Amazon.com now has the cover art up for the 5th book in the Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Super Mystery series entitled Bonfire Masquerade.
(http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/images/comingsoon/GDUB005.jpg) (http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/store/index.php?isbn=1442403284)
Pretty lame. Kind of ugly, actually.
Dear Current Ghostwriters,
PLEASE go back to the Hardy Boys (and even ND Supermysteries) we have come to know and love. PICK UP an older book and actually READ it. THEN work on a current UB or Super Mystery book.
What you are giving us now makes us sigh and read a book we have already read 6 times instead of your new "so called" Hardy Boys material.
It makes us sad...and somewhat irritated.
We do not have high hopes for this one as we now see your patterns and/or "work" from the other books.
Sincerely,
HB FANS
That's how I feel about that.
It's not so much the ghostwriters fault but S&S and the editorial.
Quote from: MacGyver on December 22, 2010, 10:39:04 AM
Amazon.com now has the cover art up for this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Bonfire-Masquerade-Nancy-Drew-Hardy/dp/1442403284
Where's the bonfire? I guess S&S is expecting us to pitch this book into one then.
It looks more like the boys and Nancy are headed to the bayou, not bonfire.
Quote from: Captain Santa Claus on December 29, 2010, 01:24:34 PM
Where's the bonfire? I guess S&S is expecting us to pitch this book into one then.
It looks more like the boys and Nancy are headed to the bayou, not bonfire.
LOL
Quote from: SDLagent on December 24, 2010, 12:46:47 AM
It's not so much the ghostwriters fault but S&S and the editorial.
Well...it still stinks either way...no matter who is at fault.
Ohhhhhh..... That is just a TERRIBLE cover! :P What are those cover designer people thinking? It's a horrible, clashy obnoxious red design, it'll practically give people seizures! It's LAME. I never liked the people covers before, but now.... Ugh! :P :P :P :P
You mean the photo-realistic covers? Because I do like the book covers with people on it- but more like the illustrated characters on the Digests and Casefiles and Originals - most all of them have had more action going on than most of the Undercover Brothers- (at least for the Supermysteries series- they look like they're brooding, tough and "cool" kids who probably listen to grunge rock or death metal... (which is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on which band and which moments...)
Yeah, I didn't like the people they chose for the hardy boys. The nancy drew covers are generally nice, but the hardy boys always look so..... I don't know, bored to death?
Quote from: JoeHardyRocks on January 04, 2011, 01:02:36 PMWhat are those cover designer people thinking?
What designer people?
Like, the people who make the design.
I'm not opposed to real people being on the cover but they could at least do a different pose. It seems like the "cover design people" :) copy and paste then use photoshop. Not well...either.
I'm more interested in seeing how the actual book is.
Bonfire Masquerade will be 192 pages, it's like they are choosing page numbers at random.
Quote from: Dinosaur Dan on February 18, 2011, 05:28:23 PM
Bonfire Masquerade will be 192 pages, it's like they are choosing page numbers at random.
I'm sure they don't pre-choose how many pages the book would be. They probably just write it, and it turns out how it turns out.
Quote from: JoeHardyRocks on February 18, 2011, 05:54:52 PM
I'm sure they don't pre-choose how many pages the book would be. They probably just write it, and it turns out how it turns out.
But I wonder why the OT versions of
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were longer then they are now?
Well, it depends. In previous series, there was usually a set number of pages you could expect the book to be. (i.e. Original 58 books, Digests, Casefiles) Sure, some might be a bit shorter or a bit longer by a page or two, but generally most books were about this set number of pages.
That number seems to have jumped around a good bit with a lot of the UB/GD universe books.
Quote from: MacGyver on February 18, 2011, 11:35:46 PM
Well, it depends. In previous series, there was usually a set number of pages you could expect the book to be. (i.e. Original 58 books, Digests, Casefiles) Sure, some might be a bit shorter or a bit longer by a page or two, but generally most books were about this set number of pages.
That number seems to have jumped around a good bit with a lot of the UB/GD universe books.
I got the final book in the
Lost trilogy and someone said the D word! ::) :o
Yeah, these kinds of incidences are not making me want to read the UB books any time soon... >:(
Quote from: MacGyver on February 18, 2011, 11:45:46 PM
Yeah, these kinds of incidences are not making me want to read the UB books any time soon... >:(
Did they ever throw swear words out so freely before the
UB's? :-\
Never.
Quote from: MacGyver on February 18, 2011, 11:49:39 PM
Never.
That's what I thought. ::) What do you think of
The New Casefiles cover
?(http://blog.newsarama.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10087/55190281.JPG)
Do you think they've gong off the deep end? This looks almost like you know a occult theme . . . . but I hope I'm wrong. :-\
It does look like something I would be wary of at first- but I've read and it actually does steer clear of the supernatural theme its name would imply.
Quote from: MacGyver on February 19, 2011, 12:09:30 PM
It does look like something I would be wary of at first- but I've read and it actually does steer clear of the supernatural theme its name would imply.
Good. Glad that's not the case. :) Did you read the
Nancy Drew one?
Quote from: MacGyver on February 18, 2011, 11:35:46 PM
Well, it depends. In previous series, there was usually a set number of pages you could expect the book to be. (i.e. Original 58 books, Digests, Casefiles) Sure, some might be a bit shorter or a bit longer by a page or two, but generally most books were about this set number of pages.
That number seems to have jumped around a good bit with a lot of the UB/GD universe books.
Well, with the pre-1959 books the Stratemeyer Syndicate told their writer's to usually write a story between 24 and 25 Chapters long, and they couldn't go longer than 250 pages, otherwise the Syndicate was afraid that kids would get bored with the book. Of course, prior to Edward Stratemeyer's death in 1930, he allowed the authors to get away with 23 chapters as a minimum, but there were some books (like
The Mystery of Cabin Island) where Stratemeyer actually found the manuscript too short and asked the ghost writer to expand the book. (In
Cabin Island, if you read the "Fox Hunt" chapter, and then read the beginning of the next chapter, you'll notice how both chapters start with a mention about Hanleigh's warning, since the "Fox Hunt" chapter was originally not in the originaly manuscript.)
But then in 1959 Harriet Stratemeyer Adams had the books shortened in order to compete with television, since now kids were able to have stories all wrapped up with in a half-hour or an hour.
Though I could tell it was kinda just thrown in at random to lengthen the book, I actually liked the "Fox Hunt" chapter in the original text version of The Mystery of Cabin Island - it was a fun little adventure with The Hardy Boys and their friends. :)
OK...first off...the "D" word in the last Lost book was hardly noticeable and really not a big deal. Sorry....that's IMO. This was a decent trilogy for the UBs. I couldn't put it down. It was really interesting...and stuff happens to Frank that doesn't normally happen. So I was happy to have purchased them. I really can't say that about all of the UBs.
The Zombies graphic novel is not like a cult and is not bad at all. It's certainly worth reading. This is coming from someone who DOESN'T like zombies too, btw.
I have not read the Vampire slayer ND graphic novels though...so I can't speak for those.
As for the amount of pages, etc....Yeah, they have a limit and they stay as close to that as possible. After writing some of my own fan fic, I have to say that this could be a challenge. I am sure there are deleted files or wads of paper in someone's trash because they had to revise the text into fitting the perimeters.
It really stinks that we will never see those pages.
Oh well....I guess they weren't good enough to stay. But I'd still like to see what was originally written. This reminds me I need to find some older (but not horribly expensive) OT versions....
Quote from: hardygirl847 on February 22, 2011, 12:33:29 PM
OK...first off...the "D" word in the last Lost book was hardly noticeable and really not a big deal. Sorry....that's IMO. This was a decent trilogy for the UBs. I couldn't put it down. It was really interesting...and stuff happens to Frank that doesn't normally happen. So I was happy to have purchased them. I really can't say that about all of the UBs.
The Zombies graphic novel is not like a cult and is not bad at all. It's certainly worth reading. This is coming from someone who DOESN'T like zombies too, btw.
I have not read the Vampire slayer ND graphic novels though...so I can't speak for those.
As for the amount of pages, etc....Yeah, they have a limit and they stay as close to that as possible. After writing some of my own fan fic, I have to say that this could be a challenge. I am sure there are deleted files or wads of paper in someone's trash because they had to revise the text into fitting the perimeters.
It really stinks that we will never see those pages.
Oh well....I guess they weren't good enough to stay. But I'd still like to see what was originally written. This reminds me I need to find some older (but not horribly expensive) OT versions....
I know. It just kind of shocks me when they swear, that's all. :-[
Quote from: hardygirl847 on February 22, 2011, 12:33:29 PM
Oh well....I guess they weren't good enough to stay. But I'd still like to see what was originally written. This reminds me I need to find some older (but not horribly expensive) OT versions....
You might want to pick up the six Applewood books that are still on the market (
The Tower Treasure thru to
The Shore Road Mystery, since those are facsimile editions that run around $14.99 USD for each individual book, or Applewood just released a box set late last year for around $50 USD) since those are the Leslie McFarlane originals. Unfortunately Applewood is no longer reprinting
The Mystery Of Cabin Island.
All swearing is bad as far as I'm concerned- it saddens me to know that it has seeped into The Hardy Boys- but that is the downward spiral of culture- once you write off one thing as not too bad, everything keeps sliding with it.
(This was not meant to be a personal affront to anyone else's beliefs here- just my perspective on it.)
Quote from: MacGyver on February 22, 2011, 05:58:44 PM
All swearing is bad as far as I'm concerned- it saddens me to know that it has seeped into The Hardy Boys- but that is the downward spiral of culture- once you write off one thing as not too bad, everything keeps sliding with it.
(This was not meant to be a personal affront to anyone else's beliefs here- just my perspective on it.)
I believe the same thing. ;)
Plot summery from http://www.amazon.ca/Bonfire-Masquerade-Franklin-W-Dixon/dp/1442403284
Nancy Drew and her friends are going to New Orleans for a vacation -- she even promises not to solve any mysteries while she's down there! But, when she runs into Frank and Joe Hardy, there can't be a mystery too far away. Nancy and the Hardys begin to investigate a crooked real estate scheme admist the glitz and splendor of New Orleans during party season. Throw in a dead body and intrigue, and there's no time for a vacation.
Thanks for the summary, dude.
Okay- so it's set at Mardi Gras- I guess that could be fun, if they do it right. I was just flipping through the Voodoo Doll 2-part episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries the other day because someone had brought me a little treat packet from Mardi Gras and got me thinking about it. I like that episode fairly well (except for the voodoo content of course- I always get squeamish about such episodes- but thankfully, this one had a somewhat logical explanation and just had enough to leave you wondering at the end - I can usually dig those kinds of episodes- a little bit of magic and intrigue and suspense can be fun- I just have to keep it balanced and in check. And especially when it comes to horror- since I don't dig that at all.)
But we'll just have to see if the book is all that good or not when it comes out.
Well I don't like how the write-up mentions a "dead-body". Sounds like the same rehash that has been going on for years now with every single book---"Oh, we have to have a murder in the book so that people will buy it!".
I love how the plotline is that Nancy Drew is going on vacation. I mean, even when Nancy and the Hardy Boys go on vacation, of course they still run into a mystery. But when would a book ever be written with them going on vacation and having nothing happen as far as mysteries go? I mean- they are primarily mystery stories, so there has to be a case- otherwise you'd have a really dull book. ;D
Quote from: MacGyver on March 13, 2011, 09:17:37 PM
I love how the plotline is that Nancy Drew is going on vacation. I mean, even when Nancy and the Hardy Boys go on vacation, of course they still run into a mystery. But when would a book ever be written with them going on vacation and having nothing happen as far as mysteries go? I mean- they are primarily mystery stories, so there has to be a case- otherwise you'd have a really dull book. ;D
Oh yeah. You bet you would!(http://bestsmileys.com/wink/2.gif)
Quote from: MacGyver on March 13, 2011, 09:17:37 PM
I love how the plotline is that Nancy Drew is going on vacation. I mean, even when Nancy and the Hardy Boys go on vacation, of course they still run into a mystery. But when would a book ever be written with them going on vacation and having nothing happen as far as mysteries go? I mean- they are primarily mystery stories, so there has to be a case- otherwise you'd have a really dull book. ;D
I seem to recall that in
Terror On Tour, Nancy was attending the Rockpullazza (or whateve it was called) as a break from detective work, and then the rest of the
Super Mystery'07 series always has Nancy going away for a vacation and just happening to "cross paths" with Frank and Joe.
I prefer how the
SuperMystery'88 series had them, for the most part doing the same thing, but on different cases it was actually mentioned that Frank and Joe had called and invited Nancy, Bess and George onto the case, or vice versa. But then, at the same time the 88 series also used an old formula from the Hardy Boys books that allowed the Hardy's and Nancy to join forces, and that was having the three of them on two completely different cases, but then having them find out that they are actually on the same case (ie. in the pre-1987 books, most of the time the boys would be on a case, and then discover that the case the Fenton Hardy was working on was the same as theirs).
Yeah- thankfully they did vary it up here and there in the '88 Supermystery series. It was nice to have a book where we first start the scene with Frank and Joe Hardy rather than Nancy Drew all the time. And they have had different reasons and different methods of crossing paths- but that has to be a hard thing to write and keep fresh over the course of all those books.