Mortal Combat : Time's Running Out by Martin Chatterton

Random House; Australia, 2012. ISBN 9781742753164.
Recommended for 8-12 years. Mort the 10,000 year old boy is back! In fact this book begins right where the first leaves off with Mort battling a headache from time travel in the Retro and confronted by a submachine gun wielding World War 2 German Stormtrooper protecting Hitler.
Chaos and mayhem reign as this story travels back and forward in time from one hilarious episode to the next. Mortimer DeVere is the main character who along with his sister Agnetha lives on the Isle of Unk. Their parents return from a 200 year holiday during the story but only add more to the chaos. Trish Molyneux and her wimpy assistant Nigel from the Unk Shire Education Department are caught up in the mayhem as they continue their noble quest to return the children to school at all costs.
With cloned historical figures like Genghis Khan, Viking hordes, Spanish Galleons and a pair of hungry T-Rex added to the cast anything that can go wrong will. Mort needs to find a way to correct the rip in time he creates when Hitler is taken on a trip in the Retro and history is altered when he is eaten by the dinosaurs.
Girls will enjoy the fact that Agnetha saves the day, replaces Hitler, which she has cloned from the bone Genghis saved as a souvenir, and recovers the item left behind which they are sure has caused all their problems.
The cartoon like illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, add to the fun as do the occasional full page illustrations which give younger readers visual clues to the action. I am looking forward to the next instalment of Mort's outrageous adventures.
Sue Keane