The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2

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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2			Alan Moore/Kevin O'Neill		Urban Fantasy
8	10	8	8	7	8.2
Secularity	Technophilia	Quality	Xenophilia	Personal Tilt	Average

The bastards have only released a hardcover version of this, so I had to read this in-store for considerations of my pocketbook. As a result, my experience was split over two separated sessions, so my impressions might not be entirely accurate.

If you'll recall, "Eruptions On Mars May Be Volcanoes" was a newspaper headline seen midway through Vol1. It turns out that they weren't anything of the sort as anyone like who has picked up HG Wells' War of the Worlds, gotten disgusted with the stilted writing, and tossed it away would have instantly recognized.

Also, the green space capsules falling on England on the last page should have been a dead giveaway.:P

Anyways, British Secret Service is assigned the daunting task of repelling the Martian invasion. Sex in the woods, double crosses, daring scientific achievement, tonnes of torn limbs, and anal rape naturally ensue. Also, everyone in London dies again.:)

I find the action on Mars/Barsoom to be überböring, but fortunately it doesn't last long and the setting quickly changes to good ol' third rock. The way the combined the threads of several novels was rather clever, but most of the references were to Burroughs and Wells with whom I am not very familiar.

It's hard to say whether Vol2 is technophiliac or not. On one hand, the biases of the characters against certain technologies. On the other, technology triumphs in the end. There are many other biases that the characters have -- sexism, racism, etc. -- and none of them are necessarily promoted. I'd say that the luddite sentiment isn't shared by the book either.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol2 is a delightful romp. I recommend it. Once it comes out at a decent price.