History Literature / Blindfold

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Troy is vindicated and becomes a solpol. Franz Dokken is forced to flee and is likely going to be murdered by Eli Strone for his sins. The illegal Veritas trade is over. However, Guild Master Tharion is dead, the truth about Kaliana's MiscarriageOfJustice is known, and the Platform is destroyed along with the SpaceElevator, stranding the people aboard [=OrbLab=] 2 in space (until their supplies run out), ending the Truthsayers' supply of Veritas, and ruining the economy of Atlas, not to mention the loss of all those seeds and animal embryos aboard the station. Fortunately, the ''Earth Dawn'' is on the way and will arrive within 5 years with fresh settlers and new machinery to revitalize the colony, presumably serving as the ReplacementGoldfish for the Platform]].

* PlasmaCannon: A number of these were aboard the ''[=SkySword=]'', the warship sent by the totalitarian Earth government to conquer Atlas. After the ship's surrender, all of them were, supposedly, destroyed, along with all the advanced weaponry. [[spoiler:At least one was kept by Kareem Sondheim, the "landholder" of the [[SpaceStation Platform]]. He uses it to try to kill Troy and Kaliana during their GreatEscape. Fortunately, the guards he has fire the weapon turn out to have attended the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy]].

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The setting is vaguely reminiscent of ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' (justified, since Anderson wrote the novel as a sample to convince Brian Herbert to allow him to continue Creator/FrankHerbert's work in that 'verse): a harsh world, a unique substance from that world that grants people PsychicPowers, a FeudalFuture setting with scheming aristocrats. There are even hints of large creatures that exist (or used to exist) on Atlas, one of which looks like a giant sea serpent.

* FightingForAHomeland: The Pilgrims, who have come on the fourth ship since the arrival, want a land of their own, but the landholders are resistant to parting with such hard workers.

** [[spoiler:Franz Dokken has his manservant [[TheDragon Maximilian]] rile up the Pilgrims in the Sardili Holding to destabilize it]].

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: It's implied that this trope is not uncommon on Atlas. In fact, after only three weeks in First Landing, Troy is told by his mother that he quickly needs to find himself a wife and start cranking out kids, just like everyone else.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Sardili frequently goes on yacht trips with his two sons without any servants or guards to visit his distant villages and address their issues. They are master sailors who have no problems sleeping on the hard deck of their yacht or catching fish for their meals. Even Franz Dokken will visit his fish farms and other production facilities to address issues.

** [[spoiler:Franz Dokken has his manservant [[TheDragon Maximilian]] rile up the Pilgrims in the Sardili Holding to destabilize it.

The novel takes place on a planet called Atlas, which has been settled by humans roughly two centuries prior. It's not a very habitable planet with infertile soil and virtually no native lifeforms (meaning all they have to work with is what they brought with them from Earth). Every inch has to be painstakingly reclaimed from the planet. With Earth being roughly 50 years of travel away, the people of Atlas are on their own, although four ships have arrived since the original landing and a fifth one is on the way. Colony life is centered in First Landing, the original arrival site and the location of the SpaceElevator to the orbital platform, as well as the hub of the maglev network. The rest of the colony is split into a number of landholdings, [[FeudalFuture ruled over by hereditary families]], all of them connected to First Landing via maglev lines. A unique local form of bacterium has been used to cultivate a drug known as [[MeaningfulName Veritas]]. When ingested, it temporarily allows a person to read other people's minds. The drug is restricted to a special caste of genetically-engineered people called [[LivingLieDetector Truthsayers]], who are trained from birth to use Veritas in a responsible manner to give instant and final judgment on a suspect's guilt or innocence. The Truthsayer Guild is the pillar of Atlas community, the belief in the infallibility of Truthsayers keeping the colony from descending into anarchy. But what if one of them made a mistake?..

* DesignerBabies: The Truthsayers are a group of genetically-engineered people trained from birth with the use of the Veritas drug. While it is possible for a normal person to use the drug, the results are unpredictable. However, not all trainees become Truthsayers, meaning the genetically-engineered process is not perfect.
** The secondary purpose of the genetic engineering is to keep Truthsayers separate from any familiar relationship with any of the rulers.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The setting is vaguely reminiscent of ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' (justified, since Anderson wrote the novel as a sample to convince Brian Herbert to allow him to continue Creator/FrankHerbert's work in that 'verse): a harsh world, a unique substance from that world that grants people PsychicPowers, a FeudalFuture setting with scheming aristocrats.

* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Franz Dokken loves high-class luxuries he remembers from Earth, many of which are not yet available on Atlas. He loves wine (especially Chianti), but the kind produced in his holding has a strange aftertaste. He wants to smoke a cigar, but tobacco is not a vital crop, so no one grows it. His greatest pleasure is horseback riding, and he's the only landholder who keeps these animals.

* PlasmaCannon: A number of these were aboard the ''[=SkySword=]'', the warship sent by the totalitarian Earth government to conquer Atlas. After the ship's surrender, all of them were, supposedly, destroyed, along with all the advanced weaponry. [[spoiler:At least one was kept by Kareem Sondheim, the "landholder" of the [[SpaceStation Platform]]]].

* FeudalFuture: The Atlas colony is divided into twenty territories ruled by landholders, descended from the highest-ranking officers of the original colony ship. Most people don't live in very nice conditions, while the landholders live in palaces. All territories are connected via a hub at First Landing, where the Truthsayer temple is located along with the SpaceElevator.