RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK

The baddies are back, and they’re ready to do anything to locate their beloved treasure, even if it means having to fake acting school experience.

When last readers saw the intrepid (and pungent) buccaneer antiheroes, Gruesome and Grisly McNasty were stuck in the belly of a whale. You can’t keep a good pirate down (or digested, anyway), however, so in no time the two are belched out and are hot on the trail of the legendary treasure of Capt. Syd. Fortunately, heroic best friends Tat and Hetty catch wind (no pun intended) of the nefarious plan and rush to foil it. Little Snoring Castle is hosting a pirate-movie production team, and that means more pirates, more misunderstandings, some terrible acting, and serious gross-out humor. A certain level of icky silliness is to be expected in typical piratical fare, but the sheer gobs of snot, slime, muck, and poo on display here effectively bury the characters, plot, and writing in general. The action never lulls for even a second, which could be considered either a good or a bad thing, depending on who’s reading the book. As for the titular “Lost Shark,” that is merely a reference to the name of the film being produced at the castle and has very little to do with the book itself.

For fans of the previous book, it’s a lot more of the same. For newbies, consider walking the plank instead.