Front cover
Trickster is a young adult xenofiction novel by Tom Moorhouse, telling the tale of two rat brothers, Gabble and Ash. Ash is reckless and longs to earn his true name, which involves a dangerous raid in search of food. Gabble tags along in order to protect him, and the two venture into enemy territory, unwittingly stirring up tensions between their own clan and those of their neighbours. Can they prevent all-out war, and earn their names in the process?
Trickster contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Feather.
- Animal Religion: The rats have four deities, the Mother, the Hunter, the Taker, and the Trickster.
- Animal Talk: Rat language is mostly rendered in English, with a few words of their own, such as “Akla” for leader.
- Big Bad: Rai’thir.
- Big Brother Instinct: Gabble and Ash are the same age, but Gabble is protective of the reckless Ash. This is encouraged by their mothers, who know Ash will get into trouble without his “big brother” to watch out for him.
- Black Sheep: Ash is an albino, and feels like he is judged by others for this reason.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Ash is rather taken with the Damplanders’ veneration of him, after feeling ignored and sidelined at home.
- Creation Myth: The rats believe the Mother was the first rat.
- Feuding Families: Gabble and Ash’s clan, the Greenhedge clan, maintain a tense stand-off with their neighbours from Notratlan and the Damplands until Gabble and Ash accidentally stir up hostilities.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Ash and Gabble, respectively, although Ash is more reckless and bold than foolish.
- Journey to Find Oneself: Essentially what going on a name-raid is. Earning a name is seen as very important for self-development.
- Platonic Co-Parenting: Gabble and Ash’s mothers raised their litters together, so that they think of each other as siblings even though they aren’t blood related.
- Redemption Equals Death: Ash sacrifices himself to save Gabble and the others after his defection to the Damplanders.
- Resourceful Rodent: Pretty much the whole cast, but Gabble is especially resourceful, often using his gift of the gab to get out of difficult situations.
- Rite of Passage: Going on a foraging expedition is how young rats earn their true names. Ash convinces Gabble to go along on one despite the fact that most rats their age aren’t allowed.
- The Storyteller: Gabble.
- Xenofiction: Told from the perspective of rats.
- You Dirty Rat!: Averted – rats are the heroes.
