TVTropes and the endless quest to itemise storytelling

Ever wanted to reduce your favourite novel to the sum of its constituent parts?

A few days ago, I finished reading Broken Angels, a 2003 sci-fi novel by an author called Richard Morgan (habitual browsers of Netflix might recognise Morgan for his better known debut set in the same universe, Altered Carbon, which was recently adapted by the streamer). It was a good read: all high-concept grimdark space-noir set against the backdrop o…