★★★★☆ The Legendary Scarlett and Browne, by Jonathan Stroud
The search for Thomas
The Legendary Scarlett and Browne
Jonathan Stroud
The search for Thomas
If you’ve read the first two of Jonathan Stroud‘s Scarlette and Browne novels, you know that Scarlett had a younger brother, Thomas, whom she lost track of early. Her great goal has been to find him, if he is still alive. While that was always on her mind in the first two books, it is in this one, The Legendary Scarlett and Browne, that the search for Thomas really kicks into gear. Albert, too, has a quest -- he’d like to know more about where he came from, and that means tracking down the secret lab at Stonemoor where he was tortured as a child and forced to learn to use and control his psychic gift.
Scarlett and Albert have found a kind of temporary stability. They have friends now, Joe, Ettie, Sal, and a few others. They have a safe (ish) place to live. They are no longer merely notorious -- they’re now legendary. In fact, they have brought the art of sacking a town, robbing its banks and freeing its slaves, not quite to perfection, but to something like routine.
It is on this background of success that they rededicate themselves to their quests.
[spolier1]
This was a good, action-packed story. The publisher’s blurb describes Legendary as “The death-defying conclusion to the ... exploits of the notorious outlaws Scarlett and Browne.” The word “conclusion” surprised me a little, as the story doesn’t feel finished. Based on the events it ends with, I could easily imagine a sequel to Legendary. But I guess we aren’t going to get one.
The Legendary Scarlett and Browne on Amazon
They are both successful. They locate Stonemoor, which, it turns out, has been mostly demolished. It transpires as well that Thomas survived and is still alive. They find him and rescue him.