Scarlet Traces II: The Great Game
Grade 10 Up—In this continuation of the series that imagines life in Britain afterWar of the Worlds, photographer Charlotte Hemmings is given an assignment to check out the Martian war zone by tabloid editor Bernard shortly before he is brutally murdered. Aging adventurer Robert Autumn makes sure she gets to complete the assignment. Flashbacks fill in the story of how historical Britain got the advanced technology depicted as well as the current political intrigue. Charlotte has a grand adventure, but also uncovers some secrets about the Martian war that the government would prefer stay covered. The story is drawn in full-color adventure-comic style, and the dichotomies between 1940s London and the technological advances of the Martian world are well done. This graphic novel could extend appreciation ofWar of the Worlds, but it also stands on its own.—Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.