Way back in 1994 I was a reviewer for a Dutch SF and Fantasy magazine. I was part of a team; every six weeks we gathered to talk about the next issue. The nicest part of those gatherings was going through the pile of books for review publishers sent us. One day I ended up with a book with a horrible cover and a horrible blurb. That book was Deathstalker by Simon R Green.
I ended up buying the whole series and reading them at least twice and I've read a number of other books by this author too.
And I just love it!
It's space opera, it's funny, it is sometimes absolutely ridiculous and it's full of plot twists that I wouldn't like to read in a thriller. But here it works. Sometimes it's as if he sits down and starts writing, going along with what his mind comes up with.

In What Song the Sirens Sang we meet Gideon Sable again and also a lot of characters from the previous books in this series. Green introduces some new characters en weaves an intricate story around a rock, a mirror and a damsel in distress... Readers who have read other books in this series or any other series by Green will see a repetition in plot, characters and setting, but who cares? Once you start reading you will be immersed in the strange, strange worlds of Simon Green. His books are wildly entertaining and What Song the Sirens Sang is no exception.

This third novel in the series follows the same formula and is a fun joyride. Gideon and Annie have been robbed of a magical item and one of their group have been kidnapped. Time to get the group together and set things to rights. This book is full of amusing banter, outlandish actions, crazy characters and general mayhem.

We’re at the third book in this series, and I am unsure what to say about it. The thing about this author is you always know what you’re getting when you read a book in one of his series: they are all pretty much similar, mostly in a good way. This has Annie and Gideon on the hunt for a member of their team who has been kidnapped. Of course, nothing is quite what it seems, and they encounter many twists and turns in their quest to hunt her down. While this book isn’t “new” in any way, it is full of snappy and quick dialogue, interesting adventures, and the journey is fun even if all the books are similar. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

What Song the Sirens Sang by Simon R. Green. Another Gideon story of impossible thievery, daring do's and anti-hero work that fascinates and captures the mind of the readers.

This is somewhat outside of my genre range, but the thing is I was so charmed by book one in this series, I continue expecting the author to repeat the trick. So far, he hasn’t. And sure, it’s smart – draw the readers in and then milk the formula out for the entire series. Many writers are doing it, Green is just one of them. But it does leave a lot to be desired.
Maybe it’s impossible to recreate the whimsy and cleverness of the original, since the characters are already established. Maybe it’s simply too much work to be that god every single time. Either way, this book, the third Gideon Sable adventure, was perfectly fine, and possibly even a step up from its predecessor, but a far cry from the original.
This time around Gideon Sable is trying to do the happily-in-the-relationship thing, the magic-store-owner-thing, but, of course, something comes up. Something as unignorable as a stone purported to contain the famed song of the sirens. And of course, a thing like that has many greedy eyes on it, so Gideon gets involved with yet another job that’ll test his skills and his bag of tricks.
So yeah, time to get the gang back together and do their thing. And sure enough it’s fun enough and a quick read. And every so often there’s a glimpse of that original cleverness and charm too. Thanks Netgalley.

I just couldn’t get into this book. I think the main problem was it is part of a series and in my opinion you need to read the previous books to enjoy this one. I have enjoyed other books by this author so will try him again. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I was provided a copy of this title from NetGalley without realizing it was a series. I read the first two books to be able to give a proper review of this one.

It’s overall still a good story and it’s very short, so it’s not a huge time investment if you don’t even up loving it. Compared to the first one, the female characters were written better. The first book had only two female characters of note compared to the unending list of male characters.

I must say I preferred the first two over this third. This one felt much more abstract and pieced together whereas the first two felt like there was a planned solution that we slowly became privy to at the appropriate times. The solutions in this book were much more Hail Mary luck than the cunning and wiliness you see in the others.

And the story just isn’t the same without The Wild Card.

If you have read other Simon R Green books, you pretty much already know what you're getting here. Fast paced, amusing banter, exaggerated characters usually with some tragedy in their background. This one's basically a heist, so there's finding the right people and convincing them to come along, and then there's the breaking in and then there's the twists and surprises because of course things aren't exactly what they seem. There are no surprises in terms of what the book is like - so if that's your bag, read it!

If you don't already know Green... this is the third in the Gideon Sable series. I've read the first but not the second; things happened in the second that are referenced here, but it's explained well enough that I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. I think you could probably come in cold and you'd be basically fine. Sable is a master thief; his girlfriend is Annie Anybody: she can adopt personas on a whim, and she is also a thief. Basically all of their friends are involved in crime in some way; in the case of Lex, it's murder on a massive scale (violence and lots of random death are treated fairly lightly here, it must be said). This time Sable himself has been robbed, and someone they know has been kidnapped, so... heist time it is. It's a romp; it has occasional clever moments, but basically this is candy. Fun while reading, absolutely, but not something I'm likely to re-read.

So the thing is- I like Simon R Green books. I know they can be formulaic but it's a formula he absolutely *owns* at this point so I'm okay with that. This one is no exception. Is it the best entry in the Gideon Sable catalog? Maybe not but it is a solid entry. I like Gideon Sable and his "crew" and this time around Gideon will be adding to the group but.... is he also being betrayed? Well, obviously but the real question is: by who (this time)?

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to access this title in exchange for an honest review.

This series, now that I've read three of them, reveals that each book is written to the same formula.

There's a heist, which is fine; that's what I came for. But it's a bit linear.

The thief who has stolen the identity of master thief Gideon Sable is less clever and certainly less charming than he thinks he is.

<spoiler>Someone who looks like they're being too helpful in setting everything up turns out to be manipulating and betraying the crew. Gideon suspects this for a while, but doesn't truly figure it out until after the betrayal has already come off.</spoiler>

People who seem like they're antagonists turn out not to be, and this is a bit of a let-down.

Rich, fashionable people are just the absolute worst and deserve a horrible death.

A number of people (who deserve it) receive a horrible, gory death that's thoroughly described, which is a trademark of the author's books in general.

Overall, it's not a formula that I love tremendously, and although it's well executed, it didn't appeal to me enough to get onto my Best of the Year (as the first book did) or even to get four stars without a Best of the Year spot (as the second book did). Nor will I be following the series any further. I was looking for more than it delivered.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "What Song The Sirens Sang", the third entry in the "Gideon Sable" series.
Gideon Sable and Annie Anybody are back for another adventure. After being blackmailed into taking over Old Harry's Place (after Harry's sudden retirement), Gideon and Annie go on a spree to re-stock the shelves, and one of the items the obtain is a stone that purports to hold the song of the sirens (what almost killed Odysseus and did lay waste to his crew). And then - it's stolen. But they want it back; especially when they discover the supposed thief is Sally Switch-It who recently married The Damned, one of Gideon's crew and is supposed to be on her honeymoon in Paris.
What ensues is what we've come to expect from the Gideon Sable adventures - mayhem, bloodshed, double-crosse, triple-crosses and talking mirrors (not one, but two!) with agendas of their own.
And we're introduced to a new character - exotic dancer by day, werewolf all the time.
The new crew work together to foil 'Coldheart" and rescue Sally, meeting along the way more bizarre and entertaining characters.
What I like most of all about Mr. Green's "Gideon Sable" series is that he continues to invent interesting characters. I have read his previous series: The Nightside featuring John Taylor, the Secret Histories featuring Eddie Drood aka Shaman Bond and the series featuring Ishmael Jones. All of these characters share some of the same qualities, but all are different.
Highly recommended, but reading the previous two books for context would not be a bad thing (and very entertaining).