History Creator / TomHolt

* JerkassGods: Loads of them, but Odin in ''Valhalla'' is arguably the worst. Occasionally inverted; for example, God in ''Faust Among Equals'' is the nicest character in the book, and ''Odds And Gods'' is basically a story about Jerkass ''Humans''.

* JerkassGods: Loads of them, but Odin in ''Valhalla'' is arguably the worst.

* ''Grailblazers'' (1994)

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: spoofed in ''Open Sesame''; a fairy provides medical care by shouting "[[FairiesDontBelieveInHumansEither I do believe in humans]]!" And again in ''Paint Your Dragon'':

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: spoofed in ''Open Sesame''; a fairy provides medical care by shouting "I do believe in humans!" And again in Paint Your Dragon:

* ''Literature/Djinn Rummy'' (1995)

* ''Djinn Rummy'' (1995)

* ''Ye Gods!'' (1992)

Tom Holt is a British author whose works can be described as comic urban fantasy mixed with {{Fractured Fairy Tale}}s. Most of his books are standalone, but he has a short series centering around ''Literature/JWWellsAndCo'' (named after the sorcerer in the GilbertAndSullivan musical ''Theatre/TheSorcerer'').

* RealWorldEpisode: In ''My Hero'', fictional characters [[AnimatedActors clock out between chapters and negotiate with their agents for choice heroic roles]], all the while [[NoFourthWall actively bitching out their authors for shoddy plotting]]. Much of the book revolves around the misadventures of characters pulled into the real world, but since this vision of the real world is one in which mad Cornishmen build footballers from body parts and a literary agent turns out to be planning the End of the World, the "this is reality" effect is rather diluted.

* ''Flying Dutch'' (1991)

* AlchemyIsMagic: In ''Flying Dutch'', the alchemist Montalban developed the immortality potion that blighted the lives of Vanderdecker and his crew, and also routinely turns lead into gold--a technique he actually taught Vanderdecker to help make up for the immortality/horrible stench thing.

* BeenThereShapedHistory: In ''Flying Dutch'', the immortal alchemist Montalban turns out to secretly be responsible for pretty much all of modern science and technology--all of which he developed in an attempt to cure the horrific stench that was an unfortunate side-effect of his immortality potion.

* CompleteImmortality: The Flying Dutchman and his crew in ''Flying Dutch''. They drank a magical potion--by accident--and now they can't die no matter how hard they try, and have an unbearable stench that makes them unable to come ashore, except for a brief period every seven years when the stench fades. One crew member spends all his free time jumping from the crow's nest in the hopes that maybe ''this'' time, he'll finally die.

* ExternalRetcon:
** Holt does this to Wagner's version of the FlyingDutchman in ''Flying Dutch''. It turns out that Captain Vanderdecker was ''not'' cursed by the devil to keep trying to sail around the Horn for eternity. He and his crew accidentally drank a magic potion that A) made them immortal, and B) made them stink so badly that people who get near tend to pass out. So they spend their time at sea; it's only polite. Also, it's not that he's allowed to come ashore once every seven years to seek the love of a pure maiden who can break the curse, or anything silly like that. Every seven years, the stink simply vanishes for about a month, and the crew can come ashore for supplies and such. Love has nothing to do with it.
** In ''Paint Your Dragon'', it is revealed that St. George was actually a cheating, murderous bastard, and the dragon was, well, not exactly the good guy, but certainly a much more sympathetic and stand-up fellow than George.

* FlyingDutchman: subverted in ''Flying Dutch'', where the Flying Dutchman and his crew had accidentally drunk some elixir which gave them immortality, but also the most outrageous body odour for all but one month in every 7 years. In the book, Wagner is said to have been given direct inspiration from the captain of the crew.

* HappilyEverAfter: ''Exaggerated'' in ''Flying Dutch''. HappilyEverAfter really ''means'' something when the elixir of life is a major plot point.

* UnnecessarilyLargeVessel: In ''Flying Dutch'', after the Flying Dutchman discovers that he's the richest person in the world, thanks to compound interest, he trades in his old ship for a used aircraft carrier. For his crew of less than a dozen.

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: ''Flying Dutch''. Vanderdecken (aka "The FlyingDutchman") and his functionally indestructible crew, forced to sea by the horrible stench that hangs around nearly all the time thanks to a dodgy elixir of life. One of them has adopted a hobby of regularly throwing himself off the top of the mast in the hope that this time it'll work. (All it usually results in is extra work for the ship's carpenter.)

Tom Holt is a British author whose works can be described as comic urban fantasy mixed with {{Fractured Fairy Tale}}s. Most of his books are standalone, but he has a short series centering around ''Literature/JWWellsAndCo'' (named after the sorcerer in the GilbertAndSullivan musical ''TheSorcerer'').

!!!Bibliography:

* ''Literature/FallingSideways'' (2002)

!!!The ''Literature/JWWellsAndCo'' Series:

* ''The Portable Door'' (2003)
* ''In Your Dreams'' (2004)
* ''Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard'' (2005)
* ''You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps'' (2006)
* ''The Better Mousetrap'' (2008)
* ''May Contain Traces of Magic'' (2009)
* ''Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages'' (2011)

* ''Expecting Someone Taller'' (1987)

* DivineDate: In ''Expecting Someone Taller'', Malcolm Fisher gets engaged to a girl who is (though he doesn't know it) a Valkyrie--one of the daughters of Wotan.

* HoneyTrap: In ''Expecting Someone Taller'', [[NorseMythology Wotan]] sets one of these for Malcolm Fisher, sending his daughter, the {{Valkyrie|s}} Flosshilde to try to seduce Malcolm into giving up [[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung the ring]].

* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: At the beginning of ''Expecting Someone Taller'' Malcolm Fisher receives the Tarnhelm and the Ring of the Nibelungs from Ingolf, the last of the Frost Giants, cleverly disguised as a badger who he's just run over with his car. Not being educated in Norse mythology or even having seen the opera poor Malcolm has no clue what he's getting himself into.

** ''Expecting Someone Taller'' has Wagner's version of the Germanic Gods as one big, messed-up family.

* PublicDomainArtifact:
** Spoofed in ''Grailblazers'', where the Grail is a bowl that was used at the Last Supper, which was miraculously transformed into Tupperware.
** ''Expecting Someone Taller'' has hapless accountant Malcolm Fisher receiving the Ring of the Nibelung and theTtarnhelm from a badger he runs over one night, who turns out to be Ingolf, brother of Fafnir.

* TheUnfavorite: several. The most obvious example is the protagonist Malcolm in ''Expecting Someone Taller''. Like all of Holt's male leads, Malcolm is a total git, and his parents unabashedly compare him to his super-perfect sister Bridget. Becoming the heir to practically unlimited power makes Malcolm immediately think that it was originally meant for Bridget. In fact, Malcolm's lack of self-esteem and desire to do good make him the perfect person to inherit said power; Bridget would totally mess it up.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting:
** In ''Expecting Someone Taller'', Malcolm Fisher receives the [[PublicDomainArtifact Tarnhelm]] from Norse/Germanic mythology, which allows him to take on any shape he desires.
** The Eastern-style Dragons in ''Nothing But Blue Skies'' can shapeshift to become human, or, um, goldfish.