Manhattan Transfer/YMMV


 * Designated Hero: He's not a jerkass, but Matt's the hero. Everyone listens to and does everything he says - even aliens! They have the entire puplation of Manhattan to pick from, but because Matt's there, he's put in charge.
 * Harsher in Hindsight: It didn't seem so odd when the book came out in 1993, but the way the city handles the crisis like it's a normal day at the office seems downright silly after we've actually seen New York City in a real, dire crisis twice in The New Tens (9/11/2001 and the Great Northeast Blackout of 2003.)
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: