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Heroics for Beginners

 Heroics for Beginners
type
TVTItem
 Heroics for Beginners
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Heroics for Beginners
 Heroics for Beginners
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HeroicsForBeginners
 Heroics for Beginners
comment
Heroics for Beginners is a comic fantasy novel by John Moore, set in his Fractured Fairy Tale 'verse, the Twenty Kingdoms.Prince Kevin Timberline of Rassendas is smart, charming, and politically savvy. He's also in love with Princess Rebecca of Deserae. But while she reciprocates his feelings, she's determined to make the best marriage for her kingdom. Marrying for love is not a luxury the princess of a small kingdom can afford. Fortunately, Kevin has few serious competitors.But when Deserae's precious magical artifact (Ancient Artifact Model Seven) is stolen by the Evil Overlord Lord Voltmeter ("He who must be named"), it becomes clear that whoever can rescue the artifact and save the kingdom will win the princess's hand. And, unfortunately for Kevin, his chief rival, the heroic warrior, Prince Logan, looks like the best man for the job.It's up to Kevin to use his wits (and his copy of The Handbook of Practical Heroics) to save the day before Logan and his army can destroy the Fortress of Doom and win the princess.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_1434e55c
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Amazingly Embarrassing Parents
 Heroics for Beginners / int_1434e55c
comment
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Played with. The main character thinks back to how he once snuck out of the castle to take his then girlfriend to a small jazz club, only for his father, King Eric the Totally Cool, to show up with his trademark shades and a saxophone so he can jam with the band. As the hero puts it, "parents should not be cooler than their children."
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Virgin Sacrifice
 Heroics for Beginners / int_174b85df
comment
Virgin Sacrifice: Mention is made of an attempt to perform this. Once the king in question announced that he was going to do this, his subjects promptly had a massive two-week orgy in order to disqualify themselves. Then one of the King's nobles assassinated him while the King's bodyguards were participating in said orgy.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_1d029135
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Fictional Document
 Heroics for Beginners / int_1d029135
comment
Fictional Document: The Handbook of Practical Heroics, which is exactly what it sounds like: a self-help book for wanna-be heroes.
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Cool Shades
 Heroics for Beginners / int_1dea3034
comment
Cool Shades: Kevin's father wears a pair of mining glasses, leading to his title of King Eric the Totally Cool.
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Milking the Giant Cow
 Heroics for Beginners / int_20917b55
comment
Milking the Giant Cow: The book specifically cites this term:
 Heroics for Beginners / int_20917b55
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_21579c25
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Ancient Artifact
 Heroics for Beginners / int_21579c25
comment
Ancient Artifact: The crux of Lord Voltmeter's Doomsday Device relies on an Ancient Artifact. No, it's not old. It's just manufactured by the Ancient family, though there's some humor at how Kevin misunderstands this at first. Apparently, they have an entire product line - the one Lord Voltmeter seeks is a Model Seven, though there are newer ones available that would likely be just as effective, if not moreso. It's just that he can only easily get his hands on the Model Seven.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_22cf50f9
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Chekhov's Gag
 Heroics for Beginners / int_22cf50f9
comment
Chekhov's Gag: It's impossible to leave the Fortress of Doom without going through the gift shop. Thus when Voltmeter tries to escape through a secret passage, the heroes are able to intercept him by heading to the gift shop.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_2bf993ad
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Secret Relationship
 Heroics for Beginners / int_2bf993ad
comment
Secret Relationship: Kevin and Rebecca have been seeing each other in secret for the past several months. Rebecca's cold reputation is actually a mask she adopted to deter other potential suitors.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_30a0067b
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Supervillain Lair
 Heroics for Beginners / int_30a0067b
comment
Supervillain Lair: Lord Voltmeter's castle is specifically and insidiously laid out so that the only possible exit requires you to go through the gift shop. This is noted in the narrative.
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King Bob the Nth
 Heroics for Beginners / int_3bb487aa
comment
King Bob the Nth: Kevin's home kingdom had a King Eric before his father, known as King Eric the Good. For a while, the second Eric worried that since the previous one was Eric the Good, history would assume that he must be Eric the Bad. So he went through quite a bit of effort to be known for something, eventually becoming King Eric the Totally Cool after acquiring some Cool Shades.
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The Performer King
 Heroics for Beginners / int_48958f79
comment
The Performer King: Prince Kevin thinks back to when he took his then girlfriend to a small jazz club, only for his father King Eric the Totally Cool to show up in his trademark Cool Shades and a saxophone to jam with the band.
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Perfectly Arranged Marriage
 Heroics for Beginners / int_629fa757
comment
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: With the main character and his love interest; they met and fell in love before her father started looking for a husband for her, and so she intentionally became cold and unpleasant to all other potential suitors to put them off. Mention is also made of another prince whose family refused to let him marry until he was thirty and then betrothed him to a six-year-old girl; ten years later, he is the most envied man on the continent.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_6d5ab39e
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Fractured Fairy Tale
 Heroics for Beginners / int_6d5ab39e
comment
Fractured Fairy Tale: Like most of Moore's comic fantasy, the story plays heavily with standard Fairy Tale tropes.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_6d7026fa
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Punny Name
 Heroics for Beginners / int_6d7026fa
comment
Punny Name: The Evil Overlord is called Lord Voltmeter. It's more of a shallow pun on "Lord Voldemort" than a meaningful name though, since he doesn't have electric powers. He is also referred to as "He Who Must Be Named", furthering the parody. Apparently, it's dangerous to use personal pronouns when referring to him.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_779c9d25
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The Trope without a Title
 Heroics for Beginners / int_779c9d25
comment
The Trope without a Title: Inverted; the Big Bad, Lord Voltmeter, is referred to as "He Who Must Be Named," as Lord Voltmeter dislikes being referred to by personal pronouns.
 Heroics for Beginners / int_779c9d25
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Engagement Challenge
 Heroics for Beginners / int_7e676cdf
comment
Engagement Challenge: One springs up unexpectedly when the Ancient Artifact Model Seven is stolen by Lord Voltmeter. It immediately becomes clear to everyone that Princess Rebecca's hand must go to the man who retrieves it. There's no other way. Which is a problem for Prince Kevin, since Prince Logan—and his army—is clearly the most qualified man to retrieve the artifact. Kevin has only his copy of The Handbook of Practical Heroics on his side.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_854b029a
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Encyclopedia Exposita
 Heroics for Beginners / int_854b029a
comment
Encyclopedia Exposita: Each chapter starts with a quote from The Handbook of Practical Heroics that happens to be relevant to the events of the chapter.
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Shameful Strip
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comment
Shameful Strip: The Big Bad's "Evil Assistant" tears open the captive princess' blouse, on the grounds that exposing a female prisoner's body makes her feel more vulnerable. She's very surprised to encounter a chainmail bra underneath.
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Prophecies Rhyme All the Time
 Heroics for Beginners / int_88e11e1f
comment
Prophecies Rhyme All the Time: Lampshaded and parodied. The hero meets a mysterious fortuneteller, but complains that her prophecies don't rhyme. Exasperated, she whips up a quatrain on the spot (or tries to; she has to send him a message later with the last line).
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Doomsday Device
 Heroics for Beginners / int_8d12bb8d
comment
Doomsday Device: The crux of Lord Voltmeter's plan. It oversaturates the air with carbon dioxide, making it impossible to breathe within a given area.
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Contractual Genre Blindness
 Heroics for Beginners / int_8e5c6752
comment
Contractual Genre Blindness: The evil overlord mentions trying to foreclose the mortgage on an orphanage and chase down puppies to kick because that's how one becomes an evil overlord. This is an interesting case, as the overlord manages to be a stereotypical villain while still being savvy. The only reason he's ultimately defeated is because the hero doesn't use conventional "heroic" methods.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_b53c57d5
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Epigraph
 Heroics for Beginners / int_b53c57d5
comment
Epigraph: Before some chapters, and they end with "The Handbook of Practical Heroics by Robert Taylor": The first chapter starts with one from The Handbook of Practical Heroics: The second chapter's:
 Heroics for Beginners / int_b53c57d5
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_b6cebad3
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Double Standard
 Heroics for Beginners / int_b6cebad3
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Double Standard: Rebecca brings up that boys should never lie to their girlfriends but it's ok for girls to lie while in a relationship because it strengthens the bonds.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_b7b1aa73
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And Then What?
 Heroics for Beginners / int_b7b1aa73
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And Then What?: Brought up by Rebecca, when she points out that taking over the kingdom would just lead to the other kingdoms invading.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_bbc8a85d
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Reluctant Mad Scientist
 Heroics for Beginners / int_bbc8a85d
comment
Reluctant Mad Scientist: Lord Voltmeter has obtained one; true to the trope, he switches sides. Shame about his daughter joining Lord Voltmeter behind his back and sabotaging his efforts. Notably, the Lovely Assistant is furious that she's going to be replaced by someone who lacks the typical The Vamp qualities.
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Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter
 Heroics for Beginners / int_beb91a53
comment
Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Specifically how Lord Voltmeter has browbeaten the man into work on the Doomsday Device. Unbeknownst to him, she switched to Voltmeter's side, and has been undermining him at every turn.
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Weaksauce Weakness
 Heroics for Beginners / int_c09dbbbb
comment
Weaksauce Weakness: The Lovely Assistant is deathly afraid of showing signs of aging. That, coupled with Voltmeter going behind her back to replace her with the Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter, who in this case is evil, leads to her switching sides.
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Shout-Out
 Heroics for Beginners / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: Lord Voltmeter ("He who must be named") is a fairly obvious shout-out to Harry Potter.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_de5f028b
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Barbarian Hero
 Heroics for Beginners / int_de5f028b
comment
Barbarian Hero: Thunk the Barbarian, who tries to break into the Fortress of Doom at the beginning of the story, is a classic version bordering on parody. The "bordering" part is because he is notably unsuccessful - true, his actions bring about Voltmeter's downfall, but only in an indirect Almost Dead Guy scenario. And aside from his unanticipated escape, he falls for every one of Voltmeter's traps.
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The Mole
 Heroics for Beginners / int_e70127
comment
The Mole: To everyone's surprise, it's the Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter.
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The Vamp
 Heroics for Beginners / int_eae41a
comment
The Vamp: Specifically what the Lovely Assistant is hired for, and in an unusual twist, she's not interested in men - usually.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_f77aa221
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Nice Job Breaking It, Herod
 Heroics for Beginners / int_f77aa221
comment
Nice Job Breaking It, Herod: Mentions a villain who succeeded to the throne of a kingdom by slaughtering the rightful ruler, his wife, their children, and so on. The catch was he couldn't get all of the children — even though he'd been wise enough to schedule an assault on every potential heir and his or her family (Every adult member of the royal family had a disturbingly large number of children, and as a result at least one member of each household was able to get away). Amazingly, the villain was savvy enough to not attempt to break it; not because he didn't want the successors dead, but because if he did kill everyone in the necessary age groups — teenagers and under — he'd cripple the country's economy down the road. Instead, he went psychotically paranoid and ended up locking himself in a nigh-inaccessible room.
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 Heroics for Beginners / int_f9636192
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Prophecies Are Always Right
 Heroics for Beginners / int_f9636192
comment
Prophecies Are Always Right: Parodied. The seeress who gives Kevin a warning of doom is amazingly specific; when told to beware a tall man in dark clothes, Kevin complains that it could be anyone - she responds by giving him detail down to the ring on his finger and how he likes his tea and biscuits. A stunned Kevin notes that if she were really that good, she'd be making a fortune on the stock market; her response is to mutter that she needs to check on her investments and leave before the hero can hear more about her financial planning.
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Doomy Dooms of Doom
 Heroics for Beginners / int_fb1fb07f
comment
Doomy Dooms of Doom: The work uses this repeatedly, including the Fortress of Doom (above the Village of Angst). The gift shop is shown to have the usual merchandise bearing the Fortress of Doom logo.
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Ruling Family Massacre
 Heroics for Beginners / int_fd6b88cb
comment
Ruling Family Massacre: The Fortress of Doom was built by an usurper who tried to do this, but while he killed the local duke and his seven siblings, he missed thirty-four of the duke's sons, daughters, nephews and nieces, causing him to go mad with paranoia over the possibility that one of them might lead a rebellion against him. He died from a stress-induced stroke before that happened.
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Heroics for Beginners

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Heroics for Beginners
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Encyclopedia Exposita / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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Engagement Challenge / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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Prophecies Are Always Right / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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Prophecies Rhyme All the Time / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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Reluctant Ruler / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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Ruling Family Massacre / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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The Performer King / int_387e826a
 Heroics for Beginners
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Virgin Sacrifice / int_387e826a