Green, Simon R. 1955–

(Simon Richard Green)

PERSONAL:

Born August 25, 1955, in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England. Education: Thames Polytechnic, B.A., 1976; Leicester University, M.A., 1978. Hobbies and other interests: "Avoiding being abducted by aliens."

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England. Agent—Joshua Bilmes, Scott Meredith Literary Agency, 845 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER:

Writer. Has worked as a shop assistant, actor, and freelance writer.

WRITINGS:

"HAWK AND FISHER" SERIES

Hawk and Fisher, Ace (New York, NY), 1990, published as No Haven for the Guilty, Headline (London, England), 1990.

Winner Takes All, Ace (New York, NY), 1991, published as Devil Take the Hindmost, Headline (London, England), 1991.

The God Killer, Ace (New York, NY), 1991.

Wolf in the Fold, Ace (New York, NY), 1991, published as Vengeance for a Lonely Man, Headline (London, England), 1992.

Guard against Dishonor, Ace (New York, NY), 1991.

The Bones of Haven, Ace (New York, NY), 1992, published as Two Kings in Haven, Headline (London, England), 1992.

Guards of Haven (omnibus), Millennium (London, England), 1999.

Haven of Lost Souls (omnibus), Millennium (London, England), 1999.

Swords of Haven (omnibus), Millennium (London, England), 1999.

Fear and Loathing in Haven (omnibus), Millennium (London, England), 2000.

"FOREST KINGDOM" SERIES

Blue Moon Rising, Roc (New York, NY), 1991.

Blood and Honour, Gollancz (London, England), 1992.

Down among the Dead Men, Gollancz (London, England), 1993.

Beyond the Blue Moon, Roc (New York, NY), 2000.

"DEATHSTALKER" SERIES

Deathstalker, Gollancz (London, England), 1995.

Deathstalker Rebellion, Roc (New York, NY), 1996.

Deathstalker War, Roc (New York, NY), 1997.

Deathstalker Honor, Vista (London, England), 1998.

Deathstalker Destiny, Millennium (London, England), 1999.

"DEATHSTALKER LEGACY" SERIES

Deathstalker Legacy, Roc (New York, NY), 2003.

Deathstalker Return, Roc (New York, NY), 2004.

Deathstalker Coda, Roc (New York, NY), 2005.

"TWILIGHT OF THE EMPIRE" SERIES

Mistworld, Ace (New York, NY), 1992.

Ghostworld, Ace (New York, NY), 1993.

Hellworld, Ace (New York, NY), 1993.

Deathstalker Prelude (omnibus), Vista (London, England), 1999.

"NIGHTSIDE" SERIES

Something from the Nightside, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Agents of Light and Darkness, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Nightingale's Lament, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Hex and the City, Berkley Pub. Group (New York, NY), 2005.

Paths Not Taken, Berkley Pub. Group (New York, NY), 2005.

Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth, Berkley Pub. (New York, NY), 2006.

A Walk on the Nightside (omnibus), Ace Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Hell to Pay, Berkley Pub. (New York, NY), 2007.

The Unnatural Inquirer, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2008.

"SECRET HISTORIES" SERIES

The Man with the Golden Torc, Roc (New York, NY), 2007.

Daemons Are Forever, Roc (New York, NY), 2008.

OTHER

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (novelization of screenplay), Berkley (New York, NY), 1991.

Shadows Fall, Gollancz (London, England), 1994, Ben-Bella Books (Dallas, TX), 2005.

Drinking Midnight Wine, Roc (New York, NY), 2002.

ADAPTATIONS:

An audiocassette recording of Deathstalker, Episode 1: The Man Who Had Everything (abridged) was released in 2002; subsequent audiocassette recordings of Deathstalker, Episodes 2-5 are forthcoming.

SIDELIGHTS:

Simon R. Green, having previously worked as a shop assistant, actor, and freelance writer, churned out fifteen novels from 1990 to 1995. The Englishman was first published in the United States with his fantasy novel Hawk and Fisher, before being signed to issue a British edition. In addition to penning a novelization of the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he has created several fantasy series and several stand-alone novels. In all of his original work, critics have noted that Green melds genres—frequently mixing fantasy, science fiction, and mystery elements—to create quirky, often amusing scenarios. The author commented in the St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers that his work shows "a general willingness to go tearing off in any direction that looks like fun."

Hawk and Fisher inaugurates a series that is nominally fantasy fiction. The title characters are a husband and wife who police the city of Haven, which is hard work in the most corrupt corner of Green's "Low Kingdom." The setting is populated with gods, vampires, sorcerers, and other familiar fantasy types, but the plots resemble those of television crime dramas. Politics and the difficulty of enforcing fair play in a magical world are common themes.

Green's second series, beginning with Blue Moon Rising, is a more loosely connected group of fantasy novels set in his quasi-medieval "Forest Kingdom." While these works use more traditional fantasy elements, such as dragons, princes, and evil forces trying to gain control, Green again opts to turn the familiar upside-down. For example, in Blue Moon Rising the crusading Prince Rupert happens upon a dragon who needs to be rescued from a princess, rather than the other way around. Eleanor Klopp, writing in Voice of Youth Advocates, compared Green's writing to that of H.P. Lovecraft and commended him on his cast of characters. In the second installment in the series, Blood and Honor, an actor is enlisted to play the part of Prince Victor, who is too ill to compete against his brothers for an empty throne. The actor, who is far more honorable and brave than the real prince, eventually becomes the new king. The third "Forest Kingdom" entry by Green is Down among the Dead Men, a story set a decade after the first set of tales. In this offering, the good Forest people are again threatened by the "Darkwood," an evil force that is stubbornly attempting to once again envelop Green's mythic kingdom.

In addition to his fantasy-based Forest Kingdom, Green has also created a science-fiction world with his "Twilight of the Empire" series. With Mistworld he offers readers a science-fiction novel with a familiar premise: a husband-and-wife team who are sergeants in the city guard. As Paul Brazier noted in St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, "Green uses second-hand material quite shamelessly, but it is never a problem because he always makes it over into something new." In this story, the author does this by violating the expectation that lead characters will survive their adventures. In Mistworld, Green kills off the husband early in the book and proceeds with the story of the wife's search for his killer.

Ghostworld is set in the same futuristic universe found in Mistworld and tells the story of a seemingly smothered rebellion, where the ghosts of the rebels continue to do battle. In his next science-fiction work, Hellworld, Green creates a planet where each of the indigenous life forms presents a physical danger to a team of explorers who are trying to make contact with its inhabitants.

After Hellworld, Green's science-fiction efforts become increasingly more complex and sophisticated. Deathstalker is an epic work beginning as a series set in the same universe as the "Twilight of the Empire" novels. Brazier deemed it "a sprawling galaxy-spanning space opera of the first order, with plots, counterplots, subplots, and lots and lots of inscrutable aliens, space ships, space pirates, and space battles." The action of the novel centers on Lord Owen Deathstalker, who is preparing to lead a rebellion against the evil empress who has made him an outlaw. Green follows the novel with several other "Deathstalker" titles, including Deathstalker Rebellion and Deathstalker War.

Departing from the now-familiar settings in his fantasy and science fiction, Green's most idiosyncratic work is Shadows Fall. This work of fantasy takes place in the twentieth century in the remarkable town of Shadows Fall. Peopled by cartoon characters, rock stars, dinosaurs, and others, it is a place where fallen legends go when no one believes in them anymore. The book received critical acclaim in England and America. For example, a reviewer in Publishers Weekly stated that "Green invokes some powerful mythologies." Reviewer Sherry S. Hoy noted in Kliatt that "the complex, multifaceted fantasy … will require a sophisticated reader."

Deathstalker Legacy is the first title in a new series of the same name. At the end of his "Deathstalker" series, Green had his hero Owen Deathstalker emerge victorious as he and his compatriots succeeded in destroying Empress Lionstone, his evil foe. In his new series, Green introduces readers to Lewis, a descendent of Owen Deathstalker, who finds himself somewhat unwillingly following in his famous and heroic ancestor's footsteps. Lewis's only wish is to honorably serve King Douglas, who is also his friend, and to set an example as a Paragon—a modern combination between a knight in shining armor and a high-tech police officer. But Lewis's plans go dangerously astray when he finds himself falling in love with the young woman destined to be King Douglas's bride and the lady in question returns his feelings. As if that were not bad enough, Lewis must defend himself against an evil, slanderous plot that has been sent into action by his longtime rival and enemy, Finn, a fellow Paragon who hides the soul of a sociopath beneath his do-gooder demeanor, all while outside forces attempt to overthrow the court. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked that "as is in a lot of space opera, the plot doesn't withstand close scrutiny, but this hardly matters as the narrative rushes from one dramatic set piece to the next." The series continues with Deathstalker Return, as Lewis is forced to go on the run with his own band of followers, and ends up searching for his long-lost ancestor Owen Deathstalker, who is supposed to be dead.

With Drinking Midnight Wine, Green introduces readers to Toby Dexter, an unlikely hero who, at thirty-three years of age, whiles away his hours working in a bookstore called Gandalf's located in the town of Bradford-on-Avon. Toby spends his commute each day ogling an attractive young woman named Gayle, but when she points at a wall and creates a doorway as if by magic one day, he knows he must follow her. The doorway transports him into the land of Mysterie, where he finally has the chance to speak with Gayle. However, Mysterie is a land filled with both demons and gods, and Gayle tells Toby that her mission is to assist in the ongoing battle between good and evil that is taking place in that world. She has no time for love, and is beyond such mortal interests. When Toby discovers that he will ultimately be responsible for the outcome of this struggle, he must put all of his fictional knowledge gleaned from his job in the bookstore to the test. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly commented that "Green often pauses to discuss local history, but remembers in time to continue the action and ultimately serves up a happy ending." Terrence Miltner, writing for Booklist, opined that "this world and these characters are so amusing that it will be a shame if Green doesn't revisit them."

Green begins a new series of "Secret Histories" with The Man with the Golden Torc, the title of which plays off a similar title from the "James Bond" series—The Man with the Golden Gun. The secret agent in Green's novel is Shaman Bond, who is also known as Eddie Drood. His goal is to protect humankind from the forces of darkness, and his secret weapon is his golden torc, a magical form of protection that has been passed down through the Drood family through the generations. When activated, the torc extends downward and becomes a full suit of golden armor. However, when Eddie is sent on a mission by the matriarch of the family and it turns out to be a deadly trap, Eddie barely escapes with his life. Unable to go home, he strikes out on his own, swiftly earning himself the label of rogue agent. In order to get to the bottom of his betrayal, Eddie joins forces with a young witch called Molly Metcalf, and together they continue to investigate the mission. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly found the book "packed with enough humor, action and plot twists to satisfy fans who prefer their adventure shaken, not stirred."

Green once told CA: "My latest book contains an order of warrior nuns with leprosy. If it wasn't for bad taste, I'd have no taste at all."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 15, 1995, Dennis Winters, review of Deathstalker, p. 900; February 1, 2002, Terrence Miltner, review of Drinking Midnight Wine, p. 930.

Kliatt, September, 1994, Sherry S. Hoy, review of Shadows Fall, p. 18.

Library Journal, November 15, 2000, review of Beyond the Blue Moon, p. 100.

Publishers Weekly, May 16, 1994, review of Shadows Fall, p. 62; January 14, 2002, review of Drinking Midnight Wine., p. 45; December 16, 2002, review of Deathstalker Legacy, p. 50; May 7, 2007, review of The Man with the Golden Torc, p. 46.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October 1991, Eleanor Klopp, review of Blue Moon Rising, pp. 242-243.