History Literature / TheTommyknockers

** Gardner wakes up after a bender early in the novel...on the beach by the Alhambra from ''Literature/TheTalisman'' and talks for a few moments with Jack Sawyer.

* StageMagician: Hilly Brown, a ChildProdigy, wants to be one; when he gains technical abilities, he builds a machine that sends things to a faraway planet ([[ShoutOut referred to as]] [[ForbiddenPlanet Altair IV]]), then brings them back, and uses it for magic tricks. However, when he sends away his little brother, David, he can't bring him back; rescuing him later becomes a major plot thread.

* TheHardHat: Gardener and Ev Hillman are immune to the effects of the spaceship, because they have metal plates in their heads (Gardener because of a skiing accident, Ev because of a war wound). Anne Anderson is somewhat protected by extensive metal dental work.

* PragmaticVillain: When they set out to stop Ev Hillman and police officer Anthony Dugan from discovering the ship, Bobbi orders the Havenites not to kill Dugan, no matter what, since two cops already went missing near Haven and town constable Ruth has died recently, so she fears that another police officer dying or going missing will attract too much unwanted attention.

* ShurFineGuns: When Gardener drops a gun, it goes off, and the bullet breaks his ankle. It might be justified, since it's an old .45 from WorldWarII. It's especially ironic, because [[spoiler: earlier, when he tried to shoot Bobbi with it, it misfired]].

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

* {{Doorstopper}}: Actually, many parts could be cut, as they [[{{Filler}} don't really advance the plot]].

* CelebrityParadox: Stephen King himself is referenced in the book; the townspeople think that Bobbi writes good stories, "[[SelfDeprecation not all full of make-believe monsters and a bunch of dirty words, like the books that fellow who lived up Bangor way wrote]]". Also, when Gardener wants to get into the shed, he considers grabbing an ax "and make like JackNicholson in ''Film/TheShining''". However, events in ''Literature/TheDeadZone'', ''Literature/{{It}}'' and ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'' are [[CanonWelding mentioned as fact or at least hearsay]], not as fiction.

** [[spoiler:Ruth [=McCausland=] dies ''blowing up'' the town church, with the purpose of putting Gardener on the trail to rebellion.]]

** [[spoiler:Ruth McCausland dies ''blowing up'' the town church, with the purpose of putting Gardener on the trail to rebellion.]]

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: In the film, pretty much everyone survives, including Bobbi and most of the townsfolk (Gardener still dies, though). The novel has the exact opposite outcome, with pretty much the entire town being wiped out and both main characters dead by MercyKill and HeroicSacrifice respectively]].

* TheReveal: When Gardener goes into Bobbi's shed, and finds out what's in there.

* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: It is mentions several times that the [[InsufficientlyAdvancedAlien Tommies]] have a track record of accidentally [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroying whole planets]] with their [[WhatDoesThisButtonDo inventions]]. Usually when a couple of hicks get in a fight and use what turn out to be planet busters on each other.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: Often committed by the Tommyknockers. They can invent amazing things, but they can't problem-solve their way around an AC-DC converter.

* TouchedByVorlons: Everyone in Haven (except Gardener).

* HairTriggerTemper: The entire race of the Tommyknockers have it.

* InsufficientlyAdvancedAlien: The Tommyknockers. They don't even begin to understand the technology they somehow managed to figure out how to [[strike: use]] ''make''.

* MundaneUtility: Bobbi uses her technical abilities to power up her water heater by creating a small sun in it, making a tractor that can fly, and a typewriter that can read thoughts. Other Havenites create similar things.

** Also Joe from the TV miniseries who not only cheats on his wife, but he throws her lunch for him and his sons, laughs evilly after making his wife feel bad for herself and abandon a search for a lost kid to have an affair again knowing that his wife would be more concerned about the search than him.

* YearOutsideHourInside: Time is a lot slower on Altair 4; it is said that on that planet, only a year has passed since the Earth was formed. That's why David Brown can be brought back alive about a month later he was sent there, despite the fact that the planet hardly has any air. As far as he knows, he was only there for a few minutes or so.

* YearOutsideHourInside: Time is a lot slower on Altair 4; that's why David Brown can be brought back alive about a month later he was sent there, despite the fact that the planet hardly has any air. As far as he knows, he was only there for a few minutes or so.

* YearOutsideHourInside: Time is a lot slower on Altair 4; that's why David Brown can be brought back alive about a month later he was sent there, despite the fact that the planet hardly has any air.

* AssholeVictim: Beach, Anne Anderson as well (see JerkAss)

!!''TheTommyknockers'' provides examples of:

* CelebrityParadox: Stephen King himself is referenced in the book; the townspeople think that Bobbi writes good stories, "[[SelfDeprecation not all full of make-believe monsters and a bunch of dirty words, like the books that fellow who lived up Bangor way wrote]]". Also, when Gardener wants to get into the shed, he considers grabbing an ax "and make like JackNicholson in ''Film/TheShining''". However, events in ''Literature/TheDeadZone'', ''{{It}}'' and ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'' are [[CanonWelding mentioned as fact or at least hearsay]], not as fiction.

* TownWithADarkSecret: Haven becomes this.