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* DepopulationBomb: The Waves. By the beginning of the series, there are less than 120 million people left.


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* GiantWallOfWateryDoom: The Second Wave consisted of these. The Others [[ColonyDrop dropped rods "twice the size of the Empire State Building and three times as heavy" onto the Earth's fault lines]], triggering huge earthquakes and tsunamis that wiped out the world's coastal cities and killed three billion people.


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* ThePlague: The Third Wave consisted of a disease spread by birds and their droppings. At first it resembled a cold or flu, but progressed to the point that victims bled out of every orifice and suffered from multiple seizures. This disease killed over 97% of the surviving population.
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* TheCakeIsALie: Silencers, without exception, are all hard-wired to "know" that they're going to be carried up to the alien ship, before it starts bombarding and utterly destroying all the cities on Earth, eliminating any and all traces that humans existed once and for all. While there's no room for doubt about the threat of orbital bombardment after "the second wave," the promise of the Silencers being carried up to the spaceship is dubious, considering the deafening silence of The Others so far.

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* HiddenAgendaVillain: What ''IS'' the ultimate goal of the Others? Why do they want the Earth, specifically, so badly. Are they really "cleaning house" for new tenants? Are they trying to breed a SuperSoldier army, and simply kill off everyone who doesn't measure up? Is it all really nothing more than a sick game, like a kid holding a magnifying glass over an anthill? Do they just hate humans for some reason? The only ones who know for sure are the Others, and they're not talking. Even at the end of the second book, all we have is rampant speculation, coming from numerous sources, all with their own unique POV, and none of them match, as Ringer put it, like a group of blind men feeling an elephant.



* HumansAreInsects: Universally, The Others all compare humans to cockroaches or other much less "evolved" creatures, and find the very notion of co-existence repulsive, at least all the ones we've seen. Those that actually like humans are called ''insane'' by their peers.

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* HumansAreInsects: Universally, The Others Silencers all compare humans to cockroaches or other much less "evolved" creatures, and find the very notion of co-existence repulsive, at least all the ones we've seen. Those that actually like humans are called ''insane'' by their peers. The Others are officially still silent.
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* HumansAreInsdects: Universally, The Others all compare humans to cockroaches or other much less "evolved" creatures, and find the very notion of co-existence repulsive, at least all the ones we've seen. Those that actually like humans are called ''insane'' by their peers.

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* HumansAreInsdects: HumansAreInsects: Universally, The Others all compare humans to cockroaches or other much less "evolved" creatures, and find the very notion of co-existence repulsive, at least all the ones we've seen. Those that actually like humans are called ''insane'' by their peers.
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* ItsPersonal: Cassie's one and only rational explanation for why the Others are doing things the way they are.
---> '''Cassie''': "They hate us. Nothing else makes sense. They're not out to rip the planet out from under us. They're out to '''rip us!'''"
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* HumansAreInsdects: Universally, The Others all compare humans to cockroaches or other much less "evolved" creatures, and find the very notion of co-existence repulsive, at least all the ones we've seen. Those that actually like humans are called ''insane'' by their peers.
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* GenreSavvy: Cassie lampshades tropes all the time, and she ''has'' been able to survive an [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt alien apocalypse]] that has [[KIllEmAll killed off 99% of humanity]].

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* GenreSavvy: Cassie lampshades tropes all the time, and she ''has'' been able to survive an [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt alien apocalypse]] that has [[KIllEmAll [[KIllAllHumans killed off 99% of humanity]].
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Useful Notes/ pages are not tropes


* TheVietnamWar: Mentioned:
--> '''World:''' You be America, alien invaders, and we'll be Vietnam.
--> '''Others:''' Yeah, okay, right.
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* AndThenWhat: On a meta level. Should the Others manage to exterminate humanity to the last individual, especially as the vast majority see possessing a human beneath them, what are they going to use for hosts?
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Added a bit more description to the opening to make the description make more sense to those unfamiliar with the premise.


''The 5th Wave'' is a young adult sci-fi apocalyptic thriller trilogy by Rick Yancey, who has also written the ''Alfred Kropp'' series and the ''Literature/{{Monstrumologist}}'' series. The books are:

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''The 5th Wave'' is a [[YoungAdultLiterature young adult sci-fi apocalyptic adult]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt apocalyptic]] [[ScienceFiction science fiction]] thriller trilogy by Rick Yancey, who has also written the ''Alfred Kropp'' series and the ''Literature/{{Monstrumologist}}'' series. The books are:



The series is a [[YoungAdultLiterature young adult]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt apocalyptic]] [[ScienceFiction science fiction]] that follows humanity's last attempts to stop an AlienInvasion, in particular the children. It does this through dual sixteen-year-old protagonists: Cassie and Ben, a.k.a. Zombie.

Cassie lives alone with her [[{{BFG}} M16]] and [[IWillFindYou her younger brother's teddy bear]], [[ParanoiaFuel hiding from the Silencers]], trusting no one. Until she meets the [[MysteriousPast gorgeous and mysterious Evan Walker]], who she begins to fall for in spite of having doubts about his humanity. Through detailed flashbacks we see what happened to her from the time [[NotUsingTheZWord the Others']] space ship first went into Earth's orbit through the four waves of desolation that have nearly wiped out humanity: [[ApocalypseHow an electromagnetic pulse that disables all electronics, massive tsunamis and earthquakes, airborne plague, and the aforementioned Silencers, who appear human but are tasked by the Others to kill everyone they meet]].

Zombie is in a military camp that may be the last hope for humanity, being trained as a soldier in a squad with [[ChildSoldiers members as young as seven]]. And when a five year old boy, Private Nugget, is assigned to their group, Zombie must do his best to protect him from not only the [[ColonelKilgore sadistic drill instructor]], but the horrors of war that are encroaching around them, [[InnocenceLost slowly strangling what little innocence they have left]].

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A group of [[AlienInvasion mysterious aliens]] - referred to by humanity as [[NotUsingTheZWord The Others]] - have enacted four waves of terror that have eradicated the vast majority of the human race. A small cadre of Others called Silencers have taken on human forms, tasked with picking off the rest of the human survivors. The series is a [[YoungAdultLiterature young adult]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt apocalyptic]] [[ScienceFiction science fiction]] that follows humanity's last attempts to stop an AlienInvasion, in particular the children. invasion and reclaim some semblance of civilization. It does this through dual sixteen-year-old protagonists: Cassie Sullivan and Ben, a.k.a. Zombie.

Ben "Zombie" Parish.

Cassie lives alone with her [[{{BFG}} M16]] and [[IWillFindYou her younger brother's teddy bear]], [[ParanoiaFuel hiding from the Silencers]], trusting no one. Until one - until she meets the [[MysteriousPast gorgeous and mysterious Evan Walker]], who she begins to fall for in spite of having doubts about his humanity. Through Cassie's detailed flashbacks we see what happened to her from explain the time [[NotUsingTheZWord the Others']] space ship first went into Earth's orbit through the [[ApocalypseHow four waves of desolation desolation]] that have nearly wiped out humanity: [[ApocalypseHow an electromagnetic pulse that disables disabled all electronics, electronics and thus all forms of communication; massive tsunamis and earthquakes, earthquakes that completely wiped out the coasts; an airborne plague, and plague transmitted by birds; and, finally, the aforementioned Silencers, who appear human but are tasked by the Others to kill everyone they meet]].

meet.

Zombie is in a military camp that may be the last hope for humanity, being trained as a soldier in a squad with [[ChildSoldiers members as young as seven]]. And when When a five year old boy, Private Nugget, is assigned to their group, his squadron, Zombie must do does his best to protect him from not only the [[ColonelKilgore sadistic drill instructor]], but the horrors of war that are encroaching around them, [[InnocenceLost slowly strangling what little innocence they have left]].
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* EndangeredSpecies: By chapter III "Silencer", humans [[spoiler: and the Others]].
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* AssimilationPlot: [[spoiler: In the chapter "Silencer", one of the invading aliens reveals that the purpose for purging the vast majority of humanity, and turning the remaining children into abused ChildSoldiers is to facilitate supplanting their personalites and making them hosts for themselves, so as to secure a future for their dying race.]]
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Removed per TRS.


* AgentPeacock: Evan is a handsome, PrettyBoy-esque guy whose perfectly-manicured nails Cassie comments on multiple times. [[spoiler: He's also a [[ColdSniper Silencer]], and one of the most {{Badass}} members of the main cast.]]

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* AgentPeacock: Evan is a handsome, PrettyBoy-esque guy whose perfectly-manicured nails Cassie comments on multiple times. [[spoiler: He's also a [[ColdSniper Silencer]], and one of the most {{Badass}} badass members of the main cast.]]



* TookALevelInBadass: In Cassie's back story, she's your average schoolgirl. Now, she's a gun-toting {{badass}} who kills aliens.

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* TookALevelInBadass: In Cassie's back story, she's your average schoolgirl. Now, she's a gun-toting {{badass}} badass who kills aliens.
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Clarifying


* BadassBoast: See above.

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* BadassBoast: See above.the page quote.
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They don't match the trope description, in that they weren't driven to become evil as the result of a lifetime of torment. They are simply alien.


* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler: The Silencers]].

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* The 5th Wave (2013)
* The Infinite Sea (2014)
* The Last Star (2016)

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* The ''The 5th Wave Wave'' (2013)
* The ''The Infinite Sea Sea'' (2014)
* The ''The Last Star Star'' (2016)



* EmotionlessGirl: Ringer.

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* EmotionlessGirl: Ringer. Or so she seems to Zombie and Cassie.
* {{Foil}}: Grace to [[spoiler: Evan]]. She's an unconflicted Silencer, completely engaged in her purpose and detached from her human personality; he fights his purpose and embraces his humanity.

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* GrewASpine: [[spoiler: The Silencer, a.k.a. Evan Walker, kills people so the Others can colonize, even though he completely disagrees with it. By the end of the novel, he stands up to the Others and does what's right]].

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* GrewASpine: [[spoiler: The Silencer, a.k.a. Evan Walker, kills people so the Others can colonize, even though he completely disagrees with it. By the end of the novel, ''The 5th Wave'', he stands up to the Others and does what's right]].



* LoveTriangle: Played with. Cassie had an unrequited crush on Ben (now Zombie), as evidenced in flashbacks, but they are separate for most of the novel, and she develops a relationship with Evan. [[spoiler: Then at the very end she joins with Zombie and there is a bit of ShipTease.]]
* MamaBear: Cassie's kinda this for her little brother Sammy.

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* LoveTriangle: Played with. Cassie had an unrequited crush on Ben (now Zombie), as evidenced in flashbacks, but they are separate for most of the novel, and she develops a relationship with Evan. [[spoiler: Then at At the very end of ''The 5th Wave'' she joins meets up with Zombie and there is a bit of brief ShipTease.]]
* MamaBear: Cassie's kinda Cassie is this for her little brother Sammy.Sammy.
* MeaningfulRename: Every ChildSoldier is given a new name and addressed exclusively by that, in the effort to make them think of themselves only as soldiers and not as the children they were before. On several occasions, Zombie thinks that he did not even know a particular squad member's original name. (Indeed, the reader doesn't learn most of their names, even in their flashbacks.) [[spoiler: At the end of the trilogy, Zombie refuses to continue using the "squad" names, insisting on being addressed as "Ben" and on calling Ringer and Nugget "Marika" and "Sammy," indicating the reclaiming of their civilian identities.]]

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* ChekhovsGun: In a very literal presentation of the trope, Dumbo's gun is one in ''The Last Star''. In a slightly-less literal portrayal, Ringer's bomb is one as well.



* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Zombie takes Private Nugget under his wing and protects him from their sadistic drill sergeant. It's really rather sweet.

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* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Zombie takes Private Nugget under his wing and protects him from their sadistic drill sergeant. It's really rather sweet.He later risks his life on a long-shot attempt to break Nugget out of the base. He later risks his life ''again'' in an effort to rescue Ringer and Teacup, and another time trying to save Nugget and Megan. He becomes painfully aware that he's driven to do this because of guilt over the one person he didn't try to save.

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Updating to reflect the two additional books that have been published since the page was started


* ArcWords: "I am humanity."



* {{Backstory}}: In the first hundred or so pages, Cassie repeatedly flashes back to explain what has happened to her from when the spaceship first appeared in the sky onwards. Zombie also flashes back several times.

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* {{Backstory}}: In the first hundred or so pages, pages of ''The 5th Wave'', Cassie repeatedly flashes back to explain what has happened to her from when the spaceship first appeared in the sky onwards. Zombie also flashes back several times.We eventually see flashbacks for most of the central cast.



* BattleCouple: Cassie and Evan kick serious ass together at the end.

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* BattleCouple: Cassie and Evan kick serious ass together at the end.together.



* BookEnds: Cassie's thought "Aliens are stupid," which opens the first book and is repeated much, much later in a very different situation and with a different meaning.

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* BookEnds: {{Bookends}}: Cassie's thought "Aliens are stupid," which opens the first book and is repeated much, much later in a very different situation and with a different meaning.



* TheChessmaster: Commander Vosch. [[spoiler: By the end of the novel, you realize that he is successfully manipulating the remaining human youth into bringing about the extinction of their own species by convincing them the humans are the aliens and vice versa]].

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* TheChessmaster: Commander Vosch. [[spoiler: By the end of the first novel, you realize that he is successfully manipulating the remaining human youth into bringing about the extinction of their own species by convincing them the humans are the aliens and vice versa]].



* GhostTown: Pick a town, any town, in this book.

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* GhostTown: Pick a town, any town, in this book.town.



* IWillFindYou: Cassie's main goal is to find and rescue her five-year-old brother.

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* IWillFindYou: Cassie's main goal in the first book is to find and rescue her five-year-old brother.brother. Zombie forms the same goal.



* MilitaryScienceFiction: Zombie's plot line.

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* MilitaryScienceFiction: Zombie's plot line.line in the first book.



* NearVillainVictory: By the beginning of the novel.

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* NearVillainVictory: By the beginning of the novel.trilogy.



* WalkTheEarth: Cassie at the beginning of the book.

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* WalkTheEarth: Cassie Cassie, at the beginning of the first book.

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** Also, Zombie and the rest of his barrack.

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** Also, Zombie and the rest of his barrack.barracks.
* BookEnds: Cassie's thought "Aliens are stupid," which opens the first book and is repeated much, much later in a very different situation and with a different meaning.


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* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler: Cassie, Marika's daughter]]


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* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: [[spoiler: Cassie, daughter of Marika and Razor]]
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** [[spoiler: The [[SinisterMinister priest]] at the caverns is a Silencer. So is the elderly cat lady.]]
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* [[spoiler: PuppeteerParasite]]: The Others. [[spoiler: They appear in x-ray scans as a sort of tumor on the brain.]]

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* [[spoiler: PuppeteerParasite]]: The Others. [[spoiler: They appear in x-ray scans as a sort of tumor on the brain.]] (Or so the young soldiers are told.)]]
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* InMediasRes: Begins with Cassie traveling alone as she flees the Fourth Wave. Gradually fills in the {{Backstory}} via flashbacks.
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--> '''Cassie:''' I don't move. I wait behind my log, terrified. Over the past ten minutes, it's become such a dear friend, I consider naming it: Howard, my pet log.

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--> '''Cassie:''' I don't move. I wait behind my log, terrified. Over the past ten minutes, it's become such a dear friend, I consider naming it: Howard, my pet log. ''(continues to refer to the log as "Howard" for the rest of the scene)''
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* PromotionToParent: Cassie, for Sammy. As Sammy's squad leader, Zombie becomes the boy's other ParentalSubstitute.

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* ActionBomb: We see one at the beginning of ''The Infinite Sea'', and another later in the same novel.



* WouldNotHurtAChild: The Others repeatedly exploit human unwillingness to do this, including using [[spoiler: ChildSoldiers]] and [[TykeBomb Tyke Bombs]].

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* WouldNotHurtAChild: The Others repeatedly exploit human unwillingness to do this, hurt children, including by using [[spoiler: ChildSoldiers]] and [[TykeBomb [[ActionBomb literal Tyke Bombs]].
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* WouldHurtAChild: The Others, obviously.
* WouldNotHurtAChild: The Others repeatedly exploit human unwillingness to do this, including using [[spoiler: ChildSoldiers]] and [[TykeBomb Tyke Bombs]].
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Being cut per TRS


* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: The Others. Lampshaded by Cassie.
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''The 5th Wave'' is a young adult sci-fi apocalyptic thriller trilogy by Rick Yancey, who has also written the AlfredKropp series and the ''Literature/{{Monstrumologist}}'' series. The books are:

to:

''The 5th Wave'' is a young adult sci-fi apocalyptic thriller trilogy by Rick Yancey, who has also written the AlfredKropp ''Alfred Kropp'' series and the ''Literature/{{Monstrumologist}}'' series. The books are:



* LoveTriangle: Played with. Cassie had an unrequited crush on Ben (now Zombie), as evidenced in flashbacks, but they are separate for most of the novel, and she develops a relationship with Evan. [[spoiler: Then at the very end she joins with Zombie and there is a bit of ShipTease]].
* MamaBear: Cassie's kinda this for her little brother Sammy

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* LoveTriangle: Played with. Cassie had an unrequited crush on Ben (now Zombie), as evidenced in flashbacks, but they are separate for most of the novel, and she develops a relationship with Evan. [[spoiler: Then at the very end she joins with Zombie and there is a bit of ShipTease]].
ShipTease.]]
* MamaBear: Cassie's kinda this for her little brother SammySammy.



* MysteriousPast: Played with. Evan does give a back story, but leaves one thing out. [[spoiler: He's a Silencer]].

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* MysteriousPast: Played with. Evan does give a back story, but leaves one thing out. [[spoiler: He's a Silencer]].Silencer.]]



* NeatFreak: Evan. His house is ridiculous levels of tidy, especially considering the [[BuffySpeak whole apocalypse thing]].

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* NeatFreak: Evan. His house is ridiculous levels of tidy, especially considering the [[BuffySpeak whole apocalypse thing]].thing.]]



* [[PragmaticHero Pragmatic Heroine]]: Cassie, all out.

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* [[PragmaticHero Pragmatic Heroine]]: {{Pragmatic Hero}}ine: Cassie, all out.



* [[spoiler: PuppeteerParasite]]: The Others. [[spoiler: They appear in x-ray scans as a sort of tumor on the brain]].

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* [[spoiler: PuppeteerParasite]]: The Others. [[spoiler: They appear in x-ray scans as a sort of tumor on the brain]].brain.]]



* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Evan's a Silencer]].
** [[spoiler: Not all the Others wanted to KillEmAll]].
** [[spoiler: The ChildSoldiers are being manipulated into killing off the last human survivors]].

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* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Evan's a Silencer]].
Silencer.]]
** [[spoiler: Not all the Others wanted to KillEmAll]].
KillEmAll.]]
** [[spoiler: The ChildSoldiers are being manipulated into killing off the last human survivors]].survivors.]]



* SmallGirlBigGun: Cassie and her precious, precious [[{{BFG}} M16]].

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* SmallGirlBigGun: Cassie and her precious, precious [[{{BFG}} M16]].M16.]]



* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The Silencers. Used to chilling effect early in the novel when [[spoiler: Cassie finds an injured soldier dying in an abandoned convenience store, but doesn't know if he's a Silencer or not and so shoots him out of fear. It turns out he was perfectly human]].

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* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: The Silencers. Used to chilling effect early in the novel when [[spoiler: Cassie finds an injured soldier dying in an abandoned convenience store, but doesn't know if he's a Silencer or not and so shoots him out of fear. It turns out he was perfectly human]].human.]]



* TheVietnamWar: mentioned.

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* TheVietnamWar: mentioned.Mentioned:



* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: Vosch]].

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* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: Vosch]].Vosch.]]
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* ((Jerkass)): Reznik's [[{{Understatement}} kinda this]].

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* ((Jerkass)): {{Jerkass}}: Reznik's [[{{Understatement}} kinda this]].

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