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Books like the Gentleman Bastard series
Con artists, heists and friendships tested under pressure.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
A young crew pulls an impossible heist. Twisty plans and loyal misfits.
+ Action-packed heist with crackling dialogue, vivid world and a magnetic cast.
− Violence can be grim, and the teens often sound like adults. (summed up from Wikipedia (reception))Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
A thief steals a talking key in a city run by magic-industrial houses. Clever and fun.
+ Grand entertainment with an enthralling heist, a likeable thief and rich, complex characters.
− The magic system is overly complex, and infodumps take over the first quarter of the book. (summed up from Wikipedia (reception))Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
The first Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser book, the classic pair of rogues behind much of this subgenre.
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
A boastful thief whose cleverness is bigger than it first seems.
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
A rogue narrator with Locke-level wit and a darker edge.
+ Packed with magic, mayhem and mischief, with an artfully drawn world and characters.
− The trust between the two leads grows implausibly fast; dense going at times. (summed up from Publishers Weekly)
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