I really enjoy Simon R Green books, so I fully expected this to be a 5 star from me but it just wasn't. The characters and fantastic lists that he usually manages to just toss out there so casually seemed like real work in this book. The Vegas scenario held a lot of promise that just kind of didn't go anywhere and the best thing about this title is the premise we're left with at the end describing the future for Gideon (and company).

Sadly, this didn't quite live up to expectations raised by other reviewers. It wasn't too bad, a good old thriller/magic heist romp, with likeable good guys and justly served baddies, and the pacing was fast, the plot a wee bit - but not overly - complicated - basically, a bit of brain candy for those times you can't be bothered to concentrate on anything too heavy. And life often needs those kinds of books too. But for me, the writing was a bit light, rather formulaic, and full of clichés. It was like Gideon Sable was trying to outcool everything and everyone, and only managing it because the author so willed it. There were quite a few spots in the action where he deserved to have his ass handed to him on a plate, but was saved by a highly unlikely conjunction of circumstances.and/or by possessing a handy magical trinket. And what was with his affected fear of a few human thugs at a couple of junctures, when he had the Damned and the Wild Card (rather the overkill in staffing there, in my opinion) on his side? Surely mere mortals would be pathetically easy to overcome? And Gideon's girlfriend was a bit irritating too. Why did she need to formally state "who" she was now, when all she really did was go and change her clothes and makeup (isn't that called being an actor?) Sorry. I take that criticism back; that's what actors do too, she's obviously method.

Still, this was an entertaining read, so my thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Gideon Sable returns and he’s getting the team back together for a new heist. This time they are off to Las Vegas to steal the Masque of Ra for Judi Rifkin. In the process he hopes to settle some old scores and deal with the team's outstanding debt to Judi.

Humour, action, personal peril, some fantastic supernatural beings and of course ducking and diving. If you loved The Best Thing You Can Steal you will adore A Matter of Death and Life.

My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it was gripping right from the start and engaged me all the way through. Good writing, good storyline and good characters.

Goodbye John Taylor, Hello Gideon Sable.........

I was sorry when Simon Green wrapped up his "Nightside" series, and as much as I now enjoy Ishmael Jones it wasn't the same; there was just something missing. Until now. This is the second Gideon Sable book, and it strikes me that while this series is a bit bumpy in places it is a reasonably worthy successor to the Nightside tales. That said, because Gideon Sable is a sort of master criminal on the prowl these books are more stand alone. While there are hints and suggestions of some hidden background story it's not clear if we're ever going to see that or if it's ever going to come to the fore. And we don't have a consistent, fully realized alternate world, though there are loads of vague references to a supernatural underworld.

But what we do have is a smart aleck hero and both a colorful repeating crew of companions and a wildly varied selection of villains and cameo characters. As with John Taylor, most problems are solved by just-in-the-nick of time secret powers and magical objects. That can be annoying, because it seems sort of lazy, but it happens so often it's almost like a signature move. It helps that the tricks and trinkets are usually clever, and it also means that there's more room for plot, snappy patter, and action because we aren't bogged down trying to come up with plausible explanations for what's happening.

As with its predecessor, this book is built around a caper. Again, though, the caper is pretty flimsy and doesn't even get into gear until the last quarter of the book. Everything up to then is prologue, (although the caper does have a few fun twists), and the real pleasure is in the interactions of the various members of Sable's crew.

Bottom line -- this is fun Simon Green, with an appealing hero, lots of sly deadpan humor, an engaging and interesting gang of accomplices, a throwaway plot, and lots of snappy patter. A fun entertainment.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Review Simon R Green
A matter of death and life

In A Matter of Death and Life, Simon R Green brings us another excellent, exciting and humorous read. We are introduced to master thief extraordinaire, Gideon Sable. Gideon always has a plan and a crew to help him set the world right, at the same time stealing, begging and borrowing (maybe to be returned) fantastical items. The story is set in an alternative world set in the deep dark cracks of London and below and behind the fabric of the Universe; a place so engaging and entertaining that you want to be there but are glad you are not, full of characters that you definitely want to be on the right side of. The story moves from London to Vegas as Gideon races to steal a fabled mask that reportedly brings eternal life, right wrongs from his past, look after his friends and settle scores. I haven’t yet read the previous book in this series, but this didn’t matter. I’m off to find it right now and can’t wait to spend more time in the world of Gideon Sable!

A Rollercoaster Ride Of Rampant Imagination….
The second of the Gideon Sable series and a rollercoaster ride of rampant imagination once again as the reader is treated to the prospect of a supernatural heist of huge proportions - the vault of a Las Vegas casino. With a unique, engaging and well drawn cast of eccentric characters and a fast moving plot this both fun and compelling and always entertaining.

Gideon Sable is back....a great second book, an improbable supernatural heist is about to take place involving some very unusual characters, some of whom we have met before and introducing some new ones. A cracking read just what you would expect from someone of Simon R Green's calibre. More of the same please.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the upcoming second book by Simon R. Green to feature "Gideon Sable" and his crew. Having read the previous book, and thoroughly enjoyed it (as I do all of Mr. Green's books and series), I was eager to jump right in and reconnect with Gideon and his crew.

Hail, hail, the gang's all (well, mostly) here: Gideon Sable, Annie Anybody, Lex Talon (The Damned) and Johnny Wilde (The Wild Card) - as rag tag a group of supernaturals as you'll ever want to avoid (especially if you get on their bad side).

Once again, Judi Rifkin has a task for the crew, in order to make up for their (sort of) previous failure; and to once again wreak vengeance on her ex-husband and fellow misanthrope (with a capital M). This time, she wants them to steal and deliver The Masque of Ra - an ancient artifact that (with the proper ritual) will render the owner young and immortal. But to do that, they must best one of the most ruthless men on the planet, Saul Tressor, and his family as well as a well-fortified and supernaturally protected casino in beautiful, treacherous Las Vegas.

To assist - in the absence of The Ghost, who is elsewhere engaged - Gideon drafts in old friend (and possibly paramour) Sally, who has the knack of switching items - real for fake - without anyone being wise to it.

Together, the crew take on Montressor and his family and guards with sometimes hilarious and sometimes sad results.

I am a huge fan of Mr. Green's work, having read many, many of his other series and this one did not disappoint, although the ending left me wondering if it was the end for this crew.

Highly recommended.

I described the first in this series as "a quick read, pacey," and this is another quick read, but didn't work quite so well for me. It's one of those heists that relies on a large number of things going right, and the plot feels linear and too easy. The plan isn't especially sophisticated to start with, and the twists almost all consist of exactly the same thing: someone who has done bad things now wants to atone, and so transforms from an antagonist into an ally. Of the several people who might have betrayed the crew, some did not, and the one who did was the most obvious candidate. Magical artefacts occasionally develop unforeshadowed plot-convenient extra abilities at key moments.

It's Simon R. Green, so there are plenty of violent, nasty people getting their comeuppance, as well as other violent, nasty people who are trying to be better than that. In this alternate version of our world, not only is the supernatural everywhere, but it's apparently much easier to get away with killing someone, even if you don't make the body disappear.

There are a couple of odd spellings, one of them being "masque" for a mask (the usual English spelling is also used for another mask, and a "masque" in English is usually a masked ball, so I'm not sure what the point of the variant spelling is). The editing is very good, though, even in the pre-publication copy I received from Netgalley for review.

I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book, which I thought was more clever, but I did enjoy it enough that I would read future books in the series.

This is the second time we meet Gideon Sable and his team of extraordinary friends. They set out again to make the impossible heist using their extraordinary abilities and unique items. This is great fun.

This time, the crew that Gideon has assembled does not include Ghost, which we met in the previous book. Instead, a new character appears – Gideon’s old friend Sally, who can cause a lot of mess whether she wants to or not. And whose distinctive feature is that she cannot be trusted ... This is another fascinating character who fits well with our well-known crew.

The plot is great. Not only do we get to know better the world in which Gideon and his friends move, but we also get to know them better. Especially Lex and Johnny Wild Card. They have always been fascinating characters, and a deeper insight into their personalities makes them even more extraordinary and at the same time more human. Their problems and dreams are, in fact, very human, despite their supernatural abilities.

This story is a roller coaster. There is always something going on. We never know what will happen or what idea will come to Gideon. And in this book, he really needs to think fast to avoid the troubles that are always around the corner. Watching them is really great fun.

The ending of this story makes me wonder. Could this be the last book in this series? Hope not, because I would love to meet this group of characters again.

I really liked the opening scene in this book and how the story continues with the gang taking a road/train trip. Less of the interesting gadgets this time, but a few new players with interesting abilities.

There is a bit of repetition both within this book and with the preceding book. How often do we need to be told Gideon always has a plan? Enough with the armor and it's description.

Still, if you enjoy Green's writing, you will enjoy this book.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Gideon Sable is back. I don’t care for urban fantasy, at all. Despite that, the first book in the series was surprisingly enjoyable. Like entire-opinion-change-on-genre enjoyable. I liked Green’s writing, word building and all that business and found the book to be very entertaining. So, naturally, I checked out book two. And lo, and behold, exactly in the way the first book did its best to change my ideas on the genre, the second book did its best to galvanize them.
Weird, right? Same author, same characters, same series and yet…But then again, that’s the right way of doing things, suck the readers in with the appetizer and then feed them dregs for the main entry.
Ok, dregs is way too harsh. Sorry. Not dregs, just…lesser than. All things about the sophomore entry into Gideon Sable series are lesser than. Plus, it has that sequel thing where the thrill and the freshness of the original just isn’t there. So, what you get is a very typical genre entry with quirky characters existing in the world just outside our world, the shadow world with its own rules and regulations.
Since we already know most of the cast, no real excitement there outside of the addition of Gideon’s ex, a tediously (and unnaturally) cheery switch’em artist who uses darling way too much. But whose skills prove invaluable to Gideon’s latest height plan.
Working once again for the same disgruntled widow (since he goofed up on the deal in book one), this time Gideon sets off to steal a precious Ancient Egyptian artifact from a Vegas casino.
Yes, not very original, a Vegas casino heist. See, that’s exactly what we were talking about earlier. The characters don’t even get to Vegas until about halfway through the book, but at least they do it on a magic train with an awesome name and some interesting passengers.
So, yeah, it’s still pretty fun, quirky, quick, still has entertaining characters, especially the legendary Johnny Wild Card, but, much like Vegas itself, it’s all superficial. The awesome appeal of book one is barely to be found here. Looks like the author blew all his wad on book one and is now merely relying on the pre-established charm to carry the series forward. Which is certainly a way of doing things, just not the optimal way.
Overall, it’s an entertaining quick read and genre fans would likely delight in it, but for non-genre fans who found book one to be an unexpected delight, there might be some disappointment. It’s still quite clever at times with its magic inventions/tools/ideas, but the general casino heist thing is just such an overdone theme. Thanks Netgalley.