Victor and his friends continue their madcap efforts to thwart the undead Napolion Bonaparte. In this installment, reanimated Benjamin Franklin enters into a bizarre face-off with Thomas Edison in an effort to prevent his Infinity Bulbs from turning everyone in range into zombies. Science, ridiculous hijinks, and entertaining drawings combine to make a third engaging adventure.

Closing a comical series' first story arc, America's two greatest inventors square off in a death match over the Emperor Napoléon's scheme to conquer the world…with science. Well, science of a sort. To the electrically preserved Franklin and his modern young cohorts Victor, Scott and Jaime, there's something fishy about the "Infinity Bulbs" that the strangely familiar "Ed Thomason" is passing out for free. Their suspicions are confirmed by the discovery of a gigantic, almost-complete "harmonic supertransmitter" in the bowels of the Infinity Unlimited factory--a device that, at the command of the megalomaniac Emperor, will turn everyone within reach of an Infinity Bulb into an obedient zombie. Tuxbury and McElligott liberally endow their tale with patent drawings, circuit and other diagrams, and like techno eye candy as well as such general silliness as a wizened Bad Guy who gets around in an ornately decorated bathtub. It spins through melodramatic twists and sudden reversals of fortune to an appropriately explosive climax that puts Ben out of action but (probably) leaves Napoléon at large for future episodes. Another entertaining foray into science both mad and real; new readers should start with the opener, though, to make sense of it all. (Sci-fantasy. 10-12)

Anderson, M.T. The Chamber in the Sky . Vol. 4. 282p. (The Norumbegan Quartet). Scholastic . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-33493-8 . Gr 6-9 BARNETT, Mac . Danger Goes Berserk . Bk. 4. illus. by Matthew Myers. 240p. (Brixton Brothers Series). S &; S. Oct. 2012. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3977-1 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3979-5 . LC 2011048401. Gr 46 BENZ, Derek &; John S. Lewis . The Paragon Prison . Bk. 3. 368p. (Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04525-4 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20238-1 . LC 2011035295. Gr 47 Birney, Betty G. Mysteries According to Humphrey . Bk. 8. 144p. (Humphrey Adventures Series). Putnam . July 2012. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25414-7 . LC 2011020075. Gr 24 BUCKLEY, Michael . The Council of Mirrors . illus. by Peter Ferguson. Bk. 9. 334p. (The Sisters Grimm Series). Abrams / Amulet . 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0186-3 . Gr 47 D'LACEY, Chris . The Fire Ascending . Bk. 7. 560p. (Last Dragon Chronicles). Scholastic / Orchard . 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-545-40216-3 . LC 2012003120. Gr 58 FRIEDMAN, Laurie . Mallory McDonald, Super Snoop . Bk. 18. illus. by Jennifer Kalis. 152p. (Mallory Series). Darby Creek, dist. by Lerner. Sept. 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-6073-5 . LC 2011044332. Gr 3-5 GUTMAN, Dan . Ted &; Me . 208p. (A Baseball Card Adventure Series). HarperCollins / Harper . 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-06-123487-3 ; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-06-210210-2 . LC 2011019359. Gr 47 HADDIX, Margaret Peterson . Caught . Bk. 5. 344p. (The Missing Series). S &; S . Aug. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-8982-0 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2288-9 . LC 2011018654. Gr 58 HARRISON, Michelle . 13 Secrets . Bk. 3. 422p. (13 Treasures Series). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-18563-9 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20205-3 . Gr. 58 LASKY, Kathryn . Spirit Wolf . Bk. 5. 228p. (Wolves of the Beyond Series). Scholastic . 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-27961-1 . LC 2012001594. Gr 47 McElligott, Matthew &; Larry Tuxbury . Benjamin Franklinstein Meets Thomas Deadison . illus by Matthew McElligott. 144p. Putnam . Aug. 2012. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25481-9 . LC 2012001615. Gr 4–6 Moss, Marissa . Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters: The Fake Friend! illus. by author. 96p. S &; S . July 2012. Tr $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4014-2 ; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4015-9 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4016-6 . Gr 4–6 Myers, Walter Dean . A Star Is Born . Bk. 3. 160p. (The Cruisers Series). Scholastic . Aug. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-439-91628-8 . Gr. 5–8 NEFF, Henry H. The Maelstrom . illus. by author. Bk. 4. 468p. (The Tapestry Series). Random . Oct. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85707-2 ; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95707-9 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89329-2 . Gr 5–8 PEIRCE, Lincoln . Big Nate Fun Blaster: Cheezy Doodles, Crazy Comix, and Loads of Laughs! illus. by author. 224p. (Big Nate Series). HarperCollins / Harper . July 2012. Tr $10.99. ISBN 978-0-06-209045-4 ; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219962-1 . Gr 3–6 RUSSELL, Rachel Ren&3;e . Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess . Bk. 4. illus. by author. 348p. (Dork Diaries Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2012. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1192-0 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1193-7 . Gr 5–8 SCOTT, Michael . The Enchantress . Bk. 5. 528p. (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series). Delacorte . 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73535-3 ; PLB $21.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90518-3 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98590-4 . Gr 6–9 Shan, Darren . Brothers to the Death . 260p. (Cirque du Freak Series: The Saga of Larten Crepsley). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-07873-3 . Gr 5–9 VERNON, Ursula . When Fairies Go Bad . Bk. 7. 202p. (Dragonbreath Series). Dial . Sept. 2012. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3678-8 . LC 2011048053. Gr 2–4 High School CAINE, Rachel . Black Dawn . Bk. 12. 370p. (The Morganville Vampires Series). NAL . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-451-23671-5 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-101-58534-4 . LC 2011052660. Gr 9 Up CLARE, Cassandra . City of Lost Souls . Bk. 5. 534p. (The Mortal Instruments Series). S &; S / Margaret K. McElderry Bks. 2012. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1686-4 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1688-8 . LC 2011042547. Gr 9 Up HOUCK, Colleen . Tiger's Destiny . Bk. 4. 406p. (Tiger's Curse Series). Sterling / Splinter . Sept. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4027-9843-6 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4027-9844-3 . Gr 7 Up KADE, Stacey . Body &; Soul . Bk. 3. 320p. (A Ghost and the Goth Novel). Hyperion / Disney . 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-142313466-4 . LC 2011030592. Gr 8 Up KATE, Lauren . Rapture . Bk. 4. 448p. (A Fallen Novel). Delacorte . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73918-4 ; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90775-0 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89719-1 . Gr 8 Up KIZER, Amber . Speed of Light . Bk. 3. 528p. (A Meridian Novel). Delacorte . Nov. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74114-9 ; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98987-2 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98428-0 . Gr 9 Up LAKE, Nick .