I think the alien invasion storyline is a big step-up from the first one; it gives the whole thing a much bigger feeling of suspense and really raises the stakes too. Without wanting to spoil anything, I will tell you that the team will have some significant personal losses during the course of the story. What I did find, though, was that this second volume was much more sexually explicit than the last and, since this is a graphic novel, there are some very graphic images that go along with these scenes, so, I thought I had better put a warning!
On the subject of images, this volume, just like the first, is illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, and a very good job he does too! Again, there is a wonderful feeling to the nineteenth century England which is created through the pictures, and they're able to set the tone of the piece quite well. I was also especially fond of the way the tripods were depicted: large and menacing, but cool and steampunk-y at the same time! Also, there are small easter eggs (most commonly references to classic novels) hidden in the background of scenes and whatnot, which are fun to spot.
I think this is a nice step up from the first one in terms of quality, and anybody who enjoyed that, should definitely read this one too! I'll also add, that while this is a sequel, it works perfectly well as a standalone too, you don't really need to have read the first one to be able to enjoy this, and, in fact, I hadn't read the first when I first read this! It's just a wonderful crossover of literary characters in the nineteenth century. Rating: 9/10
(buy it here)
(I do not own the copyright of the cover image.)