History Literature / TheHermuxTantamoqAdventures

** Regarding technological development, the closest human analogue is tricky to place, but technology appears to have reached the equivalent of [[TheThirties 1930s]]–[[TheSixties 1960s]] human levels. Communications technologies have not advanced beyond telephones, telegraphs, and film; airplanes (such as Linka's) are vaguely implied to be analogous to pre-1950s human planes, and television sets are never mentioned, let alone computers. The one exception may be the U-Babe cosmetic surgery machine in the first book, which is operated from some sort of computer panel, but it appears to be exceptional for its era.

* RetroUniverse: Ironically for a series centred around a watchmaker, and setting aside the fact that the series takes place in a MouseWorld—or rather, an alternate universe devoid of humans but where mice and other mammals live very human lifestyles—the time setting of the series is never specified. Although they use human terms for measurements of time, no years are ever specified, with all historical dates reckoned from the present (e.g. "n years ago"). As to technological and social development, the closest human analogue is tricky to place, but technology appears to have reached the equivalent of [[TheThirties 1930s]]–[[TheSixties 1960s]] human levels. Communications technologies have not advanced beyond telephones, telegraphs, and film; airplanes (such as Linka's) are vaguely implied to be analogous to 1940s human planes, and television sets are never mentioned, let alone computers. The one exception may be the U-Babe cosmetic surgery machine in the first book, which is operated from some sort of computer panel, but it appears to be exceptional for its era.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: [[invoked]] Lampshaded and parodied by the author. Tucka and Rink sneer at anyone who doesn't share this point of view, especially Hermux, who cannot understand why Tucka's remodeling of his cozy lobby into a fake urban crime scene, or the "mugging" at the Varmint Theatre, or Rink's minimalistic stage designs, are supposed to be true art. On the other hand, Mirrin's cat paintings - for which she provides a perfectly reasonable explanation - are treated as horrifying and incomprehensible by the entire town.

** In the third book, one mouse has a pet cricket on a leash, evoking human celebrities with small pet dogs.

** Non-mammals are also exploited for various other resources than food. Rare parakeets, for instance, are slaughtered for feathered apparel, the way mammals are killed for their fur in the real world.

* OffingTheOffspring: Thankfully averted, but the third book came scarily close—[[spoiler:Corpius Crounce nearly killed ''Beulith'', his own daughter, with a falling spotlight. In his defence, he didn't know.]]

%%* TheReveal: Several people during the series are not who they say they are, sometimes with shocking results.

* [[RenaissanceMan Renaissance Mouse]]: Hermux. Besides being a watchmaker (and therefore, an engineer, to an extent), he is by turns an AmateurArchaeologist, a set designer for a stage show, and an AmateurSleuth.

%%* CatsAreMean

* MightyWhitey: Or rather Mighty Mouse. Turfip Dandiffer, who trades things like radios and army knives for the "primitive" Nerran tribe's deepest secrets.

* TheBeautifulElite: A lot of page time is spent in the MouseWorld's equivalent of high society, with classy, glamorous rodents & other mammals featured in detail. Their main city, Pinchester, is clearly modelled on UsefulNotes/TheBigApple, particularly Manhattan and the Upper East Side.

%%* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Literally, at the Last Resort.

* TheBeautifulElite: A lot of page time is spent in the MouseWorld's equivalent of high society, with classy, glamorous rodents & other mammals featured in detail. Their main city, Pinchester, is clearly modelled on TheBigApple, particularly Manhattan and the Upper East Side.

* MeaningfulName: A vain dormouse named Skimpy Dormay; a playboy named Flurty Palin; a timid secretary named Blanda Nergup; a loud and volatile theatre director named Fluster Varmint; a villain named Hiril Mennus (sounds like "menace") ... the list goes on.

** To wit: [[spoiler:Beulith is not Fluster & Beulene Varmint's daughter at all. Her real mother is costume designer Glissin—alias none other than WhiteDwarfStarlet Nurella Pinch—and the psychopathic ventriloquist's apprentice, [[IHaveManyNames Magner Wooliun, aka Corpius Crounce, aka Purvit Klimpsheeler]]. (Whew.)]]

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Mousetraps. Mutant killer bees. Nailed into a crate of rocks and pushed into a river. Thankfully none of them actually happen.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: Ironically for a series centred around a watchmaker, and setting aside the fact that the series takes place in a MouseWorld—or rather, an alternate universe devoid of humans but where mice and other mammals live very human lifestyles—the time setting of the series is never specified. Although they use human terms for measurements of time, no years are ever specified, with all historical events dated in relative terms from the present (e.g. "n years ago"). As to technological and social development, the closest human analogue is tricky to place, but technology appears to have reached the equivalent of 1930s–1970s human levels. Communications technologies have not advanced beyond telephones, telegraphs, and film; airplanes (such as Linka's) are vaguely implied to be analogous to 1940s human planes, and television sets are never mentioned, let alone computers. The one exception may be the U-Babe cosmetic surgery machine in the first book, which is operated from some sort of computer panel, but appears to be exceptional for its time period.

** To wit: [[spoiler:Beulith is not Fluster & Beulene Varmint's daughter at all. Her real mother is costume designer Glissin—alias none other than WhiteDwarfStarlet Nurella Pinch—and the psychopathic ventriloquist's apprentice, [[IHaveManyNames Magner Wooliun, aka Corpius Crounce, aka Purvit Klimpsheeler]. (Whew.)]]

* BodyHorror: The U-Babe 2000. It's an automatic plastic surgery machine that's meant to turn a person into a perfect specimen of his/her race and gender ... but when something goes wrong, it really goes wrong!

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: Ironically for a series centred around a watchmaker, and setting aside the fact that the series takes place in a MouseWorld—or rather, an alternate universe devoid of humans but where mice and other mammals live very human lifestyles—the time setting of the series is never specified. Although they use human terms for measurements of time, no years are ever specified, with all historical events dated in relative terms from the present (e.g. "n years ago"). As to technological and social development, the closest human analogue is tricky to place, but technology appears to have reached the equivalent of 1930s–1970s human technology. Communications have not advanced beyond telephones, telegraphs, and film; airplanes (such as Linka's) are implied to be analogous to 1940s human planes, and television sets are never mentioned, let alone computers. The one exception may be the U-Babe cosmetic surgery machine in the first book, which is operated from some sort of computer panel, but appears to be exceptional for its time period.

'''The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures''', written by Michael Hoeye, are a series of children's detective novels set in a MouseWorld version of a modern-day city. The title character is a mild-mannered mouse watchmaker who solves his cases with the help of his pet ladybug, Terfle, his love interest Linka Perflinger, his mentor Mirrin Stentrill and various colorful and endearing friends. His recurring adversary is a vain, self-centered cosmetics tycoon named Tucka Mertslin, whose moneymaking schemes and bad taste in men often land Hermux on her bad side. There are four books, all IdiosyncraticallyNamed with titles referring to time:

''The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures'', written by Michael Hoeye, are a series of children's detective novels set in a MouseWorld version of a modern-day city. The title character is a mild-mannered mouse watchmaker who solves his cases with the help of his pet ladybug, Terfle, his love interest Linka Perflinger, his mentor Mirrin Stentrill and various colorful and endearing friends. His recurring adversary is a vain, self-centered cosmetics tycoon named Tucka Mertslin, whose moneymaking schemes and bad taste in men often land Hermux on her bad side. There are four books, all IdiosyncraticallyNamed with titles referring to time:
# "Time Stops For No Mouse"
# "The Sands of Time"
# "No Time Like Show Time"
# "Time To Smell The Roses"

* StalkerWithACrush: Mennus tries to get Hermux framed as this.
* TheReveal: Several people during the series are not who they say they are, sometimes with shocking results.

* WhatTheHellDad: Androse.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Nurella Pinch.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Literally, at the Last Resort.
* YouWontGetAwayWithThis: Hermux repeats this verbatim to Dr. Mennus, who is not impressed.

* {{Adorkable}}: Hermux again, especially when Linka is involved.
* AcePilot: Linka Perflinger - adventuress, daredevil and aviatrix.
* AdventureDuo: Hermux and Linka.
* AffablyEvil: Most of the bad guys.
* BecomingTheMask
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Stepfitchlers and the [=DeRosenquills=].
* BigBadFriend

* CatsAreMean

* HeroicBSOD: Hermux, briefly, when Terfle disappears.

* IJustWantToBeBeautiful: Tucka takes this UpToEleven.

* ImmortalityImmorality

* LaserGuidedKarma: Tucka's ending in the first book.

* MasterOfDisguise: Corpius Crounce ... if that's even his real name.

* MrFixit: Hermux, who loves being a watchmaker.
* MotiveRant: Mennus and Hinkum.

* NoBusinessLikeShowBusiness: The Varmint Theatre.

* ResortOfHorrors: The Last Resort.

* ShallowLoveInterest: Linka gets two, Turfip Dandiffer and Brinx Lotelle.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Tucka, all the time.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Beulith.