The Nephites WEAR the tennis shoes in this one.
Jim Hawkins, still unable to remember his former adventures among the Nephites, is nevertheless haunted by fleeting images he can't seem to connect. Vivid memories are returned to him when strange visitors suddenly interrupt his life — one desperate for his help, others desperate for revenge.
Join Jim Hawkins, Jennifer Hawkins, and Garth Plimpton as they embark upon the most thrilling and hazardous quest of their lives: one that teaches them the true meaning of valiance in these latter days and where every step of the way they are pursued by the darkest of villains...
Tropes appearing in Gadiantons and the Silver Sword:
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Jim and Renae. Their first meetings involve flirting from a window, then her acting like she doesn’t know who he is when he introduces himself in person later on.
- Big Damn Heroes: Several times.
- Muleki saves Jim and co. from Mehrukenah early on.
- In the final act, Antonio and his villagers arrive just in time to save Jim from execution.
- Big Damn Kiss: Jim and Renae at the end.
- The Bus Came Back: Muleki returns from the previous book, now an adult and seasoned soldier.
- Mehrukenah is also a character from the previous book, albeit one we didn’t see; one of the nameless conspirators that was plotting to overthrow the government.
- Chase Scene: The Gadiantons come at the heroes while they’re driving on the highway, precipitating a car chase.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Mehrukenah is not to be trusted. Jim notes that even if he were to promise to leave in exchange for the sword, it’d be foolish to believe him. This is proven truer the longer the story goes on.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Mehrukenah is apparently pretty good at this, and threatens Garth and Jim with it at different points.
- Cool Uncle: Jim’s Uncle Larry is pretty cool, and even gives Muleki some special attention.
- Muleki also mentions several nephews that he’d like to see again.
- The Corrupter: How the Silver Sword works. Keep it close to you, and it’ll gradually turn you into whatever makes you most loathsome or miserable.
- Darkest Hour:
- About two thirds through the story, Garth and the girls are kidnapped, with a note saying that they’ve killed one already and will give the two back for the sword, nearly driving Jim to despair.
- Then, in the last stages of the climax, Jim thinks for a moment that the local power station he sees has been built OVER Ether’s Coffer, destroying it.
- Deal with the Devil: What makes the Gadiantons different from regular robbers. Robbing and stealing is pretty mundane, but they explicitly covenant with Satan for power, with the implication that they'll rob, torture and sacrifice for the band's gain.
- This is also why using the Sword's power is taboo. Its power comes from Satan, so drawing on it is implicitly doing this.
- Despair Event Horizon: Congruent with the second Darkest Hour mentioned above. When he thinks Ether’s Coffer has been destroyed, Jim briefly considers living the rest of his guarding the sword and bearing its terrible temptations alone. He then realized he would never succeed at really doing this, and collapses into despair for a moment.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Garth. This is explicitly mentioned as what will win him Jenny - she’s dated all kinds of guys and been unsatisfied, so the only thing likely to win her is proving he’s actually someone she’d like to hang out with long-term.
- Evil Old Folks: Mehrukenah has aged into a white-haired, wrinkly old man, but he’s still as strong and malicious as he’s ever been.
- Evil vs. Evil: While Mehrukenah is their chief assassin, the Gadianton for whom the band is named has sent his brother Shurr along too. It’s clear that the two resent having to share leadership, and this boils over in the last third.
- Fantastic Fragility: The sword can only be destroyed by placing it in Ether’s Coffer, a specially blessed box made for destroying the cursed swords of the Jaredites. Luckily, it exists in the present day too, so they don’t have to go time-traveling for it.
- The Farmer and the Viper: This is the other reason you shouldn’t use the sword. It’s evil; designed and made for evil, and if it helps you accomplish something good, it’s only so it can abandon you later. This holds true for anyone who wields it.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: Jim is very reluctant to accept the sword’s power is real, even though he recently rediscovered time travel was possible. In fairness, this is because he doesn’t believe in avoiding accountability with Gollum Made Me Do It. But on the other hand, his reluctance ends up letting the sword take hold of him because he assumes its effect is psychological.
- Funny Foreigner: A lot of Muleki’s antics in the modern day play out like this. He looks behind the TV to see where the little people are coming from, produces nuggets of gold to pay for broken windows, and is totally nonplussed by toilet paper.
- Gambit Pile Up: The Hostage Situation turns into one of these. See Xanatos Speed Chess for details.
- Holy Ground: Used (with ambiguous results) by Muleki. Since Brigham Young University has been consecrated by Mormon authority, he declares that the Gadiantons won’t be able to attack there, since it’s the Lord’s ground. This means that Jim can only go from his apartment to school and back, which bothers him to no end. But when he steps off campus for He minutes he’s immediately beset by Gadiantons. he deduces that they’ve likely been waiting for him to slip up, but it’s unclear if it’s religion or fear of crowds that kept them away.
- Improvised Weapon: Jim uses a small statue of a scout given to him on his mission to briefly knock out a captor.
- Inevitable Mutual Betrayal: At the Hostage Situation, Jim knows Mehrukenah will kill them all if he just hands over the sword, so he arranges a few layers of redundancy to make sure Mehrukenah can't just take it, then manages to get everyone away anyway.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: After the events of the first book, Jim and Jenny both lost their memories after they blabbed about them recklessly. A large part of the first act is Jim gradually regaining them over the course of a few days.
- MacGuffin Guardian: Jim is designated as this when Muleki is injured, as he can’t protect it in his condition.
- This is a sticky issue with the sword because it tempts whoever holds it. Muleki mentions that he wouldn’t want to have it for more than a few days. Shurr mentions that Gadianton said that once the sword was in his hands it wasn’t to touch anyone else’s. And he was right to insist, as giving it up for even a moment gets him killed.
- Magic A Is Magic A: The time travel caves are established as such in this book - moral affiliation doesn't matter; good or bad people can use them.
- Garth also lays this out in regards to good and bad powers. Good powers come from God and from the power of his priesthood and the Holy Ghost, AKA the powers familiar to any member of the LDS church. Bad powers, no matter how cool they may be, are anything outside of that, since the only other source of power is the devil. This includes sources who claim the source ISN’T the devil, as the devil takes many forms.
- “A source of power is either God, or it’s [[Deal with the Devil not God.”
- Memento MacGuffin: Jim still has the blue-stone ring Menochin gave him in the first book, although he doesn't remember where he got it. It's one of the triggers that helps him remember his past.
- Monumental Damage: Jim and the Gadiantons negotiate a hostage situation at the Aztec Temple of the Sun in Mexico City, a well-known tourist attraction. Like the Aztecs, the Gadiantons practice Human Sacrifice, so it’s a fun location for them.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Defied. Garth reveals that he’s always had some feelings for Jenny, and Jim expresses happiness and wishes him luck. Since he knows she’s a hard one to pin down, he even gives Garth some advice!
- Narnia Time: While eight years have passed in the present, about twenty-five years have passed in Nephite times.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Jenny’s dating life has blossomed into this. She’s very attractive and can have any kind of man she wants, but growing up this way has kept her from really thinking about what she wants ‘’long-term’’, which is starting to bother her now.
- Prophetic Dreams: Jim has a few, the book even opening with one. They become important later.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Muleki is clearly feeling like this after being undercover for over a year. He says having Thanksgiving with Jim's family is one of the best nights he's had in a long time.
- Slippery MacGuffin: The Silver Sword is made to be this, as it exerts influence on its holders and surroundings. Leaving it alone in a hotel room for an hour almost gets it stolen, and from then on, Jim endeavors to keep it on his person at all times.
- This becomes especially dangerous halfway through the book, as Jim needs to negotiate a Hostage Situation but knows the sword will be stolen if he leaves it alone.
- Shout-Out:
- While at the store, Jenny's boyfriend Riley heads to the video store and asks Jim if he likes Chuck Norris.
- When Jim, Garth, Renae, and Jenny set off, Jim jokingly calls their group the Fellowship of the Sword, subbing in Satan for Sauron and the Gadiantons for Orcs.
- As in most of the books, there are some Star Wars references.
- Take That!:
- UFO theorists get some flack.
- The Tease: Jenny has become a non-sexual version of this as an adult. She seduces guys hard almost automatically, non-maliciously but thoughtlessly. Jim rightly tells her off about this, as some of them are actually taking her seriously.
- Translator Microbes:
- As in the previous entry, a time traveler in another time understands every language as if it's his own.Renae: Habla mucho espanol?Muleki: I suppose I do.
- This is the first book to solidify this rule, as while visiting Mexico, Jim doesn't understand any Spanish, since he's in his own time.
- As in the previous entry, a time traveler in another time understands every language as if it's his own.
- Villainous Breakdown: The Sword has one when - after first thinking it lost - Jim finds Ether's Coffer for real.
- Wham Line: As Jim is driving towards the hill with the sword:
- I’m still here, Jim.
- The Worf Effect: Muleki is a seasoned soldier, but gets stabbed badly by Mehrukenah even when he took him by surprise, establishing how dangerous Mehrukenah is.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: What Jim's plan to beat the Hostage Situation amounts to. The very first stage is summarized below:
- Jim is promised the girls in exchange for the sword and meets the villains ostensibly holding it while they ostensibly have the girls.
- The villains reveal the girls are decoys; just two random Mexican girls.
- Jim reveals the package he has is a branch; he doesn’t have the sword.
- Mehrukenah threatens to execute the girls (who are down in the parking lot) but Jim says they’ll never get the sword then.
- Mehrukenah threatens to torture him for the sword but Jim bluffs that that won’t work, since the sword is in a moving location.
- Jim then proposes another arrangement where everyone theoretically gets what they want.
