The novels follow Wesley, Kurt and Lisa, their uncle John, and their cousin Mary on their adventures into the fantastical realm of Anthropos.The series consists of:
- The Tower of Geburah (1978)
- The Iron Scepter (1981)
- The Sword Bearer (1986)
- Gaal the Conqueror (1989)
- Quest for the King (1995)
- The Dark Lord's Demise (2001)
- Achey Scars: The shoulder where Slapfoot stuck John with a crowbar, hurts whenever he is near John.
- Abusive Parents: Eleanor McFarland's father, who chases her out into the night brandishing a knife in one of his drunken rages and is implied to frequently abuse her with Eleanor implying he molested her as well. It's mentioned her mother often sends her to stay at the neighbors and was going to send her to stay with her aunt in Winnipeg.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- John refers to Pontificator as Ponty
- Lisa calls Princess Sunadeis, Sun.
- Age-Gap Romance: Kardia is several years older than his wife Sunedeis.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Ian McNab mentions he stuck a superior officer while drunk in a bar which got him court-martialed.
- Anachronic Order: Like his inspiration, White wrote the first two books The Tower of Geburah and The Iron Sceptre, went back and wrote the two prequels The Sword Bearer and Gaal the Conqueror set in the distant past of Anthropos than continued the present story in the last two books but sets the Anthropos section in the past between the two prequels.
- Back from the Dead:
- Mab is able to revive Aguilla after she is killed by Nicholas Slapfoot.
- Like his inspiration, Gaal resurrects after being mortally wounded
- After Ian McNab dies when he is tricked into returning to Anthropos by Shagah, Gaal revives him.
- Big Bad: The Abomination of Mystery/Lord Lunacy for the Sword Bearer and Quest for the King, Shagah for Gaal the Conquerer and as part of a Big Bad Duumvirate with Hocohino for the Tower of Geburah, Mimiah for the Iron Scepter.
- Big Good: Gaal the Shepard, the local Jesus analogue. Mab the Seer plays this role in the Sword Bearer as
- Bigger on the Inside: The House of Wisdom which appears as a small cottage but contains a great hall.
- Blue Is Heroic: Blue light is associated with manifestations of Gaal.
- Call-Forward: Several of these appear in Gaal the Conqueror. John, Eleanor, and Ponty traverse the same tunnels that Lisa will use to escape from Bamah, with the obstacles she faced appearing in reverse. Hocohino briefly appears in a meeting with Lunacy warning him of his doom if Shagah allies with him in the future. Shagah discusses his plan to destroy the Tower of Geburah by using one of the Sword Bearer's bloodline.
- Cats Are Mean: The cat Poison is a nasty piece of work, but is ultimately reveal to be a goblin possessing Bjorn's cat Tabby who is friendly and affectionate.
- Cool Sword: Imrah, the Sword of Geburah, which is wielded by John, Gaal, Wesley, and Kurt.
- Crossover Cosmology:
- The Greek god Poseidon shows up in the Iron Scepter. However it's shown he's actually a puppet controlled by little goblins.
- The Greek Pan also shows up in Gaal the Conqueror also referred to by his Roman name Faunus. He's under the control of Shagah and is banished when John removes Eleanor's enchanted jewelry causing a shout of Pan is Dead.
- Direct Line to the Author: There are a few hints that In-Universe that John White got the story from Lisa and her siblings.
- The Dragon:
- Nicholas Slapfoot, the Goblin Prince serves as this for Lord Lunacy.
- Shagah acts as this to Lord Lunacy.
- Archimago serves as this for Mirmiah.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Eleanor's abusive father is briefly mentioned as having died in an accident two years after she went to stay with her aunt in Winnipeg.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Despite being mortally wounded, Gaal climbs on a winged horse to fight Lord Lunacy in serpent form, soundly defeats him and bare-handedly breaks the horns of his bull form before he dies.
- Enchanted Forest: John and Eleanor travel through one enchanted by Shagah.
- Evil Sorceror: More than a few show up including Hocohino, Shagah and Archimago.
- Expy More than a few to characters from Narnia.
- King Kardia for Caspian X as a king fighting against a usurper in the first book and as an old man looking for his lost son who's been kidnapped by a witch in the second who then dies and arrives in the afterlife rejuvenated.
- Lisa for Lucy Pevensie as the youngest of her siblings and her close relationship with the Jesus analogue.
- Wesley for Peter Pevensie as the responsible eldest sibling who wields a special sword.
- Kurt for Edmund Pevensie as the treacherous middle brother who is redeemed.
- Mary McNab for Eustace Scrubb as the obnoxious cousin who goes through Character Development and becomes nicer.
- Inkleth derives from Trumpkin as the children's red-headed cynical dwarf companion.
- Uncle John McNab for Diggory Kirke as the hero of the prequels and the guardian the children are living with.
- Folly, King of the Donkeys for Puzzle as similarly nervous and not at all clever types.
- Mimiah for Jadis with her mastery over ice and snow and the Lady of the Green Kirtle for her plot of stealing away a king’s son
- Gaal for Aslan as the Jesus analogue who sacrifices himself.
- For a non-Narnia case, the Qadar as shadow beings on winged monsters who spread terror and serve a Dark Lord are inspired by the Nazgûl. The prequel adds to this with the reveal they were once men.
- Prodo Tehs plays the role of Judas Iscariot as a treacherous follower who betrays the Jesus analogue to his death.
- Fantasy World Map: Each book features one of Anthropos and another of a specific location.
- Forced Transformation: Shagah turned Eleanor McFarland into a dog after she arrived in Anthropos, feeling the shape fit her cringing and beaten down personality.
- Freudian Excuse: A lot of Mary's issues can be chalked up to her mother who alternated between being affectionate and neglectful.
- Glamour: Frequently shows up in use by the villains making the light of the Mashall Stone very useful.
- Lord Lunacy disguises himself as a giant uncannily beautiful man but is really a red dragon.
- Eben Ruach the djinn uses this to disguise his shape as a yellow snake
- Mirmiah uses one to disguise her true shape as an ugly old hag.
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: Blue is associated with good and truth, Red with evil, while purple seems associated with illusions.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The Lord of Deepest Darkness, the power Shagah and Hocohino serve.
- The Heavy: Lord Lunacy is the Big Bad, but is largely offstage for The Sword Bearer with Nicholas Slapfoot acting as the main physical threat to John.
- Heel–Face Turn: The matmon Billingruth, who was the head of the Circle's police changes sides after seeing Gaal defeat Lord Lunacy and realizing he was on the wrong side.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Folly is mortally wounded saving John from the efel spawn.
- Hufflepuff House: Several of the surrounding Kingdoms such as Playsion get mentions, but are never really explored.
- Idiot Ball: Lisa insists on dragging along Kardia's cape, even after he tells her to leave it which slows her enough that the Djinn is able to capture her.
- Insistent Terminology: Mab insists on being referred to as a seer or a prophet, rather than magician, sorcerer, or wizard. Its implied he does this to distinguish himself from the other magic users who like him were summoned from other worlds to serve the Changer but went rogue.
- La Résistance:
- The resistance against Hocohino's regime led by Chochma and Kardia.
- The forces opposed to the Mystery of Abomination, led by Mab, King Bjorn, and Vixenia.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Mab the Seer is really John Wilson's father Ian McNab
- Master of Illusion: Pretty much the villains stock in trade. It's established in-universe that evil can only mimic the semblance of things and can't actually create real thing which are the province of Gael.
- Meaningful Name: Several befitting the author's scholarly background in languages.
- The word Anthropos is Greek for human.
- Kardia is Greek for heart
- Theophilus means lover of God in Greek and is the individual to whom the Gospel Of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are addressed.
- Gaal is a Hebrew name meaning emancipator or redeemer.
- Geburah is Hebrew for strength or power
- Chocma is Hebrew for Wisdom.
- Nephesh is Soul in Hebrew
- Bayith of Yayin translates to House of Wine in Hebrew
- Nachash derives from the Hebrew for serpent
- Tekeleth is the Hebrew term for a kind of blue dye
- Bamah comes from the Hebrew for "High place"
- Oso is Spanish for Bear
- Aguilla is Spanish for Eagle
- For a non-linguistic example, Nicholas Slapfoot is referred to as Old Nick another name for the Devil.
- Mab is revealed to be a contraction of McNab, his real name.
- Meaningful Rename: The Matmon Goldson is re-branded as Goldcoffin after he kills his cousin Rathson.
- Missing Mom: John's mother died in childbirth.
- Mystical Cave: The Cave of Gaal which exists outside of time and space, causing those who enter it to see the past and future.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Goldcoffin. Considering anyone who falls prey to greed in his domain meet their deaths...
- Narnia Time: Frequently used like its inspiration.
- In the The Sword Bearer, Ian McNab entered Anthropos ten years before John, but over five hundred years passed for him before the Sword Bearer arrived.
- In Gaal the Conqueror, only a year passed for John McNab while thousands of years passed in Anthropos. Likewise Eleanor entered Anthropos only minutes before John, yet she spent over two years there before he arrived.
- Wesley, Kurt, and Lisa return to Anthropos in The Iron Scepter nearly fifty years after their first adventure, while only a few months passed for them.
- Noble Wolf: The Koach, led by Garfond and his brothers who aid in the fight against Hochino.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Lord Lunacy's dragon form is beaten off-screen in The Sword Bearer and is seen crawling away wounded by John, trapped as a serpent.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: John's locket and ring, a gift from his missing father.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: The Matmon, a stocky bearded people who are master smiths and great warriors who delight in mining and treasures. There is a clan who are renowned as great sailors, something unusual for dwarves.
- Our Humans Are Different: The human inhabitants of Anthropos are referred to as Regenskind for being descendants of the two Regents.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Ian McNab mentions that his wife's mother disproved of their marriage.
- Prequel: The Sword Bearer and Gaal the Conqueror explain several elements presented in the first two novel, such as the story behind the Tower of Geburah and the origins of Anthropos and Shagah's imprisonment.
- Prophecies Are Always Right: No matter how the villains try to prevent their foretold fates they always meet them.
- Raised by Grandparents: John was raised by his grandmother, due to his mother's death and his father not knowing of his birth.
- Really 700 Years Old: Mab is over five hundred years old.
- Red Baron: John Wilson is known as the Sword Bearer and John of the Swift Sword
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent:
- Lord Lunacy's true form is a seven-headed red dragon
- Eben Ruach the djinn appears as a monstrous yellow serpent
- Lady Shiggeruh, is a seven headed poisonous snake
- Scaled Up:
- Lord Lunacy transforms into a red flying serpent to fight Gaal.
- Mirmiah transforms into a dragon after her overthrow.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Shagah was sealed in the Tower of Geburah until Kurt set him loose.
- Shapeshifter: Lord Lunacy takes several forms including an uncannily beautiful giant, a seven-headed red dragon, a black bull of Bashan, and a flying red serpent.
- Shapeshifter Mode Lock: After his failure in the Garden Room, Lord Lunacy is unable to use his full dragon form being limited to a flying serpent.
- Shout-Out:
- Much like Narnia, the Dwarf equivalents are divided into red and black varieties distinguished by their hair.
- After his death Gaal's body is laid on an altar where his companions stay through the night and witness his resurrection like Susan and Lucy do for Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
- Much like Prince Rilian with the Lady of the Green Kirtle, Wesley is glad to slay Lady Shiggeruh as a monstrous serpent rather than a woman.
- The giant eagle Aguilla in The Sword Bearer is a nod to the Great Eagles of The Lord of the Rings
- Two stanzas of Elizabeth Barret Browning's poem "The Dead Pan'' are quoted after Pan vanishes.
- The death of Kardia, is one to Beowulf, where an elderly king is mortally wounded by a dragon which is then slain by his younger companion.
- Talking Animal: More than a few including wolves, bears, eagles, and flying horses.
- Token Heroic Dragon: Pontificator is the sole heroic dragon we meet. He turns out to actually be a transformed winged horse.
- Took a Level in Kindness: The point of Mary's Character Development.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Rabbie McFarland is acknowledged as this in-universe, with Ian noting that Rabbie used to be a good man in their army days compared to the drunken Abusive Parent he is in the present.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Fenfinch Pie for Kardia.
- Trapped in Another World: Wesley Kurt and Lisa wind up stumbling into Anthropos through their uncle's television sets.
- The Usurper: Evil Sorcerer Hocohino, who imprisoned Kardia and took over his kingdom.
- Unholy Ground: The evil city of Bamah, a place of human sacrifice to the powers of Evil. It's ultimately pulled down and drowned under a lake.
- Winged Horse: Theophilus is one.
- Wizard Classic: For all his dislike of being referred to as one, Mab fits the image very well with his long white hair and beard, robes, conicle cap, and magic staff.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Wesley is relieved when he discovers that Lady Shiggeruh is actually a monstrous serpent, admitting he's not sure if he could have killed a human woman.
