The Notorious Scarlett and Browne

Starred review from May 1, 2023
"Scarlett's senses crackled with anticipation," Stroud writes in the second book (following The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, rev. 1/22) in this fantasy series full of action, outlaws, dystopian societies, and post-apocalyptic ghouls. And crackle is the word, too, to describe Stroud's insouciant humor, energetic and witty invention, and underlay of empathy in this fizzingly paced adventure. Notorious outlaw Scarlett and the telepathically gifted Albert Browne are roped into the dangerous heist of a truckload of religious artifacts when they are blackmailed by Scarlett's old colleagues in theft, the Brothers of the Hand. The job goes as well as a theft can until it ends with capture and the gallows, thanks to the religious conglomerate that runs this future scorched-earth Britain. To say the stakes are high is an understatement, but that is Stroud at his best: we know the prodigiously skilled Scarlett and Albert -- hapless and unworldly though he may be -- will win through, but how? Stroud is as playful and inventive in plotting as he is in description ("back was [Scarlett's] least favorite direction"; a guard has "a face like a disappointed log"), making this novel both hilarious and suspenseful. It has admirable seriousness, to boot, as Scarlett and Albert each begin to face their own interior pain and rage, foreshadowing (one hopes) the next series entry to come. Deirdre F. Baker

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from February 15, 2023
Pasts, futures, and zombies challenge two young bank robbers in a dystopian future Britain. Surly quick-draw specialist Scarlett McCain and her game but distractable mind-reading partner, Albert Browne, first met in The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (2021). They really have their work cut out for them in this sequel, as rescuing two friends from the clutches of brutal crime lords requires hijacking a shipment of high-tech artifacts mined from an ancient and heavily guarded pre-Cataclysm site--even as an agent of the implacable Faith Houses with scarily strong telepathic and telekinetic powers is hot on their trail. Stroud dishes up another gleefully violent, headlong plot replete with cliffhangers, breathtaking feats, and all-too-narrow escapes from both hails of bullets and terrifying creatures ranging from outsized owls and snakes to humans transformed into infectious, cannibalistic Tainted. In developing the outrageous pair of rogues who front this memorably colorful cast of thugs and shady characters, he takes time out to fill in some of Scarlett's nightmarish childhood, particularly her profound guilt for failing to protect her little brother after the deaths of their parents. Albert likewise gains dimension by learning to face his fears about losing control of his own mental powers in the course of a wildly explosive climax. In the aftermath, a glimmer of hope that Scarlett's brother might not have been eaten by the Tainted after all sets up future exploits. Like the two leads, the entire cast reads as White. More rousing, swashbuckling fun. (Science fiction. 10-13)

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January 1, 2023
"Scarlett's senses crackled with anticipation," Stroud writes in the second book (following The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, rev. 1/22) in this fantasy series full of action, outlaws, dystopian societies, and post-apocalyptic ghouls. And crackle is the word, too, to describe Stroud's insouciant humor, energetic and witty invention, and underlay of empathy in this fizzingly paced adventure. Notorious outlaw Scarlett and the telepathically gifted Albert Browne are roped into the dangerous heist of a truckload of religious artifacts when they are blackmailed by Scarlett's old colleagues in theft, the Brothers of the Hand. The job goes as well as a theft can until it ends with capture and the gallows, thanks to the religious conglomerate that runs this future scorched-earth Britain. To say the stakes are high is an understatement, but that is Stroud at his best: we know the prodigiously skilled Scarlett and Albert -- hapless and unworldly though he may be -- will win through, but how? Stroud is as playful and inventive in plotting as he is in description ("back was �Scarlett's] least favorite direction"; a guard has "a face like a disappointed log"), making this novel both hilarious and suspenseful. It has admirable seriousness, to boot, as Scarlett and Albert each begin to face their own interior pain and rage, foreshadowing (one hopes) the next series entry to come.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)