Gideon Sable--master thief, con artist, and self-proclaimed vigilante--faces a challenge he can't resist: to break into the British Area 51 and steal a ghost. Not just any ghost, but a hybrid between a human astronaut and an alien utterly bent on destruction. Although Gideon suspects the motives and veracity of his would-be client, he gathers his crew, lured with the promise of being able to walk off with whatever ultra-secret, ultra-valuable gadgets they can lay their hands on. His crew includes The Damned, armored by the haloes of two dead angels; Switch-It Sally, who can switch out just about anything; a werewolf; and Annie Anybody, capable of fully embodying an array of personas (in this case, Melody Mead, Girl Adventurer). Of course, nothing goes as planned, and this volume is, like its predecessors, jam-packed with plot twists, treachery, and revelations.

Gideon and his crew have come a long way since he first convinced them to join up with him, progressing through suspicion and animosity to grudging respect and, now, the bonds of family. In the last episode, The Damned and Switch-It Sally not only fell in love but also informally adopted the young werewolf. Gideon himself has gone from being a nameless man who inherited a legend to the emotional glue and super-planner brains holding it all together. In this sense, the book is as much about loyalty and family as it is about the present adventure. This gives a supernatural spy/con-man romp satisfying depth. I hope there will be many more books in the series.

I did struggle at the start having not read any of the previous books in the series.

The further I read though, the more I was pulled into a strange world.

The heroes were evil and their opponents were even more corrupt.

Great characters and an interesting story kept me engaged.

From book to book Gideon Sable feels more and more like Simon Green's John Taylor, of the Nightside series. And that's great because that series is my favorite Green series. We get the same wiseass attitude, a great cohort of allies, totally out-there plots, and lots and lots of Nightside-ish atmosphere. If you need to get your John Taylor on, this is a primo choice.

Simon Green again comes up with a highly enjoyable, light hearted Urban Fantasy. His books are never overly complex and his world building sketches a fun context to spend time in. This story was a heist ensemble cast and it was just what the doctor ordered! Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Gideon Sable used to be someone else until he stole Gideon Sable's identity as the best thief in the world. Now, he works for the high bidder doing things no one else can accomplish. His crew is equally renowned and supernatural. He is hired by the former head of the British Rocketry Group, Neil Sharpe, to break into The Preserve where all the bad things are housed. Sharpe believes a ghost is haunting the premises, a ghost of a former astronaut who was possessed by an alien entity after a trip to Venus. But once they arrive, Gideon's team discovers there is just a little bit that Sharpe neglected to tell them, and it just might kill them all. If you like British humor, I recommend this series.

I have thoroughly enjoyed these paranormal heist adventures, which don’t take themselves too seriously. And this latest addition produced the expected quirkiness. Immensely powerful, dangerous characters, a nicely twisty plot that doesn’t get too lost in the process, all sorts of intriguing gismos that do all sorts of intriguing things that come wrapped in a slick story with a wryly dry tone that regularly tips into humour.

Gideon Sable is the man you turn to if you want the impossible stolen or tricked away from dodgy people that no one wishing to reach an average life expectancy would go near. That said, he has some really cool bits of kit – like a pen that with a click can stop Time. The downside is that it makes it difficult to move through solidifying Time and the atmosphere tends to become unbreathable after a distressingly short while, so it isn’t a fix-all. Just as well, otherwise the story would become rapidly boring and repetitive.

In fact, this is where Green is really clever – he manages to produce lethally effective characters for the Home team, such as Polly the werewolf and the Damned, who has armour made of aspects of Heaven and Hell. And then ranges them against deeply unpleasant villains who are also highly dangerous. And there are a goodly sprinkling of characters who are sufficiently complicated that we’re never truly sure where they stand (I’m looking at you, Sally…). In less experienced hands, this could all very quickly devolve into a mess of non-stop action and constant reverses that would have the reader finishing the book and wondering what she’s just read.

But the other clever bit is that Green also tends to use tension and a slow build-up with great effect, too. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, especially as there are clearly some issues regarding Gideon’s lover and loyal partner, Annie Anybody, which hopefully will be sorted out in the next book. My one niggle – and I’ve knocked a point off because it annoyed me quite a lot – is that the book ended extremely abruptly. While nothing was left dangling that needed to be tied up – I would have appreciated just half a page with Gideon reflecting on what had happened. Apart from anything else – I enjoy his musings. Other than that, it was a joy from start to finish. While I obtained an arc of Not of This World from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

“There is a world beneath the world, full of wonders and marvels just waiting to be stolen. My name is Gideon Sable. These days. There used to be someone else with that name: a master thief who specialized in stealing the kind of things that can’t normally be stolen.”

My thanks to Severn House for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Not of this World’ by Simon R. Green.

This is Book 4 in Green’s urban fantasy series featuring master thief and conman, Gideon Sable. While background is provided for new readers, the books are well worth reading in order for a better appreciation of its characters’ development.

The Preserve in Bath is the British Area 51, a secret government dumping ground for all things supernatural as well as spooky things from outer space. It is one of the most heavily-guarded places in the world.

Gideon Sable has been hired by Professor Neil Sharp, the former Head of the British Rocketry Group, to break into the Preserve to steal something unique: the ghost of an astronaut, who had been infected with an alien life form during a mission to Venus.

The deal is that once inside, Gideon and his crew of supernatural misfits can take any mystical artefact they desire from the Preserve's collection. Yet the complex is heavily guarded including deadly booby traps. However, Gideon is suspicious of Sharpe’s motives and various old enemies surface to hinder the heist. No further details to avoid spoilers.

I was delighted to read a new Gideon Sable novel. Green’s novels are so much fun as Gideon wisecracks his way through his latest caper. That the heists that he and his crew undertake are very complex and by their nature ‘nearly impossible’.

The astronaut who returns home ‘wrong’ is an established science fiction trope and here Green puts it to good use as part of this new adventure.

Overall, ‘Not of this World’ again proved a fast paced urban fantasy with a seemingly impossible supernatural caper at its heart, accompanied by plenty of horror, humour, twists and turns, and of course plenty of weird characters, settings, and situations. All packed into just over 200 pages.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Not of This World is the fourth Gideon Sable supernatural heist novel. It stands on its own, but I recommend reading all of the books in order. Gideon’s world is filled with magic, madcap characters, mythological monsters, and mystical devices, and the story is told in his breezy style. If you can suspend disbelief and accept the fantastical as commonplace, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable ride, filled with laugh out loud moments.

The story offers plenty of suspense and some fun surprises, and even a few touching moments of love, but the best part is watching all of these quirky characters interacting with each other and causing chaos. I hope someone is planning to turn these books into movies.

I highly recommend this book and the entire series for fans of humorous urban fantasy and supernatural heists. Note that the book contains occasional swearing and lots of violence.

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

I look forward to each new Gideon Sable book, and this 4th installment in the series is my favorite so far! This series is strange. The characters are quirky. And, the journey is always spectacularly wonderful! I love the fact that these books are shorter reads. I can get through a Gideon Sable book in an afternoon. Lots of action and weirdness packed into 200 pages!

The basics: Gideon and his troop of supernatural misfits are hired to break into one of the most secure places in the world - The Preserve. They are tasked with breaking into the supernatural warehouse....getting past all the guards and booby traps inside....then finding and securing the target - a ghost. The reward for success is awesome, but failure.... yeah, best not think about that.

Simon R. Green is one of my favorite authors. I love his flavor of urban fantasy. You never know what is going to happen! Always something new and incredibly odd!

Great story! I can't wait to find out what this odd misfit crew gets up to next!

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

This is another highly entertaining and gripping story in the Gideon SAble series. I read it in one sitting as I couldn't stop read and I was having a lot of fun.
There's some elements from Ishmael Jones series and I was happy to discover something more about the mysterious organisations and aliens.
This time Gideon and the crew are involved in a heist that could be related to a ghost but to an alien as well.
There's plenty of very bad villain and there's a lot of fun.
The mix of magic, technology, and metaphysical works very well.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Sable has been asked to steal a ghost from the UK's Area 51. He assembles the best team he can and attempts to find the ghost.

This is the fourth book in the Gideon Sable series. I have not read any of the other volumes, so let's start with that. The book did a good job of catching me up with who the characters were and how the milieu works. I think there were moments that might have had more impact if I had read other volumes, but the book worked for a first-time reader.

The story moves well and has some interesting points. As Gideon and his company move from one set-piece to another in their quest to steal a ghost from a secret government warehouse of alien artifacts while being chased by....okay, let's stop. Stuff happens and the story moves along. It's fun.

This is a quick, entertaining read with a somewhat abrupt ending. I may check out other books in the series.

Enjoyable heist series. I don’t think this book four would be a good starting place for reading these books. There’s been too much build up of the characters and the world in previous books. They’re short books so the author doesn’t have any wasted space for extras but he’s done a good job with the characters. If you like heist stories and don’t need your characters to be heroic this series would be a great choice. It’s nice that they are short enough to read in an afternoon too.

I loved this one, and purchased it for our library! Gideon Sable on my favorite of his capers yet. Was truly an enjoyable read, fast paced and fun.

As always with this series, it is a solid dose of good entertainment.

Gideon and his crew of unusual thieves are hired to steal the ghost of an alien-possessed spaceman. To do this, they have to break into a secret military base where dangerous facts related to space travel and other technologies of this type are kept. Of course, not only can they not trust the one who hired them, but their enemies are hot on their heels.

I liked this part more than the third book in the series. The plot is really interesting and the whole story has a very good rhythm to it. Everything is embellished with a well-known, bright humor. If we don't care that some things are going a bit too easy for our crew of thieves, and that Gideon can find a way out of absolutely any situation, then we will really enjoy this journey. In the end, that's the charm of the whole story, its volatility and crazyness.

As always, it's nice to meet again the well-known crew of extraordinary friends, which in the last book has expanded to include the werewolf Polly. We also meet a few characters in this story that I feel might return in future books. I’m waiting for this.

This is good, light and easy entertainment. Also for those who haven't read the previous books in the series, you won't have any trouble getting the hang of what's going on.

Author: Simon R. Green
Genre: Sy-Fy Thriller
Rating: 3.75 stars rounded up.

This book was a rollercoaster of quirky characters, supernatural situations, and cheesy one-liners. And you know what? I had a blast reading this. The story reminded me of a combination of "Indiana Jones" meets "Six of Crows" meets "Doctor Who." I had not read a Gideon Sable novel before this one, so my knowledge of the characters was lacking. The author did a great job of introducing people, places, and things as if this was a stand-alone novel, but without unnecessary repetition. I found the dialogue to be cheesy and unnatural at times but enjoyed the characters' relationships. (I am a sucker for a found family full of misfits with cool powers.) The storyline was fun with lots of last-minute twists and unlikely situations that added to that exciting, cliche heist feel. There were many moments the characters had the "ah ha! I've had this item the whole time" moment to save the day that, though unrealistic, was a fun way to introduce home-brewed magical items/objects. Overall, I would read another Gideon Sable novel just to see what the characters were up to!

Read if you like:
Found families
Heists
Science Fiction

Thank you Severn House and Net Gallery for this ARC! The publication date is April 4th, 2023.

I'm always happy to see a new Simon R Green come out and this is no exception. The gang's all back in this latest installment (except for Annie. Sort of.) and Green has set them up against Black Heir this time. With his usual style, Green manages a complex series of events and then wraps it up nicely with a bow. What could possibly go wrong?

This review is based on an advance copy that I received for free.

Having read all the previous books in this series, I was lookng forward to this one. Enjoyable ride with Gideon and crew starting with a rescue and then the job. As always sharp witty dialog and banter between characters is at the forefront and the actual job is secondary. Nonstop action in this book makes the book go by too fast and suddenly its the end, leaving me to wait for the next. Gratitude to NetGalley and publishers for an early read for an honest opinion.

This was my first book by Simon R. Green - I received a free copy from Netgalley - thank you! I enjoyed the book very much - its a fun read, characters that are charming and has very witty dialogue. I will be back for more!

"This might be his biggest coup yet! Legendary master thief Gideon Sable is on the hunt for the ghost of an alien-possessed man in this fast-paced supernatural heist thriller.

The Preserve in Bath - the British Area 51 - is the secret government dumping ground for all things supernatural and out of space. It is one of the most heavily-guarded places in the world. However, it's not what protects it that makes it so dangerous but the things that are inside...

Gideon Sable - master thief, con artist and self-proclaimed vigilante - faces a challenge he can't refuse. His client, the former Head of the British Rocketry Group, Professor Neil Sharpe, wants him to break into the Preserve. Once inside, Gideon and his crew of supernatural misfits can get any mystical artefact they desire out of the Preserve's collection. The catch? To reach it, they must go through the treacherous Box Tunnel complex and not only face trained guards and booby traps but steal something that can't normally be stolen - a ghost!

Sharpe's obscure motive leaves Gideon uncertain and suspicious. The only thing he knows for sure is that he can steal anything with just the right amount of preparation - but will he be prepared enough to face whatever the Preserve holds, or will he find himself a permanent part of the government's collection?

Not of This World is the fourth supernatural heist thriller featuring master conman Gideon Sable from British SFF veteran and New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green, following The Best Thing You Can Steal, A Matter of Death and Life and What Song the Sirens Sang."

I know I can't be the only one who wanted more Gideon Sable!