SECRETS OF DRIPPING FANG, BOOK TWO

The flight of the orphaned Shluffmuffin twins from the aptly named (see below) Mandible Sisters goes on—and on—in this labored second episode. Intent on nourishing the world-conquering larval army in their basement on the smell from Wally Shluffmuffin’s feet and the mucus from his sister Cheyenne’s constantly drippy nose, the Mandibles, both oversized ants in disguise, pursue the two ten-year-olds back to the misleadingly named Jolly Days Orphanage, and thence into the slimy swamps just outside, uh, would you believe Cincinnati? Greenburg’s reference to the “smell of the orphanage, a combination of strong hospital soap and rotting rat carcasses” typifies the brand of humor here, and though by the end the twins’ dad reappears—albeit as a decomposing zombie who drowned in a porta-potty—the chase is plainly far from over. Some offbeat set pieces, but, really, a yawn. (illustrations not seen) (Fantasy. 10-12)