#87 Program For Destruction (Programme For Destruction)(33rd Anniversary Review)

[tomswift2002]

Published: November 1987
Publisher: Minstrel Books (1987-1997?)
Author: Unknown as of October 2020
Reading Level: 6.3

Plot: Frank and Joe Face A Factory of Crazed Computers!

Robot's On A Rampage!

Arnold Stockard has created the car of the future---it has an onboard computer that responds to voice commands.  Then the robotic assembly line of his CompuCar Company is sabotaged, and he offers the Hardy's his hottest new model, a CC-2000, to find out who is behind the suspicious accidents.

When the onboard computer malfunctions, however, the Hardy Boys' dream car turns into a death trap.  The key to the computer chaos lies back at the factor, where Frank and Joe must put an end to the robot madness before it puts Stockard and the Hardys out of business for good!

Review:  First things first, this book has a very late-80's vibe to it.  From the 1987 cover art (the 1992 cover art is more timeless, since the robot looks more sci-fi, whereas the 1987 robot looks like H.E.R.B.I.E. from the 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon) with the 70's/80's robot, to Joe's 80's curls, and the screens of 80's style computer graphics, to car phones, to cars that feel like something out of the 80's Knight Rider and COPS The Animated Series.  There's even a funny scene where Joe pops an audio cassette into the CC-2000's cassette deck, tells the car to play it, and then tells the car to do something else, and, instead, the car shoots the tape out of the deck with a bunch of chewed tape trailing behind it! 

Of course, reading this book in 2020, it's funny how similar cars in 2020 are to the CC-2000 portrayed in the book.  How often do people, in newer cars, use Android Auto and Apple Carplay to make phone calls, set their GPS, select their music, and do other stuff nowadays.  Of course, we are not punching as many buttons as Frank and Joe need to press in the book (in the book, in order to give the onboard computer a command, whoever's driving has to push a button on the steering wheel). 

Now then I have read this book before, but I forgot that in this book, one of the longest running characters in the series, Con Riley, gets a promotion!  Instead of being a Patrolman, he is now a Detective on the Bayport PD. He even has his own office at police headquarters. It seems like S&S was trying to merge Con, Sam Radley and Oscar Smuff into one character in this book, as I don't recall Con being referred to as a detective after this book, and being a detective on the PD seems to come from Oscar Smuff, while being a friendly detective to the Hardy's seems to come from Sam Radley, but he still has his personality from the other books. 

Of course it's interesting how, after The Skyfire Puzzle & The Mystery of The Silver Star this is the third book in a row to be about sabotage.

Also, in the UK, this book's title was Anglicized as Programme For Destruction.  Also, I don't have either UK version to check, but on the Hardy Boys UK site (http://www.hardyboys.co.uk/gallery/85.php) you can see (when you click on both cover scans), the back covers of the solo book, and the omnibus call the car company, ComputaCar Company, while in the US version it is CompuCar.   

[MacGyver]

I have the 1987 release and yes, it definitely looks like it's from 1987. And that's totally rad with me.

[tomswift2002]

I finished it a few days ago.  I found that at times it felt like the author didn't know how Frank and Joe were suppose to behave, while other times he got their characterizations very good. 

But I could also say that was something that was overall as we had Con Riley as a Detective all of a sudden, and I'm pretty sure that he goes back to being a patrolman after this, and stays as a patrolman for the rest of the series.

And then it was funny how Fenton Hardy solved the case of the not working van, after Frank and Joe had spent hours going over it, and not figuring out that sometimes the simples solution was the one that should be tried, and that was to fill up the gas tank!  Yep, Frank and Joe had let the gas tank run dry!

Otherwise, still no clue as to what happened to the Hardy's yellow convertible, as it's not mentioned in this book (and it would've been of some help with their van out of commission and after their CC-2000's computer went haywire), but the Hardy's borrow Laura Hardy's, rundown station wagon!  Yep, apparently Laura Hardy is driving around in a station wagon that is barely holding together!  Wow!  The boys and Fenton can afford planes tickets and everything else at the drop of hat, but Laura Hardy is forced to drive something like Chet's jalopy.

Rating: 7.5/10

[MacGyver]

Nice to see Laura Hardy even get a mention in the book!