Orson Cart and the Magic Maze; Orson Cart and the Museum Mystery

The further adventures of a maniacally gormless hero who was a normal child until tragically struck down by a radioactive lawn mower. This calamity has left Orson with the awesome ability to shuffle his own anatomy, dismembering and reassembling himself at will. Orson revives the career of a pathetically inept magician in the first of these books when he colludes in the most realistic feat of sawing-the-man-in-half ever seen. In the second book, Orson and The Prof, his equally gormless sidekick, inadvertently revive an Egyptian mummy. Several self-shufflings have to be braved before the murderous cadaver is safely retombed.

Steve Donald's comic book graphics bring hectic life to the ridiculous premise of these adventures, their crazy plots and the cast of bizarre characters. Like all the other titles in this series, the books had me shuddering with helpless mirth, and I anticipate they'd have the same effect on the most reluctant of readers.