Now THIS is what I call a good book cover: :o
http://postimg.org/image/s8yqrzcer/
Definitely. For the most part, the Hardy Boys Adventures covers have been spectacular! :) 8)
I saw from the Hardy and Drew Mysteries blog (http://hardyanddrewmysteries.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/hardy-boys-adventures-6-the-battle-of-bayport-synopsis/) that Simon & Schuster has posted the synopsis for this book:
Bayport goes back in time when a Revolutionary War-era battleship is discovered, along with a treasure trove of historic artifacts. To celebrate, the town stages a reenactment of the historic Battle of Bayport, complete with antique artillery, canons, and tricorn hats. Even Frank and Joe Hardy are decked out in full Colonial costume, fighting over freedom and taxes on opposite sides of the battle line.
But things get a little too real when a stray shot leaves Bayport?s biggest benefactor, Don Sterling, without a pulse. Wait a minute?weren?t those muskets supposed to be unloaded? And even though the Hardy Boys have technically retired from solving mysteries, they can?t help but get involved, especially when a favorite teacher turns out to be a prime suspect. Is someone trying to frame Mr. Lazin? And who would want Don Sterling dead? Murder by reenactment is one the Hardys haven?t seen before, but don?t think they?re not up for the challenge!
-sounds pretty interesting. Hopefully the story's plot will live up to the excitement of the cover art. :) 8)
Quote from: MacGyver on January 27, 2014, 11:43:54 AM
I saw from the Hardy and Drew Mysteries blog (http://hardyanddrewmysteries.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/hardy-boys-adventures-6-the-battle-of-bayport-synopsis/) that Simon & Schuster has posted the synopsis for this book:
Bayport goes back in time when a Revolutionary War-era battleship is discovered, along with a treasure trove of historic artifacts. To celebrate, the town stages a reenactment of the historic Battle of Bayport, complete with antique artillery, canons, and tricorn hats. Even Frank and Joe Hardy are decked out in full Colonial costume, fighting over freedom and taxes on opposite sides of the battle line.
But things get a little too real when a stray shot leaves Bayport?s biggest benefactor, Don Sterling, without a pulse. Wait a minute?weren?t those muskets supposed to be unloaded? And even though the Hardy Boys have technically retired from solving mysteries, they can?t help but get involved, especially when a favorite teacher turns out to be a prime suspect. Is someone trying to frame Mr. Lazin? And who would want Don Sterling dead? Murder by reenactment is one the Hardys haven?t seen before, but don?t think they?re not up for the challenge!
-sounds pretty interesting. Hopefully the story's plot will live up to the excitement of the cover art. :) 8)
Same here, I hope the action from the cover is as exciting in the book. 8)
"Murder by reenactment is one the Hardys haven?t seen before" --- The Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys SuperMystery'88 book Exhibition Of Evil also featured the Hardy's in a re-enactment: in that case it was the Battle Of Yorktown.
Quote from: tomswift2002 on January 27, 2014, 07:23:52 PM
"Murder by reenactment is one the Hardys haven?t seen before" --- The Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys SuperMystery'88 book Exhibition Of Evil also featured the Hardy's in a re-enactment: in that case it was the Battle Of Yorktown.
Maybe the Simon and Schuster synopsis is referring specifically that the murder takes place during the re-enactment. I have noticed, too, that sometimes the publisher and/or book writers miss details from various books. I haven't read
Exhibition of Evil, is it good? :)
I hope so- I'm actually planning to read Exhibition of Evil next, as soon as I finally finish The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss. :) 8)
As to the "murder by reenactment" bit, I suppose Simon & Schuster meant it's one The Hardys haven't faced in "Hardy Boys Adventures" books before. (I don't think they're that detailed on continuity generally...And plus, they're probably considering this line a separate thing from everything else, much like the Undercover Brothers books were.)
Are they already at number six? I only have the first two of this series.
Five books have been released so far- the sixth book releases June 3rd. later this year.
Quote from: MacGyver on March 03, 2014, 09:20:08 AM
Five books have been released so far- the sixth book releases June 3rd. later this year.
I just picked up books four and five, they're okay, but I did like the casefiles better.
Yeah- I think it will be hard to top The Hardy Boys Casefiles. That's one of my favorite series- I also love the original Grosset & Dunlap books (both original and revised text) and the Digests. The Undercover Brothers and Hardy Boys Adventures are okay but nowhere near those other series as far as I'm concerned. (Though I do think HBA is still a lot better than UB.)
I keep forgetting to order the new books. The Coles near me for some reason never carried the series in store, and every time I go there I keep forgetting which HBA I need to order through their kiosk. And Wal-Mart's only carried the paperbacks of the first two books.
Quote from: MacGyver on March 05, 2014, 10:35:15 AM
Yeah- I think it will be hard to top The Hardy Boys Casefiles. That's one of my favorite series- I also love the original Grosset & Dunlap books (both original and revised text) and the Digests. The Undercover Brothers and Hardy Boys Adventures are okay but nowhere near those other series as far as I'm concerned. (Though I do think HBA is still a lot better than UB.)
How are they better then the UB's?
Quote from: Katie on March 05, 2014, 07:02:59 PM
How are they better then the UB's?
The criminals are not trying to kill people with hot dogs!
Quote from: tomswift2002 on March 05, 2014, 07:43:29 PM
The criminals are not trying to kill people with hot dogs!
Oh yeah. I haven't read one in a while so I forgot that part.
QuoteHow are they better then the UB's?
The criminals are not trying to kill people with hot dogs!
Yeah- that's one way The Hardy Boys Casefiles are WAY better than the UB books. lol ;D
For me, another main reason is just that the writing style is on a higher level (and yes, I realize the Casefiles are aimed at teenagers whereas the UB books are aimed at preteen children), but the writing is just better in any case. And the Casefiles generally steers clear of foul language (if they have any at all they might mention a character swearing under their breath in cases of extreme duress- and it happens very rarely. With the UB books, it was much more blatant- I didn't care for that at all.)
And of course, the plots in general are just much better and coherent in the Casefiles- there is much more of a continuity maintained there. And I think the Casefiles are generally more respectful to The Hardy Boys canon and spirit of the originals than the UB books are at all.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but those are some of the main ones.
Quote from: MacGyver on March 06, 2014, 09:10:05 AM
Yeah- that's one way The Hardy Boys Casefiles are WAY better than the UB books. lol ;D
For me, another main reason is just that the writing style is on a higher level (and yes, I realize the Casefiles are aimed at teenagers whereas the UB books are aimed at preteen children), but the writing is just better in any case. And the Casefiles generally steers clear of foul language (if they have any at all they might mention a character swearing under their breath in cases of extreme duress- and it happens very rarely. With the UB books, it was much more blatant- I didn't care for that at all.)
And of course, the plots in general are just much better and coherent in the Casefiles- there is much more of a continuity maintained there. And I think the Casefiles are generally more respectful to The Hardy Boys canon and spirit of the originals than the UB books are at all.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but those are some of the main ones.
Yeah, I've not read any swearing in the Adventures series so far. But the UB series was full of it. ::)
Quote from: MacGyver on March 06, 2014, 09:10:05 AM
And of course, the plots in general are just much better and coherent in the Casefiles- there is much more of a continuity maintained there. And I think the Casefiles are generally more respectful to The Hardy Boys canon and spirit of the originals than the UB books are at all.
Also, so far, the authors are not recycling the same story, book after book after book, or using the same plot device: Murder by a gang of one!
That's another good point. I can understand having some basic similar plots (i.e. the Hardy Boys investigate a string of bank robberies, The Hardy Boys tackle counterfeiters, The Hardy Boys stop industrial sabotage, etc.)- But at least find a way to tell it in a different way and make the stories unique from the others.
Also with the UB's, right around book 16, I was finding that the authors were recycling the guest characters, but giving them new names. So if the story involved a reality show, then you knew that there was going to be a famous person trying to redeem their public image, some loud mouth who would get annoying, etc. etc.
Hmm- interesting. I haven't gotten nearly that far in my reading of the UB books- it took me forever to finally read the first one and that's all I've read so far. (Though I have read all the graphic novels and I do immensely enjoy those.) But the book series is very much hit and miss it seems- but apparently more miss than hit for the most part.
I just picked up my copies of "The Battle of Bayport", both the paperback and hardcover versions.
Cool- Did you pre-order it perhaps? It's not scheduled to release until June 3rd. according to Amazon's listing.
It sounds like an interesting book- I'll be excited to get a copy soon too. :) 8)
Yeah I pre-ordered a number of books about a month ago from Chapters, so these two were just released.
Okay- that's neat. I guess pre-ordering gets the books to you a few days early- that's a nice plus. :)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t-OY9028s4w/U8vno1nwPqI/AAAAAAAABJU/uKsNtWUAPFs/s1600/HB_6.jpg)
Wow! Really love seeing the whole painting for this cover. This is probably one of my favorites of the HBA covers so far. :) 8)