I'm so delighted to share the special Goldsboro edition of The Book of Gold with you, my magical book heist set in an alternate 16th-century version of Antwerp. I have always loved a heist story. It's like catnip to me. Stick a heist into any kind of story and you have my immediate attention. Add magic and books, and I am all in.
One of my earliest memories is of my great uncle reading The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green to me. Another is listening to a recording of a radio version of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, which I listened to until the tape fell apart. (Yes, tape. It was that long ago. I won't say what kind of tape. It will frighten you.) So my love of all the building blocks of a heist formed very early and stuck fast.
A hero, who is not entirely on the right side of the law; a found family gathered around them, each with different vital skills, and frequently in conflict with each other; and an adversary of far greater power than our main characters. Like good comedy, a good heist punches up, not down. It's anti-establishment, anti-corruption, anti-bullying, one might even say anti-capitalism, and always on the side of the little guy. Our crew are David, standing against Goliath, and winning against the odds.
A huge number of popular heists appear in cinema. They slot in perfectly sometimes where you least expect them – think Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves, Avengers: Endgame – and sometimes reinventing themselves – like the truly excellent Oceans 8, which is by far my favourite, and infinitely rewatchable. In book form the heists I truly love all seem to be written by women and often driven by them too. Maybe we're just really good at the necessary multitasking and planning all those intricate details.
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo introduces us to the inimitable Kaz Brekker and the Crows, a disparate group within the larger gang known as the Dregs, in the city of Ketterdam, not so very far away from my own Amberes in spirit if not in fact. The Crows are as likely to tear each other apart as to succeed in their heists but you can't help but love them. It was no surprise to me that when the world of the Grisha came to our screens, Kaz and the Crows stole the show.
I'm a huge fan of T. Kingfisher's World of the White Rat Series and her Clocktaur War books The Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine also fit into the mould of a heist – the crew is sent on a suicide mission to investigate the origins of the magical killing machines unleashed on their world. The triad of Slate the forger, Brennan the assassin and Caliban the disgraced paladin form the core of the story and slowly but surely Kingfisher drags your heart over hot coals as their story unfolds. She writes with such wit and depth of humanity you can't help but fall in love. And with these three, it's probably a bad idea. Keep the tissues handy.
In Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan a young woman with terminal cancer escapes into the world of her favourite book series but finds herself in the body of the villainess. Instead of accepting her fate, she embraces her new character, gathers together a crew of villains and sets out to steal the whole narrative. It's one of the most unexpected heists I've ever read, full of laugh-out-loud moments and I loved every second. Even when I was screaming in horror at the page.
Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series explores the infinite library of the adventuring Librarian-Spy, Irene, and her assistant and eventual lover Kai across realities, maintaining the balance of order and chaos by stealing unique books. There are fae and dragons and worlds vary from gaslamp to high tech. There's even a James Bond-esque heist in The Secret Chapter where everything goes wrong. Another heist story tradition.
It’s not just fantasy though. Heists pop up in my favourite Science Fiction too. Beginning with Just One Damned Thing After Another, The Chronicles of St Mary's series take us through time instead of realities with Jodi Taylor's rambunctious crew of time travelling historians in high tech capers, causing their own particular brand of chaos wherever and whenever they go. Even in the Library of Alexandria. And maybe a couple of parallel universes too. Just a few. But they weren’t our Max’s fault. Honest.
And finally another Science Fiction offering, with another Max at the helm, is Kate Johnson's Max Seventeen where a ragtag group of space pirates uncover a terrible plot and make a stand which may see them all obliterated, if they don't destroy each other first. Who doesn’t love some space pirates. Max herself is a walking disaster zone, Riley tries to do the right and honourable thing no matter what, and Orpheus just does whatever he wants.
A highly dysfunctional crew is without question the heart of any heist story. They are the found family who must come together to defend each other and we’re never quite sure if they’re going to manage it. In The Book of Gold, Lyta's crew need each other. I think that even now, they don't realise how much. They have a tangled and fraught history, and that complicates everything that comes next. Whether caught in political intrigue, bickering amongst themselves or running for their lives, ultimately all they have to rely on is each other. And that is the bedrock of their story. While Lyta thrives on chaos (her theme song has been Wrecking Ball right from the first moment she crashed onto the page), her brother Kit yearns for respectability. Sylvian yearns for stability in his war-torn life and Ben will do anything in pursuit of knowledge. And Frida will always suit Frida.
Add in the demands of a king, a sorceress, a religious zealot, the lost gods themselves and a magical book of untold power, and everything in Amberes is about to get very messy indeed. Hold on tight. I hope you enjoy the ride.
And next year, we're getting the crew back together for one more job...
