Fantastic Writing, Superb Artwork, A Great Buy! - Rated 
I'd read a few reviews of Aetheric Mechanics, so I knew a little about the general plot and was interested enough to order it, assuming that it would be a reasonable read - yet what I got was a book full of surprises, ingenuity, classical literary references, clues and a stunning denouement. All I can hope is that there will be more from Warren Ellis based in the world he has created here, but if not, he has successfully squeezed a couple of hundred pages worth of ideas into a mere 48 page Novella - which is a sign of genuinely great writing. The art, too, is a perfect fit, with each panel showing a genuine love and affection for the story and hundreds of tiny details that you can go back and absorb time after time. Aetheric Mechanics will sit proudly on my shelf. How do more people not know about this? In an age where the demand for Graphic Novels is possibly greater than ever, there are so many books out there that sometimes a classic can get lost in the multitude of movie tie-ins, big company `event' specials and indie favourites. This is one of those classics. Don't let it pass you by - this is a book you will be glad you hunted down and hopefully, over time, will get the clamour and attention it deserves. Fantastic.
More a graphic short story than a novella... - Rated 
Warren Ellis presents a milieu that's becoming quite familiar - turn of the 20th century London, where somehow science has advanced so that the British Empire is stretching into space, whilst at war with Ruritania. Doctor Robert Watcham returns from a tour of duty to find London much changed. He visits his old friend, the consulting detective Sax Raker, who is investigating the case of the man who wasn't there. To go much further is to give you the whole of the plot, as the story is quite a short one in terms of incident.
However, it is based around a fun science fiction idea. The obvious parallels between Raker and Holmes and Watcham and Watson are there for a reason, so much so you begin to wonder why Ellis didn't go the whole hog. But by holding that much back, he is able to produce something that is not quite a pastiche, so that where his portrayal of the characters deviates from Conan Doyle's it's okay, because this is a Warren Ellis story not a Holmes story.
The art, which is black and white and finely inked, features impressive detail and does a very fine job of creating a familiar but different vision of London in the early years of the 20C. If there are failings it's that perhaps there could have been better use of shadow or toning, and that faces are all much the same, a point made all the more obvious when a panel of two different men with moustaches makes it difficult to pick out which is which. But that's a small niggle. Otherwise the art is consistent and never pulls you out of the story.
The ending is telegraphed just a tiny bit so that you know what's coming, but it is the only ending that would make sense in terms of what comes before and that makes it very satisfying. I read it again directly after the first reading, which is the mark of an enjoyable read and I kind of hope Ellis will use Raker again someday.
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