Stars: 3 out of 5

You have to put a specific lens to enjoy this series. If you are looking for an intricate story with life and death situations and complex characters, this is probably not a book for you. But if you are looking for a quick and fun romp through a seemingly impossible heist, then by all means, come right in. 

I like the world this author created. It's full of weird and unusual things, places, and people. Just take the Moonlight Express, for example, what a wonderful concept. And all the weird and terrible characters we encounter in these books are simply fascinating. Some of them are even more interesting than the main crew doing the heist.

And hence lies my issue with this book. The main crew is... okay, I guess, but they don't really evolve much compared to the first book, with the exception of Lex. Annie is still anybody but herself, Johnny is still on tedious terms with reality, and Gideon... well, Gideon always has a plan. Problem is, we don't learn much more about who Gideon is, or, more importantly, who he was before he stole that identity. There is  mention of the fact that he used to run with Switch it Sally before, and that the big bad in this book had two of his friends killed. But that's it, we don't get more details. We don't get any more insight into this character other than he has a few tricks in his pockets and always has a plan.

I would have loved to learn a bit more about him as the series progresses, but as it stands, he is the character that has the least personality in this crew. I see the mask he'd donned, but I don't see the real person behind it, which is disappointing.

The pacing is also a bit off in this book, even though it moves rather quickly. What I mean by that is that we spend too much time assembling the team. I mean we don't get to Las Vegas and start the con until almost 70% into the book, so this whole portion feels very rushed. It's a whirlwind of action that introduces all the villains, sets up the stakes, executes the con, etc. There is never a real sense of danger or realization that the stakes are high. Plus, Gideon always has a plan.

In fact, this book follows exactly the same blueprint as the first book did, but it worked in the first book because we were being introduced to all the characters for the first time. Here however, we already know them, so there was really no need to putter around for over half the book. I would have been more happy if they had gotten to Vegas earlier and infiltrated the casino gradually.

But all in all, this was a quick and fun read. A good palate cleanser between longer books that have more substance to them. So I think I will check out the next book in the series as well.

PS: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this immediately after finishing The Best Thing You Can Steal and highly recommend this approach as, while both stories stand alone perfectly well in terms of plot, the characters and action in this one pick up where the previous book left off.

Having failed triumphantly in their last job for her, Judi Rifkin has Gideon and the gang over a barrel and intends to make sure they deliver this time. Nothing major… just a relic that grants immortality, held in a high-security Vegas casino. What could go wrong?

I love these characters so much (Gideon, Annie Anybody, The Damned, The Wild Card, and now Switch-It Sally) and the heist plots are cool – think Now You See Me but with real magic instead of illusions. The worldbuilding is good too, with its magic cameras, creepy pawn shops and general atmosphere of a seedy city underworld populated by anything from angels and demons, to fortune tellers and petty thieves.

I could quite happily read millions of these novellas – they are quick, fun, easy reads, packed with action and intrigue and memorable, interesting characters.

More please!

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Master thief, rogue, and con artist extraordinaire Gideon Sable is back for another supernatural heist, this time stealing an artifact rumored to grant immortality from a Las Vegas casino. In the process, he’ll pay off a very big favor and piss off his enemies. To do this, he pulls together his old crew, including his now-girlfriend, Annie Anybody, the woman who changes her persona as easily as her clothes and who can make electronics fall in love with her; The Damned, who wears invincible armor made of the halos of angels; and Johnny the Wild Card, who has walked the edge of madness so closely he’s on nodding terms with reality at the best of times. Joining them is predictably unreliable Switch It Sally, whose special talent is exchanging objects from a distance, instantaneously and invisibly. But the casino’s owners are definitely Bad Guys, it’s guarded by supernatural goons, and in this universe, nothing is ever as it seems.

I first encountered Gideon and his crew in The Best Thing You Can Steal, and this book is a worthy sequel. Green handles character, tension, and gorgeous if dark imagery so beautifully, his work is a joy to read. Here’s a taste:

“I finally came to a quiet cul-de-sac where the street lamps were remainders of a bygone age. All black iron and ornate stylings their light was so hazy that shadows formed dark pools between the lamps, like sinkholes in the world. The buildings were just dark shapes, with no lights at any of the windows, slumped together like drowsing animals, waiting for their prey to come within reach. Ample warning that this was not an area to be entered lightly, because the phrase ‘urban jungle’ isn’t always a metaphor.

“One photo showed a city where every building had been carved from a single piece of bone, and insects the size of people, or perhaps people who moved like insects, crawled up the outsides of the buildings. Another photo showed a flock of white whales, flying over an endless desert like living dirigibles. In a New York where all the skyscrapers were wrapped in ivy, lizards in smart city suits walked briskly through the financial district. Pterodactyls flapped around a broken Eiffel Tower…”

First off I'll confess I haven't read the first book in this series which I'll admit I felt was detrimental to myself and would be to my review so I will only give a brief review without being negative!

A fast paced read with a plot that although slightly complicated gives great complexity to the read.

A good mixture of characters, likeable good guys and the usual baddies.

An enjoyable quick fun read for lovers of thriller/magic genre.

With thanks to netgalley and Severn House for the ARC.

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!! I cannot wait until the next installment and I’ll race through it like I’ve done with this one and the previous one too 🙈 bloody fantastic and I don’t do this type of books but for some reason I cannot get enough of them!!! More please, quickly!!!!!

Gideon Sable is back and better than ever !
I just love this magical world. This book is magical realism at its best such a cosy fun read I can't wait for the next one in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, Severn House and Simon R Green for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gideon Sable became Gideon Sable fairly recently. He was someone else before. Now, he is the master thief who can steal anything, including secret weapons of Heaven and Hell. He is hired by Judi Rifkin to steal the Masque of Ra from a casino in Las Vegas. He puts together his crew: The Damned, who fights for Heaven and Hell; The Wilde Card, who has returned from the dead, and his lady friend, Susie Anybody. They travel to Vegas on The Midnight Express that travels on moonbeams. Gideon has a plan; he always has a plan. But, halfway through, they discover that the casino is failing and everyone who was willing to help him wants to bail out. Another snark-filled enjoyable read from Simon R. Green, who writes the best weirdness.

This was a fun, well written supernatural tale. Gideon Sable is a thief and chancer, but a thief with access to many unusual gifts to help him. He is engaged by Judi Rifkin to steal the Masque of Ra from a casino in Las Vegas, so he calls together most of his old team to help him. His reward will be the expunging of previous crimes against the powerful Judi.

The result is an exciting romp as the team, who all have most unusual abilities and skills, travel on the Moonlight Express to Las Vegas, where they find the Masque is being guarded by a supernatural security team. His colleagues have amazing skills to help Gideon reach his objective, but if he even succeeds, will Judi honour her part of the bargain?

I enjoyed it very much and will be looking out for more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Matter of Death and Life by Simon R. Green, a good next book in the series. If you are a fan of Green and Gideon, then you won't want to miss this book!

A Matter of Death and Life is a return to the escapades of Gideon Sable last seen at the end of The Best Thing You Can Steal. Now it’s time for another job. Judi Rifkin requires his services again and he does owe her, like it or not. He needs to gather his crew again and prepare for a new target that will take every bit of magical skills and power they have.

In addition to using his own well developed master thief skills, aided by magic and fast talking, he calls on: Annie Anybody who can become anyone; Lex Talon also known as The Damned, with capabilities that justify the title but who is trying to only punish those who deserve it rather than kill more indiscriminately, as he as done in the past; Johnny Wilde, the Wild Card, who has many skills but isn’t the same since he returned from the dead in the last book; and a new person, Switch-it-Sally, who can steal anything that can be switched. Many personalities to be corralled for one job, in Las Vegas of all places!

The story moves at speed as did the first book. If you enjoy magic/fantasy in the modern world and a plot that is fun to follow, dialogue that is flip and sharp, and a storyline that follows through consistently, then I recommend this series to you. A Matter of Life and Death can stand alone but is better when read in combination with its predecessor. Recommended.


A copy of this book was provided by Severn House through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I have been a huge Simon R. Green fan ever since I first started reading the Nightside series years ago. I was so sad when that series ended....but, I perked up when he started writing the Ishmael Jones books. And, now the Gideon Sable series. Both have a bit of that Nightside creepy-cool feel to them. Love it, love it, love it!

A Matter of Life and Death is the 2nd book in the new Gideon Sable series. Gideon is a thief....a con man....a scoundrel. But he doesn't steal the normal things like money, jewels, bonds. He's out to find supernatural, powerful, bizarre things. Items with power....dangerous things. Unusual things. Gideon has a code though -- he only steals from those who truly deserve it. This time, Gideon has to repay a favor and steal a heavily guarded item from a casino. The Masque of Ra. With immortality on the line, this job might just be the hardest one Gideon and his crew of misfits have ever tried to pull off!

Another great story in this new series. I love Simon R. Green's style. I read everything he writes. If he wrote a stereo installation manual, I would read it. :) Definitely waiting in line for the next story in this series! I wonder what Gideon is going to steal next???

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

Having been a fan of Nightside series by the author, I dived into this with gusto. The overall writing style has so many similarities being quirky and fun (e.g. the lock and key segments at the beginning). there are aspects to this that felt a bit familiar though the writing is good. Gideon and Annie are wonderful characters to follow.

"A Matter of Death and Life," the new novel by Simon R. Green, is a rockling transatlantic adventure with my new favorite master thief, Gideon Sable, and crew. Hired to seal the Masque of Ra from a Las Vegas boss, the team takes off on their latest caper. Filled with twists, turns, and a few in the story, too, Green takes the reader on an unforgettable ride! My only complaint is that the book is too short! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC copy of the book in exchange for this review.

I greatly enjoyed this second trip to the unusual and action-packed lives of "Gideon Sable," Annie Anybody, and their gang. Having met these characters before, I was ready for more dangerous, quirky, and magical adventures. This one does not disappoint, as they are constantly thrown in a new pickle right after getting out of the last one.

Most of the old gang is back, including Gideon, who may not be the actual GIdeon Sable, Annie Anybody, who changes her identity at will, Lex (The Damned), who wears the halos of angels on his wrists, and Johnny Wilde, the Wild Card who has no limits. They are joined by Gideon's ex, Switch it Sally, a master thief. As a group, they are a powerful force. Hired by Judi Rifkin to steal the Mask of Ra, they head to Vegas, with many adventures along the way.

I enjoyed the quirky first book, and this second installment is just as satisfying. The characters are fascinating and the schemes they come up with are clever and enjoyable. There were a couple of times when it seemed to go too far over the top, even for a book that is written to be over the top. The fight on the train comes to mind. But overall, this is a criminal heist adventure steeped in magical realism that will captivate the reader.

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

This was fun and quirky! It's a great blend of fantasy+heist. I really wish I'd read the books in sequence, though. I'm going to go back and get the first in the series.

Gideon Sable brings back his crew of truly peculiar characters to pull off another heist! They re-sign with Judi Rifkin for another revenge act against her former husband and agree to steal “The Masque of Ra”… absolutely, positively guaranteed to secure eternal life.

Bad guys are vanquished, good guys thrive, but what will come next? I’ll be really sorry if “The Damned” and Johnny are finished, as Green seems to hint at the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My thanks to Severn House for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘A Matter of Death and Life’ by Simon R. Green in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second in Green’s series featuring thief and conman, Gideon Sable.

While I prefer to read series in order when possible, Green does provide background for the first book, ‘The Best Thing You Can Steal’, for new readers.

Judi Rifkin, one of the world's most successful collectors of the weird and unnatural, makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse: steal the legendary Masque of Ra for her and she'll wipe the slate clean.

The artefact is located in a Las Vegas casino and guarded by a formidable supernatural security team. So Gideon must assemble his own crew of supernaturally gifted individuals if he is to have any chance of success. No further details to avoid spoilers.

In this fast-paced supernatural thriller there is action, witty humour, and of course plenty of horror.

Simon R. Green is a master of the urban fantasy sub-genre and I adore his weird and wonderful tales. Hopefully there will be many more adventures for Gideon Sable and friends to come.

A Matter of Death and Life is the second Gideon Sable supernatural heist novel, but it easily stands alone. Gideon’s world is filled with magic, madcap characters, and mystical devices. If you can suspend disbelief and accept the fantastical as commonplace, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable ride, filled with laugh out loud moments.

The best part of this story is watching all of these quirky characters interacting with each other and causing chaos. The heist isn’t quite as thrilling as it could have been because Gideon and his crew have such ridiculous abilities, but I didn’t care because it was all so much fun. I hope someone is planning to turn this into a movie.

Highly recommended for fans of humorous urban fantasy and supernatural heists. Note that the book contains occasional swearing and some violence.

Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

3.5★s
A Matter Of Death And Life is the second book in the Gideon Sable series by British science fiction and fantasy-author, Simon R. Green. With his focus on rescuing Annie Anybody from the clutches of Thief Of Time, Sebastian Hargrave, who has imprisoned her inside a photograph in his Gallery of Ghosts, Master Thief Gideon Sable is distracted and the pair are unexpectedly abducted during their escape by the minions of a former client/foe.

Judi Rifkin demands they procure for her the Masque of Ra, fabled to give the owner eternal life. That will require a trip to Las Vegas, where the masque sits on display in the Khuffu Casino, the possession of old-time mobster Saul Montressor. Judi promises five million pounds and a wiping clean of the slate, but Gideon has his own reasons for stealing Saul Montressor’s prize possession.

Gideon and Annie (in one of her many guises) set off to gather the team together. This entails more than a quick phone call or two: every lead, every piece of information costs, in future favours and promises. Tracking down the Damned (Lex Talon), the Wild Card (Johnny Wild) and a substitute for the Ghost, Switch It Sally, involves a talking mirror, a Rogue Angel, gun-toting guards at a wine-tasting, and lots of fast-talking.

Before the team comes home with the goods, the story takes a few twists and turns, and features a lot of crazy characters, many of them vengeful, Nazi werewolves, a very handy skeleton key, a time pen, a capturing camera, the Moonlight Express train, a crystal eye, a phantom phone, ghosts, large reptiles, and an Egyptian mummy. There are plenty of clever tricks as each of the team exercises their unique powers.

The books of this series are a little predictable, seeming to follow a formula where just gathering the team occupies half the novel and involves multiple challenges or fights: no encounter is benign or unremarkable. “’Tell me you’ve got a plan.’ I grinned at her. ‘I’ve always got a plan’ repeats like a chorus throughout. But there’s plenty of humour, especially in the banter between the characters, Best enjoyed by just going with the flow.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate Severn House.

This is the second Gideon Sable and I hope it's the last as I'm loving this series and the great characters.
Another heist, another gripping and highly entertaining story that made me laugh and turn pages as fast as I could.
The world building is amazing, there's plenty of brilliant ideas and I loved them all.
The gang is back and we get to know more about their story and to see a lot of changes.
It's not the classic action packed story: there's a lot of iteration and background before we get to the action.
And loved them.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine