Scarlet Traces: Empire of Blood

Book excerpt: The first novel set in the War of the Worlds universe from the cult comic book hit Scarlet Traces, picking up the story directly from the climax of H.G. Wells' classic. November 1898, four months after the Martians’ failed invasion of the United Kingdom, leaving priceless technology scattered among London’s ruins. As reconstruction begins, Germany sends men and resources to aid in the recovery; not entirely trusting Kaiser Wilhelm’s goodwill, the Queen’s spymaster sends his trusted agent Ampney Crucis to spy on the German workers. In the shadows of the city, mutilated bodies are turning up in the new slums. With so many still missing and so much still to be done, the case is all but overlooked, handed over to the police department’s most junior detective, Valentine Bey. As Bey begins his investigations, he crosses paths with Crucis, and the two men discover a plot that could change the world. Something survived the War of the Worlds; something that lives still under London. And there are many who would kill to get their hands on it...