This uneven but imaginative retelling of the Robin Hood legend from Lieber (Once in a Black Moon) pits a feisty bowwoman against a crime boss in a diesel punk–infused WWII-era California. Tough-as-nails steel mill mechanic Robyn Loxley, ward of the wealthy John Lackland, is disgusted when her Japanese American friend Will is thrown into an internment camp and horrified to learn the camp is run by the Lackland family. Then Robyn meets Jon Little, a lovable giant who takes her to the Sherwood shantytown where he cares for the downtrodden. There, Robyn encounters Tuck, whose tarot cards predict Robyn is the prophesied “knight of wands” who “will come on the cusp of great turmoil and lead us through.” Through the no-nonsense Detective Rick Nottingham, Robyn learns the extent of Lackland’s criminal enterprises and, in the guise of the Hooded Brigands, Robyn and the denizens of Sherwood hatch a daring plan to spring Will and the other prisoners and hit Lackland where it hurts—his wallet. Though the plot meanders as it goes on, the alternate-history setting and resilient, diverse cast set this apart. Readers will feel both nostalgia and excitement to see the usual players from the Robin Hood stories in their updated roles. (Self-published)