Line #55 Literature/EddieLaCrosse


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6	Eddie [=LaCrosse=] is the central character of a series of {{Fantasy}} novels by Creator/AlexBledsoe. Eddie is a HardboiledDetective in a fantasy setting, and as such, the series mostly falls within the FantasticNoir SubGenre (although exactly how much varies a bit from book to book).
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8	So far, there are five books:
9	[[index]]
10	* ''Literature/TheSwordEdgedBlonde'' (2007)
11	* ''Literature/BurnMeDeadly'' (2009)
12	* ''Literature/DarkJenny'' (2011)
13	* ''Literature/WakeOfTheBloodyAngel'' (2012)
14	* ''Literature/HeDrankAndSawTheSpider'' (2014)
15	[[/index]]
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17	The books are largely self-contained, rather than being instalments of an ongoing story. Some characters carry across, but there's nobody but Eddie who has a major role in more than two. They're not in chronological order, either — one book is a WholeEpisodeFlashback, and others use flashbacks extensively.
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19	----
20	!!This series provides examples of:
21	* AnimalsHateHim: Eddie tends to believe this of himself, and has particular difficulty with horses. He does, however, gradually reach an understanding with Lola, the horse he ends up keeping for a while.
22	* BlueBlood: Eddie is officially Baron Edward [=LaCrosse=] of Arentia, and an old friend of the king, but he lives in self-imposed exile after a [[MyGreatestFailure monumental mistake]] (gradually revealed over the course of the first book). However, he doesn't quite fit the normal pattern of an ImpoverishedPatrician, because it's deliberate and he doesn't really regret it — but at the same time, he's not a DefectorFromDecadence, since it wasn't decadence that led him to leave. (And King Phil is a nice guy anyway.)
23	* BrainlessBeauty: Callie, a minor but recurring character who works as a barmaid at the inn where Eddie bases himself. She's very attractive and very sweet, but not too smart.
24	--> Even dressed in winter clothes that covered her from chin to ankle, Callie’s beauty could melt icicles at ten paces. It was a shame those same icicles could probably outthink her.
25	* FantasticNoir: The basic concept of the series is to put a HardboiledDetective in a SwordAndSorcery and/or LowFantasy world. Reviewers have compared Eddie to Literature/PhilipMarlowe and [[Literature/TheMalteseFalcon Sam Spade]]. That said, the degree to which individual books fit this sub-genre can vary a bit — ''Wake of the Bloody Angel'', for example, could actually be considered a pirate story.
26	* FirstLove: As a teenager, he fell for his best friend's sister Princess Janet and the feeling was mutual. Unfortunately, Janet died which set Eddie off on a self-destructive course for years.
27	* HardboiledDetective: Eddie is this kind of private investigator, not one in the [[GreatDetective Holmesian model]]. Irreverent, jaded, and cynical — although not, in the end, as uncaring as he tends to appear.
28	* LowFantasy: The series has elements of this, although people also put it in the SwordAndSorcery sub-genre (which is typically not considered low fantasy). It probably varies a bit from book to book exactly which label is best. Supernatural elements definitely exist in the series, but they tend to be relatively rare — there aren't wizard flinging fireballs on every page, and the primary antagonists are non-magical and human.
29	* MasterSwordsman: Eddie was nobility and the personal best friend of King Philip in his native Arentia, as such he's trained under the royal swordsmasters and has become a master swordsman himself.
30	* MysteriousPast: Angelina, the proprietor of the inn above which Eddie has his office (and therefore one of the few recurring characters), doesn't talk about her past — enough so that Eddie's shorthand for "mind your own business" is to ask her an innocuous about her own background, reminding her that since he doesn't pry, nor should she. This lasts until [[spoiler:the fourth book, which involves her past — in fact, the ship in the book's title is her namesake]].
31	* NotSoSafeHarbor: Neceda, where Eddie bases himself, is a version of this. It's a small-ish river port rather than a sea port, but has a lot of the same characteristics, with a large population of disreputable passers-through looking to get drunk and/or laid.
32	* PrivateDetective: Eddie's basic source of income. Tracking people down seems to be a major part of it. He also did less detective-y mercenary work in the past, but moved away from it.
33	* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Eddie's job after leaving the aristocracy was to be mercenary fighting for whichever employer would have him. Life as a successful sellsword really honed his fighting and analytical skills, preparing him for his next career as a sword jockey.
34	* RichesToRags: Downplayed. Eddie did walk away from being a wealthy baron to becoming a well-paid mercenary before his conscience finally got the better of him to become a sword jockey. Which is a job that he charges a considerable sum of 25 gold pieces a day plus expenses, it's just his line of work isn't stable income.
35	* SwordAndSorcery: The series is sometimes placed in this sub-genre, although it's sometimes closer to LowFantasy than other works called sword-and-sorcery (depending a bit on exactly which book you look at). The protagonist is too cynical and irreverent to be a classic hero, and there's a definite lack of the kind of glory-and-honour stuff you might find in conventional HighFantasy.

Context Literature / EddieLaCrosse