Just read my first UB book

[CalvinKnox]

I guess I am a little behind the times when it comes to new Hardy Boy releases, but I just read Running on Fumes.  I didn't have high expectations, so I wasn't really disappointed, but I would likely rank it as my least favorite HB book I've read (I liked Clues Brothers First Day, Worst Day better.  It seems like Frank, Joe, and Chet are suddenly 8 years less mature than they were in the Digests, and the story seemed very "anti-oil".  I am wondering, are the new Adventures better than the UB? 

[tomswift2002]

The Adventures are slightly better.  One major issue with the UBS was the constant gang of one syndrome and the extremely formulaic stories.  The Hardy's have been formulaic since 1927, however the UBs took it to a whole other level where you could anticipate that any book with a reality TV show plot would feature some superstar being on the show to redeem their image, a loudmouth blogger, a scaredy cat, etc. and it was always the same character, just with a new name.

[CalvinKnox]

What is considered to be the "best" of the current Adventures?

[CalvinKnox]

And even as somebody who was 10 when the UBs came out, I find the content of the UBs more dated than the Original, Digest, Casefiles, Clues Brothers, 1970s TV, or even the 1969 TV show.

[MacGyver]

I agree that the Clues Brothers books are WAY better than the Undercover Brothers books. And yes- those books are heavily tied to 2000s trends, which quickly dates them.