History Literature / CastlePerilous

* EveryoneIsASuspect: ''Castle Murders''. At least, everyone who is a powerful magic-user. Although before magic is conclusively proven to have been involved in the murder, everyone at the party is indeed held on suspicion just in case. Also, everyone who is a powerful magic-user is a suspect because [[AssholeVictim everyone hated the victim]].

* DramaPreservingHandicap: Thanks to the great powers possessed by Incarnadine, this almost always applies to him during the various crises and issues that arise. Sometimes his [[DeusExitMachina absence]] is actually engineered by the BigBad or their minions (his being trapped on Earth in ''Castle for Rent'', the zombie spell in ''Castle Dreams''), sometimes it's an indirect result of what is going on (the Hosts of Hell's tinkering in ''Castle Kidnapped'' kept him busy trying to stop them and unable to help rescue the missing Guests, and the breakdown of TheMultiverse in ''Castle War!'' shrank the portal from Merydion so he had to find another way home so he could deal with the issue), and sometimes it's a completely unrelated event that has him away, (for example, playing real-life war games with Trent keeps him away during the LiteralGenie spell). Coming up with one excuse after another to keep him occupied/away (and thus straining the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief) may be partly why [=DeChancie=] quit writing the series. A lesser example of this also applies to keeping Sheila and her StoryBreakerPower from always saving the day.

** Another example: the fate of Goofus after he is used to rescue Melanie in ''Castle Murders''; he's never seen again, but judging by the fact Linda's conjurations eventually fade away...

** Another example: the fate of Goofus after he is used to rescue Melanie in ''Castle Murders''; he's never seen again, but [[invoked]][[FridgeHorror judging by the fact Linda's conjurations eventually fade away]]...

* YearInsideHourOutside: Time varies widely between the castle and its many Aspects. In some you emerge exactly the moment you left; in others, you come out after being gone for what you think is months or even years, only to find it was just a few hours. (This is quite helpful for Gene on the one hand, and Trent and Sheila on the other, in ''Castle Kidnapped'', and again for Trent and Incarnadine in ''Castle Spellbound''.) For still others, it's the reverse.

* EveryoneIsASuspect: ''Castle Murders''. At least, everyone who is a powerful magic-user. Although before magic is conclusively proven to have been involved in the murder, everyone at the party is indeed held on suspicion just in case. Also, everyone who is a powerful magic-user is a suspect because [[AssholeVictim everyone hated the victim]].

* HeKnowsTooMuch: ''Castle Murders'': Seems to be the motive for killing [[spoiler:Count Damik]] since he had previously been going around telling everyone in Peele Castle that he had seen one of the suspects buying the murder weapon, and trying to decide if he should tell the authorities what he knew. (This would seem to be a TooDumbToLive moment, except that he was counting on noblesse oblige to protect him and was in fact using his obvious attention-grabbing move to try and warn the killer he was on to him, thus giving him time to either hide the evidence or come clean.) However this is all a RedHerring: not only was the person he saw not the killer, but [[MurderByMistake he wasn't even the target]] and was in fact a friend of the real murderer. (The actual target was, in fact, slated for killing due to this trope.)

* ItWasHisSled[=/=]LateArrivalSpoiler: The fact that Castle Perilous is actually the [[BalefulPolymorph transmogrified]] demon, Ramthonodox, is referenced casually, albeit indirectly, in-universe in several books after the first and stated outright in Osmirik's first preface to ''Castle Murders'' and therefore treated as something the reader should know already, despite being a mystery and [[TheReveal the big reveal]] of the first book. For anyone who missed the first book or read them out of order, however...

%%* MurderByMistake: [[spoiler:Poor Count Damik.]]

* AllJustADream: What the entirety of ''Castle Dreams'' turns out to be. Made [[MindScrew more complex]] by the fact that [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment nothing which happens in the book is mentioned again]], or even happened at all, since Osmirik claims the book is a work of fiction [[{{Metafiction}} within the 'real' fictional world]] but perhaps happened in an AlternateUniverse or MirrorUniverse. So not only a dream but a WhatIf. [[ThatWasNotADream However]], there are hints that it does have bearing upon, or is a reflection of, the real world: Trent wakes from a dream at the start of ''Castle Spellbound'' that is implied to be the same events as those in ''Castle Dreams'' (complete with a MeaningfulEcho of Incarnadine's last line of the book), and the feelings which Linda has for [[spoiler:Inky]] that are first revealed in ''Castle Dreams'' are referenced again in ''Castle Spellbound'' when Gene guesses she has feelings for someone in the castle; it comes to a head in ''Bride of the Castle''. In the end, though, things are left rather mysterious and unresolved.

* AuthorAvatar: At various times Incarnadine, Trent, and Gene all vie for this title, but usually Inky wins out. [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis By no coincidence]].

* CastSpeciation[=/=]SuperheroSpeciation: The very nature of the plot ([[EveryoneIsASuper everyone getting their own unique power]]) combined with a little judicious PersonalityPowers means there tends to be [[OnePersonOnePower no duplication between the Guests]]. Even the mages like Incarnadine and Trent have their own styles, or schools of magic they are better at, or Aspects in whose magic they are more experienced, so that they can perform different roles or be useful in different situations. (Examples: Trent is better at Earth magic, but Incarnadine is better at more arcane and obscure magical systems and is generally a JackOfAllTrades when it comes to combining magic and technology; Ferne is one of the few who can tap into the interstitial etherium; she and Mordecai are the only ones who can burrow from one Aspect to another.) The one time when this rule is not followed is with Sheila, whose ability to understand and tap into any magical system in order to summon portals enables her to perform the same exact kinds of conjuration and magical tricks as Linda. This is likely why she gets [[{{Pun}} shipped off]] to the ocean Aspect with Trent and [[OutOfFocus disappears from the narrative]], so as to keep from [[SpotlightStealingSquad stealing the limelight]] (or [[StoryBreakerPower breaking the story]]) and letting Linda still be relevant and a hero.

* CliffHanger[=/=]NoEnding: The end of ''Bride of the Castle'' not only leaves Gene and Linda's future up in the air after she calls off their wedding, but has Linda [[spoiler:having slept with Incarnadine...or at least, his clone. [[OhCrap And the real one just found out]].]]
* [[TwinSwitch Clone Switch]]: Incarnadine pulls this magically in ''Bride of the Castle'' in order to escape [[TheChainsOfCommanding the stresses and responsibilities of ruling]]. Unfortunately said clone is not his exact duplicate after all--while there is no degeneration, EmptyShell, [[TheSoulless soullessness]], or [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot any other negative repercussion of cloning]], his personality and decision-making are different enough to allow his retainers and nobles to manipulate him for their own ends a little...[[spoiler:and leads to him declaring his love for Linda, offering her the chance to be his official mistress, and sleeping with her]].

* ColdBloodedTorture: Ferne's fate. [[TearJerker Damn it]].

** The Guests indulge in this a lot, whether wondering why it is that only those who are at RockBottom find their way to the castle or why it is the castle [[PlotMagnet hasn’t been invaded hundreds of times by now]]. The fact Gene tried to be a fantasy writer once (and Incarnadine [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis moonlights as one]]) makes this even more natural.

* CreatorProvincialism[=/=]WriteWhatYouKnow: Several Earth Guests who appear at the start of the series, including TheHero, are from Pennsylvania (justified in-story by Ferne having a mansion there where she would periodically bring the portal before letting it wander) and quite a bit of time is spent there during Trent and Incarnadine's assault on the mansion as well as Snowclaw's TrappedInAnotherWorld subplot from ''Castle Kidnapped''. The city of the BigBrotherIsWatching Aspect is stated to be where Pittsburgh would be in reality. Pennsylvania is where John [=DeChancie=] resides (Pittsburgh, to be precise).

* DoubleEntendre[=/=]UnusualEuphemism:

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Vaya making Gene her concubine, complete with DressHitsFloor. This may be due to ValuesDissonance or as a deliberate {{Parody}}[=/=]ShoutOut to ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' and other [[TwoFistedTales Pulp Fiction]], but [[AuthorAppeal then again]]...

* DyingAlone: Ablomabel, until Gene, Linda, and Snowclaw find it. [[TearJerker Sniff]].

* FootnoteFever: ''Castle Dreams'', a rather surreal and existentialist entry in the series to begin with, has oodles of fun playing with spurious footnotes. The topics range from somewhat serious explanations of literary tropes, self-referential textual allusions, and obscure plot points to tongue-in-cheek humor, a hilarious send-up of many fantasy tropes and overall [[TakeThat mockery of other examples of the genre]] ([[SelfDeprecation or the author!]]), fake attributions of famous poetry to modern-day celebrities, [[RefugeInAudacity random comments which have nothing at all to do with the book]], and times where the footnote writer propositions the reader for a date. And that doesn't even begin to describe the preface in which the supposed footnote writer [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis reveals he didn't write them at all (or the preface!)]], as well as [[PostModernism quizzes and tests]] scattered throughout the novel—usually based on info from the footnotes.

* GirlOfTheWeek[=/=]TemporaryLoveInterest: For Gene: first Vaya, then Alice, then Sativa. [[spoiler:[[KilledOffForReal The latter suffers the usual fate]]]] while Vaya gets PutOnABus.

* GrassIsGreener[=/=]WantingIsBetterThanHaving: What Max discovers after trying to find a better life in an AlternateUniverse--not only is he a failure no matter where he looks, but he can't even get his old, normal life back. Summed up best by his ruminating on his crummy, roach-infested apartment: "He'd sign a ninety-nine-year lease and never leave."

* HeroicSacrifice[=/=]MoreHeroThanThou: In ''Castle for Rent'', Gene and Sheila vie for this role, to keep the demons from making it to Earth through the portal since Sheila can't close it from the other side--until Linda [[TakeAThirdOption summons a bank vault over the portal]]...and then Ferne summons it back to her quarters, [[CuttingTheKnot making the whole thing moot]].

* IKnowYouKnowIKnow[=/=]IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou: The master of the local mages' guild in Malnovia has a conversation like this with Trent—and he manages to reveal the motive for Incarnadine's "murder", that the spell responsible is still working and he would look the other way if it were broken, what Trent will be up against, and the musical harmonics of the spell so Trent can locate its source...all without breaking any guild rules or giving himself away.

* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Apparently, Incarnadine does just that, in disguise as John [=DeChancie=], with assistance (maybe) from Osmirik. See LiteraryAgentHypothesis. Gene also [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars rather tongue-in-cheekly]] claims he will do this to relate his adventures with Vaya.

* KissMeImVirtual[=/=]{{Robosexual}}: Jeremy and his AI, Isis.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall[=/=]BreakingTheFourthWall: In ''Castle Spellbound'', when Gene [[DeadpanSnarker quips]] about them once more having to prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End of the Multiverse as We Know It]], he notes, "Chapter Twenty-one, [[InWhichATropeIsDescribed In Which Our Heroes Once Again Save the Universe]]". Counting the [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Idiosyncratically Named Chapters]] reveals this actually ''does'' occur in Chapter 21. Later they encounter Stephen Brust's [[{{Literature/Dragaera}} Vlad Taltos]] and Gene actually asks him, "Are you in this book?"

* [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland Lie Back and Think of Jeremy]]: What Isis thought she was going to have to do as payment to the Gooch brothers. [[{{Squick}} Luckily]] this was not the case.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The books are purported to be true adventures (except ''Castle Dreams'') discovered in the castle library by Osmirik, Court Scribe and Royal Librarian to Lord Incarnadine, and are so 'introduced' by him at the beginning of both ''Castle Murders'' and ''Castle Dreams'', although he claims no trace of John [=DeChancie=] exists on Earth and so he and the novels must be from a variant Earth where the castle is only fiction. Later it is revealed that Lord Incarnadine himself takes on the identity of a writer here on Earth, though he claims that [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial he did not pass these off as his own fantasy works]], something contradicted by [[IShouldWriteABookAboutThis the ending of]] ''[[IShouldWriteABookAboutThis Castle for Rent]]''... (Presumably "John Carney" is a pseudonym for [=DeChancie=] himself!) This self-mockery also appears in ''Castle Murders'' when 'Osmirik' claims [[{{Metafiction}} never to have seen the earlier novels until now, let alone written them or the prefaces]], and engages in a long and lively debate about alternate realities, how the magic of the castle could have spontaneously produced such works, and the literary merit (or lack thereof) of such [[SelfDeprecation "cheap trash" with "terrible cover art", "written in an uneven, 'quasi-grammatical style' by turns breezy, serviceable, and sesquipedalian" with "all the conventions of the popular romance"]] (as well as debating the cultural origin of the "immodest" author’s name, and claiming that [[TakeThat none of the critics and colleagues quoted on the covers are real either]]). It even enters MindScrew territory when he not only denounces the {{footnote|Fever}}s which appear throughout ''Castle Dreams'', but claims in the second preface of ''Castle Murders'' that it appeared in the book [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} before he had even written it]], complete with relevant footnote and his expression of astonishment at finding it.

** In both a StealthPun and GeniusBonus, the supposed "castle editions" of the series found in the library by Osmirik are published under the overarching title ''[[Literature/IdyllsOfTheKing Eidolons of the King]]''. Not only is this entirely appropriate for a work whose central location comes from [[KingArthur Arthurian Canon]], but an eidolon, being a ghost or phantasm, could aptly describe what the events of the books, being fictional, would be to [=DeChancie=] and the readers here in the real world.

** ''Castle Dreams'' is made of this trope, but it appears earlier than that in "Osmirik" and his prefaces, acting as Royal Scribe to describe the world of Castle Perilous, the novels, and their possible origin, then revealing in the second preface that he did no such thing. They were instead the work of some 'hack fantasy author' on Earth...[[LiteraryAgentHypothesis the very one Incarnadine poses as]]. Also of note is the bit of BlatantLies in which he claims the book in the reader’s hands is "painstakingly set in movable type, printed on vellum stock, and bound in fine-grained leather with gilt lettering and filigree...[[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial faithfully reproduced without editorial emendation or gloss]]" instead of being made with "[[SelfDeprecation cheap pulp paper, hastily glued bindings, and garish covers]]".

* {{Metaphorgotten}}[=/=]SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: From the ending of ''Castle Kidnapped'': "This particular tale is almost done, but for the wrapping up. It's been a long concerto, and the soloist has one more cadenza in him, if the audience will allow, in which the theme is restated for the benefit of those who've drowsed, wonder-weary, through the third movement--"

* MindScrew: The crossover of LiteraryAgentHypothesis, {{Metafiction}}, and AllJustADream ([[ThatWasNotADream or is it?]]) that is ''Castle Dreams''. But Castle Perilous itself is a MindScrew, from its MobileMaze, BiggerOnTheInside, chaotically shifting, [[MalevolentArchitecture insanely wild nature]] to how many worlds, creatures, spells, and mysteries lie within it. And that's just in the first book...things get even worse when TimeTravel, [[AlternateUniverse Alternate Universes]], and a MirrorUniverse get involved.

* OnceUponATime[=/=]HappyEverAfter: ''Castle Spellbound'' actually starts and ends this way.

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The werewolf encountered in Golfhell is apparently more on the vampiric side, since he's interested in Thaxton's blood. When Thaxton claims "[[CommonKnowledge Everybody knows that werewolves don’t drink blood]]", the creature quips, "Everyone’s wrong, I’m AC/DC."

** ''Bride of the Castle'' contains a {{Parody}} of the Mystery Arc in which Thaxton, believing he can solve the murders because of his experiences three books previously, valiantly tries to gather facts and formulate theories. Not only do the bodies keep piling up while the numerous suspects, alibis, motives, and lies make it next to impossible to figure out anything, while it all takes place in a microcosm of upper-crust England perfectly mimicking ChristieTime (complete with [[ValuesDissonance class warfare and racism]]), but in the end it all dissolves into utter nonsense with the SummationGathering turning into a convoluted mess of accusations and confessions worthy of ''Film/MurderByDeath'' followed by a literal bloodbath while [[PoliceAreUseless the inspector merely stands around]] and lets it happen to 'sort itself out'. About the only mystery trope it doesn't mock or play with is TheButlerDidIt, although the butler in question actually seems to have caught on to the whole business as being a regular occurrence in this insane Aspect; whether people are just murdered constantly, or if they actually come back to life and play it out again the next day, is unknown.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure[=/=]TheGoodKing: Incarnadine and, it turns out, Trent.

%%* RedHerring: A number of them in ''Castle Murders'', and lampshaded when Thaxton interrogates each suspect in turn during TheSummation, but particular emphasis goes to Trent being a suspect.

** The situations of most Guests, prior to coming to the castle. Gene was unemployed with no prospects for the future. Kwip was on death row, to be hung for his thievery. Snowclaw had gotten buried in a crevasse of ice and intended to kill himself. Linda, although wary of doing so, was also contemplating suicide; so was Thaxton after being divorced by his cheating wife. Jacoby had been arrested for embezzlement and was about to be put away for his crimes. Jeremy was on the run from the law for his hacking. Dalton was lonely and depressed after suffering a heart attack. Deena was from Bed-Sty--[[RealitySubtext 'nuff said]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Sheila was stuck in worthless, piddling Wilmerding.]] (And, admittedly, was upset by the way her last marriage had ended.)

* ServantRace: The Umoi created the ''yalim'' to be this through the use of [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetic manipulation]] of "[[UpliftedAnimal the more highly developed fauna]]". They also created the ''hrunt'' as HalfHumanHybrids through LEGOGenetics to be actual slave laborers, as opposed to domestic servants. Thanks to WhatMeasureIsANonHuman and racism, the ''yalim'' hunt the ''hrunt''; Gene wishes to modify them to be more human again, but finds it rather hard to go against centuries of ValuesDissonance.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness[=/=]BuffySpeak: [=DeChancie=] isn't afraid to show off his vocabulary, [[ViewersAreGeniuses nor does he underestimate the intelligence of his readers]]. At the same time, there is a deliberate dissonance between this and modern colloquial speech, thanks to Incarnadine and Trent having lived on Earth for so long. The switch between the two is also deliberately invoked by Incarnadine (and Trent) to annoy or confuse his enemies (''Castle Dreams''), and vice versa (the Hosts of Hells' "used car salesman" shtick).

* ShoutOut[=/=]{{Homage}}:

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: ''Castle Murders'' manages to have two examples at once, the Mystery Arc and Incarnadine's NoirEpisode which has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot and only exists [[DeusExitMachina to keep him from being there to solve the crime]]. Other examples include Incarnadine's eschatological experiences in ''Castle Dreams''; [[BizarroEpisode the entirety of]] ''[[BizarroEpisode Castle Spellbound]]'', but also the subplot regarding the ''[[Literature/TheIliad Iliad]]'' {{Expy}}; and almost all of the [[RandomEventsPlot disconnected plot]] of ''Bride of the Castle'', with Rance's adventures being completely extraneous until he finally makes his way to the castle, Thaxton and Dalton having an insane LowerDeckEpisode, and what happens to poor Max being entirely self-contained to yet another AlternateUniverse.

* SpeaksFluentAnimal: In ''Castle for Rent'' Barnaby is implied, but never confirmed, to have the ability to speak to animals; the strange feline beasts he and Deena encounter are able to communicate empathically with both of them, but only he hears the actual thoughts of one when they flee the Aspect. Since they've never encountered beasts or bestial sapients since then, [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot this point is never pursued later on]].

* SubvertedTrope: [=DeChancie=] uses these a lot, right from the very first book where the "horrible" thing pursuing Kwip up the stairwell [[NightmareRetardant turns out to be]] a pair of disembodied feet, the [[TheBrute seemingly terrifying beast]] Snowclaw is actually [[TheBigGuy fairly well-spoken, intelligent, and a loyal, brave companion]], and the thief who [[TooDumbToLive breaks off a piece of the castle's magical brain]] does end up being a SpannerInTheWorks--but for the BigBad, not Incarnadine. TheReveal of TheManBehindTheMan is common. Sheila goes from being TheIngenue and TheDitz to [[StoryBreakerPower one of the most powerful sorceresses the castle's ever seen]]. Trent, when given the chance to rule Perilous, is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and TheGoodKing instead of proving AmbitionIsEvil, and ends up saving his brother instead of [[WeCanRuleTogether joining]] the BigBad. There's even a DoubleSubversion in ''Bride of the Castle'' when the ghost town Rance discovers seems to be [[TownWithADarkSecret full of demons]] ready to capture and torture him, only for them to be upset and offended by his violent attack and accusations...but they still really ''are'' demons who try to kill him.

* TwoFistedTales[=/=]{{Pastiche}}: Gene's solo adventures seem to be made of these, to the point of seeming like AuthorAppeal. The very first, the world of the Umoi, their ruined AI cities, and their {{Servant Race}}s which have degenerated into barbarian tribes seems like a cross between Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard--Gene even compares his first sight of Zond to the "cover of ''Astounding Stories''" and refers to Edmund Hamilton, and the world's name is later revealed to be [[ShoutOut New Barsoom]]. The episode plays out as a MightyWhitey PlanetaryRomance. Meanwhile, Alice's world could be ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' or ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' while Sativa's could be any [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness Physics Plus]] SpaceOpera out there.

-->''He encountered more humans, and these sang as well as danced. The males carried black canes and wore black suits and black cylindrical hats, and the females wore little. The males picked the females up and threw them around. More music played. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Well, good.]]''

* AlasPoorVillain: Melydia, despite her sympathetic backstory, is pretty much depicted as an insane RichBitch for most of ''Castle Perilous''; however, as soon as she and Incarnadine actually face each other, she becomes a lot more sympathetic, and pitiable, and once she recovers her sanity and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regrets her actions]], it isn't very hard at all to feel sorry for [[TheAssimilator her fate]]--although she'll always be with Incarnadine in a sense, she also gets to remain a disembodied voice, combined with a transmogrified demon, forever. Ferne's fate is even worse, since she ends up put through horrible cruel ColdBloodedTorture by the Hosts of Hell, to the point that when Incarnadine finally finds her he can't remove her from the devices without leaving pieces of her flesh still in them; she gets a chance to make one last DyingDeclarationOfLove [[BrotherSisterIncest for her brother]] and then [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in his arms]]. This last is even an in-story example, since the heroes, despite having faced her as an antagonist, are all very sympathetic to Incarnadine and go to her MeaningfulFuneral.

* AlternateUniverse: Every world accessed by an Aspect (including our own) is this, but the castle itself is in another world, and sometimes unstable Aspects or the destabilizing of TheMultiverse itself creates strange variant alternates as well. ''Castle War!'' concerns a whole series of them that [[MirrorUniverse duplicate the castle itself]], each slightly more different and off than the last; that same book includes an Aspect which Gene notes as having the same stars as Earth (and in many ways being an {{Homage}} to ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' and ''Literature/BraveNewWorld''), and another where Jeremy meets Luster and Dolbert who mention the poets "Sheats and Kelley". Meanwhile, the golfing world turns into a Hell (and mythical creature) -themed variant.

* AntiquatedLinguistics: Used in spell casting, when speaking to the dead, and also by Incarnadine's nobles, Osmirik, and Kwip. Otherwise, it's all modern speak (or at least translated as such). In the case of the dead it seems to be merely a traditional affectation.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Thorsby and Fetchen learn this the hard way.

* BrickJoke: In the preface for ''Castle Murders'', Osmirik [[GrammarNazi complains]] about the improper use of "portfolio" in place of "folio" back in book one. Much later in the book, during TheSummation that ends the mystery, a folio is again produced...with a [[FootnoteFever footnote]] saying, [[SophisticatedAsHell "Up yours, Osmirik!"]] Another BrickJoke, also related to the footnotes, appears in the form of an essay question on Tierra del Fuego in ''Castle Dreams'', referencing the previous footnotes on the subject.

* ContrivedCoincidence: All the heroes just happen to find the room where the Brain of Ramthonodox is at the same time as the BigBad so as to confront her...and just so happen to have [[SpannerInTheWorks a thief in their midst]].

* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: After freeing Ramthonodox, Melydia threatens to turn Incarnadine into her castle instead.

* CoversAlwaysLie: ''Castle Kidnapped'' featured on its paperback cover the primary characters, tied up and being borne away on the back of a huge blue turtle-like creature which nowhere appeared in the book. On Fidonet's old SF_LIT echo this spawned the acronym FBT, for "Friggin' Blue Turtloid".

* DealWithTheDevil: In the case of any dealings with the Hosts of Hell. As Ferne learns to her sorrow.

* DoppelgangerAttack: Occurs in the first book during the confrontation with the BigBad, when Linda conjures up numerous doubles of Gene, Snowclaw, and Osmirik to fight the duplicate zombie soldiers and servants. This later becomes Linda's favorite tactic in every book thereafter. However, in one CallBack to this, Evil!Gene of ''Castle War!'' convinces Linda to duplicate Snowclaw to fight the forces of Evil!Incarnadine...only things [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]] when a funnel cloud starts producing endless clones of him. The multiple copies of Incarnadine and his soldiers also count, though the former end up settling in to try and solve the problem of the multiple castles and end up becoming a hilarious MesACrowd instead.

* {{Epigraph}}: Every book except the first has at least one literary reference quoted at the start. ''Castle for Rent'' quotes Tennyson's "Blow, Bugle, Blow", ''Castle Kidnapped'' quotes Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale", ''Castle War!'' quotes Ann Radcliffe's ''Literature/TheMysteriesOfUdolpho'', ''Castle Murders'' quotes Wordsworth's "Elegiac Stanzas Suggested by a Picture of Peele Castle in a Storm" (and Peele Castle [[{{Foreshadowing}} further appears as a place in the narrative]]), ''Castle Dreams'' quotes Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life", ''Castle Spellbound'' quotes Nora Archibald Smith's "The Christmas Child and Other Verse", and ''Bride of the Castle'' quotes ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' and "Literature/TheRimeOfTheAncientMariner". While these last two are wedding themed, the rest tend to reference castles, portals, and windows, by no coincidence.

* GodGuise: Played with and inverted. Upon learning that the king of Mykos intends to sacrifice one of his daughters to the gods to alleviate the bad weather assaulting his fleet, Trent puts a stop to it by using magic for DivineIntervention...except instead of making himself seem like a god, he makes it seem as if the gods are showing their disapproval through a BoltOfDivineRetribution which also strikes ''him'' for interfering. This takes suspicion off himself as the cause and convinces the king the whole sacrifice was merely a SecretTestOfCharacter a la Abraham and Isaac.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: What Trent discovers is true of the Arkadians and Troadeans--''both'' are barbaric p

irates.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Ramthonodox himself suffers from this as part of the transformation spell, forgetting his name and identity so as to become the castle. Only this amnesia keeps him locked in his inanimate form.

* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:The Hosts of Hell, since they are actually a single HiveMind.]]

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Castle Perilous, aside from being a very apt name for such a dangerous, unstable place, is a reference to [[KingArthur Arthurian Canon]] and the Siege Perilous, as well as a castle in the tale of Gareth and Linette. It is implied that it [[AllMythsAreTrue actually is the castle of legend]], or of various legends throughout the Aspects.

* MagicAIsMagicA: Played with. The rules of FunctionalMagic themselves remain consistent and reliable, even when the castle itself isn't due to its chaotic, entropic nature...but magic can act differently from Aspect to Aspect, causing spells to behave weirdly, having the opposite or no effect, and talents to go awry. Even Sheila summoning a portal can become next to impossible in certain worlds. On the other hand, once enough time is spent in a world, talents adapt and mages can make their spells work again; Sheila eventually attunes herself enough to draw portals wherever she goes.

* MeaningfulName: Castle Perilous. Incarnadine. Kwip.

* {{Metafiction}}: ''Castle Dreams'' is made of this trope, but it appears earlier than that in "Osmirik" and his prefaces, acting as Royal Scribe to describe the world of Castle Perilous, the novels, and their possible origin, then revealing in the second preface that he did no such thing. They were instead the work of some 'hack fantasy author' on Earth...[[LiteraryAgentHypothesis the very one Incarnadine poses as]]. Also of note is the bit of BlatantLies in which he claims the book in the reader’s hands is "painstakingly set in movable type, printed on vellum stock, and bound in fine-grained leather with gilt lettering and filigree...[[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial faithfully reproduced without editorial emendation or gloss]]" instead of being made with "[[SelfDeprecation cheap pulp paper, hastily glued bindings, and garish covers]]".

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: The armorer, who seems to take great pleasure in taking as long as possible to describe every type of weapon he possesses, at least until Snowclaw [[AnAxeToGrind simplifies things]]--although in his defense Gene's newbie status did make his requests quite vague.

* {{Parody}}: Of a number of genres, tropes, and specific writers or tales. One Aspect Gene ends up stuck in resembles an Italian romance, another where he and Snowclaw lead a revolution resembles a Dumas novel, still another comes right out of a [[TwoFistedTales pulp novel]] like those of H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs, while Incarnadine gets a NoirEpisode and plays out an {{Expy}} of the Trojan War with Trent.

* PlotMagnet: Castle Perilous itself, besieged by no less than four armies or takeover attempts during the series. Justified because any number of powerful people, armies, or mages would love to have access to 144,000 worlds, or just to its immense magical power.

* RockBottom: The situations of most Guests, prior to coming to the castle. Gene was unemployed with no prospects for the future. Kwip was on death row, to be hung for his thievery. Snowclaw had gotten buried in a crevasse of ice and intended to kill himself. Linda, although wary of doing so, was also contemplating suicide; so was Thaxton after being divorced by his cheating wife. Jacoby had been arrested for embezzlement and was about to be put away for his crimes. Jeremy was on the run from the law for his hacking. Dalton was lonely and depressed after suffering a heart attack. Deena was from Bed-Sty--[[RealitySubtext 'nuff said]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Sheila was stuck in worthless, piddling Wilmerding.]] (And, admittedly, was upset by the way her last marriage had ended.)

** ShaggyDogStory: The whole episode on Hellas is this, since there is no point to the story--Trent is put through the grueling campaign for no reason except to give Incarnadine another strategist to face since he couldn't duplicate himself, and although his favored city Troas is saved, he reveals that in time the bay will silt up and the valueless citadel will be abandoned. Its only point was for him to play out real-life war games (and, admittedly, give Trent something to do to keep him occupied and his blood flowing); no wonder, then, that Trent believes {{Revenge}} is a dish BestServedCold.

* ShoutOut[=/=]{{Homage}}: ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', Poe (both "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee"), among many, many others.

* ShownTheirWork: The scene in the conservatory in ''Castle Murders'', where Incarnadine plays the Rachmaninoff concerto. Also, all the detail given to golf when Thaxton and Dalton are trapped in Golfhell in ''Castle War!'' is lampshaded in a footnote in ''Castle Dreams'', along with mocking the fact that doing so much work and research [[SelfDeprecation keeps the author trapped inside without a social life]].

* SpannerInTheWorks: How Incarnadine defeats Melydia and restores the castle: because Kwip had broken a piece off of Ramthonodox’s brain, it was missing an Aspect. Demons must have all their Aspects to feel complete, so without it he was vulnerable to manipulation and control. Particularly because Incarnadine, [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] that he was, had gotten said shard away from Jacoby and could use it to bargain with.

* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: Incarnadine, His Serene and Transcendent Majesty of the House of Haplodite, Lord of the Western Pale, Liege Lord, Imperator and Gatekeeper, King of the Realms Perilous, Sovereign Ruler of Ylium, Zephorea, Halmudia, Grekoran, and West Thurlangia, Protector of...

* UnwittingPawn: Poor Deems.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Vorn, if you squint right. Although a conquering warlord, he also fully believed he was doing a right and holy thing by capturing and destroying Castle Perilous, that it was a fortress of evil ruled by the Devil himself and only by doing as Melydia directed would the world be saved. [[UnwittingPawn What he didn't know]] was that [[ManipulativeBastard she was only using him]], and that instead of destroying the evil, her plan for the castle [[SealedEvilInACan would actually free it]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Happens often to the bit players when their plots are mere amusing hijinks or are simply not deemed important when compared to the main plot. Sometimes their stories are resolved with a quick HandWave or a brief narration of what happened off-screen; other times it's forgotten entirely yet the characters still show up just fine in the next book.

* YouCantThwartStageOne: While this is generally true for all the villainous schemes in the series, it is especially notable in ''Castle Perilous'' and ''Castle for Rent''.

* ConversationalTroping: The Guests indulge in this a lot, whether wondering why it is that only those who are at RockBottom find their way to the castle or why it is the castle [[PlotMagnet hasn’t been invaded hundreds of times by now]]. The fact Gene tried to be a fantasy writer once (and Incarnadine [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis moonlights as one]]) makes this even more natural.

** The tendency of writers to use these to show off their literary knowledge or seem portentous (see PretentiousLatinMotto) is also lampshaded, [[HypocriticalHumor humorously enough]], in a [[PostModernism spot quiz essay question]] in ''Castle Dreams''.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: What Trent discovers is true of the Arkadians and Troadeans--''both'' are barbaric pirates.

* MysteryArc: In ''Castle Murders''.
** AssholeVictim: Viscount Oren. Not only does hardly anyone like him, he is guilty of spousal abuse (verbal and physical); openly flirting and making out with Lady Rowena right in front of her husband the Earl of Belgard; making a pass at Sheila that almost [[RapeAsDrama became more]]; [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and betraying various friends for political or financial gain]]. In fact it ends up being revealed that [[LotsaPeopleTryToDunIt several of the suspects actually did intend to kill him, had gone so far as to prepare a dagger with the proper spells,]] but were either beaten to it (Trent), had problems with the spells (Belgard), or came to their senses at the last moment (Lady Rilma). [[spoiler:Ironically, though, the motive for his death turns out to have [[RedHerring nothing to do with any of this]], though his murderer is someone who didn't like him.]]
** BluffingTheMurderer: How Thaxton gets [[spoiler:Lord Arl]]'s confession. [[GenreSavvy Trent]] lampshades this as the reason for/intended result of the SummationGathering.
** ChronicEvidenceRetentionSyndrome: Played with, and also [[EnforcedTrope enforced]]: [[spoiler:Lord Arl]] doesn't hold onto the murder weapon himself, but he isn't able to find and remove it as evidence against him either because it's invisible even to him. Thus, Thaxton is able to find it first.
** ClosedCircle: The party guests are not allowed to leave the Garden Aspect until the murder of Viscount Oren is solved. Justified since otherwise the killer could escape into any of the 144,000 Aspects.
** ConversationalTroping: Thaxton not only discusses the LockedRoomMystery (and its lack of plausibility in RealLife), but makes note of the fact most murders are crimes of passion and not premeditated, and therefore not well-planned. Happens because Thaxton is himself [[AmateurSleuth an avid mystery reader]].
** TheCorpseStopsHere: Averted; despite Thaxton being found with the viscount's body, and a brief moment of suspicion from Lord Arl, neither he nor Dalton are ever accused of doing the deed, possibly because Oren was a fairly proficient magician while they, as Guests, were not. [[spoiler:A bit surprising though, since one would think Arl, the real murderer, would have been eager to pin the crime on someone else and so used this as a pretext. Then again, him being a SympatheticMurderer and Oren being an AssholeVictim may have made him wish to not involve or blame anyone else.]]
** DramaticThunder: When Dorcas makes her confession to Thaxton and Dalton.
** EurekaMoment: Thaxton has one, after reading the book of spells and getting a good night's sleep.
** EveryoneIsASuspect: At least, everyone who is a powerful magic-user. Although before magic is conclusively proven to have been involved in the murder, everyone at the party is indeed held on suspicion just in case. Also, everyone who is a powerful magic-user is a suspect because [[AssholeVictim everyone hated the victim]].
** FairPlayWhodunnit: Although the specific spells which were required to commit the murder have no real way of being guessed by the reader (though it becomes clear fairly early on that invisibility must have been involved somehow), the clues as to who the murderer was were indeed in the text all along. [[spoiler:Not only was Arl the actual first suspect met in the narrative, and revealed in that conversation to not be close to his brother, but he is mentioned in passing during Linda and Melanie's visit to the library as having been there that morning, and Lady Rilma remembers him touching Oren just before the viscount left the party.]]
** HeKnowsTooMuch[=/=]SayingTooMuch: Seems to be the motive for killing [[spoiler:Count Damik]] since he had previously been going around telling everyone in Peele Castle that he had seen one of the suspects buying the murder weapon, and trying to decide if he should tell the authorities what he knew. (This would seem to be a TooDumbToLive moment, except that he was counting on noblesse oblige to protect him and was in fact using his obvious attention-grabbing move to try and warn the killer he was on to him, thus giving him time to either hide the evidence or come clean.) However this is all a RedHerring: not only was the person he saw not the killer, but [[MurderByMistake he wasn't even the target]] and was in fact a friend of the real murderer. (The actual target was, in fact, slated for killing due to this trope.)
** HiddenInPlainSight: The murder weapon, since it was made invisible.
** IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Why Lady Rilma didn’t go through with [[spoiler:killing, not Oren, but Lady Rowena]].
** ImportantCharacterImportantEvidence: Thaxton and Dalton are not only the ones to find the body, but Thaxton finds the murder weapon and later the book of magic that helps him figure out the solution. Particularly noteworthy since before this they were usually only the ButtMonkey or TheLoad, but once they got ADayInTheLimelight...
** MurderByMistake: [[spoiler:Poor Count Damik.]]
** NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: The murder weapon is chosen precisely because it is a plain, very common, and easily procured knife and thus easy to confuse with others of its kind, as well as easy to find sold anywhere (thus proving nothing about where the purchaser came from).
** SuspectExistenceFailure: Knowing that Dorcas had discerned his guilt, [[spoiler:Lord Arl]] tries to kill her as well. In the process, however, he [[MurderByMistake accidentally kills]] [[spoiler:Count Damik]] instead--which ''also'' happens to exonerate him, since prior to this he'd been a strong suspect due to his fascination and skill with knives.
** OldDarkHouse: Peele Castle, complete with seacoast cliff, crashing waves, and a thunderstorm.
** RedHerring: A number of them, and lampshaded when Thaxton interrogates each suspect in turn during TheSummation, but particular emphasis goes to Trent being a suspect.
** SummationGathering: At Peele Castle. Both {{enforced|Trope}} and a subversion, since Thaxton arranged it in order to get the murderer to incriminate himself.
** SympatheticMurderer: [[spoiler:Lord Arl. Aside from disliking Oren and believing he deserved to die for all the various sins, cruelties, and appalling habits the viscount had committed, he only wished to ensure a good future for his son by making sure Oren died childless instead of divorcing Rilma, thus causing the peerage to devolve to him, and then to his son.]] Despite this motive, and the fact everyone wished Oren dead, he does in fact still get taken to prison, his scheme abrogated, partly because murder is still unjustified but mostly because of the accidental death of [[spoiler:Damik]] and attempted murder of the princess.

** ''Bride of the Castle'' contains a {{Parody}} of the MysteryArc in which Thaxton, believing he can solve the murders because of his experiences three books previously, valiantly tries to gather facts and formulate theories. Not only do the bodies keep piling up while the numerous suspects, alibis, motives, and lies make it next to impossible to figure out anything, while it all takes place in a microcosm of upper-crust England perfectly mimicking ChristieTime (complete with [[ValuesDissonance class warfare and racism]]), but in the end it all dissolves into utter nonsense with the SummationGathering turning into a convoluted mess of accusations and confessions worthy of ''Film/MurderByDeath'' followed by a literal bloodbath while [[PoliceAreUseless the inspector merely stands around]] and lets it happen to 'sort itself out'. About the only mystery trope it doesn't mock or play with is TheButlerDidIt, although the butler in question actually seems to have caught on to the whole business as being a regular occurrence in this insane Aspect; whether people are just murdered constantly, or if they actually come back to life and play it out again the next day, is unknown.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: ''Castle Murders'' manages to have two examples at once, the MysteryArc and Incarnadine's NoirEpisode which has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot and only exists [[DeusExitMachina to keep him from being there to solve the crime]]. Other examples include Incarnadine's eschatological experiences in ''Castle Dreams''; [[BizarroEpisode the entirety of]] ''[[BizarroEpisode Castle Spellbound]]'', but also the subplot regarding the ''[[Literature/TheIliad Iliad]]'' {{Expy}}; and almost all of the [[RandomEventsPlot disconnected plot]] of ''Bride of the Castle'', with Rance's adventures being completely extraneous until he finally makes his way to the castle, Thaxton and Dalton having an insane LowerDeckEpisode, and what happens to poor Max being entirely self-contained to yet another AlternateUniverse.

** BluffingTheMurderer[=/=]LyingToThePerp: How Thaxton gets [[spoiler:Lord Arl]]'s confession. [[GenreSavvy Trent]] lampshades this as the reason for/intended result of the SummationGathering.

** [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim If You Kill Her, You Will Be Just Like Him]]: Why Lady Rilma didn’t go through with [[spoiler:killing, not Oren, but Lady Rowena]].

** NeverOneMurder[=/=]SuspectExistenceFailure: Knowing that Dorcas had discerned his guilt, [[spoiler:Lord Arl]] tries to kill her as well. In the process, however, he [[MurderByMistake accidentally kills]] [[spoiler:Count Damik]] instead--which ''also'' happens to exonerate him, since prior to this he'd been a strong suspect due to his fascination and skill with knives.
** [[OldDarkHouse Old Dark Castle]]: Peele Castle, complete with seacoast cliff, crashing waves, and a thunderstorm.

** TheSummation[=/=]SummationGathering: At Peele Castle. Both {{enforced|Trope}} and a subversion, since Thaxton arranged it in order to get the murderer to incriminate himself.

* NarniaTime[=/=]YearInsideHourOutside: Time varies widely between the castle and its many Aspects. In some you emerge exactly the moment you left; in others, you come out after being gone for what you think is months or even years, only to find it was just a few hours. (This is quite helpful for Gene on the one hand, and Trent and Sheila on the other, in ''Castle Kidnapped'', and again for Trent and Incarnadine in ''Castle Spellbound''.) For still others, it's the reverse.

* SpeaksFluentAnimal[=/=]FriendToAllLivingThings: In ''Castle for Rent'' Barnaby is implied, but never confirmed, to have the ability to speak to animals; the strange feline beasts he and Deena encounter are able to communicate empathically with both of them, but only he hears the actual thoughts of one when they flee the Aspect. Since they've never encountered beasts or bestial sapients since then, [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot this point is never pursued later on]].
* [[SpecialPersonNormalName Special Object, Normal Name]]: In an amusing subversion of NamedWeapons, Rance's sword is named...Bruce. Made worse when it turns out he can't change the name, since it was given to the sword when it was made and must be used to activate its magic. Then {{Double Subver|sion}}ted when, after the demons mock him, he proceeds to kill their avenging champion with it and escapes.

* StormingTheCastle: [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Oddly enough, not]] Vorn's armies besieging Castle Perilous, but [[EnemyMine Trent and Incarnadine]] invading Ferne's estate on Earth.

* [[SuicideByCop Suicide by King]][=/=]SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: [[spoiler:The Hosts of Hell's true final goal.]]

* WhoWantsToLiveForever[=/=]LonelyAtTheTop: Incarnadine. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the rather epic speech he gives to Lemarr Hamilton in ''Castle Murders''.

* [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAnUrbanFantasy Write an Urban Fantasy]]: The [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent side story]] in ''Castle Murders'' has Lord Incarnadine visiting an Aspect based on FilmNoir, complete with demon gangsters and transparent {{Captain Ersatz}}es of 1920s and '30s celebrities.

* DramaPreservingHandicap: Thanks to the great powers possessed by Incarnadine, this almost always applies to him during the various crises and issues that arise. Sometimes his [[DeusExitMachina absence]] is actually engineered by the BigBad or their minions (his being trapped on Earth in ''Castle for Rent'', the zombie spell in ''Castle Dreams''), sometimes it's an indirect result of what is going on (the Hosts of Hell's tinkering in ''Castle Kidnapped'' kept him busy trying to stop them and unable to help rescue the missing Guests, and the breakdown of TheMultiverse in ''Castle War!'' shrank the portal from Merydion so he had to find another way home so he could deal with the issue), and sometimes it's a completely unrelated event that has him away (dealing with the dengs of Necropolis keeps him from being on-hand for the MysteryArc; playing real-life war games with Trent keeps him away during the LiteralGenie spell). Coming up with one excuse after another to keep him occupied/away (and thus straining the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief) may be partly why [=DeChancie=] quit writing the series. A lesser example of this also applies to keeping Sheila and her StoryBreakerPower from always saving the day.

* BrickJoke: In the preface for ''Castle Murders'', Osmirik [[GrammarNazi complains]] about the improper use of "portfolio" in place of "folio" back in book one. Much later in the book, during TheSummation that ends the MysteryArc, a folio is again produced...with a [[FootnoteFever footnote]] saying, [[SophisticatedAsHell "Up yours, Osmirik!"]] Another BrickJoke, also related to the footnotes, appears in the form of an essay question on Tierra del Fuego in ''Castle Dreams'', referencing the previous footnotes on the subject.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Played straight with Dorcas, averted (almost to GodSaveUsFromTheQueen levels) with Ferne.

* DeusExMachina: Whether it's Linda or Sheila pulling off an incredible summoning, Trent or Incarnadine showing up to set everything right, Osmirik finding just the right spell in the library, an EnemyCivilWar, or a SpannerInTheWorks, something always seems to happen to save the castle [[JustInTime Just in Time]]. [[TropesAreNotBad And it's satisfying every time, too]].

* StatusQuoIsGod: Despite the fact that with the reinstitution of the transformation spell, Castle Perilous is more stable and reasonable than it has been in years, and that between Incarnadine, Trent, Sheila, and Jeremy the Aspects become much more manageable and Earth is made accessible again after years of wandering, something still always manages to happen to make the castle unsafe and cause the characters to go haring off into dangerous, unstable Aspects. As proof TropesAreNotBad, this is half the fun of the series!

* BilingualBonus: The world in which Incarnadine seems to die, and from which news of this is sent, is called Malnovia, pseudo-[[AltumVidetur Latin for]] "bad news".

* HistoricalInJoke: In ''Castle War!'', when Incarnadine meets his uncle Mordecai in an attempt to get back to the castle and fix TheMultiverse, he learns that the cosmic disturbance had caused a quake on Earth: in San Francisco. (The book was published in 1990.)

* StormingTheCastle: [[IThoughtItMeant Oddly enough, not]] Vorn's armies besieging Castle Perilous, but [[EnemyMine Trent and Incarnadine]] invading Ferne's estate on Earth.

* [[TwinSwitch Clone Switch]]: Incarnadine pulls this magically in ''Bride of the Castle'' in order to escape the stresses and responsibilities of ruling. Unfortunately said clone is not his exact duplicate after all--while there is no degeneration, EmptyShell, [[TheSoulless soullessness]], or [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot any other negative repercussion of cloning]], his personality and decision-making are different enough to allow his retainers and nobles to manipulate him for their own ends a little...[[spoiler:and leads to him declaring his love for Linda, offering her the chance to be his official mistress, and sleeping with her]].

* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: Melydia, [[WomanScorned scorned by Incarnadine]] and wanting {{Revenge}}, wishes to prove she is worthy of the power she'd been denied ([[LineageComesFromTheFather for being a woman]]). She does this by...manipulating an empress, [[TheVamp seducing]] and enchanting her warlord son into besieging Perilous...so that she can undo the spell on it and release a demon that will bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Because she's crazy, and apparently always has been. To some degree this also applies to Ferne, since she is played up as much more of a threat than Trent, Jamin, and Tragg and is in fact the centerpiece of the only real major arc in the series, the Hosts of Hell.

* StoryBreakerPower: Sheila. She can conjure portals. Granted, there is a great deal of HowDoIShotWeb at first, but once she figures it out, there is no more danger of characters being trapped anywhere, the wandering portal to Earth can be easily located and tied down, and characters can travel wherever and whenever they want. Luckily the author manages to consistently have her get [[PlotInducedStupidity cut off from the others]], [[DramaPreservingHandicap her magic is blocked]], or she's simply [[DeusExitMachina not available]].

* TakeThat: A number of these appear throughout the series, usually at other authors (''[[Creator/IsaacAsimov Foundation's Robots]]'', ''[[ArthurCClarke I Remember Rama]]''), genres ("What's 'cyberpunk'?"), or the literary world in general (see Incarnadine's meeting with the book editor in ''Castle for Rent''), but a particularly epic (and mean-spirited) one occurs in ''Castle Dreams'', complete with explanatory footnote:

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The werewolf encountered in Golfhell is apparently more on the vampiric side, since he's interested in Thaxton's blood. When Thaxton claims "EverybodyKnowsThat werewolves don’t drink blood", the creature quips, "Everyone’s wrong, I’m AC/DC."

** ''Bride of the Castle'' contains a {{Parody}} of the MysteryArc in which Thaxton, believing he can solve the murders because of his experiences three books previously, valiantly tries to gather facts and formulate theories. Not only do the bodies keep piling up while the numerous suspects, alibis, motives, and lies make it next to impossible to figure out anything, while it all takes place in a microcosm of upper-crust England perfectly mimicking ChristieTime (complete with [[ValuesDissonance class warfare and racism]]), but in the end it all dissolves into utter nonsense with the SummationGathering turning into a convoluted mess of accusations and confessions worthy of ''MurderByDeath'' followed by a literal bloodbath while [[PoliceAreUseless the inspector merely stands around]] and lets it happen to 'sort itself out'. About the only mystery trope it doesn't mock or play with is TheButlerDidIt, although the butler in question actually seems to have caught on to the whole business as being a regular occurrence in this insane Aspect; whether people are just murdered constantly, or if they actually come back to life and play it out again the next day, is unknown.

** In ''Castle Murders'', one of ThoseTwoGuys, Thaxton (whose first name happens to be Peter), solves a magical murder mystery among the castle nobles. In appreciation, Incarnadine grants him a title...which entitles him to be known as [[LordPeterWimsey Lord Peter]].

** In ''Castle Dreams'', the cry of the albatross in the "Afterlife" is [[CthulhuMythos "Tekeli-li!"]] [[Literature/TheRimeOfTheAncientMariner Said albatross gets shot by Incarnadine, prompting his second-in-command to say, "I fear thee, Ancient Mariner!"]] [[PostModernism These are only two of many allusions in that book]].