“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 . . .“

My thanks to Canongate Books Severn House for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Best Thing You Can Steal’ by Simon R. Green in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is the start of his new series featuring thief and conman, Gideon Sable. Simon R. Green excels at these relatively short, dynamic urban fantasies that combine action with visceral horror and wry humour.

Gideon specializes in stealing the kind of things that can't normally be stolen. Recently he even stole his current identity though he’s not telling who he was originally. Currently he is assembling a crew to steal the only thing that matters from the worst man in the world. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to assist Gideon. They are: the Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card . . . and Gideon’s ex-girlfriend, Annie Anybody.

This was great fun as Gideon and his crew comes up against some seriously twisted supernatural security measures. After this strong opening I am looking forward to seeing where Green takes this particular group of misfits next.

I’m not generally a huge fan of fantasy heist adventures. It takes serious writing chops to successfully build up the tension within an ensemble crew and make me go on caring, given that I don’t innately sympathise with anti-heroes. But if anyone was going to be able to pull me into such a story, then I knew it would be Green, which his pacey writing, strong characters and tongue-in-cheek humour that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

My instincts were right. This was just what I needed. Gideon is a likeable rogue who is trying to pull down a satisfyingly nasty antagonist by hitting him where it hurts most – by raiding his vault and snatching his most valued possession. In amongst the planning and scheming, there are some lovely touches of gothic horror that had me teetering between shock and laughter. Though there are also some scenes which are more about the seedy side of London and the sheer nastiness of our enemy.

Green has the pacing absolutely nailed. Once we got to a certain stage of the story, there was no way I was putting this one down until I discovered what happens next. And so I very much appreciated the plot twists that Green threw in near the end that suddenly changed the whole dynamic of what is going on. It was very well done – a sudden shift in the narrative like this could have felt like a cheat in less accomplished hands. The story was wrapped up entirely satisfactorily and I’m hoping that this is the first in a new series. Recommended for fans of fantasy heist adventures. While I obtained an arc of The Best Thing You Can Steal from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

The book takes place in the magical underworld of modern London, much like Harry Potter. However, this is an adult story with a darker bend. The protagonist is Gideon Sable, a thief and con-artist, who apparently is not the actual Gideon Sable, but another thief using his identity. He is determined to pull off an elaborate heist and take down an evil collector of rare magical items, Fredric Hammer. Gideon is accompanied by his ex-girlfriend Annie Anybody, who can charm technology, the Damned, who has killed angels and wears their halos, Johnny Wild Card, who knows the truth of reality, and the Ghost, who has long haunted the streets of London. They’ve all been wronged by the collector, who has ruined many lives, and they all have their reason to want revenge.

This is magical realism done well, as we are introduced to each member of the specially selected team, told their story, their gifts, and why they want revenge on Hammer. The character development is superb. Every single member of the heist team is fascinating, and magical London is dark and intriguing. We are kept much in the dark about the narrator, which makes this even more delicious. This is a short but compelling read about magical revenge that will leave you wanting more.

I received a free copy of this book from Severn House via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

The Best Thing You Can Steal is a standalone urban fantasy novella (and I hope) the start of a new series by Simon R. Green. Released 6th April 2021 by Severn House, it's 192 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook versions. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Simon Green will be familiar to many (most?) fans of urban fantasy and this is a good example of the kind of writing we've come to expect from him. There's a large dose of bravado, lots of imagination, cleverly wrought characters who are that little bit extra, and an extravagantly intricate plot full of twists and turns. The denouement was exciting and engaging and the resolution was very satisfying. A one sentence precís would say: Ocean's 11 meets the BPRD with a dash of Neverwhere. It's a not entirely fair assessment, since Mr. Green adds his own inimitable stamp to the narrative, but it's not far off either.

The language is *relatively* clean and would probably rate PG. Vernacular and spelling are UK standard (the author's a Brit, it's set in London - most of the North American audience likely has a favo(u)rite Dr. Who actor - so concessions must be made).

Very entertaining and a quick and humorous read. The author has a definite gift with repartee and I found myself smiling often whilst reading. This series will likely appeal to fans of Charles Stross' Laundry Files, Jasper Fforde, and similar.

Four and a half stars. Well worth a look.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

I will read pretty much anything Mr. Green publishes and enjoy them for the most part, this book is no exception.
While the book is basically Oceans 11 ala SRG, it is a quick fun read and a nice escape from the day-to-day. The world-building will feel familiar to fans of SRG's other series and quickly capture your imagination and take you on a wild ride. It a bit of a romp into the Nightside. If you're a fan, you'll immediately feel at home. Wish it were a bit longer, but given the circumstances, it's understandable.

Huge fan of the author here and very happy I was able to read this short novel as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There are elements of one of my favorite book (Gaiman's Neverwhere) as as there's a parallel London where magic is strong and weird and magical characters populate it.
The author is a master storyteller and I loved the world building, the excellent character development (the Damned above all) and the fast paced plot.
There's plenty of humor and there's a dark side to this funny story.
It's highly entertaining and gripping, strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I had not read anything by this author before but I enjoy urban fantasy, magic, and books set in London, so it should have been perfect reading for me.

Many authors have used the idea of a magical 'lost' London and some of them are among my favourite books. Somehow I felt this author did not exploit the idea well enough. A paragraph at the beginning of each chapter did not do it for me.

I liked the characters well enough although the MC was not especially well developed. I thought the Wildcard and the Ghost were the best and I was always hoping for a happy ending for them both. The story was good but not exciting. Not a bad read though and there were some very humorous moments.

I understand the author has written a well known urban fantasy series so I will have to try that.

This was the perfect blend of magic vs realism and I was totally here for it! Not a book I would've normally picked up, but I'm glad I did! This made me more excited about paranormal fantasy than ever before!

The Best Thing You Can Steal is the first book in Gideon Sable UF series by Simon R. Green, a British fantasy author of several series and dozens of books.

The book takes place in modern London that is full of supernatural and paranormal in ways that isn’t really explained. They simply are. The sole point of view character is Gideon Sable, a thief and con-artist wearing someone else’s face, who’s about to pull the heist of his life to take down an evil collector of rare magical items. He’s accompanied by his ex-girlfriend Annie Anybody, a woman who can charm technology; the Damned, a man who’s killed angels; Johnny Wild Card who knows what reality truly is, and the Ghost who’s been haunting the streets of London for decades. They’ve all been wronged by the collector and have their reason to want revenge.

For a heist book, this was incredibly dull. There was no excitement, no unexpected twists. Deus ex machinas don’t count, even literal ones. For any kind of book, it was really oddly composed, and not what I’d expect from a seasoned author. Nothing happens. There’s no plot, only a series of events that go from A to Z in preordained order, with odd sideways jumps that don’t affect the story or the behaviour of the characters in any way.

Over half of the book is taken by character introductions. Gideon goes to them one by one, asks them to participate in the heist, they say yes, and then tell him their life stories. Then we learn what the heist is about, meet one more character who has no role to play in the story, do a detour to an event that doesn’t affect the plot in any way, go through the heist plans one more time, and then follow the plans step by step with no surprises.

There were no antagonist forces putting obstacles in the characters’ path (armed guards don’t count), and the characters didn’t get in their own way either. A brief surprise was had when the goal of the heist wasn’t quite what they’d thought, there was some moralising about it, and then we learned what the best thing you can steal really is. Which was just. So. Lame. It’s really not worth reading the book for that.

The characters were a combination of quirky and tragic, though not quite as quirky or tragic as the author probably intended. They also changed pretty fast when interacting with the others. Unlike the rest, Annie Anybody wasn’t given a backstory. She could be anyone she wanted, but I expected at least some sort of insight into her. Was she born that way? Where did her skill with the machines come from?

But the oddest character was Gideon Sable himself. We don’t learn anything about him, even though he’s the first person narrator. We know he’s not who he used to be, but just because he has assumed another person’s face and identity shouldn’t mean the reader isn’t given any insight into who he was before or why the change, or how it was possible. We don’t know his age, or if it changed when he assumed Gideon Sable’s life, and we don’t learn why he’s after the collector. Some mystery is expected to keep the reader’s interest, but since we view the events through his eyes, not having a clue of what he thinks or feels, or what motivates him is really bizarre.

The best thing you can say about the book is that it’s short. The language is descriptive and there’s a lot of it; by the time you finish a sentence you’ve forgotten what it’s about. A lot of effort has been put into creating the weirdest possible items, people, and events, and most of the book is taken by describing these. Therefore, it’s slightly odd that I constantly had a feeling that everything took place in a bubble. Nothing connected to anything, smelled or felt like anything. For all that every chapter began with a description of London, I never felt like I was there.

The book has a conclusive ending. If this is a part of a series, it doesn’t really set the stage for follow-ups. Maybe it doesn’t have to go farther than this. There’s certainly nothing compelling this reader to continue.

“The Best Thing You Can Steal” by Simon Green

In books, I am always drawn to ghosts, horrors, monsters, and other supernatural things. However, I have also always loved humor, a book that makes me laugh and puts a smile on my face. “The Best Thing You Can Steal” brings both supernatural and humor into the same book, making this an excellent read!
There is no one worse than Frederic Hammer, the world’s most covetous collector. He collects everything rare and valuable, whether it be angel halos or the body parts of famous people. Hammer has destroyed more than one life, figuratively and literally, to get every bit and piece of his collection, and there are some people who are willing to do anything to get some well-deserved revenge on Hammer.
Gideon Sable (at least, that’s the name he goes by now) wants revenge on Hammer, and he knows exactly how and where to hit the collector. Hammer’s new favorite toy is a television set that can see the past, present, and the future. Sable might be an expert thief, but if he’s going to smuggle this all-seeing TV out of Hammer’s coveted museum, he’s going to need help.
The Damned, the Ghost, the Wild Card, and Annie Anybody join his side to help him steal the television set. However, working with this group of people is far from easy. The Damned is a little too eager to try and kill Hammer, the Ghost isn’t too inclined to “do things” anymore, the Wild Card is too eccentric for any of their goods, and Sable and Annie are still recovering after a horrible break-up. The chances of them pulling off anything together is slim, nevertheless an important heist. Yet, for the revenge they all seek, they team up together to attempt to do the impossible.
It was great fun to see the relationship between the unconventional characters in this book grow, and it made the end even more satisfying. Highly recommended!

Reviewed by Bailey Day, author of “The Amazing Imagination Machine” by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine.

Thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the latest by Simon R. Green, "The Best Thing You Can Steal",

This story is like the movie "Now You See Me" meets Harry Potter, with a dash of the wackiness of The Umbrella Academy. Five peculiar characters plan to break into the vault of a sadistic collector of exotic magical items. A ghost that can move through walls and talk to other spirits. A nearly indestructible man powered by stolen angel halos. A woman who can manipulate any kind of technology. A wild card who can see things no one else can. And a guy who goes by the name Gideon Sable, a legendary thief (but who is not Gideon Sable. So basically he stole the name of a thief, oh the irony).

I want to start by saying I loved the world building in this story and the various strange magical items, such as a ballpoint pen that can stop time. There is a lot of humor in this story. The characters are quick with comebacks and witty banter regarding their various abilities. Their interactions remind me a lot of the characters in The Umbrella Academy. The tone of the story is similar as well. They are battling with their unique powers one second and then making a quip about it in the next.

The characters are very interesting with unique backstories, especially the Damned, the Ghost, and Johnny Wildcard. I'm assuming the author means this to be the first in a series. I'd be curious to see where the author plans on taking the story next, and which characters he plans to bring back for sequels. One of the character's story arcs was not completely resolved. Like the character in the novel, I sort of felt like, "It's do." But I definitely hope there will be more resolution to this character's arc in another book.

I loved the main twist at the end and how the author managed to bring back things that were mentioned casually throughout the book into the ending in a major way. I can't get too specific without giving away spoilers, but it was a very clever twist, one I don't predict many people will guess. I also enjoyed the karmic ending. It was very satisfying.

I really want to give this a 4.5 stars because there were a few things that bothered me, but I'm going to go ahead and give it 5 stars because it was a well-written book full of creative ideas and wonderful characters. I also feel like it did a good job setting up this world in preparation for possible sequels. But I'm going to go over the things that bugged me in order to give a fair and honest review.

The climax and resolution feel a little underwritten in comparison to the rest of the book. The whole thing wraps up a little too quickly with minimal complications once the heist begins. Because the ending is a little rushed, it seems like characters don't have time to respond to everything they should be responding to. Like when one character tells everyone they need to find something to help control their gift, that's a secret they and the protagonist kept from the other characters so everyone would go along with the heist, and no one bats an eye when they confess it in the middle of the heist. I was disappointed because it seemed pointless to keep it a secret if there wasn't going to be a dramatic reveal or conflict resulting from it.

Also, when someone manages to destroy something that is supposed to be impossible to destroy, one of the characters immediately just believes it instead of needing to go see it for themselves. It would have really heightened the dramatic impact of what happened if this character had been like "No, that's impossible" and then went and checked it out. The emotional impact of this scene was too brief for all the build up that had gone on before.

Also at some point a character says "He always was a better man that me" about someone they knew for maybe a week tops? You don't say that about someone you basically just met. Sounds more like something you'd say about someone you knew for years. Realistically, you'd say, "He seemed like a better man than me" or "He was a better man than me." (I'm nitpicking here).

Also one of the characters problems was resolved "by just believing in yourself!" which felt kind of cheesy. It could have been interesting to see this problem become a setback during the heist, which is what I thought the author was setting up.

There was also a twist reveal regarding the backstory of two characters that I thought was pointless to the story and sort of glossed over. I really didn't understand the point of it except maybe to resolve the conflict between these characters in a quick way to help wrap the story up. Maybe a long conversation between them in the last chapter instead of the hurried one near the climax of the story would have made this twist feel more emotional and impactful. As it was, it was just kind of, "Eh, okay then".

Two more nitpicky things. This isn't regarding the story itself, but the marketing. The book cover looks FAR more dark than the story. Like I said, this story has The Umbrella Academy and Now You See Me vibes, but the cover looks like a horror novel. And two of the items mentioned in the blurb " a ghost's clothes, or a photo from a country that never existed" aren't actually in the story. There are so many magical items mentioned in this story. It would have been nice to see the items featured or at least mentioned in the actual story somehow, not just the intro, even if it wasn't important to the plot. It would have been neat to get backstory on these items. Why do you need a ghost's clothes? Do they provide some form of invisibility? Do you have to meet someone who travels between dimensions to get a photo from a country that never existed? Maybe they'll get mentioned in a sequel. Along with Time Agents, who I'm pretty sure were casually mentioned because they'll appear in a future story.

So like I said, this is a really good story. The only real issue is that I wish the ending had been a little longer, with certain elements that I mentioned drawn out a little more to heighten tension. Overall, this story was very satisfying, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a heist story involving magic.

I wanted to like this but I got lost in the parallel world and couldn't quite get into it. While I'm certain others will enjoy it, it wasn't my cup of tea and I DNF, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A fantastic introduction to the world of Simon R Green. I'm a long time fan. I love his witty, sharp and smart style of storytelling, especially the ease with which he fleshes out his characters, I especially enjoyed The Damned's story here and would like to read more about him and The Wild Card.
This is a brilliant heist adventure with some amazing objects and concepts. There's a dark edge which makes the humour brilliantly sharp.


I'm really hoping that his back list will be released in the UK as it's difficult to get hold of some of his work. I work in Waterstones and have been trying to recommend his books for over 10 years but they are somewhat difficult to order for customers.

A new Simon R Green novel is always a pleasure! I have read, reread and loved all his works since I discovered him in the late 90's!

His latest work The Best Thing You Can Steal is a true delight! Our hero is now Gideon Sable, master thief, targeting the very worst of the worst. His team is a collection of monsters, ghosts, weirdos and his old love. Simon excels at writing easy to like characters and witty repartee! If like me you are a fan you will know what to expect, mysteries, people doing ok be right thing for all the wrong reasons, magic, strange science and just the right amount of religious mysticism and love! If you are new to his ouevre - welcome you are in for a treat and a wonderful author with a vast and varied back catalogue.

If you need a bit more convincing to pick up this book then think Ocean's Eleven mixed up with Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. An utter delight from beginning to end!

I enjoyed reading this book by Simon R. Green, who also authored the Nightside books. This book, the first of a new series, appears to take place in the same setting as the Nightside books - one with normal London, and unnoticed by most people, a place where magic and monsters are real. This book is about a heist for an impossible machine acquired by 'the worst man in the world', Fredric Hammer - who turned out to be quite a villain.

The main character, Gideon Sable, is a thief who specializes in stealing very unusual things. He even stole his name and identity. The first part of the book is about him assembling his crew for the heist - a very unusual and interesting crew that includes his former girlfriend, who is a master of impersonation. Most of his crew have good reason to wish ill for Fredric Hammer. It was an entertaining book up until the heist was going down, and then it was riveting. I highly recommend this book for lovers of urban fantasy.

I received an arc of this book from the publisher Severn House via Netgalley. It was my pleasure to read and review it.

This book started out pretty rough and then only really got rougher. As a result I couldn't make it through the first 2 chapters and it was not enjoyable.

I’ve been a fan of this author for many years which all started when I read the Nightside series. I followed him with his new series with Eddie Drood and Ishmael Jones, each series losing me a little. I got this book not realizing it was the first in a new series just thinking it was a new Ishamel. OK, I was ready to try something new hoping it would lose me a little more. I was immediately drawn into this book, and I was so happy to see something similar to the Nightside but not too similar. This author is great with a turn of phrase, and his writing is great, too. That shines in this latest, and I liked that I feel a little more hope about the future books. This is more vintage Green and I’m ready for more. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

The Best Thing You Can Steal
by Simon R. Green

My favorite fantasy in 60 years of reading has been Simon R. Green's Nightside series! It has the absolute best world building and unique characters ever! This book brings back that wonderful imagination and creative spark I so loved from the Nightside. These new characters are so bizarre, zany, unique, and perfectly reckless that they are perfect for the crew to storm a highly fortified hideout and steal an enchanted artifact. This world is also just as crazy as the people in it! I am so in love with this book!

A man that has supernatural powers of a demon and an angel. A ghost with a bit more than just mist under his sheets. A gal that dresses up as anyone but herself and has a special gift when she needs it or not. A man everyone fears because he so smart he's crazy. Then there is the one who planned the heist using a famous thief's name.

This is a whirlwind of action, totally unpredictable, witty, insane, sprinkled heavily with humor, tossed with amazing and amusing dialogue, and covered with unlikely friendships! I hope this is a book one of a series! I am ready for a long, lovely ride down crazy town with these delightful zany characters! Loved it so much!

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this. The review is my opinion. I recommend it highly!

This is my first book by Simon R. Green, but I've heard a lot of good things about this author. And now I know why. This is a cute quick story that is fun to read. Especially for someone like me who loves the heist stories.

Gideon Sable, or rather the man who stole his identity, gathers a team to make the impossible job - steal from the worst man on earth his most precious piece of collection. And all this on behalf of none other than the man's ex-wife. Isn't that a great idea for a fun story? Especially if we add a bit of magic and unusualness to it.

Green has done a great job creating a group of truly unique characters. We get to know them quite well in the first part of this book. It is hard to find a more incompatible team, but it is also easy for you to see why they all work together so well. Each of these characters has a past that shaped them and a set of unique abilities needed for this job. And all of them are easy to like. Even Gideon, who might be a little annoying, but fortunately he's not.

The action is really fast-paced with a few twists at the end. The plot is well thought out, each character has a his/her place. I also really enjoyed the light playful tone of this story. The dialogues are really good, I have laughed more than once. The magical world created by the author is interesting and encourages you to explore it further.

I hope to come back to it again. And of course, to these characters. I think there is a lot of potential in this team, I can't wait for the next heists they can plan and the next trouble they can get into.

If you have read any of Simon R Green's Nightsider books, or his Hawk and Fisher, then you already have a sense of what this book is like. Whether you enjoy that or not is a different matter - Green has a definite style, and it's on display here. (There's a level to which it's true of the Deathstalker books, too, although they have a whole other thing going on as well.)

Green's style happens to work very well for me, as a rule, now that I know what to expect. Witty banter, cheerful playing with tropes, a courteous if shallow nod to the notion of substance, with a narrative that's mostly flash and style in a "I'm fabulous and loving it" way. It's not quite textual candy floss - there's a bit more substance than that - but maybe it's... candied peanuts. Tasty, some nutrition, pretty sweet, and even I can't eat toooo many of them at a time. But I love it when I do have them. (And some people hate them.)

This book is a heist story and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Characters literally call it a heist and the section headings do too. So you know what you're getting, and it delivers. The first part, therefore, is getting the team together, which is often my favourite part of such stories. Our narrator is now called Gideon Sable - we don't know who he used to be. His first recruit is Annie Anybody, master of disguise (who, I now realise, is therefore much like Face in the A-Team) who is also Sable's ex, which of course is going to lead to some tension. Then there's a Ghost - who is actually a ghost; the Damned (... who, I now realise, is something like BA... in the A-Team...), who is damned for a dreadful misdeed but is spending his remaining time on earth killing bad people just to stick it to Hell; and Johnny Wilde (...who is... a lot... like Murdoch...), aka the Wild Card, who does terrifying things to reality.

(I'll just stop here and think about the A-Team similarity. Sable doesn't smoke a cigar and there's no tanks; I don't think this is actually deliberate. It's just that those tropes - disguise, muscle, the spanner in the works - are exactly that; tropes, and useful ones at that.)

Team gets together, team plans heist, team attempts heist, hijinks ensue. The fun thing with a relatively standard narrative is knowing what to expect, AND the ways the author gets to spin expectations - and with Green, have fun and do ridiculous things along the way. Because, as this is Green, it is of course no ordinary setting: this is the magical side of London (a well-traveled path, I know), which means objects that defy reality and people with terrifying abilities and a ball point pen that can stop time (only briefly though).

This is a fun book. At times silly, always fast-paced, it's also short at about 160 pages in my e-copy - so there's no mucking around.