Line #70 Literature/Technomancer


1	[[quoteright:313:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/to_beat_the_devil.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:313:God didn't show up at the apocalypse.]]
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4	The ''Technomancer'' series is a {{Cyberpunk}} UrbanFantasy series by Michael Gibson. It is one hundred and seventy-five years after humans accidentally caused God to abandon the world and demons to take over the planet. Rather than simply destroy or enslave humanity, they've instead established a decadent technologically advanced civilization where humans sit at the bottom of the social order serving their wired infernal masters.
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6	Salem is a Lightrunner, specialized couriers who do jobs for the demonic nobility or anyone else who can afford it. Recruited by a mysterious client named Grimm, he soon finds himself part of what little resistance remains against the new order. Whether he wants to be or not. Oh and TheManBehindTheMan may be the devil.
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8	The novel series consists of:
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10	* ''To Beat the Devil''
11	* ''Flotsam Prison Blues''
12	* ''Angels and the Bad Man''
13	* ''One Piece at a Time''
14	* ''Flesh and Blood''
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16	The books share a universe with ''The Hammer of Witches'' series by the same author, set decades before the apocalypse.
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18	[[SimilarlyNamedWorks No relationship]] to ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer'' or ''VideoGame/TheTechnomancer'', the Martian RPG from Creator/{{Spiders}}.
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20	!!This series contains the following tropes:
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22	* AfterTheEnd: The Biblical Apocalypse has occurred but God didn't show up and the world has fallen under the sway of demons. It has also become a {{Cyberpunk}} dystopia within the remaining cities, the rest of the world degenerating into lawless wastelands.
23	* TheAlcatraz: Flotsam Prison in the second novel is the worst prison in a world full of them. It is built in the middle of an island out of garbage, populated with the worst criminals demonkind has to offer, and is run by a nightmarish sadist.
24	* AllMythsAreTrue: In addition to God, the Devil, angels, and demons, we also have the Norse pantheon, TheFairFolk, and Cthulhu Mythos playing roles in the story.
25	* AlmightyJanitor: Ricky, the guy who runs Salem's favorite bar is [[spoiler: the Devil.]]
26	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Deep Ones are this. They are seemingly mindless forces of destruction and oblivion. Demons are more [[LawfulEvil Always Lawful Evil]] in that they are rules obsessed as well as determined to gain status through malevolent LoopholeAbuse.
27	* AngelsDemonsAndSquid: The Deep later emerge as a power rivaling God and seemingly mindless sealife-related monsters seeking to unmake Creation. This is in a series that already has the Biblical apocalypse having occurred and demons having taken over the world.
28	* ApocalypseHow: The Earth was devastated in the demonic invasion but has now been rebuilt as a cyberpunk setting.
29	* ArmsDealer: Reynolds, the worst human alive, sells weapons to both demons as well as anti-demon forces throughout the apocalypse. [[spoiler: A.K.A Salem's past self]]
30	* BigBadWannabe: Abraxes thinks he's the EvilOverlord but he's really just a StarterVillain. [[spoiler: Despite the fact he's a powerful demon lord, he ends up killed at the end of book one.]]
31	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Salem is capable of showing up demon lords much-much smarter and more powerful than himself. [[ObfuscatingStupidity Most come to believe he's a genius trickster only playing the part of a fool]]. He is but not to the extent people believe. [[spoiler: It's {{Subverted}} when it's revealed it's because the Devil is helping him.]]
32	* BreakTheHaughty: Starting in ''Flotsam Prison Blues'', Salem's immature DeadpanSnarker personality starts being chipped away by a combination of horrific trauma, memories of his past traumas resurfacing, and the increasing realization of his importance to keeping his friends safe, as well as realizing just how much they all mean to him. By the end of ''Angels and the Bad Man'', he's been humbled significantly, but is also far stronger in his resolve to be the hero he needs to.
33	* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Ricky AKA Satan is behind most of the events in the series. In addition to manipulating all of the demonic factions against one another, he's also involved in other pantheons as Loki and the Horned God. He even says that Salem couldn't even understand his we of manipulation]]
34	* CityOfAdventure: New Golgotha is a center of the demonic empire. It is a {{Cyberpunk}} {{Dystopia}} with the poor living on the bottom and the city's demonic masters living at the top of skyscrapers.
35	* ClassicalAntihero: Salem really doesn't want to be TheHero. He is lazy, irreverant, and concerned only with making enough money to get through the day. [[spoiler: He actually has a DarkAndTroubledPast that he's running away from and the above is just a cover.]]
36	* CoolOldGuy: Grimm, who serves as TheObiWan. He encourages Salem to become involved with the world again as well as serve as LaResistance to the demonic overlords of the world.
37	* CrapsackWorld: The world is ruled by demons, humans are the underclass, and nothing new has been on the television for a century.
38	* CreativeSterility: Since the demonic invasion, no new media has been created or art. [[spoiler: This is because no human souls have been created and inspiration is absent without God's light.]]
39	* CrossoverCosmology: Despite its Judeo-Christian premise, this appears to be the case. [[spoiler: Other gods are descendants of exiled but not damned angels.]]
40	* CurbStompBattle: Averted when humanity was conquered by demons. It turns out technology was able to hold the infernal hordes at bay for a time. Eventually, the fact their enemies were immortal caught up with them, though.
41	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Not uncommon in the series with [[spoiler: Gha'aliss]] suffering a particularly nasty dismemberment.
42	* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: In this case, it's not the soul that's in danger, but the body. All forms of cybernetics, barring the extremely rare NanoMachines, drastically reduce the human lifespan, with even the most advanced versions available cutting decades off.
43	* {{Cyborg}}: A very common sort of technology in the future but Reynolds is the only one with nanotechnological enhancements--even if they are centuries old.
44	* {{Cyberpunk}}: A bunch of antiheroes, one of whom is a cyborg StreetSamurai, versus the demon-ruled technological dystopia of Earth. Later, we also get the Yakuza and a Cthulhu-allied {{Megacorp}} becoming major antagonists.
45	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Salem acts like a teenager despite the fact he's over a hundred years old. [[spoiler: This is because he has created his current persona to escape his past as an ArmsDealer and TheQuisling.]]
46	* DecadentCourt: Demonkind has one of these with the Princes at the top and humanity at the bottom. They constantly fight for power, territory, prestige, and petty revenge.
47	* DeadpanSnarker: Just about everyone in the book, making it a WorldOfSnark.
48	* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: The way the world is presently ruled is an elaborate hierarchy of these. They are organized on feudal lines with Dukes, Barons, Counts, and other titles denoting their position in the demonic hierarchy.
49	* TheDevil: Was overthrown by his own archdemons and demon lords after God left. [[spoiler: He has been plotting his return ever since.]]
50	* DevilButNoGod: Because God left and abandoned the world, demonkind is now ruler of creation. God's angels were left behind as well and did not take kindly to this.
51	* EvilVersusOblivion: The Deep Ones are enemies of demons and vice versa. The Deep Ones want to eradicate the universe while demons just want to rule it.
52	* FemmeFatale: Gha'aliss is the only woman to get the better of Salem. [[spoiler: He also got the better of her as Reynolds.]]
53	* FeudalFuture: Demons haven't really adjusted to the times except technologically and have divided up the Earth underneath the Archdemons.
54	* FirstPersonSmartass: Salem spends 90% of his time making wisecracks. This turns out to be a cover for his DarkAndTroubledPast.
55	* HaveYouSeenMyGod: God has left reality in anger over humans cloning Jesus.
56	* HellOnEarth: Demons have evacuated Hell and now rule Earth. They have managed to establish themselves in gleaming NeonCity style cyberpunk dystopias while the rest of the world has degenerated into becoming lawless wastelands.
57	* MegaCorp: [=ArcTech=], formerly Kurosawa-[=MacMillan=], is a corporation that is both directly responsible for the apocalypse (accidentally, admittedly) and for keeping Demonkind armed and equipped with the latest technology ever since the First Demon War. They produce everything from plasma cannons to aircraft to quantum computers, [[spoiler: and are gradually unlocking the secrets of Salem's father.]]
58	* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: The reason that God abandons humanity and Hell takes over isn't because of deliberate malice or some great plan, but because a MegaCorp decided to clone Jesus Christ, just to see what would happen. As it turns out, what would happen is that their Christ clone would become TheAntichrist. Oops. [[spoiler: Of course, the truth is a lot more complicated.]]
59	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Salem isn't as stupid as he appears. Just close. [[spoiler: Except, this is a cover.]]
60	* OmnicidalManiac: Deep Ones are all this by default since the physical universe pains them.
61	* OneManIndustrialRevolution: Salem's father, Abraham [[spoiler: [=MacMillan=]]], was a brilliant superscientist. He developed miniature fusion power, quantum computing, and NanoMachines, the latter of which he apparently had in working order at some time in ''TheNineties''. He's still around as a BrainInAJar thanks to another of his inventions, and since his death has continued developing brilliant new inventions with the help of his son.
62	* OurAngelsAreDifferent: They're vicious human hating things which blame humanity for sending God away.
63	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Demons are a variety of races which exist in a feudal structure over humanity but suffer from CreativeSterility.
64	* PhysicalGod: The gods of Norse mythology qualify [[spoiler: and some show up.]] All of the supernatural beings are like this, though.
65	* TheQuisling: Almost all of humanity is now collaborating with the demons. It was this or extinction. [[spoiler: Salem was one of the worst as Reynolds the arms dealer.]]
66	* ScienceHero: Salem, hence why he's known as the Technomancer by some characters. He developed advanced swiss army tech bracers, specially designed plasma pistols, and was able to get extremely advanced pre-fall technology up and running to give himself an advantage for decades to come. Granted, his father provided the baseline for a lot of his tech, but it's made clear that he's learned enough to become a brilliant inventor in his own right.
67	* SpeaksInShoutOuts: Salem, especially in the first book. In fact, ''every'' protagonist in the first book. Shout outs and lampshades to every piece of popular pre-fall media can be found several times a ''page'' at points. This gets significantly downplayed from ''Flotsam Prison Blues'' onwards, but remains an important part of Salem's character [[spoiler: as a coping mechanism for his DarkAndTroubledPast]].
68	* SuperPrototype: A large amount of Salem's arsenal is comprised of forgotten prototypes, equipment of his own design, or a combination of the two. That he has his father's brain (and later [[spoiler: Nikola Tesla]]) to help with their design and operation is a bonus.
69	* UrbanFantasy: Demons, technology, crime, and sorcery.
70	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Salem is permanently tied to the holographic recreations of his parents.
71	* WeHaveReserves: Demonic tactics in the First Demon War consisted mostly of [[ZergRush zerg rushes]] with untrained melee troops against the far more technologically advanced human defenders. This worked enough to win the war, but ended up being subverted hard when the Lords of Hell realized they didn't have nearly the reserves they thought now that their forces were mortal. This is around when they actually started arming up with modern technology and training in proper military tactics.
72	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: A large number of immortals appear in the series, and most of the ones who's opinions we see are not happy about the fact that they are among them.
73	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler: Salem's grandfather, Ted [=MacMillan=], is directly responsible for the apocalypse and current state of the world, but his reasoning behind it is tragic. It turns out that he is in fact the biblical ''Cain'', cursed eternally to always resurrect with all his memories so that he always knows the pain he's unwittingly inflicted upon all of his descendants. He tries over hundreds of generations to be a better person, but no matter how much good he does God has no interest in forgiving him. Eventually he becomes fed up with it and uses one reincarnation to bring about TheAntichrist in the hopes that he will end the world and Cain, along with his cursed descendants, will finally be able to rest. Instead, God simply locks the gates to Heaven and the Legions of Hell are able to conquer Earth. By the time Salem finds him, he's become TheAtoner, trying to save as many as he can from Demonic rule while biding his time before he can hopefully undo the damage he's done.]]
74	* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler: The Devil arranged for the death of Abraxes as part of his long-running plan to avenge his overthrow. Salem and company were just his tools for it.]]
75	* {{Yakuza}}: Have managed to survive to the 23rd century by becoming the Techkuza. They're basically [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot magical samurai cyborg gangsters.]]
76	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: After the Second Demon War, a Lord of Hell is congratulating a group of arch-traitors for their work in destroying human resistance on the eastern seaboard. Reynolds, [[spoiler: AKA Salem]], is given special compliments for indirectly killing so many humans, saying that he shows as much contempt for humanity as the Demons do. Reynolds, who acted out of pragmatism and was trying to ''help'' most of those people, is clearly wrecked by the "compliment."

Context Literature / Technomancer