Magnus
Magnus (formerly known as Wayfarer when it was published under Destiny Image) is a Christian Fantasy novel by Matthew Dickens chronicling the exploits of the 2,000-year-old Magnus Lehohn. Gifted with powers and immortality from God, he has spent centuries battling the evil forces in control of the world, and now must investigate the current going-ons in Tower Valley while battling Nephillim, squads of Mooks, demons, fallen angels, rescuing an escaped Hot Scientist, and finally confronting Satan himself.
Magnus is the first of the IAM trilogy, and the author has stated his plans to have the first book made into a comic book in the future.
Tropes used in Magnus include:
- Anti Christ Judas Iscariot is resurrected as the Beast and calls himself Iscarius Alchemy after being given powers similar to Magnus.
- Author Tract: Matthew Dickens spends the last hundred pages of the book telling the reader about his personal views on religious doctrines, evolution, theology, Superman Returns, etc.
- Back from the Dead: Judas Iscariot is resurrected to be the Antichrist early in the book.
- Badass Boast
- Badass Preacher
- Blasphemous Boast: The Archer makes many of these.
- Big Bad: Lucifer
- Black and Gray Morality
- Church Militant
- Cool Sword: The Sword of the Dragon, as well as Magnus' sword.
- Demonic Possession: Mentioned several times.
- Demonization: Happens often.
- Disposable Woman Rachel, Magnus?s first wife is killed in the back story.
- Easy Evangelism: Magnus converts April, a scientist and a skeptic to Christianity in just one or two conversations.
- Fangs Are Evil: All the Fallen Angels have vampiric fangs.
- Fusion Dance
- Floating Continent: Dragylon the Imperial Fortress is a massive, invisible, sun-sphere and headquarters of Lucifer. Dragylon also contains the Library of Babel and Lucifer's Cool Chair.
- Flying Brick: Magnus, in addition to immortality, heightened senses, super speed, has Flight, Super Strength, Nigh Invulnerability, and a sonic voice.
- Golem: Magnus recalls battling a golem that was the basis for the Frankenstein legend.
- Healing Factor: Very little can hurt Magnus, but what can is quickly healed.
- Hero Insurance: Magnus' deliberate destruction of Tower Valley.
- Informed Ability: One of Magnus's powers includes "supernatural cunning", which he never demonstrates. He demonstrates knowledge, yes, but he is two thousand years old. In fact he walks into an ambush obliviously. Likewise, a scanner reveals that Iscarius Alchemy has an I.Q. of 666, and yet never demonstrates it.
- Kung Fu Jesus: One martial art move is literally named after Jesus' leg movement while nailed to the cross.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: When yelling Bible verse, Magnus has a sonic scream powerful enough to trigger earthquakes.
- Masquerade: Normal people can't pierce the veil that conceals demons and angels.
- Mission from God: Literally.
- Moral Dissonance: Magnus shows little or no mercy to any of the Mooks he battles, is condescending to Rachael, and lastly destroys an entire town of thousands. Not very heroic.
- Pals with Jesus: Almost literally. Magnus is friends with the archangel Michael.
- Purple Prose: The whole book drips with it.
- Louis Cypher
- Our Angels Are Different: Only the evil angels have (holographic) wings, while good angels don't have them at all.
- This Is Sparta: Magnus often screams Bible verses while using his sonic voice.
- To Hell and Back: In Wayfarer, while poisoned, Magnus hallucinates being at the gates of Hell.
- Super-Hero Origin
- Spirit Advisor: Magnus often receives advice from the Holy Spirit.
- The Chosen One: Magnus.
- The Dragon: The Assassin/Archer, but is later revealed to be a disguised projection of Lucifer/Satan, and undergoes the Fusion Dance. Judas could also be considered the Dragon as well.
- The Fettered
- The Fundamentalist: Magnus.
- The Hunter: Magnus
- The Legions of Hell: Often battling Magnus.
- The Scourge of God: Magnus is literally this.
- The Stoic: Magnus.
- Touched by Vorlons
- Town with a Dark Secret: Tower Valley.
- Tragic Hero: Magnus.
- Vigilante Man: Magnus lives outside of normal society and hunts evil men and demons with extreme prejudice.
- Wolf Man Tsavo has the ability to transform into a slavering wolf as a result of a magic spell he casts.