Aetheric Mechanics

The Edwardian-era Steampunk tale of Great Britain's greatest detective, Sax Raker, whose investigation into a mysterious, vanishing killer threatens to unravel the entire world around him.

The year is 1907, and Britain has entered into a terrifying war with Ruritania, whose strange metal planes darken the skies, and whose monstrous war engines cast looming shadows from across the channel. Doctor Robert Watcham, lately returned to London from the front, makes his homecoming to Dilke Street. There lives his old friend and England's greatest amateur detective, Sax Raker. Even as his beloved city prepares for war, Raker is himself about to embark on the strangest (and, perhaps, the most important) investigation of his career: the case of the man who wasn't there. Is the mysterious, vanishing killer, at last, evidence for Raker's long-held belief in a secret criminal mastermind? Is it some apparition uniquely belonging to this city, a place that seems to have lost all semblance of sense two years ago? Or do all the signs point to something much, much worse?

Warren Ellis is the award-winning British author of comic books, novels, and television, most often recognized for his sociocultural commentary and ground-breaking work in the genre of science fiction. His most recognizable works include Transmetropolitan, Planetary, and The Authority. He maintains a consistent online presence which includes the weekly delivery of the FREAKANGELS web comic to millions of fans. Ellis has published over 25 different creator-owned projects through Avatar Press (including BLACK SUMMER, IGNITION CITY, and GRAVEL, the last of which is in development as a film through Legendary Pictures), with many more planned.