10 Liars, Thieves, and Con Artists You Have to Catch in Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction
This has been a banner year for lovers of heist fiction in the science fiction and fantasy space. The cat-and-mouse game, with con artists on the run, hiding their cleverness through plots within plots, translates beautifully into SFF worlds where the heroes (or anti-heroes) are set up to steal something out from under wicked tyrant kings or corrupt interstellar governments. Whether the thieves are down-on-their-luck, career performers, forgers, or completely accidental innocents who stumble into a long con, these characters have a way of making even the most law-abiding readers root for them.
So many fantastic SFF-focused stories of liars, thieves, and con artists hit shelves in 2025, it’s doubtful they were all captured here, but this list includes 11 excellent reads you should pick up and enjoy—catch them if you can.
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
Take one part Ocean’s 11, add a dash of Leverage, and then set the heist on a space station and populate the crew with a group of charismatic and clever outcasts (many of whom push at gender boundaries and definitions), and you get a sense of the aesthetics of Hammajang Luck. Edie just got out of prison after serving eight years for their last con. They got sprung, legally, by the very same partner in crime who had betrayed them: Angel Huang, now the chief of security for Atlas Industries, the main employer of the space station (and also the corporation that tests its products on the station’s poor, without concern for their health). Angel has a new con planned to take down her boss, and she wants Edie, once the best runner on the station, in on it. If it succeeds, Edie could support their family for years to come—and get a taste of the life they always wanted. But in order to run the job, they have to trust Angel, their one-time best friend, not to betray them again.
It is hard to believe that this is Yamamoto’s debut novel. Heists have to have a lot of moving pieces, characters the readers want to root for, and stakes that make it clear why the job has to happen in the first place. Yamamoto masters all of this, even while limiting readers to Edie’s first-person perspective, making use of SF technology to make sure readers can see the whole heist play out in front of them (especially in the moments where things don’t go to plan). The Hawaiian Pidgin slang used by the crew adds depth to the world-building by making readers wonder about the future that led Edie and her community to the space station in the first place. Definitely pick this one up before the sequel, The Obake Code, hits shelves in February 2026.
[ad]
Last Chance to Save the World by Beth Revis
Anyone following the exploits of Ada Lamarr (and her cat and mouse game with government agent Rian White) since the publication of Full Speed to a Crash Landing (covered in Paste here) will definitely want to catch the conclusion to the Chaotic Orbits Trilogy. In the final installment, Ada and Rian (whom she kidnapped) have to fix the coding of the nanobots meant to clean Earth’s atmosphere before they can be released by the rich tech bro who programmed them to expire—locking Earth into an ongoing contract with his company that would keep the planet from ever flourishing. Whether Ada’s performing salvage on a derelict starship, schmoozing her way across a high society gala, or planning a little bit of corporate espionage, she’s exactly the kind of thief with a heart of gold that readers want to follow.
While her first-person narration tries to make readers believe that she’s in all this for her own reasons (not for the good of planet Earth or to help the rebellion trying to save her from corporate greed), the truth is that Ada’s altruism shines through without her permission. Sometimes it’s in a moment where she’s coaching a young rebel into not to throw his life away murdering the richest man in the galaxy on live feeds (as much as she acknowledges the appeal). And sometimes, it’s in the moments where she acknowledges being part of a larger community—and that even though she’s a solo act, sometimes a win only happens when an entire group of people comes together to accomplish something greater. She and Rian have such great chemistry that even though their romance has a clear expiration date, readers can’t help but root for them to find a way to make it work. With a charismatic narrator, high stakes con artistry, and a villain readers love to hate, this trilogy comes to a very satisfying conclusion that still leaves room to hope for more stories in the future.
[ad]
A Philosophy of Thieves by Fran Wilde
What if thieves were known as much as performers as they were for their actual exploits? When you live in a future world ravaged by climate crises, the rich still need ways to amuse themselves. In this novel, Wilde imagines that one of these hedonistic pleasures is hiring thieves to rob large parties—and allowing the guests to try to catch them before they escape. The Canarviers are among the best thief performers in New Washington, but a Grand Heist—the kind of operation that involves several thefts over a multi-day party—is risky even for them. If they get caught, they don’t get paid, or worse if the clients are poor sports. But when King, the head of the family, is caught and arrested, the only thing adult siblings Roo and Dax can think of to raise his bail money is to perform a Grand Heist. But the job isn’t at all what it seems, and soon, the stakes are greater than Roo or Dax could have imagined, involving wealthy families, missing activists, corporate espionage, and dangerous tech that threatens free will.
Wilde alternates point of view characters and in-world net artifacts in a way that feels like it ought to spoil some of the moving pieces, but instead manages to keep readers guessing throughout. The way the story is revealed, bit by bit, is a little like one of the Canarviers’ performances, and the novel is all the richer for it.
[ad]
The Unkillable Princess by Taran Hunt
Sean Wren isn’t good at much besides translating—or so he believes—but that didn’t stop him from surviving a monster-filled derelict ship and stealing the Philosopher Stone data before a stellar explosion destroyed everything. Everyone wanted the data: the human Republic, the Ministers (a group of immortals that govern another human star system, currently at war with the rest of humanity). And Sean made sure everyone got some of it—and that the only way to get the rest was by ending the war and working together. That’s where The Immortality Thief left off: Sean, his Republic soldier ally Tamara, and the Minister Indigo are working to steal a war (or, at least, to end it). But when Sean hears from his sister, who he believed died in a Minister attack that destroyed his home city years before, his personal stakes change entirely. He’ll do whatever it takes to help Brigid, even without knowing her angle, and even if it means betraying the new family that he’s formed. When it becomes clear that Brigid is trying to stoke the very war he’s trying to end, Sean has to make some hard choices about who to trust, who to con, and how to make good on the vision he sees for the future.
Hunt is creating one of the best space opera series out there right now, with the type of philosophical questions underlying the story that really make readers consider who is right, who is wrong, and how maybe everyone is a little of both. Sean bumbles his way through con jobs, getting by on luck, charm, and kindness (and surrounding himself with incredibly capable people). He doesn’t really intend to be a mastermind, but it’s always Sean behind the plans, and it’s always his desire to believe in people that shapes the way he treats them. For a found family, high stakes space adventure with a side of larceny, it doesn’t get better than this.
[ad]
The Robin on the Oak Throne by K.A. Linde
Preternaturally gifted thief Kierse has already broken the Monster Treaty once—but she’s about to do it all over again. Never mind that the Monster Treaty is what’s keeping a fallen New York, filled with monsters, stable. In The Wren in the Holly Library, Kierse broke into the Holly Library and got caught by Graves, a monster and warlock who sees her talent and decides to hire her for a job of his own. After a falling out at the end of the novel, Kierse is hoping never to see Graves again. But when her heist at the beginning of The Robin on the Oak Thorne goes sideways, it’s Graves who steps in to help her out. Except that Graves never helps for free: he has another job for Kierse, one that will help him in his own battle against the Oak King. They just have to steal one little artifact…
For readers who prefer their heists as the side-story to the romantasy core, the Oak and Holly Cycle is likely to scratch exactly that itch, especially if those readers are waiting for the next novel by Sarah J. Maas.
[ad]
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
What happens if you take the old French fairy tale of “Beauty and the Beast,” but make the beast a noodle-loving dragon determined to undo the tyranny of his father’s court, and the “beauty” an art forger who can see the future? That’s the question in A Forgery of Fate, the newest, gorgeous fairy tale by Elizabeth Lim. Truyan Saigas’s goal is merely survival. When her merchant father’s ship sinks, leaving the family impoverished, Tru knows it’s up to her to keep their family alive. Her fortune-teller mother can get no clients when she couldn’t even see her husband’s fate; her sisters don’t have the talents (or health) to work respectable jobs.
Tru’s not worried about being respectable; her father’s Balardan heritage shows in her appearance, making the people of A’landi already suspicious of her. But with the help of some costumes, her incredible talent as a painter, and the sponsorship of con artist Gaari, her art forgery career looks like it’s just about to pay off. Until, that is, gangsters come after her family to collect her mother’s debts, and Lim has to accept a deal from the Demon Prince, Elang: Accept his offer of a marriage of convenience, pretending to be his true love, and help him unravel the throne of the dragon king. Thrust into a world of supernatural politics—and finding herself shockingly attracted to her prickly husband—Tru has to unravel the truth behind all the lies in front of her in order to save her family, herself, and maybe the world.
[ad]
Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Unlike most of the other protagonists on this list, Gwen never had any intention of running a long con. She just really really wanted to prove to herself that she could joust. As a woman in a man’s world, she will never be allowed to inherit her father’s blacksmithy (although she’s long been doing most of the work), and despite designing and smithing her own armor—and training herself to fight—the kingdom will never see her as anything more than the limits they put on women. But once, just once, she decides to joust as the mysterious Sir Gawain, and she’s good enough to win. She’s also good enough to catch the attention of Isobelle, a lady known for her good looks and supposed lack of brain. But the truth is that Isobelle’s smart enough to see right through Gwen’s disguise, and to hatch a plan that will get them both out of their undesirable fates. Gwen will get to joust (and then, perhaps, disappear mysteriously into legend after she wins), and Isobelle will get out of being the prize for the jousting tournament—she won’t have to marry and be treated as nothing more than a possession for the rest of her life. All they have to do is fool everyone, undermine the patriarchy, and, oh, possibly fight a dragon. What could go wrong?
This novel is A Knight’s Tale meets the Barbie movie, with narrative interjections that poke fun at fantasy conventions and a heartwrenching sapphic love story, and readers will be absolutely delighted at the hint that further adventures in this world are on the way.
[ad]
A Curious Kind of Magic by Mara Rutherford
What if your long con suddenly turns real? Willow Stokes has been running her father’s curiosity shop, claiming that all the goods within are magical (even though everyone in her town knows that they’re not). When a new customer enters, seemingly unaware of Willow’s reputation, Willow’s eager to make a sale. But as it turns out, Brianna is looking for something very specific: a missing grimoire that can break her curse. Everything Brianna touches becomes magic—taking Willow’s con and turning it into the truth, and upending everything that Willow has ever known. Reluctantly, and with the help of a kind printer’s assistant, Finlay, Willow helps Brianna on her quest to end her curse, and the three allies discover that there’s far more at stake than any of them realized.
This YA fantasy brings together three protagonists, each with struggles and burdens they’re trying to carry alone, until they finally realize they can depend on each other. A sweet romance rounds out this soft, slow-paced adventure that will appeal to lovers of cozy fantasy.
[ad]
A Treachery of Swans by A. B. Poranek
Following her excellent debut novel Where the Dark Stands Still (covered here in Paste), A. B. Poranek turns to the tale of Swan Lake for this lyrical novel of dark magic and a heroic swan maiden. The voice of her retelling is the sorcerous Odile, one of the villains of the traditional tale. Using magic is against the law in the kingdom of Aureal; just being marked as gold-blooded could get Odile killed—something that might have been inevitable if she and her brother hadn’t been rescued from life on the streets by the theater manager Rothbart. But that was years ago; now, she is Rothbart’s apprentice in both acting and thievery, and her brother has abandoned her to serve the crown that Rothbart despises. Odile is devoted to her adoptive father, who has promised to teach her how to wield her own magic. All she must do to help him restore magic to the kingdom is pose as a childhood friend, Marie d’Odette, marry the prince, and steal the magical crown that Rothbart promises will break the curse over their kingdom.
A little magic and a lot of con artistry make the job simple enough, until the king’s murder changes the situation entirely. The only one to witness the murder is Marie—transformed into a swan. Odile is determined to get to the bottom of things, even if it means asking a girl who she helped to curse, and who once betrayed her, for help. Odile is a wonderfully prickly, damaged protagonist, who believes that sometimes it takes a villain to do what needs to be done—but who can’t help wondering what it might be like to be a hero, after all. For anyone who has ever said “Smol baby, must protect” about a book’s villain, this is exactly the novel to pick up.
[ad]
The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire by Anna Fiteni
Sometimes lying is less about a con job and more about survival. That’s the case for Sabrina Parry, who runs into the world of fairy to rescue her sister. Except it seems that Ceridwen doesn’t need anyone to rescue her—though she’s sickly back in their Welsh mining town, once she enters fairyland, her health is restored, and she’s already made allies (and a lover) across the border. In fact, Sabrina’s sister is volunteering to be a champion to the fairy king in order to earn immortality by fighting off a dangerous force that’s turning the fae creatures into mindless monsters. Sabrina’s not about to let Ceridwen face those dangers on her own (in fact, she intends to drag her back to Wales and get out for fairyland all together). But to survive the fairy world, Sabrina herself has to make deals, and her greatest strength is that she can lie, and fairies can’t. Betting that fae prince Nerin can help her, she lies her way into becoming another contender to save the fae world, pledging her loyalty to Nerin in exchange for weapons and guidance. She’s not prepared to be drawn in by the prince—she’s always been too prickly and plain to be romanced, and she doesn’t quite know what to do with Nerin’s affection—and she’s truly not prepared to question everything she’s ever known about her sister and their relationship.
While the plot here is familiar enough, the way that Fiteni plays with time and chronological convention through the magic of fairyland is inventive and fresh; even better, the underlying themes of claiming agency in a world that wants to deny it raise the novel from a fairy story to real commentary on what it means to shape your own destiny—and steal a better future.
[ad]
Alana Joli Abbott is a reviewer and game writer, whose multiple-choice novels, including Choice of the Pirate and Blackstone Academy for Magical Beginners, are published by Choice of Games. She is the author of three novels, several short stories, and many roleplaying game supplements. She also co-edits fantasy anthologies for Outland Entertainment, including Bridge to Elsewhere and Never Too Old to Save the World, and edits novels, like the debut paranormal mystery A Promise of Sirens by V.L. Barycz, which came out in July and would also make an excellent beach read. You can find her online at VirgilandBeatrice.com.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.