History Blog / TheUnitedFederationOfCharles

* BerserkButton: ArtisticLicenseHistory is a Berserk Button for him. He went into a rant about Cole from ''VideoGame/LANoire'' saying the Japanese oil embargo was wrong. {{Justified}} as the blogger is a former history proffessor.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Discusses the various ways the zombie has evolved as well as the best way to use them. He actually has an essay about how "slow shambling zombies" are more effective than runners.

* LovecraftLite: His Post-Lovecraftianism essay and discussion of how modern authors can draw from new political theories as well as fears without dabbling into the more [[UnfortunateImplications troubling elements of HPL]].

* DarkFantasy: One of the primary things reviewed on the website with video games like ''VideoGame/DragonAge'', ''Franchise/TheWitcher'', and the works of Joe Abercrombie being heavily featured.

* AccentuateTheNegative: Seems to do the opposite as he only likes to review games he enjoys.
%%* AfterTheEnd: Has reviewed over a hundred books and games which have dealt with this subject. Seems to prefer the more zany, less serious subject matter.
%%* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: You be the judge.
%%** The social satire of VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2011/10/social-satire-of-batman-arkham-city.html here]]
%%*** The sexism in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity.'' [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2011/10/sexism-and-gender-politics-in-arkham.html here]]
%%** The social satire of ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-social-satire-of-dead-rising-2.html here]]
%%** The social satire of ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution.'' [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/03/social-satire-of-deus-ex-human.html here]]
%%*** The social satire in the DLC. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/03/social-satire-of-deus-ex-human_27.html here]]
%%** The role of sexuality in ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' series. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/06/sexuality-and-visual-storytelling-in.html here]]
%%** The social satire of ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance.'' [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-social-satire-of-metal-gear-rising.html here]]
%%** Subverted by an essay on ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' and its violence where he just says it's mindless fun. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2011/11/is-grand-theft-auto-series-too-violent.html here]]
%%*** Did a sequel about sexuality in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' which was much more serious. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/01/grand-theft-auto-v-women-sexism-and.html Here]]
%%** Discussed ''Series/TrueDetective'' and Lovecraftian horror. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/06/true-detective-and-lovecraftian-horror.html Here]]
%%** A discussion of ''The Social Satire of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' is available [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-social-satire-of-call-of-duty.html here]]
%%* ApologeticAttacker: Seems to be his style for negative reviews.
* ArtifactTitle: Now more about fantasy, grimdark, zombies, horror, and post-apocalyptic fiction than Star Trek.
%%* AuthorAppeal: Grimdark, Zombies, Post-Apocalypse, Noir, HP Lovecraft, Bethesda Games, Creator/RagnarokPublications novels, [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse The Star Trek]] and [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends both]] Franchise/{{Star Wars Expanded Universe}}s, and {{Pirates}}.
%%** Arguably overanalyzing things.
%%* AuthorFilibuster: Has several of these as seen above.
%%** ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-i-love-zombies-musing-on-mindless.html Musings on the Mindless Dead]]''
%%** ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/04/zombies-vs-infected.html How to write a zombie novel]]''
%%*** Supplemented by ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/05/musing-on-lovecraftian-horror.html Zombies vs. Infected]]''
%%** ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/05/musing-on-lovecraftian-horror.html Musings on Lovecraftian Horror]]''
%%** ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-is-post-lovecraftian.html What is Post-Lovecraftian Horror?]]''
%%** ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-is-grimdark.html What is Grimdark?]]''
* BerserkButton: ArtisticLicenseHistory is a Berserk Button for him. He went into a rant about Cole from ''VideoGame/LANoire'' saying the Japanese oil embargo was wrong.
%%** the review of the VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas DLC ''Dead Money'' is a sharp contrast to his usual style.
%%** Also seems to have this feeling for people who don't think video games have deep storytelling.
%%** Has a history of taking points off games he feels are subtextually sexist or racist.
%%* CapePunk: The trope namer.

%%* FeministFantasy: Is a fan of these and often brings up important women roles in video games or books as a reason to up a score.
%%* GrayAndGrayMorality: Has a big fondness for this in video games.
%%** Did a discussion of ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and Security vs. Freedom with the Mage vs. Templar struggle. [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-social-satire-of-dragon-age-mages.html 1]], [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-social-satire-of-dragon-age-mages_9.html 2]], [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-social-satire-of-dragon-age-mages_75.html 3]]
%%** A discussion of ''The Politics of the VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' is available here: [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-politics-of-witcher-3-part-i-or.html Part I]], [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-politics-of-witcher-3-part-ii.html Part II]], [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-politics-of-witcher-3-part-iii.html Part III]], [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-politics-of-witcher-3-part-iv-third.html Part IV]]
%%** ''[[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-moral-ambiguity-of-fallout-4.html The Moral Ambiguity of Fallout 4]]''
%%* {{Grimdark}}: Wrote a couple of essays on the subject and reviews many books on the material.
%%* HighFantasy: Notable in numerous reviews on this despite his taste tending toward the dark and macabre.
%%* LovecraftLite: Helped codify the term Post-Lovecraftian.

%%* PerkyGoth: Claims to be an ex-one. Given his current reading tastes, you might argue he hasn't moved on.
%%* RageQuit: Notable for ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' Dead Money DLC. He eventually came back to ''Far Cry 3.''
%%* ReviewBlog: Does a mid-sized one.

* SelfDeprecation: Numerous reviews indicates he considers his reviews something no one reads. Which is questionable given the visitor counter.
%%* TropeNamer: Post-Lovecraftian.
%%* SeriousBusiness: Averted or played straight depending on fan.

* BerserkButton: ArtisticLicenseHistory is a Berserk Button for him. He went into a rant about Cole from ''VideoGame/LANoir'' saying the Japanese oil embargo was wrong.

* AscendedFanboy: Used to review a lot of Creator/RagnarokPublications' books, now is a writer for them.

* {{Troper}}: C.T. Phipps is one of these, and uses Wiki/TVTropes to share info about his blog.

%%* UrbanFantasy: What he writes along with Post-Apocalypse Mythos fiction.
%%* ZombieApocalypse: Reviews a LOT of books relating to this.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: A BerserkButton for him. Went into a rant about Cole from LANoir saying the Japanese oil embargo was wrong.

%%* BerserkButton: the review of the VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas DLC ''Dead Money'' is a sharp contrast to his usual style.