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A Philosophy of Thieves
  • Published: 14 October 2025
  • ISBN: 9781645661948
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $69.99

A Philosophy of Thieves

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Robin Hood meets Parasite meets Six of Crows in multi-award winning author Fran Wilde’s thrilling, high-tech adventure heist wrapped in a futuristic fantasy where thieves are entertainment for the wealthy.

Robin Hood meets Parasite meets Six of Crows in multi-award winning author Fran Wilde’s thrilling, high-tech adventure heist wrapped in a futuristic fantasy where thieves are entertainment for the wealthy.

The Canarviers are the premier performance thieves in New Washington, blending astonishing acrobatics, clever misdirection, and daring escapes to entertain their rich patrons. As King Canarvier has always told his children, their work is art. Who else could titillate audiences with illicit history lessons and tease them through the gaps in their much-prized security?

Now that they’re adults, King’s children feel their divisions more than their bonds. Roosa attends an exclusive finishing university, blending in so well she’s unsure where she belongs. Her brother Dax craves a chance to prove himself, stifling under his father’s caution.

Then King disappears.

With only days to buy mercy before their father is lost forever, Roo and Dax must compete in a high-stakes Grand Heist, pushing down their resentments to work together. Against a technocrat wagering more than he can lose, a security chief with a taste for pain, and a society beauty with secrets of her own, any misstep promises catastrophic ruin.

But Canarviers are artists. And they perform best when the pressure is on . . .
  • Published: 14 October 2025
  • ISBN: 9781645661948
  • Imprint: Kensington
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $69.99
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About the author

Fran Wilde

Fran Wilde is an award-winning author and poet. Her first novel, the high-flying fantasy Updraft, was published by Tor in 2015, and won a Nebula and Compton Crook Award. Her debut Middle Grade novel, Riverland, won the 2019 Nebula, was named an NPR Best Book of 2019, and was a Lodestar finalist. Her novels and short stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, four Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. Her nonfiction appears in publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, and Tor.com. Her poetry has appeared in Fireside Fiction, The Marlboro Review, Articulate, and Poetry Baltimore. Fran holds an MFA in poetry and an MA in information architecture and interaction design.
FW

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Praise for A Philosophy of Thieves

Praise for A Philosophy of Thieves

“Fascinating, thrilling, and completely irresistible! A Philosophy of Thieves is a wonderfully unique, heist-filled novel set in an expertly-drawn world. Highly recommended!” —Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

“Remarkably imaginative and fun!” —Shannon Chakraborty, NYT-bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“Fran Wilde delivers the thrills in this roaring twenties cyberpunk mashup of heists, counter-heists, family lies and family ties. When the Canarviers start stealing, you can’t stop reading.” —Paolo Bacigalupi, Hugo-Award winning internationally bestselling author and National Book Award finalist

“The Great Gatsby meets Cirque du Soleil in a high tech cli-fi adventure set in a drowned world. A thrilling mix of sophisticated heists, astonishing tech and characters who are never quite what they seem, a Philosophy of Thieves steals your heart right out of your chest and leaves you applauding the theft. Bravo and encore!.” —R.S.A. Garcia, Nebula and Sturgeon Award winning author of The Nightward

“Think you know heists? You haven't seen a Canarvier heist. Artful, incisive, and oh-so-timely. Fran's done it again: stolen our hearts.” —Rachel Hartman, New York Times bestselling author of Seraphina

“A whirlwind, glittering novel of fabulous fashion and thrilling entertainment in a future Washington. I was entranced!” —Aliette de Bodard, award-winning author of Navigational Entanglements

“A Philosophy of Thieves is a multi-faceted delight, full - like every great heist - of thrilling adventures, masterful misdirections, and glittering spectacles, along with fascinating worldbuilding. All hail the Canarviers!” —Stephanie Burgis, author of Wooing the Witch Queen and The Harwood Spellbook

“A Philosophy of Thieves is a propulsive romp, full of twists and reveals that left me breathless. Wilde’s intricate near-future world holds a mirror up to our own, skewering excess and access while delivering thrills and an unexpectedly tender family story. The Canarviers will dazzle and delight you, right before they steal your heart.” —Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless and Escape Velocity