Invading Mars

Science fiction stories rarely deal with the potential consequences of the events of the stories. Yes, it is great that the great alien invasion was defeated, but what would life be like afterwards? The classic Ender's Game is one look at what an Earth rebuilding from an invasion would be like. The War of the Worlds depicts an invasion of England by Martians and the Scarlet Traces graphic novels deal with life on Earth after the alien defeat.

I read Scarlet Traces: The Great Game and found it an entertaining, if rather short, science fiction story. The story concerns England's invasion of Mars some years after the War of the Worlds story. England took the technology left by the dead Martians and used it to become a global superpower, but is now mired in an endless war on Mars.

The book is loaded with intrigue as the British government is highly oppressive with historical fascist Oswald Mosley (note: that site run by a group called "Friends of Oswald Mosley") running a secret police. The Scots are trying to secede and the Dominions want out as well, so the government is getting desperate. A titled reporter heads to Mars and stumbles onto the government's wicked plans.

This is a very short book, coming in at just over 100 pages. The authors try to cram too much into it and the ending in particular suffers for it. If you like your graphic novels to be heavy enough to use as a weapon, as is the case with From Hell, then are you likely to be disappointed.