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#31

Hardy Boys Casefiles / Re: #52 Uncivil War (31st Anni...

Last post by MysteryFan89 - October 14, 2024, 04:05:41 PM

Since I just finished rereading Uncivil War, I thought I'd comment here instead of starting a new thread.  As a kid I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this one, Civil War and reenactments were two things I was really interested in. 
It was one of the biggest disappointments, so many plot holes, and the crime was so convoluted that the author needed to have Frank spell it all out for us step by step in the last chapter, and the solution wasn't arrived at by the logical collection of facts and clues, instead the Hardys tumble around getting attacked, before Frank seemingly randomly guesses that a certain character is the key that could solve the case.
I did appreciate how the author incorporated a lot of facts about the Battle of Shiloh, although he mentions "cannonballs splashing into the Tennessee River", something that wouldn't be happening during a reenactment.

Thanks for saying what I was thinking about this book, it wasn't one of my favorites. 

#32

Hardy Boys Casefiles / Re: #52 Uncivil War (31st Anni...

Last post by CalvinKnox - October 12, 2024, 09:18:36 PM

Since I just finished rereading Uncivil War, I thought I'd comment here instead of starting a new thread.  As a kid I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this one, Civil War and reenactments were two things I was really interested in. 
It was one of the biggest disappointments, so many plot holes, and the crime was so convoluted that the author needed to have Frank spell it all out for us step by step in the last chapter, and the solution wasn't arrived at by the logical collection of facts and clues, instead the Hardys tumble around getting attacked, before Frank seemingly randomly guesses that a certain character is the key that could solve the case.
I did appreciate how the author incorporated a lot of facts about the Battle of Shiloh, although he mentions "cannonballs splashing into the Tennessee River", something that wouldn't be happening during a reenactment.

#33

Hardy Boys Originals / Digests / Re: #85 The Skyfire Puzzle

Last post by MacGyver - October 04, 2024, 03:36:51 AM

It's funny, but shortly after I made that statement about Chet in the casefiles, I read The Last Laugh, which has him playing an important role, basically as a third Hardy brother. 

Yeah- that's a great example. As a comic book fan, I love that book!

#34

Hardy Boys Casefiles / Re: #43 Strategic Moves (31st ...

Last post by tomswift2002 - October 03, 2024, 03:08:31 PM

Just read this book again for the first time in a few years. It would probably rank somewhere among my top 20 casefiles.  For patriotic reasons I didn't really the portrayal of the main British villain.  The death toll is pretty high, and I can't recall any other books where two good guys get gunned down by machine gun in the actual text, rather than dying "off stage". 
Prince Charles, now King Charles III is also mentioned, which got me to thinking how the vast majority of HB books, from the last of the original texts, all the way to the Undercover Brothers and Adventures series, were all written when the UK (and other Commonwealth realms) had Elizabeth II as head of state.

Well she was on the throne for 3/4 of a century, the longest of any British monarch.  Even before that, the Hardy's were written under George V, Edward VIII and George VI.

#35

Hardy Boys Originals / Digests / Re: #85 The Skyfire Puzzle

Last post by CalvinKnox - October 02, 2024, 10:48:29 PM

Chet has a larger role in some Casefiles but yeah- probably not to the extent he does in this book. (The Casefiles title you were thinking of is Running on Empty, by the way.)

It's funny, but shortly after I made that statement about Chet in the casefiles, I read The Last Laugh, which has him playing an important role, basically as a third Hardy brother. 

#36

Hardy Boys Casefiles / Re: #43 Strategic Moves (31st ...

Last post by CalvinKnox - October 02, 2024, 10:32:17 PM

Just read this book again for the first time in a few years. It would probably rank somewhere among my top 20 casefiles.  For patriotic reasons I didn't really the portrayal of the main British villain.  The death toll is pretty high, and I can't recall any other books where two good guys get gunned down by machine gun in the actual text, rather than dying "off stage". 
Prince Charles, now King Charles III is also mentioned, which got me to thinking how the vast majority of HB books, from the last of the original texts, all the way to the Undercover Brothers and Adventures series, were all written when the UK (and other Commonwealth realms) had Elizabeth II as head of state.

#37

Hardy Boys Originals / Digests / Re: No. 166 Past and Present D...

Last post by MacGyver - October 02, 2024, 05:44:49 PM

Okay. Thanks for the editing history rundown.

#38

Hardy Boys Originals / Digests / Re: No. 166 Past and Present D...

Last post by tomswift2002 - October 01, 2024, 10:53:09 PM

True. But even so, I would think the editors would keep the universes separate. I like that let some elements slip in though.

Anne Greenberg was the editor for both lines (MegaBooks was handling both series).  She edited the Mystery Stories from #86 The Mystery of the Silver Star in 1987 right up to #176 In Plane Sight in 2002, including moving from MegaBooks when Simon & Schuster decided to bring the series in-house in 1999 with #154 The Caribbean Cruise Caper.  For the Casefiles, as I understand it, Bill McKay was the editor of the series under Greenberg from the launch of the series in April 1987 up to #66 The Phoenix Equation in August 1992, then both series continued under Greenberg until the Casefiles were discontinued in 1998.  She was also the editor for the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Files, River Heights and SuperMystery'88 series's between 1986 and 2002. (The Tom Swift and Hardy Boys/Tom Swift series of the time we're done by Byron Preiss Visual Communications so they were under a different editor.)

After Greenberg left in 2002, there are no records for who edited #177 The Case of the Psychic's Vision in 2003 through to #190 Motocross Madness in 2005.  There was some reports back in the day that there were multiple editors for those books, thus the continuity errors and lack of editing.

Going back to the start of the G&D part of the Mystery Stories, Edward Stratemeyer edited the original #1-9 between 1927-1930 (his death), Harriet Stratemeyer Adam's edited  from the original #10 in 1931 to #43 in 1964 (as well as the Revised texts that were issued between 1959 and 1964).  She also partially edited #44 The Haunted Fort in 1965 with Andrew E. Svenson and Jocelyn Starzyk.  Jocelyn Starzyk edited #45 The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge by herself in 1966, then in 1967 Andrew E. Svenson co-edited #46 The Secret Agent On Flight 101 with Starzyk.  In 1968, Andrew E. Svenson co-edited #47 Mystery of the Whale Tattoo with Lilo Wuenn.  Then from #48 The Arctic Patrol Mystery in 1969 to #85 The Skyfire Puzzle in 1985, Lilo Wuenn was the editor of the Hardy Boys through the 1977-79 TV Show, the changeover from Grosset & Dunlap to Simon & Schuster's Wanderer Books, Harriet Stratemeyer Adam's death in 1982 and finally the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1984 to Simon & Schuster (Wuenn was one of the 5 shareholders in the Syndicate that sold the Syndicate).  Obviously the death of Adams and the S&S takeover caused some issues with the editing of books 80-83, because they were commissioned under the Stratemeyer Syndicate and then were being edited under Simon & Schuster's lead, but for the most part, people have found that the Nancy Drew Wanderers were very uneven while the Hardy's Wanderer quality was very stable since they were under Wuenn's purview the whole time and obviously she had 10 years experience with the series having handled the 1969-1979 G&D books.  Whereas, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams edited the Nancy Drew G&D's from 1960 to 1979, then she co-edited #57 with Lilo Wuenn, then Wuenn when went solo for #58-61 and 63.  Also under Wuenn and Nancy Axelrad, the beginning stages of the Files-Casefiles continuity were started.

#39

Hardy Boys Originals / Digests / Re: No. 166 Past and Present D...

Last post by MacGyver - October 01, 2024, 11:40:39 AM

You have to remember that there were some authors that worked on both series, such as Chris Lampton, Stephen D. Sullivan and Frances Lantz, plus there could be more (right now there are no known authors for Mystery Stories #'s 125-159 between April 1994 and January 2000 and in the Casefiles the longest gap is between #110 and #123, between April 1996 and May 1997; Stephen D. Sullivan wrote #124).

True. But even so, I would think the editors would keep the universes separate. I like that let some elements slip in though.

#40

Hardy Boys Originals / Digests / Re: No. 166 Past and Present D...

Last post by tomswift2002 - October 01, 2024, 08:40:17 AM

Okay- nice! Thanks for that tidbit. There were also Casefiles-specific characters though, like Liz Webling, that showed up in later Digests.

You have to remember that there were some authors that worked on both series, such as Chris Lampton, Stephen D. Sullivan and Frances Lantz, plus there could be more (right now there are no known authors for Mystery Stories #'s 125-159 between April 1994 and January 2000 and in the Casefiles the longest gap is between #110 and #123, between April 1996 and May 1997; Stephen D. Sullivan wrote #124).