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{{tropework}}
A series of fantasy novels written by [[Terry Brooks]].
 
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''Wizard at Large'' (1988)
 
Questor Thews tries to transform Abernathy back into a man, [[Inept Mage|but his spell goes awry]], transporting Abernathy (and Ben's medallion of kingship) to Earth. Ben and Willow travel to Earth to rescue Abernathy. Meanwhile, an evil [[Genie in Aa Bottle]] is causing trouble in Landover-- especiallyLandover—especially when the witch Nightshade gets her hands on it.
 
''The Tangle Box'' (1994)
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After running afoul of the rules one too many times at her Earth boarding school, a teenage Mistaya comes home to Landover, only to run away when she believes her father is going to send her back and generally control her life without her input. This leads her in roundabout fashion to the ominous Royal Library of Libiris, a meeting with a cute pageboy who is more than what he seems, and a plot by an [[Evil Sorcerer]] to yet again allow the demons of Abaddon into Landover.
 
{{tropelist}}
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=== This series provides examples of: ===
 
* [[Ambition Is Evil]]: Kallendbor, Crabbit, and Laphroig all exemplify this trope. Averted in Ben Holiday, whose ambition ultimately proves to be a virtue.
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* [[Call to Adventure]]: in the form of an advertisement in a catalog of bizarre items geared toward the rich.
** [[Jumped At the Call]]: Ben assumes the ad is a hoax, but is depressed and bored enough with his life that he answers it anyway.
* [[Cats Are Mean|Cats Are Contrary]]: Edgewood Dirk. Lampshaded by Brooks when he quotes the scene with the cat from ''[[The Last Unicorn (Literaturenovel)|The Last Unicorn]]'' as the epigraph to book 2. And while Dirk does assist Ben, Willow, and Mistaya, he is neutral, not good, and certainly never very polite or good-natured. Some of this is due to his fairy nature, of course, but...
* [[The Chosen One]]: After several dozen failed kings, {{spoiler|Ben is the only one who can summon the Paladin}}
* [[Combat Byby Champion]]: In ''Witches Brew'', the fictitious King Rydall of Marnhull challenges Ben and the Paladin to defeat 7 of his champions in order to determine whether Marnhull's armies will take over Landover. In reality, Rydall is an agent of Nightshade, and his champions are monsters created by her and Ben's daughter Mistaya, who believes she is helping her father. Only five of the champions ever appear: they include [[Greek Mythology|a giant who gains strength from touching the soil]], a demonic entity that mimics the Paladin, an immense mechanical man, the [[Sand Worm|Wurm]], and {{spoiler|the brainwashed [[Implacable Man|Ardsheal]]}}.
* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: In the first book, Ben, through use of [[Mind Control|Io Dust]], forces Nightshade to transform [[Ravens and Crows|into a raven]] and fly into the Fairy Mists...from which she had been exiled. [[Nightmare Fuel|Best not to think]] what the fairies did to her for violating that, but it's no surprise she swears [[Revenge]] on Ben and he comes to regret this moment several times. (Even if it was in retaliation for her sending his friends to <s>[[Hell]]</s> Abaddon.)
** Book three has one too, in the form of Questor's last bequest to Michel Ard Rhi: ''giving him back his conscience''.
* [[Cuffs Off, Rub Wrists]]: Mistaya, after being freed from ''magic halo binders''.
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: The black unicorn. Crabbit also plays with this during his initial meeting with Mistaya, to the point the reader isn't at first sure he's really bad. Of course, the fact [[Even Evil Has Standards|Meeks]] wanted him out of the way and so convinced the old king to assign him the position of Royal Librarian should tell you something.
** [[Dark Is Evil]]: The demons, Nightshade, The Gorse, The Darkling, pick your poison.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Both Abernathy and Strabo. Even Crabbit gets in a few good ones.
{{quote| '''Strabo''': "Marnhull"? Hmph. Sounds like a nut.}}
* [[Demon Lords and Archdevils]]: The Iron Mark is the [[Large and In Charge]] [[Black Knight]] who leads the demons in the first book. He has a claim on Landover's throne, and challenges all would-be kings to defeat him in single combat. In the fourth book we are told that there is a new Mark, although we only meet him briefly. The Gorse, as an evil, exiled fairy of tremendous power may also count.
* [[Desperately Looking for Aa Purpose In Life]]: Mistaya, as of ''Princess''.
* [[Determinator]]: Ben Holiday
* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: Quite often, the mudpuppy Haltwhistle.
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** Reading her remarks to Willow after being released from the Tangle Box, it's precisely ''because'' he chose to not continue a relationship with her. There she had him, and, possibly for the first time in who knows how many centuries, she was ''happy''. Plus, as per Strabo's remarks, the one thing that can weaken her magic is feeling the softer, gentler emotions. Her one true fear.
* [[The Dragon]]: Rydall/ {{spoiler|Kallendbor}} to Nightshade in ''Witches Brew''.
* [[Duel to Thethe Death]]: Between the Iron Mark and the Paladin in order to resolve the issue of Landover's kingship. As it is instigated entirely at the Mark's insistence, it doesn't count as [[Trial Byby Combat]].
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: In many ways, the fairies seem like this--althoughthis—although it's never stated that trying to understand them would break mortal minds, they ''are'' [[Blue and Orange Morality|beyond mortal understanding]], as well as incredibly ancient and mysterious. They certainly have no love for mortals. However, while none (save the Gorse) are actively harmful to humans, some actually do seem to care what happens to them, or perhaps just to the multiverse in general, and thus choose to step in and interfere to set things right--whichright—which suggests that if the fairies are [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]s, they aren't evil ones.
* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: "The Frog" for Laphroig of Rhyndweir.
* [[Enemy Mine]]: The premise of ''The Tangle Box'', is that an amnesiac Nightshade, Strabo, and Ben are forced to work together. Following their recovery of their memories and the escape from the box, Nightshade hates Ben all the more. Strabo, on the other hand, loses a lot of the enmity he'd formerly born the King, and is far more civil to him in his subsequent appearances.
* [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Monkeys]]: The kobolds Bunion and Parsnip. Parsnip is the castle chef, Bunion is the court runner, and also doubles as Ben's personal bodyguard.
** Subverted with the Throg Monkeys of ''Princess'', which are mean-tempered, unnerving, voyeuristic, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|seemingly lazy]] and which turn out to be helping Crabbit free the demons of Abaddon.
* [[Eviler Than Thou]]: Crabbit and Laphroig have no difficulty putting aside their differences to help each other get what they want, particularly when one of their goals (getting Ben off the throne) coincide, but each is also determined to be the true power in the end and are quite ready to double-cross, betray, and backstab each other. This at least partly factors into their defeat.
* [[Evil Tower of Ominousness|Evil Library of Ominousness]]: Libiris. Granted, it's not entirely its fault, what with the Tarnish, its lovely caretaker, and the demons trying to come in through its walls, but its initial design is not conducive to making would-be readers want to spend many hours within. But then its designer ''was'' Meeks...
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* [[Fairy Companion]]: Edgewood Dirk
* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: Poor Libiris. Being {{spoiler|robbed of the collection whose protection is its sole reason for existence, tarnished, run by an [[Evil Sorcerer]], used as an entrance for demons to make their way into Landover}}...and [[And I Must Scream|unable to tell anyone of this because there is no one who can hear its cries for help]], or will help even if they can.
* [[Fisher King]]: Something of this comes through in the connection between Sterling Silver and the kings of Landover--sinceLandover—since after being left abandoned, without a proper ruler on the throne, she ends up suffering from the Tarnish, an effect which not only turns her into "Castle Dracula" as Ben puts it, but spreads out into the countryside, killing the Bonnie Blues and generally poisoning the land. It fades and she is restored to her former glory when all the threats to Landover are ended or neutralized and Ben has proven his worthiness for the throne.
* [[Five -Man Band]]: Ben's court and closest companions form one.
** [[The Hero]]: Ben himself, [[Reasonable Authority Figure]] par excellence.
** [[The Lancer]]: Questor Thews, despite his [[Inept Mage]] status is usually the one who can be counted on to take command when Ben isn't there, and is easily his closest advisor. Has some aspects of [[The Smart Guy]] as well.
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** [[The Smart Guy]]: Abernathy, the Court Scribe. He's extremely bright, as well as calm, pragmatic, and by Landoverian standards, relatively cynical. Knows a lot about the country's history and places, and provides a more realistic counterpoint to Ben's idealism and Questor's enthusiasm. Has some characteristics of [[The Lancer]] as well.
** [[The Chick]]: Willow. [[Love Freak]], [[The Heart]], [[Granola Girl]], it would be hard for her to get more chickish. Luckily, she's also a downright likeable character in her own right.
* [[Fractured Fairy Tale]]: Implied in Strabo's tales of how maidens and dragons have an association going back for centuries, wherein it was the ''dragons'' who saved them (not the heroes) and received their gratitude--orgratitude—or did they eat them? [[Blatant Lies|"I can never remember."]]
* [["Friend or Idol?" Decision]]: In ''The Black Unicorn'', Abernathy is faced with one of these--whetherthese—whether to destroy the books of magic in order to save Ben and Landover from Meeks {{spoiler|and free all the unicorns}}, or preserve them so that Questor can use them to change him back. He chooses his friends and kingdom.
** Happens again in ''Witches' Brew'', when a misfire of magic caused Abernathy to be turned human when he was sent to Earth. In order to get back to Landover and save both Ben and Mistaya (and because [[Status Quo Is God]]), [[It Makes Sense in Context|he had to allow Questor to turn him back into a dog again]]. May have been revisited in order to help Abernathy come to terms with his dogness and receive [[Character Development]].
* [[Friendly Enemy]]: Strabo to Ben, although as the series' progresses there's less and less "enemy" to it.
* [[From a Certain Point of View]]: A less harsh version of this trope, one meant to preserve a friendship, applies to Thom's stories about his background to Mistaya.
* [[Genie in Aa Bottle]]: The Darkling in ''Wizard At Large''.
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Ben grew up knowing about fantasy lands, and often is able to draw comparisons, though Landover manages to subvert many of his expectations as well.
* [[Half -Human Hybrid]]: Mistaya
* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Horris Kew. And [[Redemption Earns Life]].
** He was never fully a Heel, and he never fully becomes a Face, but Strabo the dragon as well. He progresses from incredibly antagonistic to Ben in Books 1, 2, and 3, before becoming a rather wary almost-ally after Book 4.
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* [[Impossibly Tacky Clothes]]: Questor, most of the time.
* [[Inept Mage]]: Questor Thews, though he [[Character Development|gets better]]. While his initial transformation (and inability to reverse it) of Abernathy is the one most often brought up, his mistake in book 3 takes the cake: by accidentally breathing in the magic spell dust, he sneezes...which somehow turns a transformation spell into a transposition spell, switching Abernathy for the Darkling's bottle.
* [[It Got Worse]]: The very first book sets up a situation where each thing Ben learns about the supposedly wonderful fantasy of ruling a magical kindgom is worse than the last. His only loyal followers are an [[Inept Mage]], a [[Talking Animal]] scribe, and two monkeys; the castle and land are dying thanks to there being no true king for so long; none of the people will follow him; a dragon is laying waste to the countryside, which he must put a stop to if he wants the lords' allegiance, which he in turn needs if he wants the River Master's; the Paladin has seemingly deserted the kingdom; Nightshade is plotting to take over; oh, and the Iron Mark has sworn the king to a [[Duel to Thethe Death]]. However, each subsequent book seems to like piling on the complications in the same way.
** In ''The Black Unicorn'', the [[Bad Dreams]] everyone suffers ends up allowing Meeks back into Landover, who switches places with Ben, seemingly steals the medallion, and exiles him with no one believing who he is or recognizing him except Nightshade and Strabo; meanwhile Meeks has the books of magic and is manipulating Willow into bringing the black unicorn to him so he can enslave it once again.
** In ''Wizard At Large'', Questor accidentally sends Abernathy to Earth, to the collection of the one man who hates and likes torturing him more than any other; Ben and Willow go to rescue him, since he has the medallion with him, only to be stuck on Earth too long so that Willow starts dying from not being able to go through her change, arrested by the cops at Ard Rhi's behest, and put on trial; while back in Landover the Darkling which was switched with Abernathy ends up in a host of unscrupulous hands causing all sorts of trouble before finally reaching Nightshade.
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* [[The Juggernaut]]: The [[Killer Robot]] (Talos) in ''Witches Brew''. The chapter is titled ''Juggernaut'' for crying out loud. It's capable of ripping through castle walls, and its iron hide gives it [[Nigh Invulnerability]] to boot. The battle between it and the Ardsheal is pretty epic.
* [[Knight in Shining Armour]]: Subverted to Hell and gone by The Paladin, who looks the part, but has a personality that's equal parts [[Implacable Man]], [[Shell Shocked Senior]] and [[Psycho for Hire]], as is brought home brutally by Ben's Knight persona in ''The Tangle Box''.
* [[Laser -Guided Amnesia]]: In ''The Tangle Box''. Justified, as magic was involved.
* [[Laser -Guided Karma]]: The fates of Crabbit, Pinch, and especially Laphroig.
* [[The Legions of Hell]]: The demons of Abaddon.
* [[Lie to Thethe Beholder]]: Meeks's spell upon Ben in ''The Black Unicorn'', which makes him look like a peasant to everyone except himself (and Edgewood Dirk).
* [[Lotus Eater Machine]]: The mind's-eye crystals. They show people what they most want to see. Those who bought one gradually became addicted and spent hours gazing into them.
* [[Magical Land]]
* [[MathematiciansMathematician's Answer]]: It is possible to compel Nightshade to answer you truthfully. Good luck compelling her to do so ''helpfully''.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Willow. She's [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]]: a sylph who transforms into a willow tree.
* [[Mexican Standoff]]: The climax of ''A Princess of Landover'': Crabbit's magic, Pinch's crossbow, Laphroig's dagger, and Mistaya's magic. It is only broken when a) the villains temporarily decide [[Villain Team -Up|Mistaya is the greater threat]] and b) Haltwhistle intervenes for his usual [[Deus Ex Machina]].
* [[Mind Control]]: Io Dust
* [[Misery Builds Character]]: Seems to be the view of Crabbit. And judging by Mistaya's [[Character Development]] while at Libiris, he may be right.
* [[The Mole]]: Questor at first, albeit under duress. He eventually turns on Meeks and joins Ben for good.
* [[The Multiverse]]: Landover is at the center.
* [[Naked Onon Arrival]]: Willow's introduction
* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: Nightshade. The woman is named after a poisonous berry.
* [[Not So Harmless]]: Crabbit.
* [[Number Two]]: Cordstick to Laphroig--andLaphroig—and he's [[Genre Savvy]], to the point of getting promises of his future Minister of State position in writing, witnessed by other lords, and with backup copies [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|in case]] [[Sorting Algorithm of Mortality|something]] [[What Measure Is a Mook?|happens to him]]. Also, Pinch to Crabbit.
* [[Our Demons Are Different]]: Evil fairy beings, exiled from the Mists and sent to dwell in Abaddon, a realm of fire, chaos and despair. They're not happy about this, they want back into the Mists, and unfortunately, Landover is the only route they know of.
* [[Our Dragons Are Different]]: Strabo is a huge, black scaled, [[Affably Evil]] [[Chaotic Neutral]] [[Deadpan Snarker]], with a love of fine singing ''and'' eating other people's cows. He's very bright, very dangerous, and ''very'' [[Last of His Kind|lonely]]. He more or less straddles the line between the classic monster dragon, and the friendly, misunderstood dragons prevalent in modern literature. As the series progresses he becomes less and less antagonistic towards Ben, eventually becoming a flying [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment.
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* [[The Pawn]]: Villains in this series are very fond of this trope. Every king who has purchased Landover since Meeks and Michel Ard Rhi began their scheme has been a pawn of the wizard's; after Ben proves beyond manipulation and actually succeeds in becoming a true and successful king, Meeks then returns to regain the books of magic, which requires him to make pawns of both Willow and Questor. Horris Kew is very much a pawn of the Gorse's ([[Heel Face Turn|until the end, that is]]), and Nightshade's revenge scheme makes pawns of both Mistaya and {{spoiler|Kallendbor}}.
* [[The Power of Love]]: Willow's view of life practically runs on this.
* [[Protagonist -Centered Morality]]: In effect for Mistaya in book six, especially early on during her running-away phase.
* [[Psychic Dreams for Everyone]]: Invoked by Meeks in book 2, since he needs the unwitting assistance of the heroes to get back to Landover and prevent the escape of the unicorns. Ben's dream is a pure fabrication, a vision of impending doom for his best friend Miles Bennett designed to make him go racing back to Earth and thus give Meeks the opportunity to cross back to Landover with him. Questor's dream is straightforward and accurate (save for leaving out the rather dangerous [[Threshold Guardians]] at the fortress), as it is meant to simply recover the books of magic. Willow's dream, however, is [[Truth and Lies|a twisting of the truth]], meant to frighten her into capturing the [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|"evil" black unicorn]] and bring it to Meeks. [[Spanner in Thethe Works|Thanks to the fairies]], however, Willow's dreams become genuinely psychic, gradually changing to reflect reality and persuade her to help rather than lure the black unicorn.
* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: Nightshade's eyes turn red when she is at her angriest. The bad news? They're normally red.
* [[Red Right Hand]]: Meeks is missing one arm.
* [[Retcon]]: The existence of Libiris and Crabbit, why he was not around in the previous books (Meeks wanting him out of the way, his fear of Meeks), why Questor and Abernathy never mentioned him until now.
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* [[Sand Worm]]: The Wurm that Nightshade sends after Ben in ''Witches Brew''. To quote Strabo it's "an ordinary worm turned predator by magic. Expose it to water, and it grows to the size you see now." Whether The Paladin could have killed it is really up in the air. Strabo, on the other hand, makes quick work of it.
* [[Science Destroys Magic]]: Not believing in magic and believing in science kills off magic in The Verse, the "real" world has nearly no magic as a result.
* [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can]]: The Gorse, as well as the [[Our Demons Are Different|demons]] of [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Abaddon]]. After the events of ''Witches' Brew'', Nightshade becomes this...but as of the most recent book, [[Sequel Hook|it looks like she's been unsealed...]]. Also, The Darkling from ''Wizard At Large'' is Sealed Evil In A Bottle. It's more or less an evil genie.
* [[Second Love]]: Willow to Ben.
* [[Secret Identity]]: {{spoiler|Thom}} had to assume one, to avoid being eliminated by his power-hungry brother.
* [[Sequel Hook]]: Nightshade {{spoiler|vanishing from the Zoo}} at the end of A Princess of Landover.
* [[Shapeshifter Showdown]] / [[Wizard Duel]]: The battle between Strabo and Questor in book three has shades of both of these tropes, despite there being no actual shapeshifting going on and Strabo having no magic beyond his innate nature. Mostly it comes across as a [[Homage]] or [[Affectionate Parody]] of such a duel, particularly with the comedic turns it takes (a [[Looney Tunes]] [[Portable Hole]]? A ''six-foot bee stinger?'') and the [[Inept Mage]]'s magic misfires, but especially in the hilarious way that it ends--whereends—where instead of [[The Sword in Thethe Stone|giving the dragon a virus]]...{{spoiler|he gives him an itch}}.
* [[Shapeshifting]]: Willow, into... well, [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|you know]]. Nightshade regularly turns into a crow
* [[Shell -Shocked Veteran]]: Ben's Knight persona in ''The Tangle Box''.
* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: The Knight and The Lady in ''The Tangle Box''.
* [[Speak of the Devil]]: Variation. Early in ''Princess'' Strabo tells Mistaya that if she ever uses his image again without his permission, he will appear to read her the riot act. She then does so during her [[Shotgun Wedding]]...thus summoning the real Strabo to free her and take out the villains, once the situation is explained.
* [[Spoiled Brat]]: Some of Mistaya's characterization partakes of this. Luckily, she gets better.
* [[Stay in Thethe Kitchen]]: Laphroig's view of women.
* [[Super -Powered Evil Side]]/ [[Evil Me Scares Me]]: How Ben views the Paladin, even if it isn't one hundred percent accurate.
* [[Sympathy for Thethe Devil]]: Once some of her [[Backstory]] is revealed (her long-ago [[Humans Are BastardsJerkass|human lover]] [[Love Hurts|betrayed and left her]]), and especially after the [[Mind Rape]] inflicted upon her by the Tangle Box, you have to feel at least a little sorry for Nightshade.
** More "fairies are bastards". Early on in the series, rumor had it that it had been a human lover who had broken her heart, but in ''Witches Brew'' Nightshade confided to Mistaya that she had fallen in love with a true fairy. After revealing the truth of her half-human heritage to him she was instantly rejected, then exiled from the Mists on threat of death.
* [[Taken for Granite]]: {{spoiler|Laphroig's fate.}} And [[Complete Monster|good riddance]].
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* [[Teens Are Monsters]]: [[Played for Laughs]] with Mistaya.
* [[This Is Reality]]:
{{quote| '''Crabbit''': You do live in a fairy-tale world, don't you, Princess? All you see is what you want to see. If you don't want to think about something or face up to something, it simply doesn't exist for you. Goodness. But this is the real world, not some make-believe story in which you are the heroine. So perhaps you ought to rethink your situation before you start making threats.}}
* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Questor Thews in ''Wizard At Large''.
* [[Translator Microbes]]: Ben's medallion
* [[Villain Withwith Good Publicity]]: What Meeks was in Landover for a very long time (the old king didn't even suspect his true evil), and what Michel Ard Rhi set himself up as on Earth, complete with the ability to gain power and influence with the government, the police force, and the courts. Luckily good publicity doesn't matter [[Big Damn Heroes|when a dragon appears over the skies of Seattle]]. Laphroig is one too, more's the pity; even once Ben uncovers circumstantial evidence that he murdered his brothers and wives, he can't pin anything on him until he does something for which he can have his title stripped and be put on trial.
* [[Wicked Witch]]: Nightshade.
* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: Meeks' plan to send dreams to Ben, Willow, and Questor, so as to obtain the books of magic, the golden bridle needed to capture the black unicorn, and entrance into Landover, and his subsequent identity exchange/peasant disguise for Ben.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]
[[Category:Magic Kingdom Ofof Landover]]
[[Category:Trope]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/177387...1432530"