Warren the 13th is a children's fantasy series written by Tania del Rio and illustrated by Will Staehle. So far, there is only one book in the series - Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye, published on November 24, 2015 - but there is a message at the end of the book promising more books to come.
The star is a young boy named Warren, who is the 13th in a long line of Warrens who have managed the Warren Hotel. Warren's father, Warren the 12th, dies before the events of the story. Since Warren the 13th is too young to manage the hotel, his uncle Rupert takes the reins. However, this proves to be the hotel's undoing: Rupert is so lazy and buffoonish that the hotel begins losing business, and deteriorating. To make things worse, Rupert has married a horrible woman named Annaconda, who acts sweet towards him, but vicious to everyone else. Did we mention that she's a literal witch?
The hotel is said to contain an ancient, powerful treasure called the All-Seeing Eye. Annaconda craves its power, and she's got a mysterious apprentice and her sisters, Scalene and Isosceles, to back her up. But Warren's not alone. He has friends to help him out too. Oh, and what of the mysterious bandage-faced stranger who just checked in?
Tropes found in The All-Seeing Eye include:
- All-Loving Hero: One of Warren's defining characteristics. Despite his Gonky appearance, he's a very sweet child who loves animals and takes good care of the hotel.
- Bandaged Face: A stranger with a face wrapped in bandages checks into the hotel. Because of the white bandages, Warren nicknames the stranger Paleface.
- Big "NO!": Warren yells one when Annaconda demands him to give her the journal. Being the sweet kid that he is, it's the first time in his life Warren had ever refused someone so strongly.
- By the Lights of Their Eyes:
- Sketchy, the monster in the dark boiler room, is introduced this way, ominously glaring at Warren from the darkness.
- During Aunt Annaconda's Villainous Breakdown, she is only drawn in silhouette, except for her eyes. This, combined with her now frazzled hair and tall, thin body, makes her look like something out of Dr. Seuss's nightmares.
- Dark Is Evil: The pages of Annaconda's scenes are colored black.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Sketchy is a giant red-eyed octopus monster who lives in the hotel's boiling room. He's also an adorably sweet creature who just wants a friend!
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The snail that Warren sometimes sees crawling around the hotel is actually Aunt Annaconda in her spirit animal form.
- The Dragon: Petula is Annaconda's apprentice who does most of the spying for her.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Aunt Annaconda has ivory skin and black hair. She's also a powerful and sinister witch.
- Evil Redhead: Isosceles, one of the witches, has long red hair.
- Funny Octopus: The friendly monster Sketchy heavily resembles an octopus.
- Gonk: Warren is described as looking toad-like, thanks to his huge eyes, elongated jaw, and misshapen teeth. This is a minor source of angst for him, as all the other Warrens before him were known for being physically attractive.
- Hellish Pupils:
- Subverted with Sketchy, who looks terrifying in part to his slit-shaped pupils, but turns out to be very friendly.
- Aunt Annaconda has these to make her look similar, and possibly to indicate that she's a witch. They're especially prominent during her Villainous Breakdown.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: Warren notes that his father, Warren the 12th, had a strong jaw. It serves to perpetuate his kindly-but-strong appearance.
- Kid Hero: Warren may just be a kid, but he manages to save the hotel, and even the world, from Annaconda's wrath.
- MacGuffin: The All-Seeing Eye. Everyone wants it for its legendary power, but none know for sure what it really is.
- Nonindicative Name: It turns out that Aunt Annaconda's spirit animal form is not a snake, but a snail.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: When Warren is in the boiler room, we see a bunch of creepy red eyes glowering at him. Subverted when it turns out that the monster they belong to, Sketchy, is very friendly and means no harm at all.
- Samus Is a Girl: Paleface is revealed to be Petula's mother.
- Savage Wolves: The witch Scalene can transform into a vicious wolf.
- Scavengers Are Scum: Zig-zagged with the three evil witches and their spirit animal forms. One of the witches, Isosceles, turns into a vulture, but her sisters, Scalene and Annaconda, turn into a wolf and a snail, respectively. Also, Isosceles goes through a Heel–Face Revolving Door. She is horrified when Scalene is imprisoned and Annaconda doesn't care. and she flies away. She later pulls a Big Damn Heroes moment, flying Warren back to the hotel, only to run away rather than help the heroes.
- Taking You with Me: Aunt Annaconda eventually decides that if she can't have the All-Seeing Eye, then no one can, so she starts casting a spell to kill everyone.
- Villainous Breakdown: Aunt Annaconda gets so fed up with the heroes getting in her way that she casts one final spell to destroy the hotel and everyone in it in a fit of rage. Adding to the
Nightmare Fuel is the fact that she looks much more disheveled when she does this. - Voluntary Shapeshifting: The three witches have "spirit animals" that they can transform into at any time: Scalene turns into a wolf, Isosceles turns into a vulture, and Annaconda turns into a snail.
- The Weird Sisters: The witches Annaconda, Scalene, and Isosceles.
- Wicked Witch: In her first appearance, Annaconda is described as a witch. It initially just seems like the author's way of describing how cruel she is, but then we learn that "witch" is absolutely literal. She and her sisters are genuine, black-magic-casting witches who crave power.
