurs: With a liberal dose of {{Cyborg}} thanks to NeuralImplanting. It's routine to the point that a non-specialist can carry out the operation.
70	* FrazettaMan: The Wergu, which are [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals Neanderthals]] by all appearances.
71	* GivingRadioToTheRomans: The Venusians get bows and arrows, plus steel-smelting technology from the humans. {{Discussed}} as there's some concern about exactly where this is going to lead. Some of the native priest cast don't like it, and sic a mob on some humans who are caught photographing a sacred site.
72	* JungleOpera: The entirety of the Venus book is a send-up to this genre as it is others.
73	* LostWorld: The ''entire planet'' of Venus.
74	* TheMole: [[spoiler:Christopher Blair]].
75	* TheNativeRival: Downplayed as the native is the younger brother of the female protagonists mate. His death means the younger brother moves up in position. Then the earth protagonist arrives and his position is threatened. He does end up hooking up with a female from earth though.
76	* NubileSavage: Teesa of the Cloud Mountain People.
77	* ProportionatelyPonderousParasites: The native, well transplanted from earth but that was millions of years ago, megafauna such as dinosaurs are shown to have the equivalents of lice the size of crayfish; you do ''not'' want to get one on you.
78	* SmellsSexy: Tessa as a Venusian native has a better sense of smell then Earth humans and can scent that human explorer Marc Vitrac is attracted to her, and is puzzled [[ObliviousToLove why he can't scent the same about her]].
79	* StonePunk: Venus's Hat, being transplanted onto a planet full of giant man-eating monsters can't have done much for technological or cultural development.
80	* UsefulNotes/{{Venus}}: Like Mars, it has all the basic features of the actual Venus, up until about two hundred million years ago.
81	* VenusIsWet: PlayedWith, the entire planet is covered in jungles, but there are different types of jungles along with flood plains and mountains and more.
82	* UniversalTranslator: Deconstructed, the NeuralImplanting used to break through the language barrier could have driven the target haplessly mad if it had gone wrong. Mark is not happy when he finds out.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:''In the Courts of the Crimson Kings'']]
86	* AdventurerArchaeologist: Lampshaded and played straight with earthling protagonist Jeremy Wainman, who's already had several weird experiences before he came to Mars, which makes him more than qualified.
87	* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated: Deconstructed with Martian fauna where the GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke means that the surviving animals on the DeathWorld are more dangerous than they would be otherwise. Standout examples are feral engines and tool-using dinosaurs that are descended from hunting dogs.
88	* ArchaeologicalArmsRace: This trope is name-dropped when discussing the United States renewed interest in the architectural ruins of Mars and it also serves as the impetus for the plot.
89	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: the Invisible Crown of the Tollamune Emperors supplies its ''own'' awesomeness, but the official ceremony is pretty darn impressive.
90	* BiotechIsBetter: {{Discussed}}, given how [[MetalPoorPlanet resource-poor]] Mars is, Biotechnology is an adequate solution and they've achieved things that Earth humans are only now learning from. Sill, it was Earthlings that developed space travel and showed up on the '''Martian''' doorstep.
91	* ChessMotifs: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that [[VariantChess atanj, the Martian chess-like game]] from which many a motif is drawn, is ''vastly'' more complex than mere Earthly chess. With ships, merchants, boycotters, bribes, the possibility of pieces defecting on their own, as many as eight players, and the use of dice, it's more like ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' in some ways.
92	* ChocolateOfRomance: What cements Jeremy's romance with Teyud is his gifting her his earth Chocolate ration worth more than ''his'' weight in gold given how realistically difficult space travel is.
93	* CulturalPosturing: Martians, antagonists and protagonists, are very fond of pointing out how advanced they were while Earth humans were hunter-gatherers. The problem is that they haven't moved beyond that.
94	* DecadentCourt: The City That Is A Mountain is ''made'' of this trope, certain forms of assassination are disproved of not only because they don't work but because they aren't ''traditional''.
95	* [[ShiftingSandLand DesertPlanet]]: PlayedWith, as Mars is much colder and drier than Earth but the people have adapted to it and there are several varieties of cold and dry.
96	* DesertPunk: Mars combines this with BioPunk.
97	* DomesticatedDinosaurs: Some were turned into hunting dog equivalents, that have returned to nature.
98	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin[=/=]NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Two pirate vessels in ''Crimson Kings'' are called "Robbery With Armed Violence" and "Insensately Vicious Plunderer" curtesy of the Martian language.
99	* ExoticEquipment: It's mentioned that the [[ActionGirl Teyud]] and [[AdventurerArchaeologist Jeremy]] have physical differences that they need to work around, which only tests their inventiveness. The Martian scientist who examines him later seems rather squicked out by these differences though.
100	* FamilyBusiness: Some clerks and bureaucratic positions are now dynasties onto themselves at this point, worse they quite like the privilege they enjoy from this without having to do actual work. [[spoiler:To the point of hiring assassins to keep an heir from taking the throne.]]
101	* {{Fartillery}}: The methane-powered living rifles of the Martians probably count; things like this are expected when you base your ordinance off of biotech.
102	* GenderIsNoObject: {{Justified}}, not only are Martians less sexually dimorphic than terrans, female Martians can choose whether or not to implant an embryo.
103	* GunsVsSwords: Lampshaded in the prologue of the second book. The first pictures from Mars show the inhabitants are armed with firearms and swords. Some speculate that it's due to a code of honor, but it's pointed out that it would give the cheaters too much of an advantage. It turns out Martians use biotechnology guns that are slow to reload, so they need to [[TheMusketeer have a backup weapon handy in the interim]].
104	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sally saves Jeremy from spore guns and essentially saves all of mars in the bargain.]]
105	* HeavyWorlder: What earthlings are for martians, while they need to keep in shape for to make use of it and can't accomplish physics defying feats like in [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars John Carter]] it means they can keep up with the local {{Super Soldier}}s.
106	* HiddenBackupPrince: [[spoiler:Teyud]] and resentful about it, it's actually part of their character development that they don't drop everything and try to claim the Crimson Throne when the chance presents itself.
107	* HumansAreUgly: The native Martian biologist[=/=]torturer that examines the captive Jeremy is squicked out by his excessive body hair and sweat despite the native Martians just being genetically augmented humans.
108	%%* HumanChess: ''Atanj'', the Martian version.
109	* IKEAErotica: Happens due to the nature of the Martian language. ''"I request more energetic intromission, emphatic tense!"'' is the closest you can get to talking dirty.
110	* LanguageEqualsThought: {{Discussed}} The Martians don't have separate words for "pirate" and "police officer" or "ruler" and "tyrant". They all fall under the broad heading of '''coercives''' which anyone can employ. ''Fun''.
111	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: All the science fiction writers gathered to watch the Mars probe images in the second novel's prologue.
112	** A justified example: ''New Frontier'' is this universe's version of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', and is fundamentally somewhat different due to differences in world culture, but is [[TropeMaker every]] [[TropeCodifier bit]] [[FountainOfMemes as]] [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed influential]] as it is in our world.
113	* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: Subverted as the civilization is explicitly still around and has been for millennia, even having the same dynasty, they're still in visible decay compared to earth and even Venus on the way out. Great works like canals and cities are seen abandoned despite comparably little work needed to repair them.
114	* UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}: Explicitly still "our" Mars, though with more water imported by the Precursors. Things like gravity and the damage the sun can do to you still apply, as does the orbital period for working out people's ages.
115	* MarsWantsChocolate: {{Inverted}}; Martian spices are one of the reasons NASA still has funding for their missions. PlayedStraight in that earth chocolate is still appreciated.
116	* MetalPoorPlanet: Part of what justifies the martian reliance on biotechnology is their lack of metals, not so much that they don't ''have'' metals, just that earth has a history of things like stromatolites oxidizing the atmosphere and conveniently dying to leave behind iron deposits while mars have to filter metal from their dirt.
117	* ModernStasis: The Martians were never really stagnant but they had the tools of civilization handed to them and haven't done much with them since. While the specific reasons are portrayed as realistically complex again the fact remains they've reached the point where they don't know what they've forgotten.
118	* OnceGreenMars: PlayedWith, as are so many tropes. There used to be much more ecological diversity on Mars, but the Lords of Creation failed to check-in and it slowly became the desert that it is now. A lot of the brown color comes from the grass, which is one of the reasons for the main reasons for the continued breathable atmosphere. It's a bedrock for the planet's entire ecology.
119	* OrganicTechnology: Deconstructed and Discussed. Martians rely on this, in the absence of major metal and fossil fuel resources. Almost all technology more complicated than a sword is biological, to a very high level, with living guns (recharging after firing takes time, which is [[ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge why swords are not obsolete]]), living engines to supplement the sail power of desert-crossing wheeled ships, rugs that crawl onto your feet to warm them, giant creatures that eat rocks and [[BowelBreakingBricks vomit road-paving material]]. However, the characters point out that it requires food and oxygen, as well as being less durable than metal. Still, it's useful enough that some advances have been imported by Earth, microbes in sewage treatment to create natural gas for instance, and fertilizer.
120	* OurBetterIsDifferent: For Martians people strive to achieve Harmony, which is where everyone is subservient and answerable to the authority of the Crimson Throne and there is no banditry or wastefulness. This is hard for the Western bloc humans to wrap their heads around but easier for Eastern bloc humans.
121	* PositionOfLiteralPower: Justified as the leaders of non-earth planets have their authority typed to ancient machinery that recognizes them as on-site administrators to the systems.
122	* RescueSex: After Jeremy Wainman saves female Martian mercenary Teyud za-Zhalt from feral engines, think land octopuses as ambush predators and you're not far wrong. Once everyone is safe, Teyud wordlessly takes Jeremy by the hand and [[DoYouWantToCopulate drags him below deck for sex]]. Fraternization with Martians is not forbidden by NASA but certainly isn't encouraged among the human expedition, but when Sally gives him a DisapprovingLook Jeremy just grins and [[FlippingTheBird flips her the bird.]]
123	* RoyalBlood: Justified by the Invisible Crown and the Ruby Throne, which scan your DNA and ''kill'' you if you don't have the Tollamune genome. Given that the instrumentalities of both are vital to keeping Mars viable in the long term, the Tollamunes themselves have come to regret the system.
124	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Martian Demotic is an extremely precise, detailed, and ''blunt'' language.
125	* ShootTheMessenger: Given that OrganicTechnology {{Instant Messenger Pigeon}}s are widely available on mars this is an expected action. So much so one buries its head under its wing in fear after noticing the Emperor's displeasure, having retained genetic memories of what can happen to the bearer of bad tidings.
126	* ShorterMeansSmarter: Inverted, Martians consider anything under six feet to be stupid. Given that the manufactured servant caste is pretty short helped form this cultural stereotype.
127	* ShoutOut: The title references the ''Music/KingCrimson'' album ''The Court of the Crimson King''.
128	* SpareToTheThrone: {{Justified}} Mars DecadentCourt politics is such that courtiers want the stagnation to continue over a new and vital monarch, additionally as the Genome must be kept "pure" any possible half-bloods are usually aborted. Also having an heir before you're a hundred year's old is seen as being unconfident of your position.
129	** Teyud's mother went through hell and high water to ensure she was born. [[spoiler:Phagic parasites were involved to start with]].
130	* SpiceOfLife: The martian language does not distinguish between spices and what Terrans would call 'hard drugs'.
131	* StatuesqueStunner: Common among high caste female Martians. Anyone under six feet is treated with scorn.
132	%%* {{Swashbuckler}}: Mars has quite a few of these.
133	* SwordAndGun: As the biotech weapons of the Martians take a few seconds to reload, swordwork is still important.
134	* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: A [[PlanetOfHats hat]] of the Martians thanks to the grammar of Demotic.
135	* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Exaggerated in Martian Demotic where it is SeriousBusiness; the Eastern-bloc ambassador nearly suffers a ''on-the-spot'' execution when he refers to their "fraternal aid" to the Martian Emperor, implying a blood relationship where none exists.
136	* VariantChess: Here it's called "atanj" which sounds ''suspiciously'' similar to "Jetan" form ''The Chessmen of Mars'' from the [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars John Carter]] series, which as the title would indicate also has rules for HumanChess.
137	%%* VerticalKidnapping: [[OhCrap "'''FERAL ENGINES!'''"]]
138	* VestigialEmpire: The Tollamune emperors once ruled all of Mars. By the time of the story, they are reduced to ruling the territory around their capital at Olympus Mons, where all the old court officials and functionaries continue, though largely without actual functions, which they quite like thank you very much.
139	[[/folder]]
140
141	[[folder:"Swords of Zar-Tu-Kan"]]
142	* ADayInTheLimelight: Sally Yamashita is the focus of the story and her mission to retrieve an American scientist. kidnapped by a consortium of east bloc interests and Martian radicals.
143	* EvilInc: The "professional coercives" mentioned previously are explored in more detail here, even if hired for a job they can also be paid to tell who hired them. They even have prewritten contracts for it.
144	* TalkingAnimal: A guard dog that can literally talk accompanies Sally for free after failing in his literal job of defending her apartment.
145	[[/folder]]

Context Literature / TheLordsOfCreation