Line #39 Literature/DishonoredTheCorrodedMan


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3	''Dishonored: The Corroded Man'' is an {{interquel}} ExpandedUniverse novel of the ''Franchise/{{Dishonored}}'' series, written by Adam Christopher. It takes place between the events of ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' and ''VideoGame/Dishonored2''.
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5	Empress Emily Kaldwin leads a dual life, fulfilling her duties as empress while training with her father, Corvo Attano, mastering the arts of stealth, combat, and assassination. A strange, shrouded figure appears in Dunwall, seeming to possess powers once wielded by the assassin known as Daud. Faced with the possibility that their deadliest foe has returned, Emily and Corvo plunge headlong into a life-and-death race against time. If they fail to learn the truth about this mysterious enemy, the result would be destruction on an unimaginable scale.
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7	It takes place fifteen years after the events of the original game and is followed by ''Literature/DishonoredTheReturnOfDaud''.
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11	!!This book contains the following tropes:
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13	* ActionGirl: Emily establishes herself as this. Galia is also one.
14	* TheAlcatraz: Tyvian prisons are like this. They're basically Russian gulags.
15	* AmbiguousGender: Wyman is never referred to as a man or a woman despite appearing in the text several times. The only pronoun used is "the noble."
16	* ArtifactOfDoom: Zhukov possesses a magical, dual-bladed dagger which demands blood to satisfy it. [[spoiler:It's the same one that was used to kill the Outsider, so whether it was magic ''before'' or ''became'' magic as a result is unclear.]]
17	* BadBoss: Averted as Zhukov uncharacteristically ignores most of Galia's half-failures and allows her to carry on with other plans despite how dangerously unstable he seems. [[spoiler: Played straight when he murders her for demanding they ransom Emily.]]
18	* BadFuture: Emily has numerous images of this. [[spoiler: In fact, she's seeing an alternate reality where her mother lived and Dunwall was destroyed by the Rat Plague.]]
19	* BadassNormal: Emily has no access to magic, but nonetheless is a very adept combatant.
20	* BigBad: Zhukov is the antagonist of the novel and TheManBehindTheMan.
21	* CuttingOffTheBranches: While much of this is established as canon in ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'', the book establishes many of Corvo's canon actions:
22	** Corvo took the Low Chaos route and spared all of his targets, [[ItsPersonal except for Hiram Burrows who was stated to be killed by Corvo]] (albeit during a lawful execution after the ending of the original game).
23	** Lady Waverly was the Lady Boyle who was captured by Corvo and given away to her stalker.
24	** Corvo saved Slackjaw's life from Granny Rags.
25	* TheDeterminator: The Prisoner (later revealed to be named Zhukov) drags three guards along with him in chains through a massive trek on the snow so he can use them to help in his escape. This despite no one has survived the journey before.
26	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: Tyvia doesn't sentence people to imprisonment. It sentences them to ''freedom'' from society. They just happen to do so in icy caves with no way to get out of work. As a result, the Tyvians refuse to call their prisons as such.
27	* {{Expy}}: Zhukov appears to be one for Daud. [[spoiler: In fact, he's actually one for Corvo.]]
28	* EpicFail: Zhukov's scheme would have gone off without a hitch had he simply gone to the Boyle mansion on literally any other day of the year.
29	* EvilCounterpart: Zhukov is, essentially, a High Chaos version of Corvo Attano. [[spoiler: He was the former assassin for a royalist conspiracy in his homeland of Tyvia, as well as a champion of the people, but was betrayed by them after he tried to overthrow their tyranny. They sent him away to be imprisoned for trying to do the right thing and he went insane. He then reappeared a few months later with a mask, a Mark, and an odd sword. He was even close to Empress Jessamine.]]
30	* FallenHero: Zhukov is the "Hero of Tyvia" as he mentions in his InsistentTerminology. [[spoiler:He's technically ''still'' a hero, but he's developed into a HeWhoFightsMonsters WellIntentionedExtremist.]]
31	* FamousNamedForeigner: Given that Tyvia is a FantasyCounterpartCulture to Russia, Zhukov is probably named for General Georgy Zhukov.
32	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Tyvia is one for Soviet Russia by the way it is described, with everyone being equal, [[Literature/AnimalFarm except for those who are more equal than others]], Zhukov being granted the title of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_Of_The_Soviet_Union "Hero of Tyvia"]], and a sinister SecretPolice force known as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprichnik "Operatives."]]
33	* {{Foil}}: Zhukov serves as this for Corvo Attano, who is canonically established as being a Low Chaos do-gooder in this version.
34	* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler:Daud failing to kill Jessamine Kaldwin results in the fall of Dunwall, if not all of the Empire, to the rat plague, and Emily becoming TheCaligula. Someone who plays the games would understand this makes sense: Without Corvo being framed, he would have no impetus to help the Loyalist conspiracy, and thus no reason to meet Piero, nor kidnap Sokolov. Without those two working together, the cure for the rat plague would not be found. Without that, the city would devolve into High Chaos, resulting in a High Chaos style Emily Kaldwin.]]
35	* FutureMeScaresMe: Emily has visions of herself as a horrific tyrant and her father as her executioner.
36	* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler: More Morally Ambiguous All Along, despite being ObviouslyEvil, Zhukov turns out to not be Emily's enemy and wants to go back in time and save her mother. He is only made aware of the catastrophic consequences of this action minutes before his death, [[IgnoredEpiphany and tries to do it anyway]].]]
37	* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: [[spoiler: Zhukov gathers a bunch of magical items together to go back in time to save Empress Jessamine, his political ally at the time of his imprisonment. Unfortunately, Emily discovers that if he does this, he's going to result in the rat plague going out of control and killing everyone. Presumably, because Sokolov and Pierro never make a cure in this universe, having not met as a result of Corvo's introduction to the loyalists.]]
38	* HumanSacrifice: A key component in Zhukov's magic.
39	* IgnoredEpiphany: [[spoiler:Even after Emily tells him that saving her mother would result in the deaths of many in the Empire, Zhukov still tries to go back in time anyway, presumably because he [[ItsAllAboutMe wants to reclaim his status, no matter what the cost]].]]
40	* KarmaHoudini:
41	** [[spoiler: The Tyvian Judges get away with the horrible crimes they've committed.]]
42	** [[spoiler: It's revealed Lady Waverly Boyle killed her stalker and kept his fortune.]]
43	* KickTheDog: Zhukov murders [[spoiler: Lady Lydia Boyle for her bones and later Galia. Both may qualify as AssholeVictim types, though.]]
44	* MadwomanInTheAttic: [[spoiler:What has become of Lady Lydia Boyle.]]
45	* MagicMirror: Zhukov's powers revolve around reflections, aside from disorientation.
46	* MythologyGag: [[spoiler:Galia kills Lydia in the exact same way Corvo would in the special assassination animation in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'']].
47	* ObviouslyEvil: Zhukov has a face covered in bandages, red eyeglasses, and a Tyvian great coat. He basically looks like a Russian version of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Hush]]. [[spoiler:Without his bandages, [[BodyHorror he looks like a walking corpse.]]]]
48	* OddFriendship: Due to their encounters in ''Dishonored'', [[spoiler:[[PraetorianGuard Corvo]] [[TheSpymaster Attano]] has developed one with [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters Slackjaw]].]]
49	* OnlySaneMan: Rinaldo Escobar is the only member of Zhukov's reorganization of the Whalers who realizes there's something wrong with how he's running the organization. [[spoiler:As a result of his lack of faith in Zhukov, he seemingly survives the plot.]]
50	* RedEyesTakeWarning: Zhukov sports a pair of red pieces.
51	* RedRightHand: Zhukov's body is melted due to misusing his ability to walk through mirrors.
52	* RedeemingReplacement: Yul Khulan is this to Thaddeus Campbell as [[TheInquisitorGeneral High Overseer]]. He's still adamantly against BlackMagic, but he's a NiceGuy and a friend to Corvo (unaware that Corvo is TouchedByVorlons). He even helped to raise Emily when she was growing up to be the woman she became in this book.
53	* RetiredMonster: Galia is a former Whaler working as a bouncer at the Golden Cat. She is all too eager to get back into the game.
54	* RevengeBeforeReason: As expected in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}''. In this case, it's [[spoiler:Zhukov]] who wants revenge. [[spoiler:Emily]] realizes not to make the attempt.
55	* SanitySlippage: Zhukov clearly suffered a lot of this in his time imprisoned. [[spoiler:Lady Lydia Boyle is even worse.]]
56	* ShoutOut: A Better Way To Die, the assassin's treatise that is quoted at the start of some chapters, is an obvious reference to ''Literature/TheArtOfWarSunTzu''.
57	* TheUnchosenOne: [[spoiler:Zhukov was never chosen by the Outsider. He found the knife that he was killed with, and used it and super-powerful bone charms called "corroded charms" to gain abilities instead. Unfortunately, WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity is fully in effect as a result.]]
58	* TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:Slackjaw was never really a bad guy in the original game (being one of the few most moral people), but here, he has evolved into an OddFriendship with Corvo.]]
59	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Galia suffers this when she demands the power which Zhukov promised her.]]

Context Literature / DishonoredTheCorrodedMan