This book is set about 40 years past the Martian invasion (from War of the Worlds), and you see the continuance of the war that launched ~30 years earlier at the end of the previous Scarlet Traces.

The artwork is still lush, as in the previous titles by this duo. The use of color to set the mood is quite impressive. You still have the steampunk nature of the adopted (and now evolved) Martian technology (such as video screens in cars, and video phones). And there are interesting alternative history elements cropping up (for example, Haile Selassie I shows up in a news story, but there's no mention of Hitler. Why would you need Hitler's fascism, when it's firmly established in the post-martian England?

Nevertheless, I didn't enjoy the story as much. It felt unnecessarily crass in a few places, it felt like it jumped around too much in the beginning, and there were a couple of convoluted plot twists that left me confused. But I'm going to read it again - with better lighting (in deference to my presbyopic eyes) and a still open mind.

Like Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware, this story is hilarious in its absurdity and crazy tangents. But unlike Flame Pits, it doesn't get dragged down by the absurdity and length. In fact, I almost thought it was too short (until I remembered my criticism of JD&TFPOD). It quickly moves from crisis to denouement to end. The story hangs together well - as well, that is, as any story about whales on stilts taking over the world. I liked that Lily was the brains behind this operation - even though she doesn't have her own series. And it cracked me up that Larry (the blue, rubbery, grain-sack-over-head-concealed villian of the story) recognized Katie because he has her Horror Hollow fan club poster in his office. Of course, I cracked up on average once per page, but it's things like that - tying together little threads (orts, almost) from throughout the books - that make these books hilarious.

I missed the sarcastic narrator of the BOCD, but the illustrations in the book made up for it. I have a soft spot for wood cut style! And although it doesn't have a (faux) state song after the end of the story, it does have a hilarious 'study guide' that you must be sure to read. "#4. Out of all the page numbers in the book, which one is your favorite? Discuss."

The quality of this book is very uneven - some chapters are well-written and intriguing, while others made my eyes glaze over. It's possible it was the particular subject matter in different chapters, but I think it was more the writing style.

Sweet story with a small mystery underneath. I liked the dispelling of the obvious red herrings. I'm intrigued by the peach pie recipe (I've already got a crust recipe, so I'm set :-)

Somewhere between illustrated story and graphic novel. Love that they can catch a 3:15 bus to Mythical Japan (wish I could!). Cute characters. Nice use of their actual animal characteristics at times.

Funny lines:

(captures the essence of the characters): "If Suki - a girl - was able to tie a blindfold around the crane, refusing to hold its head would be pure cowardice. Wendell would never let him hear the end of it, and Wendell was terrified of perfectly safe things like gunpowder and bottle rockets."

"Danny would have preferred something with rusted metal spikes, possibly dripping blood, and the bones of the geckos' enemies lined up on top, but he had to admit that was more a matter of personal preference."