A Scientific Adventure by Messrs Ian Edginton & D'Israeli. Purveyors of fantastic fiction for young gentlefolk and the mentally deficient. A decade after the Martians' abortive assault on the Earth and their attempt to establish an invasion bridgehead on the British Isles, the industrious Victorians have assimilated the Martian technologies into their everyday lives. Hansom cabs now scuttle along the Capital's streets on multi-limbed crab legs and the terrible monopoly of the Martian heat-ray has assured the dominance of the British Empire over two thirds of the Earth's surface and whose benign tyranny looks to continue to do so far into the next century. However, there is something rotten at the heart of empire. When the bodies of several young women are found washed up on the Thames, drained of blood, enter Captain Robert Autumn (retired soldier turned gentleman-adventurer) and his former Sergeant Major-now manservant-Archie Currie. Together they are drawn into the mystery which leads them from the gin palaces of the East End, and the grinding poverty of the North, to Whitehall's corridor's of power and the very Hall of the Martian King!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done historical fiction,
This review is from: Scarlet Traces (Hardcover)
Martians have always had a thing for attacking the Earth. But in this case, jolly old England has saved the day and procured powerful alien technology to secure its position as the globe's preeminent superpower. But in the detective tradition of Sherlock Holmes and Watson, ex-soldiers Robert Autumn and his Scottish butler Archie Currie follow a bloody trail that leads to unraveling an awful conspiracy behind their county's new found military-industrial might.When an old codger discovers blood-drained corpses of women and Archie's brother laments the disappearance of his grown daughter, the two Brits start snooping. As the powers that be start covering their tracks, with explosive results, the saying of "old soldiers never die, they just fade away" may unfortunately prove too true in this case. Reminiscent of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, this story successfully evokes the rich detail of the Victorian era, from the distinctive architecture to the lively period patois. Originally conceived as a web-comic, the meticulous preparation in script, design, and plotting results in a thrilling if not unsettling story. In an era where governments delude its citizens with justifications for ill-conceived wars, the rallying cry end should be less "God Save the Queen" but "Heaven help us."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Idea Weak Execution,
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This review is from: Scarlet Traces (Hardcover)
SCARLET TRACES is one of the many stories that follows up on H.G. Wells' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, imagining what happened in Britain a decade or so after the failure of the Martian invasion of Earth, with Martian-derived technologies much in evidence.
This is an interesting premise for a story, but alas SCARLET TRACES fails to either explore the idea very thoroughly or construct a good story out of it, building the plot around an "evil conspiracy" that the reader easily spots as silly: "You can't use animals? Bollochs!" One might be happier with SCARLET TRACES if the artwork was interesting, but alas it's just second-rate. Readable in an automatic sort of way, but not memorable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A bit too short . . . .,
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This review is from: Scarlet Traces (Hardcover)
The concept, art and basics of the storyline are good, but like volume two of Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it doesn't quite deliver on its HG Wells-ian promise. It is evocative but it lacks the detail one would want in a stand-alone graphic novel that wants to deliver a fully realized alternative history world. But even though it felt like the plot wrapped up a bit too fast, for the price it is hard to beat this little harcover volume.
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First Sentence:
SHE WASSA BEAUTIFUL ASA BUTTERFLY, ASA REGAL ASA QUEEN. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Scarlet Traces New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
SHE WASSA BEAUTIFUL ASA BUTTERFLY, ASA REGAL ASA QUEEN. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Scarlet Traces New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
2
books
cite this book:
- True Brit: Celebrating the Comic Book Artists of England by George Khoury on page 95
- Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon in Back Matter
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