Haunted Review

[tomswift2002]

I'm farther along in "Haunted" and I noticed that Chapter 12 is labelled a "Joe" chapter when it is clearly a "Frank" chapter.



Also, I'm surprised that Simon & Schuster didn't schedule this book for the September 30, 2008 date that is currently held by the "Murder House Trilogy Book 3: Murder House".  S&S would've probably had better sales of this book during the month before Hallowe'en, not in the summer?  This also goes with the illogical release dates for the trilogy and "Haunted".  Why not finish the trilogy in the summer, before kids go back to school, and then release a special 'Hallowe'en' book in late-September?



So far there is the usual amount of chit-chat in this book: essentially the entire book.  I just got to the part where it was revealed that someone had been piping helium into the library air at certain times to create a "ghost" effect, along with having a hidden tape player? with multiple speakers around the place.  First of all, early on in the book I had suspected that people were having a hard time breathing and the murder were being done by pumping carbon monoxide or some other gas into the room that people could not detect.  Second, why would the crook use a tape player?  Do kids even know what a tape player is nowadays?  Why not use an MP3 player or IPod especially considering that a lot of MP3's/IPods are smaller than even the old micro-cassette players. 



Thirdly, I've managed to guess already that crook is none other than the director of the center because he wants to be as famous as his Nobel-Prize winning father.



I'm giving "Haunted" a rating of E-.  And don't even consider this a rewrite of The Hardy Boys Ghost Stories from 1984.  I don't even know why they bothered to call "Haunted" a 'Special Ghost Stories' edition, because it is not. 



If you want to see the Hardys battling ghosts, read the aforementioned 1984 book The Hardy Boys Ghost Stories.

Hopefully Simon & Schuster will put an end to the Undercover Brothers death throes soon before the series really goes to shame.


Rating: E-

[SDLagent]

I was wondering why this wasn't released in the 'Hallowe'en season either. Doesn't make any sense. And your right, this isn't a rewrite.

[tomswift2002]

And The Hardy Boys Ghost Stories I give a Rating: A+.

Simon & Schuster really need to turn the Hardy's around quickly.

[JoeHardyRocks]

I really liked haunted, I give it an A-.

[Sam Spade]

I haven't finished it yet, but so far, it's a classic UB. Typical UB writing. Typical UB plot: murder, murder, and more murder.

My ranking: UB-

I hadn't noticed the mistake on chapter 12, Tom, but I did notice a mistake in chapter 9.
It says the following:

Why aren't we trying to contact Moses in one of the places we know he's been?" Robert asked as we headed through the kitchen and out into the dining hall. "Like the infirmary. I'm pretty sure no one's sick. It should be empty."
"Lara was saying before that she didn't want a place where there are bad memories for Moses," Robert told him.

What the crap
That's a huge mistake!

Anyway, I posted both of these mistakes (the one you pointed out and the one I found) on the Hardy Boys Wiki, along with a mostly complete appearance list.

Here's a link!
http://hardyboys.wikia.com/wiki/Haunted

[tomswift2002]

I finished it last night, and I read it rather fast because I just wanted to get through it before it bored me to the point where I would put the book down and not pick it up again.  And it was a very typical UB book.  So I still say that it only deserves an E- rating.

[003Robin457]

I give it an A.

[tomswift2002]

I give it an A.

Obviously you've got a warped sense of good reading.

[003Robin457]

Obviously I've got a warped sense of good reading.