The Quantum Thief

First Edition, First State Signed, inscribed "To Jonathan!" and dated "2nd October 2010"

Number-line reads 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 3 2. This is very scarce as most first print hardcovers were were withdrawn and destroyed due to a printing error with the dedication and acknowledgement pages being left out in error. Probably only a couple of hundred copies now exist.

Fine in Fine Dustjacket

The Quantum Thief is the debut science fiction novel by Hannu Rajaniemi and the first novel in a trilogy featuring Jean le Flambeur; the sequels are The Fractal Prince (2012) and The Causal Angel (2014). It was published in Britain by Gollancz in 2010, and by Tor in 2011 in the US. It is a heist story, set in a futuristic Solar System, that features a protagonist modeled on Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc.

The novel was nominated for the 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel, and was second runner-up for the 2011 Campbell Memorial Award.

Jean le Flambeur gets up in the morning and has to kill himself before his other self can kill him first. Just another day in the Dilemma Prison. Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is a currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turned-singularity lights the night. Meanwhile, investigator Isidore Beautrelet, called in to investigate the murder of a chocolatier, finds himself on the trail of an arch-criminal, a man named le Flambeur...

Indeed, in his many lives, the entity called Jean le Flambeur has been a thief, a confidence artist, a posthuman mind-burgler, and more. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his deeds are known throughout the Heterarchy, from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. In his last exploit, he managed the supreme feat of hiding the truth about himself from the one person in the solar system hardest to hide from: himself. Now he has the chance to regain himself in all his power—in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed.