Simon R. Green : Swords of Haven

Simon R. Green : Swords of Haven
Hawk & Fisher 01-03
Omnibus-Ausgabe
ROC 2015
Titelbild : Jerry Vanderstelt

enthält die Romane
Hawk & Fisher (Hawk & Fisher 01, 1990)
Winner Takes All (Hawk & Fisher 02, 1991)
The God Killer (Hawk & Fisher 03, 1991)

THEY’RE LOVERS.
THEY’RE PARTNERS.
THEY’RE COPS.
They’re the battle-scarred crimebusters of a never-ending urban war. Hawk rules the streets by battle-axe. Fisher cracks down on outlaws with sword and dagger. Their merciless beat is the sinister city misnamed Haven: a dark and violent town overrun with spell casters, demons, and thieves—a place where money will buy anything... except justice.

Klappentext

Um wen geht's ?

Hawk was tall and dark, but no longer handsome. A series of old scars ran down the right side of his face, pale against the tanned skin, and a black silk patch covered his right eye. He wore a simple white cotton shirt and trousers, and the traditional black cloak of the Guards. Normally he didn't bother with the cloak. It got in the way during fights. But with so many strangers come to town for the election, the cloak served as a badge of authority, so he wore it all the time now, with little grace and even less style. Hawk always looked a little on the scruffy side, and his boots in particular were old and battered, but a keen eye might have noticed that they had once been of very superior quality and workmanship. There were many rumors about Hawk's background, usually to do with whether or not his parents had been married, but no one knew anything for sure. The man's past was a mystery, and he liked it that way.

On the whole, he didn't look like much. He was lean and wiry rather than muscular, and beginning to build a stomach. He wore his dark hair at shoulder length, in defiance of fashion, swept back from his forehead and tied with a silver clasp. He had only just turned thirty, but already there were thick streaks of grey in his hair. At first glance he looked like just another bravo, past his prime and going to seed. But few people stopped at the first glance. There was something about Hawk, something in the scarred face and single cold eye that gave even the drunkest hardcase pause for thought. On his right hip Hawk carried a short-handled axe instead of a sword. He was very good with an axe. He'd had plenty of practice, down the years.

Isobel Fisher walked at Hawk's side, echoing his pace and stance with the naturalness of long companionship. She was tall, easily six feet in height, and her long blond hair fell to her waist in a single thick plait, weighted at the tip with a polished steel ball. She was in her mid- to late-twenties, and handsome rather than beautiful. There was a rawboned harshness to her face that contrasted strongly with her deep blue eyes and generous mouth. Somewhere in her past something had scoured all the human weaknesses out of her, and it showed. Like Hawk, she wore a white cotton shirt and trousers, and the regulation black cloak. The shirt was half unbuttoned to show a generous amount of bosom, and her shirt sleeves were rolled up above her elbows, revealing arms corded with muscle and lined with old scars. Her boots were battered and scuffed and looked as though they hadn't been cleaned in years. Fisher wore a sword on her left hip, and her hand rested comfortably on the pommel.

Hawk and Fisher were known throughout Haven. Firstly, they were honest, which was in itself enough to mark them as unusual amongst Haven's overworked and underpaid Guards. And secondly, they kept the peace; whatever it took. Hawk and Fisher brought in the bad guys, dead or alive. Mostly dead.
People tended to be very law-abiding while Hawk and Fisher were around.

Auszug aus "Winner Takes All"

Im Regenbogenschwert haben sich Prinz Rupert und Prinzessin Julia gegen die Bedrohung durch den Dämonenprinzen gestellt. Da sie nicht wirklich das Waldkönigreich regieren wollten, sind sie abgehauen und haben Ruperts Bruder alles überlassen. Sie landeten in Haven, einer Hafenstadt in den Low Kingdoms, und arbeiten dort als Stadtwache. Man kennt sie hier unter den Namen Hawk und Fisher.

Und damit ist ein klassisches AD&D-Szenario gesetzt, das Simon R. Green mit Genuß bis zum Letzten ausspielt. In "Hawk & Fisher" werden die beiden - nachdem sie einen Werwolf zur Strecke gebracht haben - als Bodyguards für einen Politiker bei einer Dinner-Party eingesetzt. Und los geht das "10 kleine Negerlein"-Spiel.
"Winner takes it all" ist eine Erzählung über eine der Lieblingsbeschäftigungen des Havenschen Adels - Politik. Im Wahlkampf sollen die beiden einen Reform-Politiker beschützen. Was bei den in Haven gängigen Methoden - Attentate, Rufmord, magische Machinationen - kein leichter Job ist.
"The God Killer" führt die beiden zur "Straße der Götter", sie wurden zur Deity Division der Stadtwache versetzt. Irgendjemand bringt nacheinander die Götter um, was langsam aber sicher doch etwas Unruhe unter diesen außergewöhnlichen Wesen hervorruft. Da das letzte Mal, als es Ärger unter den Göttern untereinander gab, Haven mehr oder minder neu aufgebaut werden musste, sollen Hawk und Fisher nicht nur für Ruhe sorgen, sondern auch den Störenfried finden und eine Apokalypse verhindern.

Jede dieser Geschichten ist leicht als Pen&Paper-Szenario vorstellbar, in Teilen habe ich die Ausarbeitungen fast schon plastisch vor mir gesehen. Da verwundert es nicht, wenn Todd Richmond schreibt : "If you are looking for incisive social commentary or deep contemplation of life's great issues, keep looking." Die Geschichten sind eben nicht tiefsinnig, aber höchst amüsant. Ich habe die einfach nur so weggeschmökert, sie machen wirklich Spaß. Interessant finde ich allerdings, daß mich die Geschichten um Hawk & Fisher in Haven ein bißchen an Lankhmar erinnern. Kann allerdings rein subjektiv sein, ich wüsste nicht genau, wo ich das festmachen sollte, ist ein reines Feeling. Haben sich auf jeden Fall gelohnt, die beiden Omnibus-Ausgaben.

Forest Kingdom
01 - Das Regenbogenschwert (Blue Moon Rising, 1991)
02 - Unter dem Blauen Mond (Beyond the Blue Moon, 1992)
03 - Der träumende Turm (Down among the Dead Men, 1993)
Beyond the Blue Moon (2000)
Once in a Blue Moon (2014)

Hawk & Fisher
01 - Hawk & Fisher (1990)
02 - Winner Takes All (1991)
03 - The God Killer (1991)
04 - Wolf in the Fold (1992)
05 - Guard Against Dishonor (1991)
06 - The Bones of Haven (1992)