As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, cass and max-ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the symphony of smells...As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, cass and max-ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the symphony of smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances.