Forest Kingdom series by Simon R. Green
Blue Moon Rising (1991), Blood and Honour (1992), & Down Among the Dead Men (1993)
Cover art by David Farren
Gollancz, 1991-1993
Blue Moon Rising (1991)
Rupert didn't especially want to be a prince. And he certainly never asked to be the second son of a royal line that really didn't need a spare. So he was sent out to slay a dragon and prove himself-a quest straight out of legend. But he also discovered the kinds of things legends tend to leave out, as well as the usual demons, goblins, the dreaded Night Witch-and even worse terrors hidden in the shadows of Darkwood.
Rupert did find a fiery dragon-and a beautiful princess to rescue. But the dragon turned out to be a better friend than anyone back at the castle, and with the evil of Darkwood spreading, Rupert was going to need all the friends he could get.
Blood and Honour (1992)
Jordan had always prided himself on his acting abilities, but now he faced the challenge of his career. Magicked into looking exactly like Prince Viktor, middle son of the recently assassinated King Malcolm, Jordan had been hired to pretend to be the prince as a war of succession raged at Castle Midnight. With both Viktor's elder brother, Lewis, and his younger brother, Dominic, only too eager to dispatch their middle sibling, thereby increasing their own chances to gain the crown, Jordan soon found himself hard pressed to survive. And in a castle where the winds of Unreality might at any moment sweep down upon the unsuspecting, leaving behind little that was recognizably human, Jordan could only hope for a very short run in the role of prince and a quick escape from the kingdom with the fortune promised him for a successful job.
But fate--or perhaps a magical conspiracy--was about to rewrite the script for everyone at Castle Midnight, and only time would tell who would live to claim the throne and who would rule among the legions of the dead...
Down Among the Dead Men (1993)
"Ten years have passed since the Demon War. The Forest's scars are slowly healing, the Darkwood is still and silent, and few demons ever venture out of the endless night. But in a clearing not far from the Darkwood boundary, in a darkness where a sun has never risen and a moon has never shone, an ancient evil stirs in its sleep and dreams foul dreams."
And with those words, New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green begins the third of his Forest Kingdom novels, a classic sword-and-sorcery quest of four Rangers, three outlaws, and one Infernal Device that could reawaken a Beast that's best left sleeping. Travel along with Duncan MacNeil, the witch Constance, Jessica Flint and Giles Dancer as they -- and their buried secrets -- go down among the dead men on the adventure of a lifetime.