Mr. Pizza's Hardy Boys Forum

Hardy Boys Casefiles Discussion => Hardy Boys Casefiles => Topic started by: Bigfootman on September 03, 2008, 06:30:57 PM

Title: Casefile reviews
Post by: Bigfootman on September 03, 2008, 06:30:57 PM
Post your Casefile Reviews here!
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: kosmicdust on July 16, 2009, 03:08:55 PM
1. Dead on Target
(A-) Excellent start to the series. Subject matter a little too grim to be truly enjoyable though.

2. Evil, Inc.
(A) Superb sequel to the first book, with plenty of decent twists and turns.

3. Cult of Crime
(B+) Great thriller, good take on the usual religious cult storyline, although one plot point didn?t make sense to me at the time (I can?t recall what though).

4. The Lazarus Plot
(B) The first Iola?centric book since the debut novel. Heavy sci?fi lean, enjoyable, yet slightly disappointing in that it doesn?t provide any concrete answers to what really happened to Joe?s girlfriend.

5. Edge of Destruction
(B?) Slightly unrealistic depiction of communities living underground in New York. Some good individual scenes, but fizzles?out a bit in the end.

6. The Crowning Terror
(B?) First appearance of re?occurring criminal queen Charity; the Hardys? sometime nemesis. A fun romp around San Francisco, some very OTT action scenes, fairly average overall.

7. Deathgame
(B) Good paintball orientated plot. Possibly written by William McKay? Some great scenes and good climax.

8. See No Evil
(B) First story dealing with corruption in the higher echelons of Bayport?s council and Police force. Slightly disappointing, but enjoyable in that Callie plays a large part in proceedings.

9. The Genius Thieves
(A+) Great debut novel by Peter Lerangis. Takes a little while to get going, but then it really motors along. Great secondary characters at the Academy. Plot strong enough that this one novel could have been expanded into a trilogy. Hardy Boys on Campus anyone?

10. Hostages of Hate
(A) Great terrorist?related novel: more enjoyable than Dead on Target for me. Great climatic scenes and good involvement from Callie.

11. Brother Against Brother
(A?) Inspired plot, and thrilling storyline, only let down by a limp ending that doesn?t do justice to the long awaited reunion between the brothers.

12. Perfect Getaway
(A) Excellent thriller, with the boys getting out of very tight spots in virtually every chapter. Edge of your seat stuff.

13. The Borgia Dagger
(A) A very good mystery story written by Peter Lerangis. However, he recycled the twist in the end of this book in his later Three Investigators novel (Foul Play).

14. Too Many Traitors
(B) Good average adventure thriller set in a foreign location. A little forgettable, though.

16. Line of Fire
(C) Quite poorly written, despite a very interesting premise. No decent twists or revelations, and the action scenes were quite unnecessarily long-winded and pedestrian.

23. Disaster for Hire
(B) Good standard Casefiles story, with plenty of decent action and intrigue, although the identity of the bad guy was fairly obvious from early on.

39. Flesh and Blood
(A) Excellent whodunit that keeps the reader guessing. Well?constructed plot, with well implemented red?herrings. The Callie bomb scene was a little OTT.

56. Height of Danger
(C+) Average mystery story centered on a snowboarding championship. Some of the action was a little too unbelievable, even for this series.

60. Deadfall
(B-) Another standard entry in the series. Environmental theme not too distracting, and good to see Callie play a large part in the story.

This is all I've read so far; I will hopefully update this list as and when time allows.

Ian.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: tomswift2002 on July 16, 2009, 03:25:07 PM
Quote from: kosmicdust on July 16, 2009, 03:08:55 PM


60. Deadfall
(B-) Another standard entry in the series. Environmental theme not too distracting, and good to see Callie play a large part in the story.


I remember when I read the book back in 1999 I found that the book just dragged and really didn't do a whole lot to get the plot kicked up.  Infact, on my ranking I place Deadfall at #120, just above the 2 books tied from #121 Survival Of The Fittest/Cave Trap.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: kosmicdust on July 16, 2009, 06:48:31 PM
Hmm... I don't think it was that bad, to be honest. In a way, I think it was better than Line of Fire, which really disappointed me - the plot didn't really go anywhere, and the only source of danger was the slightly unhinged butler; I'm surprised that it's as popular as it seems to be.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: tomswift2002 on July 16, 2009, 07:02:44 PM
Line Of Fire is the second story in an unofficial trilogy that includes #8 See No Evil and #55 Beyond The Law.  So when you've read all three you'll see how exciting LOF is, compared to Deadfall

#'s 8, 16 and 55 are known by fans as the Bayport Corruption Storyline.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: SDLagent on July 20, 2009, 01:19:47 AM
I enjoyed your commentary on these books, Ian. Spoiler-free even! I've always wanted to read Hostages of Hate, but, since you rate it so high, I want to read it even more, now!

Speaking of "Casefiles reviews". I just found out yesterday, my cousin-in-law (?) read The Hardy Boys as a kid, including the Casefiles. ;D ;D This is his review:

Quote"When Joe's girlfriend died in the first book, it took The Hardy Boys to a new level of awesomeness!"

He wasn't joking either.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: hardygirl847 on December 02, 2009, 10:41:53 PM
OK so I am slightly a nut about my Hardy Boys. 12 years ago I kept track of all of the books I read...over 100. Sadly, the list is somewhere in the abyss I call the basement. So now that I am rereading them and reading some for the first time, I have a file on my computer to keep a record. I also write them as Favorites, Ones I especially liked, and then just the ones I read. Keep in mind that I rarely dislike a HB book, but I do have some that I like enough to rate it.

#1 Dead on Target is a must read.

#4 The Lazarus Plot....2 sets of Hardy Boys. Need I say more? Plus they have some interesting ways of getting things out of them in this one. :)

#11 Brother Against Brother...I know some people are disappointed by the end but this is truly my favorite.

#14 Too Many Traitors

#16 Line of Fire...I agree that it is good. I really enjoyed this one.

#17 The Number Fire

#19 Nightmare in Angel City

#27 Nowhere to Run

#29 Thick as Thieves...Good example of "things are not always as they seem"

#33 Collision Course

#37 Danger Zone

#38 Diplomatic Deceit

I still have a lot to reread or read so this is where the list ends for now...I apologize for not expanding on why I like them...I have a problem with not spoiling things sometimes...  ;D


Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: Bigfootman on June 14, 2010, 11:24:35 AM
Here's some short reviews of the Casefiles I hated:
Shock Jock- The villian could have won a Darwin Award if they were not a fictional character, and the "gang" was pathetic, they almost blew themseves up halfway through the book!
Brother Against Brother- One of the most over rated books ever, the ending and the fact that the bad guy appeared out of nowhere ruined the book.
Cold Sweat- Chet and Joe were acting like jerks for most of the book, and there was very little action.
Mission: Myhem- more like Mission: Boredom. Mission accomplished.  Why this story was not a Digest is unkown to me.
Survival Of The Fittest- Why was this book published? This book is worse then the entire Murder House trilogy, and that was awfull!
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: tomswift2002 on June 14, 2010, 06:20:00 PM
Quote from: Dinosaur Dan on June 14, 2010, 11:24:35 AM
Mission: Myhem- more like Mission: Boredom. Mission accomplished.  Why this story was not a Digest is unkown to me.

Mission: Mayhem introduced a character from NASA who would appear in the preceding book Target For Terror.  Neither book was memorable.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 15, 2010, 12:23:03 PM
I thought they were both memorable just for that reason- outside of established trilogies (like "Operation: Phoenix" and "Ring of Fire") there aren't many Hardy Boys Casefiles that have one story leading into another with the Hardys in the same location and some of the same characters showing up.
(Although you do have books like "Dead Man in Deadwood", which takes place on the way home from the video game conference the Hardys went to in "Virtual Villiany".)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: Bigfootman on June 15, 2010, 03:44:18 PM
Quote from: tomswift2002 on June 14, 2010, 06:20:00 PM
Mission: Mayhem introduced a character from NASA who would appear in the preceding book Target For Terror.  Neither book was memorable.
The supermystery?!? I don't remember a character from NASA appearing in it! Or do you mean "A Taste For Terror" which came after "Mission: Myhem"?
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 15, 2010, 07:06:32 PM
Yeah- there's a Supermystery book called "Target for Terror", but I'm pretty sure he meant "A Taste for Terror".
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: Bigfootman on June 15, 2010, 08:14:10 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on June 15, 2010, 12:23:03 PM
I thought they were both memorable just for that reason- outside of established trilogies (like "Operation: Phoenix" and "Ring of Fire") there aren't many Hardy Boys Casefiles that have one story leading into another with the Hardys in the same location and some of the same characters showing up.
(Although you do have books like "Dead Man in Deadwood", which takes place on the way home from the video game conference the Hardys went to in "Virtual Villiany".)

You just reminded me, I forgot 2 books on my list of worst Casefiles!
Deadman In Deadwood: Boring book, the Hardy Boys doing nothing in the book except listen to boring conversations which last whole chapters. The "Deadman" part of the book does not happen until at least Chapter 7!
Toxic Revenge: 90% of the book is the Hardy Boys investigating a school newspaper and searching for a missing teen. The murder does not happen until near the end, neither does the scene on the cover and the splash page, which by the way, is the only action scene in the book! The bad guy gives up without a fight!
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 16, 2010, 01:20:12 AM
Hmm- I like those two well enough. It's been a while since I've read them- but I've actually read "Dead Man in Deadwood" a couple of times. I think some of the historical stuff about the Battle of Little Big Horn in there grabs me some too. But to each his own. I just enjoy all of The Hardy Boys Casefiles to some degree or another. (I'm kinda this way on a lot of things though- I'm no good at choosing favorites. ;D)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: tomswift2002 on June 16, 2010, 01:25:11 PM
Quote from: Dinosaur Dan on June 15, 2010, 03:44:18 PM
The supermystery?!? I don't remember a character from NASA appearing in it! Or do you mean "A Taste For Terror" which came after "Mission: Myhem"?

I meant A Taste For Terror (boy that's one book that is not memorable, even when I'm forgetting the title!)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 16, 2010, 03:05:34 PM
I take it the book left a bad Taste in your mouth. ;)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: Bigfootman on June 17, 2010, 11:03:21 AM
Quote from: MacGyver on June 16, 2010, 01:20:12 AM
Hmm- I like those two well enough. It's been a while since I've read them- but I've actually read "Dead Man in Deadwood" a couple of times. I think some of the historical stuff about the Battle of Little Big Horn in there grabs me some too. But to each his own. I just enjoy all of The Hardy Boys Casefiles to some degree or another. (I'm kinda this way on a lot of things though- I'm no good at choosing favorites. ;D)
The whole point of the Casefiles series was that it was supposed to be more violent then the Hardy Boys Digest series. Dead Man in Deadwood had no action at all, and when the girl (I forget her name) appeared, Frank and Joe were basicly minor characters in the book.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 17, 2010, 11:27:52 AM
I believe the girl's name was Cathy, if I remember correctly. And I don't think I'd say any of The Hardy Boys books have absolutely no action. (You would have a rather dull story in that case.) But as I've said before- different people have different expectations for the action level. And that's okay. I'm guessing you probably like some of the first few Casefiles best as they all seemed to be pretty high speed action all throughout. (I like those books pretty well, but a change of pace every now and then is cool with me.)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: SDLagent on June 18, 2010, 12:50:41 AM
Quote from: Dinosaur Dan on June 17, 2010, 11:03:21 AM
The whole point of the Casefiles series was that it was supposed to be more violent then the Hardy Boys Digest series. Dead Man in Deadwood had no action at all, and when the girl (I forget her name) appeared, Frank and Joe were basicly minor characters in the book.

I'd disagree that was the "whole point" or the series.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: tomswift2002 on June 18, 2010, 07:58:33 PM
Well the Hardy Boys Casefiles, Nancy Drew Files & Tom Swift (Archway) were originally meant to be a combination of the styles of Indiana Jones (Adventure), James Bond (Action, Violence and Romance) and Soap Opera's (in the case of the NDF's).

I've got a 1st printing of Deathgame were there is an ad for the Hardy Boys Casefiles and right in the ad there in mention of the HBC's being a combination of Indiana Jones & James Bond by saying that the HBC's have everything that those two film series had in one series.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: SDLagent on June 18, 2010, 09:06:59 PM
That was just good marketing. I don't think the editors sat down and said "lets combine Indiana Jones and James Bond, and call it The Hardy Boys Casefiles". They were probably targeting the same audience, though.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 19, 2010, 02:26:42 AM
QuoteI've got a 1st printing of Deathgame were there is an ad for the Hardy Boys Casefiles and right in the ad there in mention of the HBC's being a combination of Indiana Jones & James Bond by saying that the HBC's have everything that those two film series had in one series.
I've seen that ad you're talking about- I may have it in one of the early Hardy Boys Casefiles- but yeah, I can definitely see elements of Indiana Jones and James Bond in there- certainly a cool combination. (Since I love both Indy and Bond too. :D)
I particularly think the first few Casefiles had those kinds of elements- "Dead on Target" and "Evil, Inc." and "The Lazarus Plot" and "The Crowning Terror" all come to mind...
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: Bigfootman on June 20, 2010, 02:46:08 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on June 17, 2010, 11:27:52 AM
I'm guessing you probably like some of the first few Casefiles best as they all seemed to be pretty high speed action all throughout. (I like those books pretty well, but a change of pace every now and then is cool with me.)
Here's my top ten favorite Casefiles:
10. Stress Point
9. The Phoenix Equation
8. Absolute Zero
7. Highway Robbery
6. Hostages Of Hate
5. Flight Into Danger
4. Hot Wheels
3. The Borderline Case
2. Endangered Species
1. No Mercy
Quite a few of these are ?high numbered? Casefiles.

Now for the ?first few Casefiles?:
50. Cult Of Crime
38. The Crowning Terror
26. See No Evil
23. Deathgame
17. Evil. Inc
15. Edge Of Destruction
12. Dead On Target
You can find the full list at:
http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/forums/index.php?topic=817.msg43473#new


Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on June 20, 2010, 11:43:40 PM
That's cool, dude. Great choices. 8)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: kosmicdust on December 16, 2012, 06:48:50 PM
Here are two more bite-size reviews to be considered alongside those I posted earlier in this thread:

53. Web of Horror
(C+) A fairly humdrum, run-of-the-mill murder whodunit. Against the backdrop of a horror movie film set, and a supposedly haunted house, the story simply should've been more exciting and more thrilling. Instead, the only real sparks of any drama occurred as part of the mandatory chapter cliffhangers.

89. Darkness Falls
(B?) First, a disclosure: the reviewer is a big astronomy buff. The plot revolves around the hunt for traces of a notional ?exploded planet? that might once have existed inside Mercury?s orbit. The science is implausible, but not impossible. The rest of the novel is standard murder ?whodunnit? fare, but quite well executed, nonetheless. Decent if not spectacular.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: tomswift2002 on December 16, 2012, 09:56:33 PM
"Web Of Horror" I would've given a B too.  I've read it a few times, and it is pretty good, a lot better than "Darkness Falls".  On my list in the "Top Ten Casefiles" discussion, you can see that out of 121 (the trilogies are counted as one story, with other books being tied) Web is at #51, while Darkness is at #89.  I just re-read the e-book version of Darkness not long ago.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: kosmicdust on March 23, 2013, 03:21:10 PM
20. Witness To Murder
(B) Despite the tantalizing ingredients of Joe Hardy's first love-interest since Iola, and the resultant friction between the brothers, this story fails to entirely fulfil its potential.

95. Illegal Procedure
(B+) In this novel, Frank's characterization is a little off, a couple of the cliff-hangers are on the hokey side, and the denouement is too rushed. But, as far as sport-related mysteries go, this one is generally pretty good: well-written and tightly plotted, in the main.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: kosmicdust on April 08, 2013, 05:53:45 PM
33. Collision Course (a.k.a. Four-Wheel Die)
(B+) A neatly woven whodunit, constructed around the inaugural Bayport Formula 1 Grand Prix. Well written and executed, but loses a potential A grade due to a couple of particularly OTT scenes, and a depiction of Formula One that destroys the suspension of disbelief for this reader.
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on April 08, 2013, 06:47:05 PM
OTT? I presume this means "over the top"?
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: kosmicdust on April 09, 2013, 06:01:20 AM
That's right!  ;)
Title: Re: Casefile reviews
Post by: MacGyver on April 09, 2013, 07:50:32 AM
Ah- okay. :)