Casefile reviews

[MacGyver]

I take it the book left a bad Taste in your mouth.

[Bigfootman]

Hmm- I like those two well enough. It's been a while since I've read them- but I've actually read "Dead Man in Deadwood" a couple of times. I think some of the historical stuff about the Battle of Little Big Horn in there grabs me some too. But to each his own. I just enjoy all of The Hardy Boys Casefiles to some degree or another. (I'm kinda this way on a lot of things though- I'm no good at choosing favorites. )

The whole point of the Casefiles series was that it was supposed to be more violent then the Hardy Boys Digest series. Dead Man in Deadwood had no action at all, and when the girl (I forget her name) appeared, Frank and Joe were basicly minor characters in the book.

[MacGyver]

I believe the girl's name was Cathy, if I remember correctly. And I don't think I'd say any of The Hardy Boys books have absolutely no action. (You would have a rather dull story in that case.) But as I've said before- different people have different expectations for the action level. And that's okay. I'm guessing you probably like some of the first few Casefiles best as they all seemed to be pretty high speed action all throughout. (I like those books pretty well, but a change of pace every now and then is cool with me.)

[SDLagent]

The whole point of the Casefiles series was that it was supposed to be more violent then the Hardy Boys Digest series. Dead Man in Deadwood had no action at all, and when the girl (I forget her name) appeared, Frank and Joe were basicly minor characters in the book.

I'd disagree that was the "whole point" or the series.

[tomswift2002]

Well the Hardy Boys Casefiles, Nancy Drew Files & Tom Swift (Archway) were originally meant to be a combination of the styles of Indiana Jones (Adventure), James Bond (Action, Violence and Romance) and Soap Opera's (in the case of the NDF's).

I've got a 1st printing of Deathgame were there is an ad for the Hardy Boys Casefiles and right in the ad there in mention of the HBC's being a combination of Indiana Jones & James Bond by saying that the HBC's have everything that those two film series had in one series.

[SDLagent]

That was just good marketing. I don't think the editors sat down and said "lets combine Indiana Jones and James Bond, and call it The Hardy Boys Casefiles". They were probably targeting the same audience, though.

[MacGyver]

I've got a 1st printing of Deathgame were there is an ad for the Hardy Boys Casefiles and right in the ad there in mention of the HBC's being a combination of Indiana Jones & James Bond by saying that the HBC's have everything that those two film series had in one series.

I've seen that ad you're talking about- I may have it in one of the early Hardy Boys Casefiles- but yeah, I can definitely see elements of Indiana Jones and James Bond in there- certainly a cool combination. (Since I love both Indy and Bond too. )
I particularly think the first few Casefiles had those kinds of elements- "Dead on Target" and "Evil, Inc." and "The Lazarus Plot" and "The Crowning Terror" all come to mind...

[Bigfootman]

I'm guessing you probably like some of the first few Casefiles best as they all seemed to be pretty high speed action all throughout. (I like those books pretty well, but a change of pace every now and then is cool with me.)

Here's my top ten favorite Casefiles:
10. Stress Point
9. The Phoenix Equation
8. Absolute Zero
7. Highway Robbery
6. Hostages Of Hate
5. Flight Into Danger
4. Hot Wheels
3. The Borderline Case
2. Endangered Species
1. No Mercy
Quite a few of these are ?high numbered? Casefiles.

Now for the ?first few Casefiles?:
50. Cult Of Crime
38. The Crowning Terror
26. See No Evil
23. Deathgame
17. Evil. Inc
15. Edge Of Destruction
12. Dead On Target
You can find the full list at:
http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/forums/index.php?topic=817.msg43473#new

[MacGyver]

That's cool, dude. Great choices.

[kosmicdust]

Here are two more bite-size reviews to be considered alongside those I posted earlier in this thread:

53. Web of Horror
(C+) A fairly humdrum, run-of-the-mill murder whodunit. Against the backdrop of a horror movie film set, and a supposedly haunted house, the story simply should've been more exciting and more thrilling. Instead, the only real sparks of any drama occurred as part of the mandatory chapter cliffhangers.

89. Darkness Falls
(B?) First, a disclosure: the reviewer is a big astronomy buff. The plot revolves around the hunt for traces of a notional ?exploded planet? that might once have existed inside Mercury?s orbit. The science is implausible, but not impossible. The rest of the novel is standard murder ?whodunnit? fare, but quite well executed, nonetheless. Decent if not spectacular.

[tomswift2002]

"Web Of Horror" I would've given a B too.  I've read it a few times, and it is pretty good, a lot better than "Darkness Falls".  On my list in the "Top Ten Casefiles" discussion, you can see that out of 121 (the trilogies are counted as one story, with other books being tied) Web is at #51, while Darkness is at #89.  I just re-read the e-book version of Darkness not long ago.

[kosmicdust]

20. Witness To Murder
(B) Despite the tantalizing ingredients of Joe Hardy's first love-interest since Iola, and the resultant friction between the brothers, this story fails to entirely fulfil its potential.

95. Illegal Procedure
(B+) In this novel, Frank's characterization is a little off, a couple of the cliff-hangers are on the hokey side, and the denouement is too rushed. But, as far as sport-related mysteries go, this one is generally pretty good: well-written and tightly plotted, in the main.

[kosmicdust]

33. Collision Course (a.k.a. Four-Wheel Die)
(B+) A neatly woven whodunit, constructed around the inaugural Bayport Formula 1 Grand Prix. Well written and executed, but loses a potential A grade due to a couple of particularly OTT scenes, and a depiction of Formula One that destroys the suspension of disbelief for this reader.

[MacGyver]

OTT? I presume this means "over the top"?

[kosmicdust]

That's right!