Simon Green

[Non]

Anybody read the books by Simon Green? Contains deathstalker series and blue moon rising books and related prequels and sequels. At least i think that's all his books. I couldn't find Simon Green in my bookstore so please tell me, is he worth reading?

 

[Pyan]

Well, I've only read the Hawk and Fisher books, (Blue Moon Rising series), but based on those, I would say he's definitely worth reading....

Funny in real life, too...he was very good on the panels at FantasyCon.

 

[booksforlunch]

Read ( and enjoyed ) the german editions of Down Among the Dead Men and Blue Moon Rising.

How many related books to Blue Moon Rising are there ? And do they continue the story or do they "just" play in the same setting?

 

[Pyan]

This explains the whole set-up.....

The Hawk and Fisher series

• Hawk & Fisher. New York, Ace, Sep 1990; as No Haven for the Guilty, London, Headline, Aug 1990.
• Hawk & Fisher: Winner Takes All. New York, Ace, Jan 1991; as Devil Take the Hindmost, London, Headline, Feb 1991.
• Hawk & Fisher: The God Killer. New York, Ace, Jun 1991; London, Headline, Sep 1991.
• Hawk & Fisher: Wolf in the Fold. New York, Ace, Sep 1991; as Vengeance for a Lonely Man, London, Headline, Mar 1992.
• Hawk & Fisher: Guard Against Dishonor. New York, Ace, Dec 1991; as Guard Against Dishonour, London, Headline, Jun 1992.
• Hawk & Fisher: The Bones of Haven. New York, Ace, Mar 1992; as Two Kings in Haven, London, Headline, Oct 1992.
• Swords of Haven: The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher (omnibus; Hawk & Fisher, Winner Takes All, The God Killer). New York, Penguin/Roc, Jul 1999; as Haven of Lost Souls (omnibus; contains No Haven for the Guilty, Devil Take the Hindmost, The God Killer), London, Orion/Millennium, Nov 1999.
• Guards of Haven (omnibus; contains Wolf in the Fold, Guard Against Dishonor, The Bones of Haven). New York, Penguin/Roc, Nov 1999; as Fear and Loathing in Haven (omnibus; contains Vengeance for a Lonely Man, Guard Against Dishonour, Two Kings in Haven), London, Millennium, Apr 2000.

The Forest Kingdom series

• Blue Moon Rising. New York, Penguin/Roc, May 1991; London, Gollancz, Sep 1991.
• Blood and Honour. London, Gollancz, Jun 1992; as Blood and Honor, New York, Penguin/Roc, May 1993.
• Down Among the Dead Men. London, Gollancz, Sep 1993; New York, Penguin/Roc, Dec 1993.

• Beyond the Blue Moon (2000). ISBN 0-575-07045-5

'Blue Moon Rising': the story of Prince Rupert of the Forest Kingdom and Princess Julia of Hillsdown. Originally, Julia was intended to marry Rupert's brother, but was sacrificed to a dragon instead. The dragon neglected to eat her, and instead kept her around until Rupert came by to rescue him from her. Having made a mess of the heroic quest Rupert was supposed to fulfill, they then proceed to get caught in a war and eventually leave to escape their reputations.
'Blood and Honour': an actor is caught up in murderous court politics and sorcery when he is asked to impersonate a Prince.
'Down Among the Dead Men': Duncan MacNeil, still carrying the scars the Blue Moon left on him body and soul, along with his team of Rangers (the witch, Constance; Giles Dancer, Bladesmaster; and Jessica Flint, swordswoman), go to investigate trouble at a border fort that has fallen out of communication with the Court. The trouble is much bigger and older than they expect.
The "Hawk and Fisher" books (inc. Beyond the Blue Moon): Hawk and Fisher are a husband and wife team on the City Guard, an order which functions rather like our modern police force in a fantasy world of mixed Medieval, Renaissance and Industrial Revolution stylings. They live in the port city of Haven, a city-state so corrupt that they can justly make the claim of being the only Guards who have never taken a bribe or looked the other direction. Hawk has dark hair, a scarred face and only one eye, frequently described as 'tall, dark and no longer handsome'. He wields an axe, easier on his lack of depth perception. Isobel Fisher is his wife, a tall woman with a long blond braid who is frequently described as 'handsome rather than beautiful', and deadly with a sword. They deal with everything from pick-pockets to wide-scale destructive magic.
'Swords of Haven'(US)/'Haven of Lost Souls' (UK) is an omnibus of the books 'No Haven for the Guilty', 'Devil Take the Hindmost' and 'The God Killer'. 'Guards of Haven'(US)/'Fear and Loathing in Haven'(UK) is an omnibus of the books 'Wolf in the Fold', 'Guard against Dishonour' and 'The Bones of Haven'.
Hawk and Fisher came to Haven having escaped their pasts as Prince Rupert of the Forest Kingdom and Princess Julia of Hillsdown. Years later, Hawk and Fisher returned to the Forest Kingdom in disguise, and again saved the day. (The events of 'Beyond the Blue Moon'.)



From Wikipedia, but reasonably accurate.

 

[iansales]

I've read the Deathstalker books. If you like your space opera irreverent, jokey and more than willing to take the piss out of the genre's cliches, then you might enjoy the books.

 

[Reiver]

I love the Hawk and Fisher books! Not tried the Deathstalker books but might do in the future. How about his other series? I think it's called the Nightside series - more of an urban fantasy I've heard.

 

[Snowdog]

I've read Something From The Nightside, and while I'm reluctant to completely trash a novelist on the strength of one book, I thought it was pretty poor. The plot itself was thin but as the first in a series you can make certain allowances, since the author wants to set the scene and get a lot of information across.

But Simon Green appears to have written a fair few books, so the reams of clumsy exposition doesn't make me want to try his other stuff.

 

[the_faery_queen]

read the forest kingdom stuff. loved blue moon rising and blood and honour. a lot

 

[Somni]

I've read Deathstalker (all of them) which are ok but really need to be read in order. His fantasy is better, I think. The Blue moon series was good, as are the latter books of Hawk and Fisher. My current favourite, however, is Blood and Honour. I really liked that one. Midnight wine was not very good however, just, well dull.

 

[Connavar]

I saw this guy when i was checking out Jim Butcher in Fantastic fiction. Butcher recommended one of his books.


I geuss he writes similer type of fantasy. Does he have any series of his that are seen as his best?

 

[Daisy-Boo]

I recently started reading the Nightside series and finished book 2 this weekend. I'm really enjoying the series so I ordered the remaining books in the series. (Pay day cannot come quickly enough.)

I think he says a lot using few words, which is an unsung skill. I like John Taylor and have a soft spot for Suzie Shooter, especially when more of her personal story is revealed in book 2.

I have a few minor gripes but on the whole I think the Nightside series is very readable. And I did enjoy book 2 more than book 1.

 

[thepaladin]

I've read one Deathstalker book, not bad, may follow it up (the old "so many books so little time" gag). I've also read a couple of the Nightside books and have several paper backs on my shelf I picked up at my favorute used book store. I'll probably get to those when I have a break in y to read list (tyhat could be measured in years however. I God allows me to live long enough to read all the books on my shelves. That may not be a fair request however as I'm constantly adding to them.)

 

[Ady Hall]

Mistworld is excellent! One great lil' sci-fi/fantasy book.

 

[Taltos]

I I geuss he writes similer type of fantasy. Does he have any series of his that are seen as his best?

Not really similar - but I like both writers. And you should know better than to ask - what is the best - it depends on the reader
From my POV what Green does best is create memorable character names and descriptions - almost every story has numerous characters (some created by word play - e.g. Lady Luck etc.) and he can give you understanding, who this is and why he/she is named like that in few short paragraphs. And it seems believable that it is like that. What makes me sad is with these colorful characters - the story usually is a bit flat and straightforward i.e. not enough twists and turns to make it more interesting.

Nightside - is pretty good about private detective in a contemporary urban fantasy setting of a secret city named Nightside which is beneath London.
Hawk and Fisher - as mentioned somewhere earlier - were the first books I read by him - nice sword (and axe) and sorcery books in (mostly medieval) urban setting.

 

[Reiver]

Love the Hawk and Fisher books!!

 

[Rob Hasson]

Only read the Nightside books. An interesting idea but I found the repetition in them wearing when they are read back to back.
Perhaps this is an editing issue (do editors have regard to previous books in a series, or do publishers even use the same editors on a series?). This maybe would not be noticeable with a slightly longer gap between reading each book.

 

[ctg]

Nightside - is pretty good about private detective in a contemporary urban fantasy setting of a secret city named Nightside which is beneath London.

Not beneath, but inside the square mile city of London. It's a city, where monsters and gods live in permanent darkness. This place is where the reams comes true, whether someone wants them or not.

The main character is a private detective called, John Taylor. He has made a name that not only is respected but it's also feared. The other characters include Shotgun Suzy, Razor Eddie and Merlin's grand-grand-grand-grand-son that operate a bar in the hearth of this magical city.

The series is nine books long and it's really, really good.

 

[Daisy-Boo]

Only read the Nightside books. An interesting idea but I found the repetition in them wearing when they are read back to back.
Perhaps this is an editing issue (do editors have regard to previous books in a series, or do publishers even use the same editors on a series?). This maybe would not be noticeable with a slightly longer gap between reading each book.

I agree. I enjoy the books but the repetition does get a little irritating. I think there should be tighter editing. Some of the repetitions occur in the same, even the same chapter. It's small things but irritating.