DNF 35%

It's an intriguing idea but not executed as you'd want.
I feel if revisited by the author, it would work better.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

This short novel makes for a fun, fast read as an introduction to a new series from this author. Much of the book is used to introduce the crew for the caper, but those stories make for good reads in and of themselves. Definitely looking forward to seeing the next in this series.

Green’s Best Thing You Can Steal features a thief and con man extraordinaire, going under an assumed name. He specializes in stealing things like a ghost's clothes or a photo from a country that never existed. Now he’s after a television set that shows the future and that most delicious of prizes, revenge against “the worst man in the world.” He’s put together a team that includes a ghost who remembers being human, a man wearing the armor of the angels he’s slaughtered, the possibly human embodiment of random luck, and his ex-girlfriend, who can make technology fall in love with her. Armed with a ballpoint pen that can stop time and a skeleton key that can open any lock, not to mention their special talents and wits, he and his team go up against poltergeist attack dogs, golem guards, shaped curses, and a villain who can foresee their every move.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and Severn House in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity.

Our world just got a bit better. Simon R Green has begun a new series featuring a con man and thief who tells us his name is Gideon Sable these days. Gideon tells us he is a bit of a rouge, never a bad guy who can steal things that normally can't be stolen. Things like a good luck charm forged from a pooka's paw, or a photo of a that never existed. In book one Gideon plans to steal the only thing that matters from the worse man in the world. To do this, he must bring together the very best beings for his crew, namely The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card, and Annie Anybody, the woman who can be anyone. Green's talent for creating strong female partners for the protagonist has made me a life long fan. Annie Anybody has a past history with Gideon. Other members of his crew also have a history. Watching Gideon convince (con?) his cohorts is part of the fun.

Green has structured this supernatural thriller as a play in four acts. Act One: Putting Together the Crew, Act Two: Planning the Heist, Act Three: The Heist is On, and Act Four: End Game. Each act changes the setting. Each setting is weird, yet acceptably believable. This is not a universe I would want to live in, but one that I will be happy to explore. A fast paced twisty read for those who like thrillers from the dark side.

Very highly recommended

Simon Green has given a moderately good crime fantasy novel in The Best Thing You Can Steal. There is a plot to get even with a nasty specimen called Hammer who has murdered and mistreated many people. Can the criminal crew get their game plan to work?

Gideon Sable is not who you think he is. He is inhabiting someone else's life. He is a thief and a very good one at that. He assembles a crew to get inside an impenetrable stronghold: The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card . . . and his ex-girlfriend, Annie Anybody. A woman who can be anyone, with the power to make technology fall in love with her. It's still not going to be easy, even with allie such as this. Green begins a new series featuring a new anti-hero. Always an interesting read.

This is so much like Green's Nightside series, it could almost be an extension of it. If you're a fan of urban fantasy with trenchcoat wearing magicians, you'll probably dig this series. Gideon Sable is a thief, but not just any thief. He only steals from those who deserve it and there's typically a supernatural angle involved. Sable puts together an eclectic crew to rob the most dangerous person in the world, an insanely rich man obsessed with collecting the unique. If you like series like Hellblazer or Sandman Slim, this book is for you.

Speaking of having the snark turned up to 11 – or at least something turned up to 11, so far this week we’re one for tension and two for snark with two books left to go – the snark is absolutely turned up to 11 and even past it in The Best Thing You Can Steal.

Even if snark isn’t exactly what this crew is out to nab. Then again, they don’t need any extra as they all have PLENTY of their own.

Considering the title, it’s not going to surprise anyone that this is a heist story. As the first book in a projected series, it’s the story of a man with a plan, in this case con man Gideon Sable, putting together a crew of “experts” to steal from the biggest and baddest collector who ever lived.

If that description sounds kind of familiar, it should. It’s the TV series Leverage, just set in a version of our world that’s hiding more than a few of the things that go bump in the night – even if none of them, so far, are any of the usual suspects.

So it’s Leverage, crossed with Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere – or really, definitely, mostly the author’s own Nightside. And possibly, eventually, every single other series Green has ever written.

Because he does that. Brings bits and pieces from everywhere and everywhen his imagination has ever been and cross-pollinates his other worlds with them. So even though this is the first book in a new series, there’s more than a bit of deja vu for anyone who has ever read any of the author’s previous work.

After all, Gideon Sable used to be someone else. So even though all of the author’s previous series except one all crashed, burned and ended together in a smoking pile at the close of Night Fall, the official last book of his Secret Histories, Nightside and Ghost Finders series, it’s entirely possible that Gideon Sable – and his on again/off again girlfriend Annie Anybody – used to be someone we used to know.

I can’t wait to find out.

Escape Rating A-: I’m inclined to believe that Simon R Green is an acquired taste. It’s just that it’s a taste I acquired a long time ago and never even tried to get over.

So even though this is the first book in this series – to the point where a reader who loves urban fantasy but has never read this author could start here and not feel like they missed anything. At the same time, it also FEELS like it could be dropped into any of his previous series. And quite possibly will be if it goes on long enough.

So this book is both different from his previous work and very much a piece of it all at the same time.

Like the protagonists in many, I think most of Green’s previous series, Gideon Sable isn’t so much telling the story from his first person perspective as he is narrating the story of his own life. Which in this case makes perfect sense, because he’s clearly playing a role rather than actually living a life.

Sable is as much an archetype as he is a character, but then so are all the members of his crew. The woman who is always pretending to be someone else because she can’t face herself, the man who has committed an act so evil that neither heaven nor hell will have him, the one who has taken the red pill but still lives in a blue pill world, and the ghost who can’t let go of his unfinished business.

And all of that is part of the way that this author creates and fills in the colors of his worlds. Where some series, like Murderbot for example, are so much fun because of the voice of a particular character, Green’s worlds all reflect the voice of the author himself. No matter who or what his characters are, all of Green’s protagonists speak in his very singular voice.

Although, while this story is filled to the brim and overflowing with the author’s trademark snark, I found the ending to be a bit more hopeful than his usual – along with the even lovelier promise of more to come.

So if you like the idea of a snark-sparked team coming together in order to pull off the caper of the century, Gideon Sable might just be your jam. It certainly is mine. At least until he steals it.

This is a perfect, escapism treat, into a world of magic, imagination, ghosts and sorcery and I loved it!

Simon R Green is an excellent author and I found this story to be a spellbinding one, with great characters and storyline.

In essence, it's a story about a thief who is putting together an extraordinary crew to undertake a major heist. However, it's so much more and it will take you to a magical London.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Canongate Books / Severn House for the opportunity to preview.

I found it to be a 3.5 star but have rounded up as I was so torn!

Simon R. Green is one of my favorite authors. I have read and re-read his Nightside series and I am a big fan of his newer series of novellas, the Ishmael Jones series. When I saw he had a new series starting, it just took a quick read through the blurb to make me immediately jump on a review copy of this book! Total Nightside vibes -- and I have been missing that series so much since it concluded!

The basics: Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. But, he's the Good Guy. He steals only from those who truly deserve it. He has to be incredibly skilled to pull it off because the items he steals are unusual. He and his team steal items that can't be stolen. They do the impossible.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for more! And I'm going to purchase the audio book to listen to this story again! There's just something about a London created from the mind of Simon R. Green....always magical, dangerous and awesome things hiding in the shadows!

Loved it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Severn House. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL is a bit of Neverwhere, Harry Potter, and Six of Crows all in one. It's brimming with magic and paranormal encounters in the mysterious city of London, which is both like and unlike our own London. And the main character? I absolutely loved the role Gideon Sable played: a thief bent on stopping the evils of the world (namely, a nefarious collector of magical artifacts). And his band of merry misfits add that touch of humor and supernatural thrill.

I don't want to spoil the book, so I won't go too deeply into this review. But I will say this: If you love magic, misfits, and heists full of mysteries in places steeped in the supernatural....then THE BEST THING YOU CAN STEAL is for you.

Are you in the mood for a caper? Sort of a cross between Oceans Eleven and Harry Potter with a bit of Fritz Leiber is what Simon R. Green produced in The Best Thing You Can Steal. You have the main character calling himself Gideon Sable (not his real name, he stole it) putting together a gang to pull a heist on Fredric Hammer, a very nasty collector of strange, weird, and arcane objects. Each member of the gang - Sable, The Ghost, The Dammed, Johnny Wild Card and Annie Anybody - has been injured or killed (looking at you, Ghost) by Hammer. Sable promises each the opportunity to really hurt Hammer by stealing one particular object. The problem is that it is in Hammer's other-dimensional fortress guarded by poltergeist demon dogs, golems, guns and loads of security! Each member of the team has a part to play in their succeeding. If they do manage to survive and win, Hammer will get his and they will each get what they really want. A nicely done magical heist with a nice twisted ending!

From Goodreads:
Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can't normally be stolen. Like a ghost's clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. He even stole his current identity. Who was he originally? Now, that would be telling. One thing's for sure though, he's not the bad guy. The people he steals from always have it coming. Gideon's planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. To get past his security, he's going to need a crew who can do the impossible . . . but luckily, he has the right people in mind. The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card . . . and his ex-girlfriend, Annie Anybody. A woman who can be anyone, with the power to make technology fall in love with her. If things go well, they'll all get what they want. And if they're lucky, they might not even die trying . . .

My review:

It's really well-written. I was luke warm about the heist idea, but the more I read, the better it got. It's quite an unusual crew that the new Gideon Sable assembles. Each member has his or her own good reason for going forward with the heist.

The pace of the story is good. I thought the part about assembling the crew and preparing for the heist would drag, but it did not. The suspense increases as the book goes on. I reached a point where I could not put it down. I needed to know the fates of the crew members.

I liked the idea of a London where magic coexists with the mundane, but not everyone is aware of it. And I enjoyed the descriptions of some of the magical items and how they worked. It shows a lot of creativity.

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars. It's definitely worth a read. This was my first book by Simon R. Green, but it won't be my last.

The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green was published April 6th, 2021 by Severn House Publishers.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not influence my opinion.

Welcome to London, but not as you know it. A place where magics and horror run free, wonders and miracles are everyday things, and the dark streets are full of very shadowy people . . .

Gideon Sable is a thief and a con man. He specializes in stealing the kind of things that can’t normally be stolen. Like a ghost’s clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed. He even stole his current identity. Who was he originally? Now, that would be telling. One thing’s for sure though, he’s not the bad guy. The people he steals from always have it coming.

Gideon’s planning a heist, to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. To get past his security, he’s going to need a crew who can do the impossible . . . but luckily, he has the right people in mind. The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card . . . and his ex-girlfriend, Annie Anybody. A woman who can be anyone, with the power to make technology fall in love with her.

If things go well, they’ll all get what they want. And if they’re lucky, they might not even die trying . . .

It’s always nice to be able to circle back to an author whose work you’ve enjoyed in the past. Simon R Green’s latest, The Best Thing You Can Steal, is a perfect example. I remember revelling in the Deathstalker novels back in the day, escaping to adventure with Hawk and Fisher and devouring the Nightside series*. Then for reasons that I can’t properly explain, there has been a huge gap in my Green related reading. Mr Green happily continued to publish many, many new novels, but I didn’t get the chance to read any of them. Cut to the beginning of 2021, I’m perusing the upcoming releases on Net Galley and The Best Thing You Can Steal catches my eye. A new series by Simon R Green and a conveniently fortuitous gap in my reviewing schedule is a match made in heaven.

Gideon Sable is a thief, a con-man and a platinum rogue. He is also, if you are going to get all technical about it, not actually Gideon Sable. Hell, if you’re going to be a master thief you may as well be prepared to steal another person’s life. A new life means a plethora of new opportunities and our erstwhile anti-hero already has his eyes on a spectacular prize. To accomplish his audacious scheme, “Gideon” needs to put together a crew with a set of very particular skills. The mark in question is a thoroughly unpleasant sort who is well known for turning revenge into an art form. Best make sure nothing goes wrong then.

Gideon has to look high and low (mostly low) to locate the right individuals for the job. Queue the obligatory “getting the gang together” montage.

First in our team of delightfully criminal oddballs is Annie Anybody. She has a chameleon-like personality suitably for any occasion. She also has a past with Gideon. I’m sure that won’t be awkward at all.

Next, there is the muscle. The Damned is a walking advertisement for violence and barely contained rage. An unfortunate incident with Heaven and Hell has left its mark. As long as he doesn’t kill everyone, he’s bound to be a valuable asset.

When it comes to a reliable lookout there is really only one way you can go. The Ghost is exactly what he sounds like he should be. Always handy to have someone paranormal on-side who can stick their head through a brick wall to see what is going on on the other side.

Of all the supporting characters though, it’s Johnny Wilde, The Wild Card who stands out. When you’ve been given a glimpse behind the scenes of the universe there is a good chance it’s going to leave you more than a little unhinged. I don’t imagine your average human mind could comprehend the enormity of all existence and come out the other side without issues. The Wild Card is described as physically unremarkable, makes sense he was a hapless academic before the incident that we don’t talk about. Mentally though is an entirely different matter. I was picturing him as a Freakazoid-esque, forth wall breaking type. Right and wrong are concepts the Wild Card will take under advisement thank you very much. From Johnny’s skewed perspective, our reality is little more than a fuzzy guideline than anything set in stone. The bickering banter between Johnny and The Damned is great fun.

You don’t so much read a Simon R Green novel as grab on with both hands and hope you’re still alive at the end of the ride. For me, his writing is the very definition of pure, unadulterated escapism. The thing I’ve always enjoyed about Green’s style is I’ve always got the distinct impression he is having an absolute blast. His plots have all manner of mildly bonkers stuff happening and it all makes a certain amount of sense at the time. I’ve always been consistently entertained by his work and this latest novel is no exception.

The Best Thing You Can Steal is published by Severn House and is available now.

Every good robbery deserves a suitably tense soundtrack. My musical recommendation to accompany The Best Thing You Can Steal is Heist by James Edward Barker and Tim Despic. You know the drill by now, read one while listening to the other and enhance your enjoyment of both.

*Shotgun Suzy and Razor Eddie, Punk God of the Straight Razor, for the win!

One of my favorite things about Simon R. Green’s work, is that he creates some of the best lovable, quirky, and creative characters to cheer for (or against)! He never fails to give us unique and entertaining characters. Even side characters are fun. The Best Things You Can Steal is no different from any of Simon’s other books when it comes to creative characters. Once again he comes up with a group of outcasts who fit together perfectly! I had so much fun watching these characters go on this crazy heist.

It’s not just the characters that are eccentric and fun to watch. Simon is also great at making quirky versions of London filled with odd and magical gadgets and do-dads. The magic fills the streets and you can’t help but want Simon to give you a full tour of his London. The author even gives us a taste of what kind of weird and unusual items are around in this book, with a magical pawn shop type place and a secret auction of things that should not be.

The Best Things You Can Steal was a very fun heist book. The first half of the book did feel a little bit slow, but it’s understandable because there is a lot of set up going into getting a crew together. Even with the first half of the book being a little bit slower, I did enjoy the extra time to get to know more about the characters. We had a lot of backstory and conversations before we got to the true plot of the story (the heist). I really like these characters and I hope we will see them again in the next book. I had a very entertaining time reading about how these characters became friends.

This is a really quick and enjoyable read. The characters are interesting, the settings are unusual. Simon just has such fun stories! You can’t help but love these characters and the stories they are in. This book reminded me so much of Simon’s Nightside series from a while back. It was the same sort of magical feel and creative vision.

Every now and then, I read something that makes me wonder why the author isn’t an absolute household name. Something so clever, so well written and engaging, I’m here thinking ‘why isn’t this guy as famous as Neil Gaiman?’

Simon R. Green is hardly a nobody; he has a long career and a stack of books to his name, but he’s not that big a household name, even in his genre of urban fantasy, and I really don’t get why, because this book is an absolute gem, and it’s far from his only one.

Talking of Neil Gaiman, the world Simon R. Green creates here is definitely reminiscent of Neverwhere’s London Below. It’s evident from the opening of Chapter One that this is not quite the London we know, and things rapidly get weirder from there as Gideon Sable - master thief, not his real name - puts together an unlikely crew to pull off an impossible heist, stealing a priceless treasure from the worst man in the world, and getting away with it.

One thing that’s really clever is that the chapter headings and the book itself are like a Guide To How To Structure An Urban Fantasy Novel. If you know anything about plot structure it’s really obvious - Act 1 sets up the premise and introduces the characters etc. The whole thing is like a guide to worldbuilding through storytelling rather than exposition, just an absolute masterclass in how it’s done in a single, 200 page novel. There’s a Chekov’s Gun device introduced nice and early to set up the winning twist, every character has a valuable role to play, every action is intentional and part of the overall plot, there are no red herrings because there don’t need to be.

The only quibble I have with this book is that it falls victim to the Smurfette Principle trap; in a crew of five, there’s only one woman. Even if Annie Anybody’s ability to become anyone she wants does mean she plays several different characters over the course of the story, I don’t see any particular reason why either or both the Wild Card or the Damned couldn’t have been female - maybe not the Ghost considering his eventual fate. But seriously, there are two named female characters in the book - Annie, and the client - and that’s it. It’s not a huge cast, but it could definitely be better divided.

I’d love to see Gideon Sable return for more adventures, and I hope, if he does, he gets an expanded and more diverse crew - while it wasn’t explicitly stated, they did seem to be all-white as well, which isn’t particularly representative of London’s extremely diverse population, either.

Even with these issues, however, the book is so cleverly and beautifully written that I cannot otherwise find fault with it. I’m giving it five stars - and I hope to see more stories in this brilliant world in the future.

I have enjoyed reading Simon Green’s Ishmael Jones’ series and was happy to have the opportunity to read this new book, not part of any current series. It takes place in a London with a difference, an overlay of magical and fantastic elements and beings that mix with the human. And it’s presented with the edgy and witty and occasionally rude commentary you would expect from Green.

In The Best Thing You Can Steal, a thief, who has assumed a missing thief’s identity, is in the process of organizing a crew for a major heist. And this is no ordinary team or heist. The target is the richest and worst man alive. The crew — well they are a very different group — and now the magic and fantasy begin in earnest. There are magical tools and devices and a scheme to steal from the evil man’s hoard of one of a kind “mementos.” And the action ensues! It’s really best to read the detailed plot and character development for yourself. That’s a great amount of the fun.

I don’t know if there will be any more stories in this vein or if this will evolve into a series, but I definitely would read them.

Rating 4 to 4.5*

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Gideon Sable series. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review. Previous to reading this I had read all of the Nightside series (loved it), the first couple books of Secret Histories (eh...it was okay), and the first book of the Ghost Finders series (yuck..it was awful).

Story (4/5): This was very reminiscent of Green's Nightside series and I really enjoyed it. There is a cast of incredibly quirky characters here along with snappy dialogue and a fast moving plot. This is basically a heist story. We are introduced to the background of each crew member and then delve into the plan for the heist. There are a lot of supernatural and paranormal elements thrown in for good measure.

I love the creativity in here and all the strange situations we end up in and the strange devices we learn about. I absolutely loved the Nightside series and if you enjoyed the Nightside series I think you will enjoy this as well.

Characters (4/5): Gideon Sable is an intriguing and mysterious character with a lot of attitude and a device to solve any problem. We are also introduced to Annie Anybody (always pretends to be different people and machines fall in love with her), Wild Card (reality and him don’t mix), The Damned (killed some angels for the halos on his wrists), and Ghost (who is a ghost).

As with the Nightside the characters are creative, quirky, and mainly defined by a main power/skill they have. They are fun to read about but don’t have a ton of depth to them. I really enjoy them anyway and am always eager to find out what strange thing new characters we run into can do.

Setting (4/5): This is set in London and I enjoyed it. We get to journey into a mysterious part of the Underground and venture into unknown areas of the city. It’s the perfect setting for this strange heist-like story.

Writing Style (4/5): The writing style here is incredibly similar to the Nightside series. Very fast-paced, lots of witty dialogue, all the characters are a bit over characterized and everything feels a bit kitschy noir. It’s a gritty slap-dash style that I absolutely love and it is absolutely unique to Green. I think you will either love this or hate it. If you loved The Nightside style you will love this.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I am tentatively hopeful about this series, it is the first series since The Nightside by Green that I have really enjoyed. I am betting that as the series continues I will come to love it just as much as the Nightside. For now I plan to keep reading it and time will tell. If you like gritty, funny, slapdash urban fantasy heist novels with crazy characters I think you will enjoy this.

This was really fun! It definitely reminded me a lot of the Nightside series. It feels really gritty and noir-esque, it's set in London, and the plot/characters feel like they could fit right in with the Nightside. This story is on the shorter side, but I feel really satisfied with the story overall. It's quick to read, and I thought the pacing was great (it certainly kept me interested the entire time).

This story is told in 4 acts - assembling the crew, planning the heist, doing the heist, and the aftermath. I really enjoyed learning about the background of the different crew members. Gideon is a rather mysterious thief, and I'm curious about just who he was before assuming this identity of Gideon Sable. Annie Anybody, Gideon's ex, can be anyone and technology falls in love with her. We also have the Damned, the Ghost, and the Wild Card. They all have interesting abilities as well! Our crew all have something in common, so it definitely made sense for them to team up. I really liked all of these characters!

The actual heist was pretty interesting and exciting, especially once we learn just what the item is that they're trying to steal. This world has a variety of useful and powerful magical objects, and I like seeing what all the author comes up with. Some of these objects are more malevolent than others!

This story certainly has some brutal moments (content warnings for gun violence in particular). Despite this, I feel like it's surprisingly cheerful and sweet overall. The writing definitely has some snark and humor which worked really well for me.

I'm not sure if this is the start to a new series, but I would absolutely read more books with these characters. This really reminded me of the things I loved in the Nightside series, so I had a great time with it and would definitely recommend this!

I received a copy of this for review from the publisher via NetGalley - thank you! All opinions are my own.

My video review can be seen on my channel (around minutes 13:08-16:15 of this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=futp3YcNym8