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Magic. Adventure. Swordplay. Good and evil. It's all there in Beyond The Blue Moon. All that and much more, because this is not your standard fantasy novel. Nothing about it is typical, from the husband-and-wife team of Hawk and Fisher to the irreverent attitude of the entire cast of characters. In a field that sometimes takes itself far too seriously, Simon R. Green is a jolt that shakes up the system in the very best way.

Hawk and Fisher -- or Prince Rupert and Princess Julia, if you've been with the pair since they first came onto the literary scene in Blue Moon Rising -- are law keepers of the most dangerous order. To fall afoul of these two is to sign your own death warrant. They are unbeatable, unstoppable warriors and incredible wiseasses, besides. No husband-and-wife team ever fought evil the way these living legends do. No one ever swung a blade or an axe like this, either.

Good thing, considering what is awaiting them in this outing. They've seen it all. They've defeated the worst that this world can throw at them. They are ready for anything -- anything, that is, that they can imagine. The trouble is, they've never seen anything like what they will come up against Beyond The Blue Moon. There are worse things than even these extraordinary warriors have seen in all their battles.

By the way, this can be a bloody ride, so be ready for some detailed fight scenes.

Green's droll sense of humour adds spice to an already enchanting tale. Hawk and Fisher are headed, reluctantly, back to their homeland. An unsolvable murder mystery is at the heart of the turmoil that is threatening to rip the Forest Kingdom apart. Only the legendary Prince and Princess can save the people and the land and, most likely, the world. If they must return they will, but only in disguise -- a return to fame and power is not in their plans. They're just not that kind.

What kind they are, precisely, is as hard to pin down as the setting of the Hawk and Fisher series. The land they travel doesn't seem to be any place on our maps. From one scene to the next, they move over stranger terrains and lead readers far from familiar territory. When does this all take place? That answer is no more accessible than the locale. Just when you think you have it set in time, something is introduced that blows that theory away. But, do you really need that certainty? Of course not. It is fantasy, after all.

So, don't worry about such trifling details! Just sit back, buckle up, hang onto your hat, and get ready for a wonderfully bumpy ride.

In between reviews and interviews, Lisa DuMond writes science fiction and humour. DARKERS, her latest novel, will be published in early 2000 by Hard Shell Word Factory. She has also written for BOOKPAGE and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Her articles and short stories are all over the map. You can check out Lisa and her work at her website hikeeba!.