Line #7 Literature/WorldsOfShadow


1	[[quoteright:168:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/out_of_this_world_4.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:168:The cover of the reissued first book]]
3	''Worlds of Shadow'' is a trilogy by Creator/LawrenceWattEvans. It's the tale of an UnluckyEverydude and his friends and family as they find themselves caught up in a battle against an EvilOverlord who's taken over a fantasy universe and is attacking a sci-fi one. According to the author, "That would imply that the series is science-fantasy, blending two genres -- but actually, it's more like horror, because in none of the three worlds do the good guys always win."
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5	They are as follows:
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7	''Out of This World'' (1993)
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9	''In the Empire of Shadow'' (1995)
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11	''The Reign of the Brown Magician'' (1996)
12	----
13	!!This series provides examples of:
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15	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]-there are an infinite number of parallel universes, but contact can be made only if those sending and receiving are of similar species and speak a similar language.
16	* AnyoneCanDie: Many of the starting characters don't make it through to the end of the series.
17	* TheArchmage: Shadow is the last of these, a matrix wizard, having killed all the others. Pel is taught how to be one as well later.
18	* ArtificialHuman: The simulacra, people created by magic with samples of hair or blood from previous natural ones. Shadow used them to impersonate people in the Galactic Empire as spies. It is implied that the originals [[KillAndReplace have been murdered]]. The simulacra seem just like normal humans, except they're completely obedient to their creator/master-the only thing that upsets them is the idea of not having one, or failing in a mission.
19	* BackFromTheDead: The [[VoodooZombie fetches]] and revenants. Neither are quite the same.
20	* BenevolentMageRuler: [[spoiler: Pel]], a good man, becomes one after gaining magic in the world of Faerie.
21	* CainAndAbel: Raven and his brother. He's spent years uselessly struggling against Shadow, while his brother lives as a vassal holding their land.
22	* CameBackWrong: Fetches and revenants. There is a "spark" both lack. Fetches can't speak well, while both are entirely apathetic and will follow orders blindly.
23	* ChildByRape: [[spoiler: Amy]] gets pregnant due to being repeatedly raped by her owner Walter.
24	* CoversAlwaysLie: The covers (especially the original ones) are very bad in most cases, with little link to the books' contents nor indication who the characters shown even are in some cases.
25	* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Shadow has no discernible motive beyond "conquer everything and make it a hellhole", judging by what most of Faerie became.
26	* EvilOverlord: Shadow, the mysterious ruler of Faerie (aside from small areas that are still free), whose rule is marked by people in terror, incredibly harsh punishments for minor offenses, creating monsters for use against enemies and a desire for world (then eventually interdimensional) domination.
27	* EvilSorcerer: Shadow solely uses magic to create monsters, raise the dead as zombie servants/soldiers, murder people and control their minds.
28	%%zce* FailureHero: The reason (or rather, ''[[RapeAsDrama a]]'' [[DisposableWoman reason]]) some people ''loathe'' the first book.
29	* FantasticAesop: Bringing your dead loved ones back from the dead won't work-they'll just be a {{soulless shell}}.
30	* FantasticRacism: Telepaths in the [[Franchise/StarWars Galactic Empire]] are all highly prejudiced against, as people are very paranoid about them spying on their thoughts, and called "mutants". The main character points out this isn't true, since they all descend from one woman so it's a hereditary trait which breeds true, rather than [[ArtisticLicenseBiology just a mutation]], but he simply gets accused of "standing up for mutants".
31	* {{Geas}}: Shadow places one on Pel compelling him to do and refrain from doing various things. However, he finds [[LoopholeAbuse a workaround]] against Shadow nonetheless.
32	* GenderBlenderName: Raven and Shadow. The former is a man [[spoiler: while the latter turns out to be a woman.]]
33	* GenreMashup: As author Creator/LawrenceWattEvans said, the series is a combination of HighFantasy, SpaceOpera and {{Horror}}. It starts in our world, when some Americans were contacted by people from alternate HighFantasy and SpaceOpera universes, who are drawn into a battle against an enemy who's threatening them both. {{Horror}} tinges this constantly as well, since the protagonist's loved ones are raped/murdered, he's made a slave with many others on a fringe planet (where the women are raped), the enemy has made corpses into many horrifying undead servants and makes terrible monsters too.
34	* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: [[spoiler:Shadow]] turns out to be a woman. She's a ruthless overlord who rules with despotic cruelty and wishes to conquer everything she can.
35	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted with [[spoiler: Amy]] once she gets pregnant due to her rape. She decides to have an abortion quickly, waiting only until she's on Earth. Though she finds it unpleasant, she's not shown as regretting her choice or even hesitating much at all.
36	* HumansAreWhite: {{Lampshaded}} in the sci-fi universe, where all the Imperials we see are Caucasians. Though they claim people of other races live there, but separately, none actually appear. It's made explicit that they are also white supremacists, disliking to see black people working at an equal level with whites on Earth, and thus other races in their empire are probably forcibly kept separate in an inferior position.
37	* IRejectYourReality: One character is convinced the events of the story are a dream, and suffers a mental breakdown as a result since it becomes a full on psychological delusion. Nothing he experiences nor anyone says will change his mind about this.
38	* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:Villains rape and kill the main character's wife and prepubescent daughter.]]
39	* LadyOfBlackMagic: [[spoiler: Shadow]] turns out to be one, though she isn't so elegant as the usual portrayal, looking like an ordinary middle-aged woman, but still the most powerful magic user in the series, capable of creating huge monsters plus ruling an entire world by herself.
40	* LastOfHisKind: Shadow turns out to be the last matrix wizard (having killed all the others).
41	* MadeASlave: In the first book, the characters suffer this after their ship is hijacked by pirates. The main character is sold as a mining slave, the female characters are made {{sex slave}}s and raped repeatedly before the Empire comes to rescue them all. The main character's daughter is also murdered.
42	* MakerOfMonsters: Shadow has made a number of monstrous beasts as servants.
43	* MindOverManners: {{Played straight}} in that psychics follow it, subverted in that most people don't believe they follow it, and consequently don't trust them.
44	* MugglePower: The books here used the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' approach to psychics-they're tools, not people. Not because they are actually dangerous, mind you, but just because the society that has them considers them "[[FantasticRacism mutant freaks]]."
45	* TheMultiverse: The story reveals alternate universes exist, and are nearly infinite in number. However only two others are actually shown: one is a sci fi style universe with an interstellar empire, the other a fantasy world. It's explained the universes you can visit must have features in common.
46	* {{Mutants}}: Psychics, despite being highly useful, are viewed as mutants whom most people distrust as a result of their powers. However, they're not actually mutants-they're all descended from one woman, so even if she did have some mutation, for the rest it's a hereditary trait.
47	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Shadow. However, it's revealed this was originally due to being shy. Later however it became appropriate in this sense as Shadow grew evil.
48	* {{Necromancer}}: Shadow raises corpses to use as zombie servants/soldiers who are called "fetches".
49	* OrcusOnHisThrone: Shadow. For most of the series, Shadow's exact nature is not even known to the heroes, and never leaves the palace. Though some monsters are sent out to stop the heroes, Shadow never just intervenes to crush them personally. It turns out that [[spoiler: she]] is bored and doesn't view them as a threat, concentrating on conquering another universe, with [[spoiler: her]] power on the world of Faerie basically absolute, so this is not surprising.
50	* RapeAsDrama: After she's bought as a slave, Amy finds out her new owner only wants one thing, and thus she's immediately raped by him. This continues repeatedly until she's liberated. Prossie mentions she was also raped by her owner. Pel's wife and daughter were also raped, then murdered.
51	* RedShirt: Characters with [[NominalImportance no first name]] have a poor survival rate. Interestingly enough, the main character considers ''himself'' a RedShirt.
52	* RefusalOfTheCall: {{Played with}}. Pel's at first very reluctant to join Raven's war against Shadow. He agrees to visit the other world temporarily, but then they get stuck there. His family get killed, and thus he goes into it for revenge.
53	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Shadow isn't an EldritchAbomination, like most people seem to think. Instead, she's human, just an ordinary middle-aged woman in appearance.]]
54	* ScienceFantasy: Watt-Evans describes the trilogy as this, since it has both a sci-fi and fantasy parallel universe interacting with ours.
55	* SexSlave: This is the fate of Amy and Prossie (not to mention, no doubt, many other women) when they get sold as slaves after pirates' hijack their ship. Luckily they are rescued by the Galactic Empire along with the rest of the slaves on the planet where they're being held.
56	* SlaveLiberation: Some of the new slaves revolt to free themselves while on the fringe planet they were sent to, and the Empire liberates the rest.
57	* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Racist and imperialist though it may be, the Galactic Empire is still wholly opposed to slavery, punishing those who bought slaves with imprisonment after they take over a planet. Those who murdered them are hanged.
58	* SorcerousOverlord: Shadow is one for Faerie, ruling with a cruel hand for centuries and hands down the greatest magic user still around.
59	* TheSoulless: Shadow posits that fetches and revenants are "off" because of this. People on Faerie believe that their Goddess places a spirit in them, and thus these may be lacking it, which Shadow admits.
60	* SpacePirates: The passenger ship which the characters are traveling on is hijacked by some. In addition to raping and murdering the hero's wife, they sell the rest into slavery on a nearby planet.
61	* StockholmSyndrome: Amy wonders whether the "wife" of her owner Walter, who it turns out is also a slave, suffers from this, since she helps him. After determining this isn't the case, she covers up the fact the woman's a slave so she's punished with Walter later.
62	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: Shadow is revealed to be just a [[spoiler: plump woman whose appearance is middle-aged, though she's [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld actually centuries old]]]].
63	* ThisIsReality: Not to mention something of a TakeThat to two entire genres and their [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids idealistic tendencies]]. The main character also qualifies as WrongGenreSavvy.
64	* VoodooZombie: Fetches, who were dead people raised by Shadow with magic. They can't talk well, mindlessly obey orders, are completely emotionless and have a slight smell to them, but that's it. None eats people, nor anything else. They thus have more in common with the original Haitian mythology.
65	* YourMagicsNoGoodHere: Faerie magic and Galactic Imperial tech both don't work outside their respective universes, necessitating indirect measures for action there.

Context Literature / WorldsOfShadow