Speculative Fiction trilogy written by Meridith Ann Pierce in the 1980s.
Titles in the trilogy:
- The Darkangel
- A Gathering of Gargoyles
- The Pearl of the Soul of the World
- Arc Number: 7 and to a lesser extent, 14.
- Amazing Technicolor Population
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife
- Ambiguous Innocence: The titular Darkangel still has very much the attitudes of a child, despite being chronologically about thirty. Given his maker, this is somewhat justified.
- Bad Dreams: The titular Darkangel is stricken with these as a result of Aeriel's stories. They continue to haunt him as Irrylath.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Played with
- Bedouin Rescue Service
- Big Bad: The Lorelei.
- Blue Eyes: Irrylath, type two.
- Dead Little Sister: Eoduin to Aeriel.
- Diabolus ex Machina
- Downer Ending: The ending of the last book. Aeriel is set apart from everyone except Erin Because Destiny Says So.
- Empty Shell: Icari's brides, known as wraiths.
- Evil Matriarch
- Green Eyes: Aeriel's eyes are originally described as "fig-green," later as "peridot."
- Hair of Gold: Aeriel has platinum-blond hair.
- Hammerspace: Aeriel's velvet bag from the first book.
- How Do You Like Them Apples?: Apricoks, produced by a tree on the Bern shore of the Sea-of-Dust.
- Literal Change of Heart: Aeriel gives up her heart to save Irrylath.
- Long Haired Prettyboy: Irrylath
- Love Martyr: Aeriel starts out as one.
- Love Redeems / Redemption Equals Life: Why it was possible to convert Irrylath from a Darkangel back into a human.
- Our Dragons Are Different
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Well, except for turning to stone in sunlight. And the fact that it's spelled "duarough."
- Our Souls Are Different
- Our Vampires Are Different
- Parental Incest: The Lorelei and her "sons".
- Phantasy Spelling: Almost every plot-related noun is spelled "uniquely".
- Planetary Romance
- Prophecies Rhyme All the Time
- Sand is Water: Played incredibly straight with the Sea-of-Dust.
- Shiny Midnight Black: Averted by the wings of Darkangels, which seem to absorb light.
- Shotacon: The Lorelei raises potential Darkangels as her lovers.
- Stockholm Syndrome
- Taken for Granite: Duarough are vulnerable to sunlight.
- Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Eoduin
- Troubled, but Cute: Irrylath. Big time.
- Walking Wasteland: Full Darkangels.
- White-Haired Pretty Boy: Irrylath in his Darkangel form.
- Winged Humanoid: The eponymous Darkangels, with their dozen black wings.
- Woman in White: The Lorelei.