#83 The Swamp Monster (35th Anniversary Review)

[tomswift2002]

The Swamp Monster
Published: 1985
Published by: Wanderer Books (1985-1988), Minstrel Books (1989-1995?)
Author: Neal Barret
Other Books by Author: #79 Sky Sabotage (possible), #85 The Skyfire Puzzle (sequel to Sky Sabotage)
Reading Level: 5.3

Plot: (from 1989 cover art) The boys are in a race against time---and they're running for their lives!

In the Texas Swamps, Mystery is a way of life---and death

The Hardys are off to Texas to help the internationally acclaimed naturalist Martin Pierce save the swampland.  Pierce is in a desperate and dangerous fight with the powerful oil and timber interests---and someone has made a threat on his life!

While investigating the case, Frank and Joe find that it's true what people say about Texas: everything is bigger than life, and that includes the poisonous snakes, the wild razorback hogs, and the giant alligators.  But biggest of all is the human greed.  For it is man's unbridled ambition that holds the key to the death threats and to the horrifying secret of THE SWAMP MONSTER.

Review: Here's a rather infamous Hardy Boys book.  This is the last stand-alone Hardy Boys book (before October 2019's Dungeon's and Detectives book from the Adventures series, which was 22 chapters) to be produced with 20 chapters.  It was also the last Hardy Boys book commissioned by the Stratemeyer Syndicate (the final edits were done by Simon & Schuster), before the Syndicate was sold to Simon & Schuster (the Wanderer editions of The Demon's Den, The Blackwing Puzzle & The Swamp Monster all contain a Simon & Schuster copyright).  Also, the Wanderer edition uses a unique cover design that only appeared on this book (it was created by Michaelis/Carpelis Design, the same people that designed the covers for Be-A-Detective books #5 & 6 The Alaskan Mystery & The Missing Money Mystery and is similar to those).  Plus this was the first Hardy Boys book to feature a front-cover tag line, as the Wanderer edition contained a tag line, that would be continued on the books right through to #190 Motocross Madness and also used on all the Hardy Boys Casefiles, Ultra Thrillers & Clue Brothers books.   

Also interesting to note is that the Minstrel edition's copyright page contains an error.  Mega-Books is credited as producing The Swamp Monster even though they were not involved in the series at the time.

[MacGyver]

I believe we discussed a while back but I also seem to recall that The Swamp Monster does not name drop the title of the next book at the end.

[tomswift2002]

That was in Game Plan To Disaster's Wanderer Arch-window printing that there was no plug for The Crimson Flame, but it was added for the Minstrel printing.  However, The Swamp Monster ( and I don't have a Wanderer copy to double check) apparently was never revised before Minstrel issued it in January 1989 to include a plug for Revenge of the Desert Phantom.

What's also interesting is that the 20 chapter books had between 180 & 200 pages; The Blackwing Puzzle Minstrel book is 195 pages long, while the Minstrel version of The Swamp Monster has 190, and that's without internal Pictures.  The Wanderer versions of Revenge of the Desert Phantom & The Skyfire Pizzle have 157 & 158 pages, respectively, with no pictures, while Mystery of the Silver Star & Program for Destruction have 151 & 152 pages and around 15 chapters each.  Dungeons & Detectives has 202 pages (and 26 chapters actually, not 22!). 

So, as I said I don't have a Wanderer copy, but I read one about 15 years ago and I think it had internal illustrations, so The Swamp Monster would also be the last Hardy Boys book with internal illustrations. 

[tomswift2002]

So I've been reading The Swamp Monster and I've been finding that the chapter ends have been rather quiet for a Hardy Boys book.  They are kind of reminding me of the "Star Trek The Next Generation" episode The Measure of a Man and how, for one of the best TNG episodes, the end of the teaser and the different acts as they went to commercial were quiet and really didn't have those "hooks" that usually make you want to stay through the commercials.

[MacGyver]

A change of pace is good sometimes.

[tomswift2002]

So I finished the book this morning.  I kind of wonder if, because of the changes that were going on at the time, The Swamp Monster didn't get the level of editing that the other Hardy Boys had received, since it felt like it needed another round of polishing.  So for the last Stratemeyer approved title, the series sort of went out on a whimper. 

So the Hardy's were trying to find out who was attacking Professor Martin Pierce, a college friend of Fenton Hardy, who lives near the Big Thicket in Texas. Also, the Hardy's are on the trail of a lost Confederate Column that was lost in the Big Thicket during the America Civil War.  It's been about 15 years since I last read The Swamp Monster and I really forgot who the bad guy was. 

Rating: 6.5/10