This may not
be everybody's cup of tea, but I figured I'd toss it out
there just in case...
Several years
ago, I was browsing the SF/Fantasy section of my local
bookstore when I ran across a couple of books about a couple
of hard-boiled, cynical, world-weary-yet-noble city guards
trying to fight for truth and justice in a dangerous and
corrupt city. The setting seemed to be your typical swords
and sorcery setting, and both magical mayhem and violence at
arms were the orders of the day.
For reasons
which now elude me, I didn't pick up those books then. Years
later, when I'd decided I wanted to buy 'em, they were out of
print. And so I moved on, and dreamt of what might have
been.
Well, they've
just been reprinted in order to pave the way for a new book
in the series. Even better, the original six novels have been
reprinted in a two-volume set: Swords of Haven and Guards of
Haven. The author's name is Simon R. Green.
Hawk and
Fisher, the two protagonists, are an island of honesty in a
sea of corruption. The city they work in is described as the
most corrupt and dangerous city in the "Low Kingdoms." They
are not PIs, but given that the city guard they work for is
often corrupt, they frequently have to take the law into
their own hands to mete out justice. There's definitely a
noir-ish feel, since Haven is a cesspool of corruption and
vice.
There is a
prequel book recently released called "Blue Moon Rising," in
which Prince Rupert and Princess Julia have to save their
kingdom from a powerful magical threat. This book is NOT a
hard-boiled mystery, and is apparently your typical swords
and sorcery fare.
The latest
book is "Beyond the Blue Moon," in which it is revealed that
Princess Rupert and Princess Julia are in fact none other
than Hawk and Fisher. They are called away from their guard
duties to once again save their kingdom. This book apparently
does have an actual murder mystery as the main plot element,
although I get the impression that there's a lot of
swords-and-sorcery shennanigans as well.
If you are,
like me, an avid aficianado of stories which mix genres, you
may want to grab these books before they go out of print
again.
If you're not
a big fan of genre-mixing, feel free to disregard this
message in its entirety. =)
Oh, and my
apologies if I'm inadvertently covering well-trodden
ground.
AB
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