...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Swordspoint

149 statements
28 feature instances
22 referencing feature instances

Swordspoint	type	TVTItem
Swordspoint	label	Swordspoint
Swordspoint	page	Swordspoint
Swordspoint	comment	Swordspoint is a cult classic fantasy of manners (with elements of urban fantasy and heroic fantasy) written by Ellen Kushner in 1987. Later on, it saw two sequels: The Fall of the Kings (which was co-written with Delia Sherman) and The Privilege of the Sword. All three were critically acclaimed and are often held up as examples of a peculiar type of novel, with the basic setting of high fantasy but none (until The Fall of the Kings) of the magic.In Riverside, disputes are traditionally settled by swordsmen: hired mercenaries who battle one another on behalf of wealthy noblemen (or anyone with the ability to pay them). From the honor of a lady to whether or not a poet is terrible, the winning swordsman's stroke is considered the final say. But the reputation of swordsmen is in decline, with more and more matters being settled in court, while the swordsmen themselves become both romanticized and held in contempt.Swordspoint tells the story of Richard St. Vier, the best damn swordsman in Riverside, and Alec, a university student (possibly from the Hill) who lives with him. When Richard kills two men in a duel in an aristocrat's garden, he finds himself embroiled in a rather unpleasant business. There are few he can turn to for help (which he likely wouldn't do anyway) because, every day, swordsmen become less and less respectable.The Privilege of the Sword, set a generation after Swordspoint, tells the story of Katherine, a young noblewoman living in genteel poverty who is suddenly summoned to the city by her uncle, the Mad Duke. Katherine hopes that the summons means an upgrade in her marriage prospects, only to learn, to her horror, that the Mad Duke wants to dress her as a boy and train her to be a swordsman.The Fall of the Kings is set a generation (give or take) after The Privilege of the Sword.Tremontaine is the most recent addition, currently published by Serial Box. It's a prequel taking place roughly a generation before Swordspoint with a young Diane Tremontaine as one of the main cast embroiled in a steamy intrigue involving mathematics and chocolate.
Swordspoint	fetched	2024-03-07T16:00:53Z
Swordspoint	parsed	2024-03-07T16:00:53Z
Swordspoint	processingComment	Dropped link to HitmanWithAHeart: Not a Feature - ITEM
Swordspoint	isPartOf	DBTropes
Swordspoint / int_12dd1d4c	type	Rape as Drama
Swordspoint / int_12dd1d4c	comment	Rape as Drama: Implied in Swordspoint when Alec is taken prisoner. The book remains vague as to whether sexual assault took place, but he's very definitely threatened with it. A motivating incident for the main plot in The Privilege of the Sword comes when Katharine's noble-but-naive friend Artemisia is sexually assaulted at a ball.
Swordspoint / int_12dd1d4c	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_12dd1d4c	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_12dd1d4c
Swordspoint / int_18d15922	type	Title Drop
Swordspoint / int_18d15922	comment	Title Drop: "All men live at swordspoint." Lampshaded as a character thinks to himself that he feels "an epigraph looming to the surface." Basil St. Cloud's mentor in History at the University, Dr. Tortua, is most well known for his book Hubris and the Fall of the Kings.
Swordspoint / int_18d15922	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_18d15922	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_18d15922
Swordspoint / int_1a183344	type	Honorable Warrior's Death
Swordspoint / int_1a183344	comment	Honorable Warrior's Death: The book makes a repeated point that true swordsmen die in combat at an early age and if they live long enough to die another way, it proves that they're shameful not proper swordsmen. Applethorpe manages to die by taking a challenge from Michael and is immensely pleased to finally die properly.
Swordspoint / int_1a183344	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_1a183344	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_1a183344
Swordspoint / int_1fd2efc9	type	Byronic Hero
Swordspoint / int_1fd2efc9	comment	Byronic Hero: Both Alec and Richard. (The author described them in the afterword to one edition as "my mad, bad boys.")
Swordspoint / int_1fd2efc9	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_1fd2efc9	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_1fd2efc9
Swordspoint / int_28f852ea	type	Wholesome Crossdresser
Swordspoint / int_28f852ea	comment	Wholesome Crossdresser: Katharine is shocked when Duke Tremontaine insists that she wear men's attire in her position as his house swordswoman. Eventually, she comes to appreciate the utility of the clothing, and much later, when she's in a position to wear what she likes, she has her seamstress create men's clothing with a feminine flare. Micah prefers men's clothing due to sensory issues, and also prefers short hair for the same reason, leading to being mistaken for a young boy. Slightly subverted in that while most people figure out quickly that Micah is AFAB, Micah doesn't understand where the confusion comes from or why wearing men's clothes would even be an issue.
Swordspoint / int_28f852ea	featureApplicability	-0.3
Swordspoint / int_28f852ea	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_28f852ea
Swordspoint / int_2af0378f	type	Mayincatec
Swordspoint / int_2af0378f	comment	Mayincatec: Kaab's people and culture tend to come across as a fictionalized version of South America. Unlike most representations, it's plain that they're as civilized (if not more so) than the nobles of the City, and they're very powerful political players. Their grasp of mathematics and navigation are actually a major plot point of Tremontaine, Season One.
Swordspoint / int_2af0378f	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_2af0378f	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_2af0378f
Swordspoint / int_63387043	type	Glorious Death
Swordspoint / int_63387043	comment	Glorious Death: A recurring theme is the way each swordsman wants to die in battle with another swordsman, proving that they are a true swordsman. Applethorpe manages to die by St. Vier's sword, and he is happy with that.
Swordspoint / int_63387043	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_63387043	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_63387043
Swordspoint / int_776a06eb	type	All Myths Are True
Swordspoint / int_776a06eb	comment	All Myths Are True: The early history of the City states that in the time of the kings, magic was commonplace and ubiquitous, though most learned people agree now that these stories are only myths. The plot of Fall of the Kings involves a group of scholars who suspect that the legends are nothing more than fact and seek a way to bring the magic back. It works, but not for long, and the nobles quickly suppress and deny the knowledge in order to retain their own power.
Swordspoint / int_776a06eb	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_776a06eb	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_776a06eb
Swordspoint / int_87629455	type	No Communities Were Harmed
Swordspoint / int_87629455	comment	No Communities Were Harmed: Riverside has a fair amount in common with the Southwark of Shakespeare's day (which was and is on the banks of the River Thames).
Swordspoint / int_87629455	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_87629455	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_87629455
Swordspoint / int_8b682bd5	type	The Magic Comes Back
Swordspoint / int_8b682bd5	comment	The Magic Comes Back: The driving plot of The Fall of the Kings is an attempt to return the practice of real magic to society, and incidentally restore the monarchy (which was historically reliant upon it). It fails, mostly.
Swordspoint / int_8b682bd5	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_8b682bd5	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_8b682bd5
Swordspoint / int_8b9bebb1	type	Lover's Ledge
Swordspoint / int_8b9bebb1	comment	Lover's Ledge: Years after the main body of the story ends, a short story reveals that Richard died by falling from a cliff on his island home. The common belief of the island-dwellers is that he, being blind, fell from the cliff by mistake while on a walk. Only the reader knows that his death came immediately after learning that his former lover Alec has died.
Swordspoint / int_8b9bebb1	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_8b9bebb1	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_8b9bebb1
Swordspoint / int_8c9e724c	type	Big Beautiful Woman
Swordspoint / int_8c9e724c	comment	Big Beautiful Woman: Tess the Hand in the Tremontaine books is a large woman considered extremely sultry and gorgeous by both men and women, with thick red hair and creamy, flawless pale skin. The text openly describes her as "fat," but never with any negative associations. People fight for her favors and grow jealous when she settles on a new lover.
Swordspoint / int_8c9e724c	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_8c9e724c	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_8c9e724c
Swordspoint / int_9f646084	type	Offscreen Breakup
Swordspoint / int_9f646084	comment	Offscreen Breakup: Between the events of Swordpoint and ''Privilege, Alec and Richard split for reasons that are implied but never quite made clear (context clues reveal that it may have been a combination of Alec being forced to resume his official position as Duke Tremontaine after Diana's death and Richard being forced to retire from the sword after losing his eyesight). In Tremontaine, Tess and Kaab split up between Season Two and Season Three for unstated reasons that leave them both wary and acrimonious when they're forced to work together again.
Swordspoint / int_9f646084	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_9f646084	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_9f646084
Swordspoint / int_a698ad42	type	City with No Name
Swordspoint / int_a698ad42	comment	City with No Name: The main setting of the books is referred to only as "The City" (Riverside, while named, is only a district). It's assumed it has a name but it's never mentioned in the stories.
Swordspoint / int_a698ad42	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_a698ad42	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_a698ad42
Swordspoint / int_a8af3e53	type	Secret Police
Swordspoint / int_a8af3e53	comment	Secret Police: The Fall of the Kings features one, headed by the sinister Serpent Chancellor.
Swordspoint / int_a8af3e53	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_a8af3e53	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_a8af3e53
Swordspoint / int_ad1db87c	type	Oh, Crap!
Swordspoint / int_ad1db87c	comment	Oh, Crap!: An extremely understated one at the end of The Fall of the Kings for Nicholas Galing, after the Serpent Chancellor Lord Arlen makes it clear that despite Nicholas' loyal service, Arlen is going to let him get tried and convicted for murder purely out of political convenience.
Swordspoint / int_ad1db87c	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_ad1db87c	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_ad1db87c
Swordspoint / int_b408c009	type	City of Adventure
Swordspoint / int_b408c009	comment	City of Adventure: The unnamed City in which the books take place is a constant hive abuzz with intrigue, criminal capers, secret societies, double identities, and political maneuvering.
Swordspoint / int_b408c009	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_b408c009	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_b408c009
Swordspoint / int_b489805d	type	Hollywood Autism
Swordspoint / int_b489805d	comment	Hollywood Autism: Micah is a mathematic savant with a poor understanding of social cues, who often comes off as shy or blunt to the point of rudeness. It's a more nuanced portrayal than most, but since ASD is unknown in this setting, there's no attempt to explain Micah's behavior as anything other than a personal peculiarity.
Swordspoint / int_b489805d	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_b489805d	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_b489805d
Swordspoint / int_bd5e8cd9	type	Urban Fantasy
Swordspoint / int_bd5e8cd9	comment	Urban Fantasy: All takes place in the unnamed City, a dangerous warren of criminal activity in contrast to the nobility of the Hill, who are just as bad but confine most of their wickedness to drawing-room politics.
Swordspoint / int_bd5e8cd9	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_bd5e8cd9	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_bd5e8cd9
Swordspoint / int_c2e2a445	type	Jade-Colored Glasses
Swordspoint / int_c2e2a445	comment	Jade-Colored Glasses: Many of the nobles present this attitude, both in regard to the Riverside criminal element and their fellow nobles. Alec in particular is cynical of both sides.
Swordspoint / int_c2e2a445	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_c2e2a445	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_c2e2a445
Swordspoint / int_c601fc37	type	Professional Killer
Swordspoint / int_c601fc37	comment	Professional Killer: Hired swordsmen are a commodity in the city, and all the most respectable people have one on hire. They're held to a very formal code of conduct and don't kill unless they're ordered to do so—and when they are, it's their patrons, rather than the swordsmen themselves, that can be held criminally responsible.
Swordspoint / int_c601fc37	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_c601fc37	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_c601fc37
Swordspoint / int_d0309fad	type	Religion is Magic
Swordspoint / int_d0309fad	comment	Religion is Magic: The magic of the wizards in The Fall of the Kings, while not explicitly incorporating any worshipped deities, is nonetheless closely connected to fertility, harvest cycles, hunting, and the natural world in a way very reminiscent of pre-Christian paganism, and is heavily based on public rituals reinforcing the King's position as an avatar/icon of the land.
Swordspoint / int_d0309fad	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_d0309fad	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_d0309fad
Swordspoint / int_e04ed269	type	Urban Segregation
Swordspoint / int_e04ed269	comment	Urban Segregation: The nobles live on the hill, the poor in Riverside.
Swordspoint / int_e04ed269	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_e04ed269	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_e04ed269
Swordspoint / int_ece27800	type	Kill and Replace
Swordspoint / int_ece27800	comment	Kill and Replace: The Reveal in Tremontaine - this is what "Diane" - originally the serving maid Louisa - did to the real Diane Roehaven.
Swordspoint / int_ece27800	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_ece27800	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_ece27800
Swordspoint / int_f55d739f	type	The Baroness
Swordspoint / int_f55d739f	comment	The Baroness: Diane, who maintains an air of feminine helplessness while actually controlling almost everything behind the scenes. And she isn't too dainty to resort to cold-blooded murder if someone causes her too much trouble.
Swordspoint / int_f55d739f	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_f55d739f	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_f55d739f
Swordspoint / int_f96f8980	type	Love Makes You Crazy
Swordspoint / int_f96f8980	comment	Love Makes You Crazy: Once upon a time, Richard loved a beautiful, volatile, and possessive woman named Jessamyn. The two apparently clashed to such a degree that Richard was forced to kill her in self-defense when she attacked him in a mad rage. Everyone who knew Jessamyn is unsurprised that her unstable behavior resulted in her death.
Swordspoint / int_f96f8980	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_f96f8980	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_f96f8980
Swordspoint / int_f9876f7e	type	Faking the Dead
Swordspoint / int_f9876f7e	comment	Faking the Dead: Vincent is forced to retire from the swordsman business after he loses his arm. In part for his own safety, and in part to save face, Tess and Kaab convince Riverside that he actually died from the amputation. An unusual case of this, since anyone who's read Swordspoint knows that he clearly comes back and reestablishes himself at some point in the next fifteen years.
Swordspoint / int_f9876f7e	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_f9876f7e	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_f9876f7e
Swordspoint / int_name	type	ItemName
Swordspoint / int_name	comment
Swordspoint / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Swordspoint / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Swordspoint / int_name
Swordspoint / int_name	itemName	Swordspoint

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

Swordspoint	hasFeature	A Good Way to Die / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Bastardly Speech / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Blind Weaponmaster / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Blue Blood / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	City with No Name / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Comedic Sociopathy / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Date Rape / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Everyone Is Bi / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Glorious Death / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Heroes Prefer Swords / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Honorable Warrior's Death / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Love Makes You Crazy / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Lover and Beloved / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Lover's Ledge / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Practice Kiss / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Sorcerer's Apprentice Plot / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Straight Gay / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	The Magic Comes Back / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Urban Segregation / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	William Fakespeare / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	Written by the Winners / int_c76c990d
Swordspoint	hasFeature	You Bastard! / int_c76c990d

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.