Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Shattered Abacus by Tom Hoffman

Orville Mouse and the Puzzle of the Shattered Abacus by Tom Hoffman is a marvelously fun book that keeps you engaged until the last page. This is book two of a new series by the author, featuring Orville Wellington the anthropomorphic mouse. Written intelligently, the characters are well created, including Sophia, who is Orville's friend and confidante. This writing ability; keeping the level of discourse in the book above common language, raises this story above many others in the fantasy genre. We begin the story with Orville having a terrible nightmare in which he and Sophia jump into an active volcano. Beyond that, he wakes to discover there is snow in his bedroom. Sophia herself, has had a scary dream on the same night, and steels herself for what may be on the horizon for both she and Orville. To think that Orville sets off a series of events simply by buying his Mum a necklace is scary indeed. A highly imaginative science fiction tale with an interplanetary twist, this book is eminently readable, with appealing characters and a strong plot.