Provides examples of:
- Amoral Attorney: Mercer Cradle. Subverted - he defends the gangsters of London with all tricks of the trade, but actually they are the good guys here.
- Angrish: Used internally by Edie while she is trying to stay hidden, concerning a certain centipide named Richard.
- 'Bonk bonk bonk bonk BONK... BONK BONK BONK youlittlebastard.'
- Apocalypse How: The Apprehension Engine is poised to create a class X-4 event which would render the entire universe inhospitable to any kind of life.
- Arch-Enemy: Edie and Shem Shem Tsien, a rivalry that lasted over 70 years across many battles
- Played less seriously with Joe Spork and the Parasite
Joe Spork (after royally pwning the cat): "Primate. Tool user. Opposable thumbs." - Brain Uploading: Shem Shem Tsien / The Recorded Man
- But Not Too Bi: Edie counts. She primarily focuses on the ladies - mostly Frankie, but sleeps with a couple men throughout as well.
- Canine Companion: What Bastion the pug is to Edie, and it takes on a deeper meaning later.
- Cats Are Mean: A stray cat (nicknamed the Parasite) who's taken residence in Joe Spork's warehouse, jumps onto his back and slides down claws extended quite frequently.
- It also knocks things down a lot.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Joe Spork and Polly: the Bold Receptionist. It takes him awhile to recognize her.
- City of Spies: When Edie was in Tehran, almost everyone was a spy pretending to be someone else. Eventually everyone got drunk and had a party.
- Clock Punk: The Angelmaker in particular, and amplified by the fact that the main character is a horologist.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Joe's father lived his life this way, and Joe appreciates it himself by the end. However, neither one engages in wanton physical violence - it's mostly flashy robberies and other property crimes.
- Disguised in Drag: Edie Banister dresses as Commander James Edward Banister for a mission for a good while in the book, and she looks quite convincing and attractive as well
- Distracted by My Own Sexy: Edie with Commander Banister, she thinks it's a shame she can't sleep with herself
- Distracted by the Sexy: At Your Service for Edie, the banana she uses for her disguise does nothing to stop her from getting aroused
- Dooms Day Device: The Angelmaker.
- Every Scar Has a Story: At the hospital after Edie is shot, she realizes where some of Frankie's came from. They're scars from birth difficulties and Frankie tells her about them.
- Friend in the Black Market: Literally almost everyone Joe Spork knows. Almost all of his father's aquaintances are there to help him out in a pitch, no matter how reluctant he is to ask.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Frankie. She actually creates a Dooms Day Device.
- A God Am I: Shem Shem Tsien, as God's 'mirror'.
- Good Old Ways: Joe Spork calls back retired criminals for help in one last job.
- Grew a Spine: Joe Spork. From a man okay with his life as a clockmaker away from crime, into a man who embodies the stereotypical mobster boss
- London Gangster: Joe Sporkand Matthew/Mattieu Spork as the most prominent. They are both at one point the rulers of the Night Market.
- Married to the Job: Joe Spork, who prior to the book and in the first few chapters, spends almost all his time in his warehouse working on clocks.
- Hinted at when he jokes that his cat will ruin his future relationships, if he ever had any.
- Meaningful Name: Frankie Fossoyeur (somewhere in the book it's noted it's French for "undertaker").
- Motor Mouth: Almost every single character is at one point or the other.
- Never Mess with Granny: Edie, she actually kills two guys quite easily. Tied in with the fact that she used to be an expert spy.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: You thought Edie was a nice old lady with a protective dog? Next scene she's calmly commiting murder.
- Plot Threads: The entire novel, alternating from past to present, from Joe to Edie, and having a huge amount of sections focusing on important and less important characters as well. They all connect in the end.
- Right Now Montage: When members of the old Night Market get the news that Joe Spork's putting a job together.
- Retired Badass: Edie, a retired spy, at least for a little bit. She lives in a quaint house at the edge of the Night Market
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Joe embraces his inner gangster after he is framed for murder and terrorism, then imprisoned and brutally tortured for a while. However, while he does reject society's laws after this, he immediately goes out to save the world.
