Dark Heavens: Difference between revisions

[[File:White_Tiger_Cover_5136.jpg|frame|Book One]]

 

 

 

* [[Action Girl]] - Emma Donahoe, after she starts learning martial arts. Also, Lady Win Chun, though she never actually makes an appearance, is implied to be this.

* [[Awesome but Impractical]] - {{spoiler|Emma is able to generate an ultra-rare black chi, which can instantly annihilate demons, or turn them human... sometimes. Other times, it does nothing at all. Eventually, Emma decides it's too unreliable and stops using it... [[Chekhov's Gun|for now]].}}

* [[Author Avatar]] - Emma Donahoe's nationality and appearance bear remarkable similarities to the author's.

* [[Break the Cutie]] - Simone.

* [[Brick Joke]] - Consider the twist at the end of Heaven to Wudang. And then go back to the very first line of the entire series.

* [[Cannot Spit It Out]] - John and Leo towards Emma in the first book. Regarding pretty much everything.

* [[Celestial Bureaucracy]] - The series is based on a mish-mash of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

* [[Defeat Equals Explosion]] - Demons.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]] - Even other demons are surprised at Simon Wong's complete lack of anything resembling honour or morals.

* [[The Four Gods]] - Chinese version, including the fifth, Huang Long.

* [[Really 700 Years Old]] - a large part of the cast are Taoist Immortals, with John Chen himself being over four thousand (Emma comments once that The Golden Boy, a mere 500-something stone, is 'far too young for her')

* [[Limited Wardrobe]] - Mr. Chen wears black. All the time.

* [[Love Triangle]] - Subverted and averted. {{spoiler|Emma believes Jade's dislike of her to be jealousy over Mr. Chen. Actually, Jade just thinks she's a gold-digging bitch.}} Also, The Tiger really, ''really'' wants Emma to be Wife #102.

* [[Magnificent Bastard]] - The Demon King. Granted, it's probably in the job description. {{spoiler|The climax of Heaven to Wudang drives the point home.}}

* [[The Masquerade]] - Subverted. Pretty much everyone has heard of Pak Tai, God of the Water... they just don't expect him to own a high-rise in Happy Valley.

* [[Mighty Whitey]] - A young, white Australian nanny with no previous training goes to Hong Kong, develops superhuman martial-arts skills and magic ''qi'' powers in just a couple of years (certainly by the end of the first book in the first trilogy), beats up demons and generally proves herself the equal of Chinese ''gods'', never mind mere mortals.

** One post on the forums also wondered about Rhonda and Michelle, both white women who attracted the attention of male Shen, and asked the question, what is so special about these three seemingly normal white women?

* [[Red Baron]] - Leo is known as "the Black Lion".

* [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]] - Discussed at length. Also serves as a [[Berserk Button]] for John.

* [[Scary Black Man]] - Leo.

* [[Staying Alive]] - [[Lampshaded]] when an official in the courts of Hell complains about Emma's Retainers constantly getting killed.

* [[Supernatural Martial Arts]] - Of course.

* [[Translator Microbes]] - One of the benefits of living in the Chen household.

* [[Twofer Token Minority]] - Leo. Black, gay, and human. {{spoiler|The last one ceases to be a problem following the end of Earth to Hell.}} Also, HIV-positive, {{spoiler|and later paraplegic}}.

* [[Xanatos Gambit]] - Oh God.

 

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[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]