Mr. Pizza's Hardy Boys Forum

Hardy Boys Casefiles Discussion => Hardy Boys Casefiles => Topic started by: Bigfootman on August 11, 2008, 07:01:36 PM

Title: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: Bigfootman on August 11, 2008, 07:01:36 PM
I manged to find casefile 11, and altough it was good, it wasn't the amazing "best book ever" I expected. The issue of Joe losing his memory was settled too quickly and the fight scenes warn't the best i've read.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: Olivia on August 11, 2008, 07:34:54 PM
I think a lot of people might agree that the book was kind of resolved too fast. (I thought it ended quickly too).

I don't know what to tell you about the fight scenes.

Keep in mind, though, when people (for lack of a better term) "hype" up something, and then others read or watch the book or movie, often it turns out not as good as expected because the standards set were too high.

I'm not saying this is what happened in your case, but it can sometimes be a bit of an influencing factor.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: Olivia on August 11, 2008, 07:36:30 PM
As soon as I clicked "Post", I thought of something else ::)

Another thing I was going to say is if you read or see a series in it's entirety, it's easier to judge what the better individual piece is too.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: SDLagent on August 11, 2008, 11:31:23 PM

I mentioned before that the ending was a bit of a let down.

Quote from: HardyBoysWiki on July 21, 2008, 09:28:49 PM
Yeah, it's in my top ten, but, I agree, the book needed more pages, and Joe's recovery was not dealt with well at all!

I think most fans, dislike the ending, in fact there is a fanfic on HDA, that is an extended ending for this story.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: Bigfootman on August 12, 2008, 12:48:28 PM
The reason I didn't like the fight scenes was that they warn't as good as quite a few of the other books.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: kosmicdust on July 12, 2009, 09:55:13 AM
I'd like to add my voice to those lamenting the fact that an otherwise excellent book (perhaps one of the best Hardy Boys stories of all time) was marred by the extremely lack-lustre reunion between Frank and Joe.

Perhaps the basic idea could have been developed into a trilogy - or at least a two-parter?

Ian.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: SDLagent on July 12, 2009, 05:10:10 PM
Quote from: kosmicdust on July 12, 2009, 09:55:13 AM
Perhaps the basic idea could have been developed into a trilogy - or at least a two-parter?

I agree.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: hardygirl847 on November 12, 2009, 02:48:25 PM
This book is my number one fave despite its shortcomings because it is the first Hardy Boy book I remember reading. It got me hooked. The thought of Joe kicking his brother's butt and Frank not knowing why until later...was awesome. It was OK for Joe to fight Frank because he had amnesia. And in the end, he realizes that Frank is his brother but they are too busy trying to survive to hug it out.

This book will always have a special place in my heart. I have read it probably 3 or 4 times and can read it over and over.

There were many more books following this one that ended worse or had more loose ends than this one.

I would still recommend this book to anyone who was interested in getting into HB books.

In the end, I just hope Joe felt bad for hurting my Frank. :) He beat the crap out of him!
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: 4567TME on December 24, 2009, 08:44:03 AM
Quote from: kosmicdust on July 12, 2009, 09:55:13 AM


Perhaps the basic idea could have been developed into a trilogy - or at least a two-parter?

Ian.
That would have made the book better by what I've heard.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: Bigfootman on December 30, 2009, 12:14:06 PM
The other thing is that in the Nancy Drew Files there were two early books (Two Points To Murder and False Moves) that were a great example of what Brother against Brother should have been, and in fact were writen before Brother Against Brother. Two Points To Murder basicly had Nancy investigating a prankster who was causing trouble for a Basketball team. Nancy's main suspect is one of Ned's friends, and Ned becomes a huge jerk. At the end of the book he dumps Nancy, causing an extrimely sad scene.  I quickly found myself a copy of False Moves (even though I KNEW Nancy and Ned were going to get back together, as I read some of the later books in the series) and False Moves had Nancy and Ned getting back togather, only for them to get very close to breaking up AGAIN several times in the later books. Brother Against Brother would have been better if it had been split into two books too, and it would have had more room to have a better ending.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: hardygirl847 on December 30, 2009, 02:31:07 PM
I would have loved a two-part story arc for Brother Against Brother simply because it's one of my faves and more is better in this case!! Or at the very least the author could have added a good extra chapter or two. However, it seems that in the world of publishing...they are limited to about 150 pages. :( Simply not fair...especially when certain story lines (such as this one) would have benefited from more.

Oh well. I still love it.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: SDLagent on December 30, 2009, 06:56:26 PM
It's not the writer's fault. Often the writer's original story was heavily edited if it got "too long".
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: hardygirl847 on December 31, 2009, 02:38:20 AM
Quote from: SDLagent on December 30, 2009, 06:56:26 PM
It's not the writer's fault. Often the writer's original story was heavily edited if it got "too long".

Agreed. The writers, for the most part, do a wonderful job of cramming it all in there regardless of the page restraints.  Too bad we will never see what ended up on the cutting room floor (so-to-speak).
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: kosmicdust on September 05, 2010, 10:52:25 AM
Here's an interesting little snippet of information for fans of Brother Against Brother -- here is the rarest English-language edition of this book known to exist:

(http://hardyboys.co.uk/gallery/big/c011a.jpg)

Published by Armada in the UK in 1991, it was quickly withdrawn when Archway UK won the rights to the series from volume #11 onwards. While Armada continued to reprint the first ten Casefiles up to 1995, they never again re-issued this particular paperback.

For more information, click here:

http://hardyboys.co.uk/gallery/c011.php (http://hardyboys.co.uk/gallery/c011.php)
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: MacGyver on September 20, 2010, 09:58:34 AM
Interesting to know... "Brother Against Brother" is not really so rare in the US printing, but it is highly sought after, I would say. Of course, all of the Hardy Boys Casefiles are fairly rare nowadays- but they can still be found in the used bookstores and thrift shops and online.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: tomswift2002 on September 22, 2010, 05:29:00 PM
The Armada printing of Perfect Getaway is also pretty scarce.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: Mrs. Nick Jonas on March 02, 2011, 01:00:09 AM
I LOVED this book!! But I was shocked when they didn't hug or anything when Joe regained his memory. I also wish that Frank was more emotional.

Oh I COMPLETELY agree with the earlier posts about how it should have been a trilogy! What other plot material would you put in it if it were a trilogy? I think that we can all agree on a strong reunion at the end.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: MacGyver on March 02, 2011, 08:48:04 AM
I've really never had any issue with Brother Against Brother. I feel like the reunion they had was fine. The emotional buildup was running strong throughout the entire book- you'd probably be hardpressed to find a more emotional Hardy Boys book. (although there are others that would be in that number.) And most of it was coming from Frank out of concern for Joe, so I'm not sure where he needed to be more emotional. To be fair, Frank and Joe were busy staying alive at the point of their reunion and so they didn't have much time to break into hysterics.
        I look at it more like their instincts took over and they immediately focused on the issue at hand. Now maybe there was a more tearful reunion in-between their having the bad guy locked up and the time they get on the plane ride back home that just isn't mentioned in the book. For a real breakdown of the entire book, at that point, such a scene may have been an emotional overload.
And there is also the very practical reason that the books had to be kept to a certain length and the writer may have just had to find a quick way to end it- and honestly, all the books usually end on a cheery note with some sort of joke.
         But I can appreciate that others may have wanted more from the book to this end. There are probably lots of places where there could have been more- but I think the practical end of meeting deadlines and keeping books to the prescribed length sometimes cuts that off- or at least leads the writers to have to make compromises. As an aspiring writer myself, I can sympathize with those issues.
Oh well- I'm sorry- I don't mean to be argumentative on this point. It's just that this is one of my favorite titles in The Hardy Boys Casefiles that I've read and reread a number of times and I was just surprised that anyone would have been that disappointed with it. But that's okay- everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I guess I'm just not real picky on most things and I enjoy all of the books to some degree. I mean, I also enjoy and defend Dead Man in Deadwood and Cave Trap
and Survival of the Fittest for that matter. :D
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: JoeHardyRocks on March 02, 2011, 12:36:30 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nick Jonas on March 02, 2011, 01:00:09 AM
I LOVED this book!! But I was shocked when they didn't hug or anything when Joe regained his memory. I also wish that Frank was more emotional.

I had that same thought! When they got back together, they were just like "Okay, cool. Great job Joe, let's catch the bad guys now!" I was like, Frank, you aren't even happy that your ONLY BROTHER remembers you now?? And Joe, aren't you even the tiniest bit relieved that you know who you and your brother are now??? :P
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: MacGyver on March 02, 2011, 02:13:38 PM
Well, boys are also stereotypically much less emotional than girls- but still, I can see your point.
Title: Re: Brother aginest Brother disipontment
Post by: SDLagent on May 30, 2011, 10:21:09 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on March 02, 2011, 08:48:04 AM
I've really never had any issue with Brother Against Brother.

Well, that's a surprise!

Seriously, though, I never really had an issue with it either. I liked it well enough to read it twice but I can also see where it could have been better. As others have said, it seems a bit rushed.