Tadgifauna is a Young Adult scifi novel by E.J. Triolo.
20 Minutes into the Future, genetically engineered, sapient and telepathic creatures call Tadgifauna are raised to fight and die in a Blood Sport for the entertainment of the American public. Haru Ito, a Japanese American high school student disgusted by the tournaments, is conscripted to become a trainer, raising his own Tadgifaun and competing in the tournament. After being contacted by a mysterious saboteur identified only as Omoikane, Haru fights not only to keep his Tadgifaun safe, but to put an end to the tournaments and ensure no Tadgifauna is forced to fight and die again.
Tadgifauna can be found in e-book format here
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Tadgifauna provides examples of:
- Acid Attack: Two Tadgifauna, Plague and Stalker, both use this, to varying degrees of success.
- All Asians Know Martial Arts: Averted and discussed by Haru and Marcy after Haru is badly beaten in a fist fight.
- Animesque: It's pretty obvious the author is drawing from Mons Series. One reviewer even explicitly recommends the book for fans of Pokemon.
- Blood Knight: Jun may be affectionate and docile towards Haru and Nami, but she tells Haru in no uncertain terms that fighting, killing and winning glory in the tournament is her purpose in life.
- Brains and Brawn: Haru and Jun. Haru is skilled at coming up with clever and effective plans on the spot, but hopeless in a fight. Jun, as a Tadgifaun, is a fast, tough and deadly fighter, but relies on Haru for guidance during her battles.
- Breath Weapon: Marcy's Tadgifaun Barghest spews fire hot enough to melt steel.
- Broken Bird: Marcy, of the cynical and badass variety.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Haru and Nami.
- Conveniently Coherent Thoughts: Downplayed. When Tadgifauna first meet a person, they can only communicate rough feelings. Telepathic communication only becomes clear after they've had time to form a bond.
- Deadly Game: The Tadgifauna Tournament is this for the Tadgifauna. Every fight is a fight to the death.
- Deconstruction: Of both Mons Series and the teenage hero. Having a pet monster fight other monsters is a lot less fun when Non-Lethal K.O. isn't in play. Haru's relatively young age and emotional immaturity leaves him ill-prepared to deal with the stress, violence and death he is forced to experience. Haru has more in common with Shinji Ikari than Ash Ketchum.
- Deep South: Subverted by Anthony. While he has a noticable southern acccent, Haru notes he's rather thoughtful and compassionate, rather than being a stereotypical hillbillly.
- Disappointing Older Sibling: Haru and Marcy both have one. Haru is disappointed in his older brother Isamu because he works for Tadgicorp, the company behind the Tadgifauna Tournament. Marcy is disappointed in her old brother Denny because he's The Alcoholic.
- The Dreaded: Nova. Even Marcy, despite her hardened demeanor, is obviously shaken when she finds out Jun will have to fight Nova in her final match.
- Food End: The last scene of the book takes place in an ice-cream shop. Haru and Marcy are eating a sundae together and discussing what they've gone through together.
- Fragile Speedster: Jun is this by Tadgifauna standards. Her speed and evasion is pressed as an advantage over slower, stronger Tadgifauna like Plauge.
- Had to Be Sharp: Marcy mentions the reason she's so good at hand to hand is that fights broke out constantly at her Sucky School.
- Invisible Parents: Justified, as Haru's parents are generally busy at work and seldom around. His emotional disconnect from them is apparent, as they're only mentioned in summary, and not even given names.
- Lightning Bruiser: This is what makes Nova so dangerous. She's protected by natural armor, hits hard and moves surprisingly fast.
- Living Weapon: The Tadgifauna are created for the explicit purpose of doing battle.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Haru and Marcy. Haru is the more emotionally vulnerable of the two, is accused of being a girl at school and is useless in a fight. Marcy is cold, angry and skilled in hand-to-hand.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Most of the Tadgifauna have these (Titan, Stalker, Plauge). Jun is one of the prominent exceptions.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Dr. Jay Leonard Tadgery, creator of the Tadgifauna Tournaments and the owner of Tadgicorp. He doesn't have anything in the way of combat skills, but as a Corrupt Corporate Executive with wealth, charisma and a love of suppressing information on his evil deeds, he hardly needs to throw a punch. On the rare occasions that violence is necessary, he generally leaves it to his guards.
- Relationship Upgrade: Near the end of Part 1, Haru confesses to Nami, and they start an official relationship. Again, in Part 3 Marcy becomes Haru's girlfriend instead, after cheating on Nami with her. It's confirmed in the last line of the novel that they go on to get married.
- The Reveal: Omoikane is eventually revealed to be Haru's older brother, Isamu. He doesn't find out until after Isamu is killed by Tadgery's men.
- Rule of Three: Tadgifauna must each fight in three matches over the course of the tournament.
- Shock and Awe: Anthony's Tadgifaun Hilda, as well as Titan, can generate electricity to attack foes. More realistic than many examples, as they can't direct it as a ranged attack, and must make physical contact with enemies to send the electricity through them.
- Slow Laser: Averted by Nova. The lasers projcted from her forehead explicitly do not have a visible beam, and strike her target effectively instantly.
- Smug Snake: Dr. Tadgery. When Haru confronts him about the ethicality of what he's doing, Tadgery mocks him before a live audience and dismisses him with a confident smile on his face.
- Super-Scream: Jun can attack other Tadgifauna with a concentrated, sonic scream. While not powerful enough to be deadly in and of itself, it can be used to stun foes and create openings.
- Telepathy: Tadgifauna form telepathic bonds with their trainers and other people they contact over time. This allows trainers to give non-verbal orders in the heat of battle.
- Tournament Arc: The entire book is centered on one. Unlike typical There Can Only Be One affairs, any Tadgifaun who wins three matches is declared a champion and allowed to retire.
- Tsundere: Marcy starts off rude, abrasive and cold towards Haru, but later becomes friends with him.
- The Strategist: Haru's knack for coming up with clever strategies on the fly is a major boon in every match he's in.
