Mr. Pizza's Hardy Boys Forum

Hardy Boys Casefiles Discussion => Hardy Boys Casefiles => Topic started by: P. Walker on April 12, 2012, 09:23:33 PM

Title: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: P. Walker on April 12, 2012, 09:23:33 PM
PLOT: In San Francisco the Hardys get mixed up with secret agents, and a jewel thief in order to save their Uncle Hugh?s life.

After the rather average Edge of Destruction, the Hardys are back in top form in The Crowning Terror. If I didn?t already have this one in my Top X List, it is now! A great cast of memorable characters litter this Casefile from Agent Starkey to Uncle Hugh to Charity herself, and I?m glad that the writer(s) didn?t give us too much info on her. There?s enough suspense and twists in this one that rivals even the Cult of Crime case. I love how there?s that bit of rivalry between The Network and Espionage Resources, according to Starkey anyway, that's something I wish they could've played on in further books. The writing was really great in this one as well. There was never a point in the book where I was thinking, "The pacing is bad" or "The dialogue is lame." There?s more that I want to say in regards to this book, but I don?t want to give away any plot points and ruin it for those of you who haven?t read it yet. The only thing that Edge of Destruction has over this one is that there?s no deaths in this Casefile, while EoD had a whopping 8 deaths.*

Pros: Good characters, good action, great twists and suspense
Cons: I honestly cant think of anything that?s wrong with this Casefile.

Now onto Deathgame

*
1) The old man Ian died (pg85)
2) The two un-named Trask henchmen in the sewers (pg 59)
3) The 5 Trask goons who left with the briefcase of the doc?s money (pg 129)
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: MacGyver on April 12, 2012, 10:59:37 PM
Just curious here- are you using the amount of deaths in a book as a measure of how good it is compared to others? While it would seem to indicate a greater level of violence and perhaps action, I don't know if that's a qualifier I would use so much.... In any case, I like both Edge of Destruction and The Crowning Terror. Charity is a great character- she reminds me a good bit of Catwoman.
Of course, I like all of The Hardy Boys books to some degree. :)
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: P. Walker on April 12, 2012, 11:19:13 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on April 12, 2012, 10:59:37 PM
Just curious here- are you using the amount of deaths in a book as a measure of how good it is compared to others? While it would seem to indicate a greater level of violence and perhaps action, I don't know if that's a qualifier I would use so much.... In any case, I like both Edge of Destruction and The Crowning Terror. Charity is a great character- she reminds me a good bit of Catwoman.
Of course, I like all of The Hardy Boys books to some degree. :)

lol...nope im not..but that was the only thing that EoD had over TCT.
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: MacGyver on April 12, 2012, 11:49:39 PM
Okay- just wondering. I think it has some more to offer than just that, but you're entitled to your opinion of course.
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: tomswift2002 on April 13, 2012, 06:53:38 AM
"The Crowning Terror" I never did find really interesting (infact it just made it into my Top 100 Casefiles at #100).

But "The Crowning Terror" is a prequel to "The Alien Factor" (the second Hardy Boys & Tom Swift Ultra Thriller), since Espionage Resources reappears in that book.
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: P. Walker on April 13, 2012, 08:39:16 AM
Quote from: MacGyver on April 12, 2012, 11:49:39 PM
Okay- just wondering. I think it has some more to offer than just that, but you're entitled to your opinion of course.

im not saying its a BAD Casefiles, there are a few things i like about it, just as a whole it doesnt stand up to #s 1, 2, 3 ,4 or even  6 IMO. its just average
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: MacGyver on April 13, 2012, 09:24:50 AM
QuoteBut "The Crowning Terror" is a prequel to "The Alien Factor" (the second Hardy Boys & Tom Swift Ultra Thriller), since Espionage Resources reappears in that book.
That's cool- didn't know that. Nice that both of the Ultra Thriller books have tie-ins to previous Hardy Boys Casefiles. (I suppose there are probably tie-ins to the Tom Swift books as well that I may not realize...)
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: SDLagent on April 13, 2012, 07:20:07 PM
Nice review, Walker. The Crowning Terror is the first Casefile I read and it got me hooked on the series.
Title: Re: The Crowning Terror is Terror-ific!
Post by: P. Walker on April 25, 2012, 10:50:06 PM
Quote from: Tomswift2002 on April 13, 2012, 06:53:38 AM
"The Crowning Terror" I never did find really interesting (infact it just made it into my Top 100 Casefiles at #100).

But "The Crowning Terror" is a prequel to "The Alien Factor" (the second Hardy Boys & Tom Swift Ultra Thriller), since Espionage Resources reappears in that book.

I am reading Hlostages of Hate now and Espionage Resources show up as well as the Network. its odd though that they didnt bother mentioning the events from TCT since thats when the Hardys first heard about Espionage Resources