Many Words is a collection of serial fiction in several genres, from treasure-hunting aerial pirate tales to hard science fiction naval combat In Space stories to Vikings-and-magic low fantasy epics to the annals of science fiction-ish detectives.
In other words, speculative fiction for all tastes.
Tropes
- Ace Pilot: The crew of the pirate zeppelin Inconstant fits this bill, to a greater or lesser degree.
- Alternate History: In Skypirates' 1759, a French convoy sailed from Brest under the cover of a storm, reaching Quebec with reinforcements enough to stymie the British assault in 1760. One hundred sixty years later, the German Empire fights the Allied Powers to a standstill in the fields of France... with zeppelin aircraft carriers contesting the skies above.
- Balkanize Me: The Skypirates setting puts forth a world where Quebec remains a French colony, the Americans and Confederates ended in 1862, and the American West ended up the independent nations of the Republic of Texas, Pacifica, and Columbia.
- Cool Plane: The Skypirates setting is full of these, ripped off from German projects from the Second World War, and from Crimson Skies.
- Follow the Leader: Speaking of Crimson Skies...
- Ritual Magic: The Long Retreat world tends this way, as does its abandoned predecessor. Not many people know that, though.
- Rule of Cool: Why should power-to-weight ratios, stall speeds, and the density of helium stop anyone from landing twenty-some planes in a zeppelin?