Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

March of the Robots

 March of the Robots
type
TVTItem
 March of the Robots
label
March of the Robots
 March of the Robots
page
MarchOfTheRobots
 March of the Robots
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })March of the Robots is a Science Fiction novel written by Lionel Fanthorpe. It was written in 1961 and published by Badger Books under one of his many pseudonyms, Leo Brett.Terence "Terry" Kildaire works as chief of control at the Research Establishment, an atomic research facility nebulously connected in some way to the Home Office, and he's in big trouble. He's on trial for double homicide. Evidently, he murdered his assistant controller Rawlinson and a departmental chief named Royston. It takes the jury just ten minutes to convict him. But due to the lack of a clear motive, Kildaire is remanded to the custody of Long Meadow, an asylum for the criminally insane. There, Dr. Len Williamson and his colleague Dr. Bill Coe discover a scar on Kildaire's head, despite there being no record him having had surgery.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Meanwhile, in a small town near the Research Establishment, "Ticky" George wanders into the Blue Dragon for his usual several glasses of shandy and armed with a weird story about something he witnessed in the woods that night. He claims he witnessed a big silver ship come down in the woods the other night and disgorge a bunch of "tin men." Something about his story rings true for the landlord, who presses George for more. In-between sips of shandy, George can only report that the metal men wandered around a bit, then got back in their ship and left.Back at Long Meadow, Kildaire is lucid enough to explain he doesn't remember committing the murders, and in fact remembers nothing after witnessing a spaceship land in the woods one night. An examination of the scar on Kildaire's reveals the presence of some kind of implant in his head. A quick call to MI5 brings Colonel Henry Rothman running. Rothman, along with his aide Major Richard Bruce, decide to go visit the Establishment. They're particularly interested in the woods around the area where Kildaire claims he saw the ship land.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })A Geiger counter wielded by Bruce confirms the earth to be mildly radioactive. Now they definitely know something is up. It is Colonel Rothman's theory that whoever or whatever landed in the forest that night put the weird device into Terry Kildaire's head and made him kill Rawlinson and Royston, most likely to disrupt Britain's atomic research.Later that night, the ship returns. Town drunk Freddy O'Flannagan is on another bender. Caught wandering the streets late at night by his lonesome, he is doing his very best to convince Constable Dalrow that he is sober and failing when the two hear the approach of loud, clanking metal footsteps, as an army of silver robots appears through the fog with the conquest of Earth very much on their minds.
 March of the Robots
fetched
2021-03-17T12:34:07Z
 March of the Robots
parsed
2021-03-17T12:34:07Z
 March of the Robots
isPartOf
DBTropes
 March of the Robots / int_177a6464
type
Genre Shift
 March of the Robots / int_177a6464
comment
Genre Shift: It starts out as a Courtroom Drama with Kildaire's trial, then switches to a Medical Drama with him at Long Meadow and Williamson and Coe's discovery of the weird implant in his head, and then suddenly it shifts into Science Fiction with the arrival of Killer Robots in a Flying Saucer.
 March of the Robots / int_177a6464
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_177a6464
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_177a6464
 March of the Robots / int_1a6960dd
type
Flying Saucer
 March of the Robots / int_1a6960dd
comment
Flying Saucer: The robot ship is pretty much described this way.
 March of the Robots / int_1a6960dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_1a6960dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_1a6960dd
 March of the Robots / int_27da9a33
type
SomeKindOfForceField
 March of the Robots / int_27da9a33
comment
Some Kind of Force Field: What the robots surround their ship with.
 March of the Robots / int_27da9a33
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_27da9a33
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_27da9a33
 March of the Robots / int_2c490738
type
Empty Piles of Clothing
 March of the Robots / int_2c490738
comment
Empty Piles of Clothing: Anyone zapped with the robots' Disintegrator Ray is reduced to just empty clothes and ashes.
 March of the Robots / int_2c490738
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_2c490738
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_2c490738
 March of the Robots / int_2d363f63
type
Frame-Up
 March of the Robots / int_2d363f63
comment
Frame-Up: The robots frame Kildaire for the murders of Rawlinson and Royston. At first, it seems that they brainwashed him into killing them, but it's later revealed they killed the two men themselves, then somehow got out of the room before Mrs. Bloggins and Blake came in, leaving Kildaire to take the fall.
 March of the Robots / int_2d363f63
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_2d363f63
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_2d363f63
 March of the Robots / int_3c7ccb69
type
No Body Left Behind
 March of the Robots / int_3c7ccb69
comment
No Body Left Behind: Anyone hit with the robots' ray guns.
 March of the Robots / int_3c7ccb69
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_3c7ccb69
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_3c7ccb69
 March of the Robots / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 March of the Robots / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: Zig-zagged. While the superintendent and his men aren't stupid, their weapons are of course useless against the mechanical invaders.
 March of the Robots / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_59907e4f
 March of the Robots / int_6ca5a8c2
type
Master Computer
 March of the Robots / int_6ca5a8c2
comment
Master Computer: It turns out that the robots are controlled by one of these aboard their ship. This results in them having a Hive Mind (or perhaps a Mind Hive might be a better description), which turns out to be a huge weakness. If the central computer brain is destroyed, all the robots automatically shut down like the battle droids in The Phantom Menace. And that's precisely what happens after Terry Kildaire chucks a bunch of Gelignite into their ship, blowing the crap out of it.
 March of the Robots / int_6ca5a8c2
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_6ca5a8c2
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_6ca5a8c2
 March of the Robots / int_77315f4f
type
You Have to Believe Me!
 March of the Robots / int_77315f4f
comment
You Have to Believe Me!: Generally averted, due to the fast pace of the story necessitating that the characters not be idiots. The landlord of the Blue Dragon believes George's story because he doesn't think "Ticky" George would come up with something so fantastical. Meanwhile, after being told by Freddy the drunk about Constable Dalrow's death, Sergeant Richardson immediately goes to where Freddy said it happened and finds what's left of his subordinate, rushing immediately back to the station to phone for help.
 March of the Robots / int_77315f4f
featureApplicability
-1.0
 March of the Robots / int_77315f4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_77315f4f
 March of the Robots / int_986dad9a
type
Killer Robot
 March of the Robots / int_986dad9a
comment
Killer Robot: The robots of the title are pretty bog standard killer alien robots.
 March of the Robots / int_986dad9a
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_986dad9a
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_986dad9a
 March of the Robots / int_9ae85487
type
Dr. Jerk
 March of the Robots / int_9ae85487
comment
Dr. Jerk: Dr. Watson Smith, the physician who tended to Rawlinson. He is extremely arrogant and considers even testifying for the prosecution at Kildaire's trial to be a waste of his precious time.
 March of the Robots / int_9ae85487
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_9ae85487
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_9ae85487
 March of the Robots / int_a590182a
type
Disintegrator Ray
 March of the Robots / int_a590182a
comment
Disintegrator Ray: The robots' primary offensive weapon.
 March of the Robots / int_a590182a
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_a590182a
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_a590182a
 March of the Robots / int_b1ce5419
type
The Brigadier
 March of the Robots / int_b1ce5419
comment
The Brigadier: Colonel Rothman.
 March of the Robots / int_b1ce5419
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_b1ce5419
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_b1ce5419
 March of the Robots / int_b55e8979
type
Science Hero
 March of the Robots / int_b55e8979
comment
Science Hero: Len Williamson and Bill Coe. Williamson is described as resembling "a balding Viking," and Coe is a former professional boxer.
 March of the Robots / int_b55e8979
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_b55e8979
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_b55e8979
 March of the Robots / int_c12f0c4
type
Outrun the Fireball
 March of the Robots / int_c12f0c4
comment
Outrun the Fireball: After Kildaire throws some Gelignite into the robots' ship, it creates a massive explosion, which he and the superintendent have to outrun.
 March of the Robots / int_c12f0c4
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_c12f0c4
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_c12f0c4
 March of the Robots / int_ca87e3ec
type
No Name Given
 March of the Robots / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: The landlord of the Blue Dragon and the police superintendent.
 March of the Robots / int_ca87e3ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_ca87e3ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_ca87e3ec
 March of the Robots / int_e4d5e4c0
type
Five Rounds Rapid
 March of the Robots / int_e4d5e4c0
comment
Five Rounds Rapid: This is Rothman and Bruce's initial plan to deal with the robots. It doesn't work.
 March of the Robots / int_e4d5e4c0
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_e4d5e4c0
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_e4d5e4c0
 March of the Robots / int_e4d9e13b
type
Mars Needs Women
 March of the Robots / int_e4d9e13b
comment
Mars Needs Women: The cover plays up this trope, but nothing like it happens in the novel. The robots are just there to conquer humanity in general, and pay no special attention to women.
 March of the Robots / int_e4d9e13b
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_e4d9e13b
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_e4d9e13b
 March of the Robots / int_f9e16ef
type
Distressed Dude
 March of the Robots / int_f9e16ef
comment
Distressed Dude: The police superintendent gets captured and held prisoner by the robots after trying to make friends with them.
 March of the Robots / int_f9e16ef
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_f9e16ef
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_f9e16ef
 March of the Robots / int_name
type
ItemName
 March of the Robots / int_name
comment
 March of the Robots / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 March of the Robots / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 March of the Robots
hasFeature
March of the Robots / int_name
 March of the Robots / int_name
itemName
March of the Robots

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

 Alien Works
processingUnknown
March of the Robots
 Literature of the 1960s
processingUnknown
March of the Robots
 Robot and A.I. Works
processingUnknown
March of the Robots
 Science Fiction Literature
processingUnknown
March of the Robots