Mr. Pizza's Hardy Boys Forum

Other Hardy Boys Series Discussion => Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers => Topic started by: SDLagent on May 08, 2010, 07:28:36 PM

Title: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on May 08, 2010, 07:28:36 PM
This title sounded promising when it was reveled on the Internet a few months back, and, so far, after two chapters, Children of the Lost's still got promise. While not best writing I've ever read, the story's been an enjoyable read. And that's saying a lot coming from me considering I haven't been able to read a book in this Undercover Brothers series since Double Trouble, which came out almost two years ago.

Overall, this story just seems more like a classic Hardy Boys adventure, with good team-work from the brothers, and a good old fashion mystery that (*gasp*) doesn't involve reality television or teen celebrities! Also, third person narrative helps add to the classic Hardy feel. Yes, third person narrative. The prelude of the story is told in third person, something we've only seen in Wanted. This and the fact that this book is over 180 pages long make me wonder if this wasn't originally going to be a Super Mystery...

Since (strangely) I don't think it's been posted on Amazon, yet, I'll post the back cover summary, here.
QuoteMISSION: To investigate the disappearances of eight children, all taken from their campsites in the same location.
LOCATION: Misty Falls State Park in Misty Falls, Idaho.
POTENTIAL VICTIMS: Anyone who dares set foot in Misty Falls State Park - particularly children.
SUSPECTS: The disappearance of the children have been dismissed as animal attacks - but ATAC and the Hardy Boys know better.

Hopefully this story end as well as it started. I wouldn't bet on it, though. This is the Undercover Brothers after all.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 09, 2010, 02:58:08 PM
Quote from: SDLagent on May 08, 2010, 07:28:36 PM
The prelude of the story is told in third person, something we've only seen in Wanted. This and the fact that this book is over 180 pages long make me wonder if this wasn't originally going to be a Super Mystery...


Over on another Hardy Boys forum Paul Mular was noting how the first book seems to have a text copyright date of 2009 (assuming that it was not a simple typo/printing error on the copyright page), while the 2 UB books already released this year had 2010 text copyright dates. 

But if it was suppose to be a one-shot Super Mystery book that S&S has decided to stretch over 3 books, then the next two are probably going to be weak.

But speaking of the next 2, we won't be seeing those till October 12 and January 4, respectively.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on May 11, 2010, 12:51:07 AM
I read another chapter of Children of the Lost, today, and I'm pretty surprised by the subject matter. Eight children have gone missing, never to be heard from again, except for one boy who returned years later with no memory and a girl who's bones were fond. That's pretty mature. Even for the Casefiles.

Have the Hardy boys ever solved a child abduction case? I can't remember any stories involving this (other than A Hardy Day's Night) but Joe seems to think they have...
QuoteFrank and I had worked on missing child cases before, and we knew that it wasn't unusual for couples to split up after losing a child.

Quote from: tomswift2002 on May 09, 2010, 02:58:08 PMBut if it was suppose to be a one-shot Super Mystery book that S&S has decided to stretch over 3 books, then the next two are probably going to be weak.

I was wondering about this, too. That's interesting about the copyright date.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: 4567TME on May 16, 2010, 02:42:18 PM
Wow, pretty long book, good old-fashioned cliffhanger ending, and tasteful writing give it a:

9.4

"Excellent"
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: MacGyver on May 16, 2010, 03:04:21 PM
QuoteHave the Hardy boys ever solved a child abduction case? I can't remember any stories involving this (other than A Hardy Day's Night) but Joe seems to think they have...
The Hardy Boys have solved abduction cases certainly. "The Masked Monkey" is one example I can think of offhand. The main plot of "Panic on Gull Island" is about rescuing Iola after she's been kidnapped. Also, Biff and Chet are kidnapped in "The Missing Chums".
In the Casefiles, I would think "Cult of Crime" would also classify in this category.
I guess it depends on how strictly you're talking as far as child abduction cases go. I realize in these examples here the kidnap victims are actually teenagers and not really children as such. Perhaps there's other books I'm not thinking of though...
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 17, 2010, 05:19:22 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on May 16, 2010, 03:04:21 PM
I realize in these examples here the kidnap victims are actually teenagers and not really children as such. Perhaps there's other books I'm not thinking of though...

Casefiles #12 Perfect Getaway also featured an abduction, but that was of a friends father.

Casefiles #42 The Last Laugh also featured the fake abduction of that comic book author.

I can't think of any child abductions that the Hardy's have solved.  But you are talking about reviewing 83 years of cases.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on May 18, 2010, 05:37:56 PM
Quote from: tomswift2002 on May 17, 2010, 05:19:22 PMI can't think of any child abductions that the Hardy's have solved.  But you are talking about reviewing 83 years of cases.

Exactly. I can't think of any, either...
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: Bigfootman on May 24, 2010, 09:16:42 AM

"Winner Take All" is the only casefile I can think of that had a child abduction, mind you though, the "child" in question was 14 years old.

On the other hand, Nancy Drew has rescued abducted children in quite a few books; The Triple Hoax, The Search For Cindy Austin, Fatal Ransom,  Squeeze Play, and Stolen Affections. Mind you though, the Hardy Boys don't appear in any of those books.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 24, 2010, 11:25:23 AM
Quote from: Dinosaur Dan on May 24, 2010, 09:16:42 AM

On the other hand, Nancy Drew has rescued abducted children in quite a few books; The Triple Hoax, The Search For Cindy Austin, Fatal Ransom,  Squeeze Play, and Stolen Affections. Mind you though, the Hardy Boys don't appear in any of those books.

That reminds me of Arson And Old Lace from the 1977-1978 TV season of The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries where the Hardy Boys have to find Nancy Drew six months after she was abducted

And then there was the Hardy Boys episode Telling Lies from the 1995 TV series where the Hardy's have to find a boy who is only 6 or 8 years old after the boy found the loot from an old bank robbery.  (I just remembered this was a subplot off of the main plot of the episode.)
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: MacGyver on May 24, 2010, 04:22:40 PM
QuoteThat reminds me of Arson And Old Lace from the 1977-1978 TV season of The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries where the Hardy Boys have to find Nancy Drew six months after she was abducted. 

And then there was the Hardy Boys episode Telling Lies from the 1995 TV series where the Hardy's have to find a boy who is only 6 or 8 years old after the boy found the loot from an old bank robbery.  (I just remembered this was a subplot off of the main plot of the episode.)
That's true- The Hardy Boys have dealt with kidnappings on some of their TV shows. I think the "Arson and Old Lace" episode in particular was supposed to be really dramatic (considering Mr. Drew had conceded that Nancy must be dead by that point)- but I think they wound up leaving fans incredulous that Nancy Drew could remain prisoner for that long without escaping or being rescued. Oh well- I still like it for what it is.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 26, 2010, 02:36:12 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on May 24, 2010, 04:22:40 PM
That's true- The Hardy Boys have dealt with kidnappings on some of their TV shows. I think the "Arson and Old Lace" episode in particular was supposed to be really dramatic (considering Mr. Drew had conceded that Nancy must be dead by that point)- but I think they wound up leaving fans incredulous that Nancy Drew could remain prisoner for that long without escaping or being rescued. Oh well- I still like it for what it is.

Plus I think it would've been a lot better had that story been a season long arc, since the episode really feels like we've just come in for the last showdown and have not seen the full story.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on May 28, 2010, 12:10:06 AM
Quote from: tomswift2002 on May 26, 2010, 02:36:12 PM
Plus I think it would've been a lot better had that story been a season long arc, since the episode really feels like we've just come in for the last showdown and have not seen the full story.

Yeah, after Nancy was missing for a month, the Hardy boys finally went looking for her and found her in an afternoon. Couldn't you have spared a few hours of your precious time sooner, boys?
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 29, 2010, 10:42:50 AM
Quote from: SDLagent on May 28, 2010, 12:10:06 AM
Yeah, after Nancy was missing for a month,

Actually she had been missing for six months before the Hardy Boys started looking for her.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on May 29, 2010, 07:30:31 PM
"Thanks for finding the time to save me, boys. I know you're busy."
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 30, 2010, 01:37:34 PM
And in the same episode you really got the feeling the Fenton Hardy and Carson Drew had met previously and were the best of friends.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: hardygirl847 on June 02, 2010, 07:18:51 PM
Quote from: SDLagent on May 28, 2010, 12:10:06 AM
Yeah, after Nancy was missing for a month, the Hardy boys finally went looking for her and found her in an afternoon. Couldn't you have spared a few hours of your precious time sooner, boys?

Quote from: tomswift2002 on May 29, 2010, 10:42:50 AM
Actually she had been missing for six months before the Hardy Boys started looking for her.

LOL yeah for real. I guess the only way to get around that is that they didn't know before then. Or did they? I can't remember at the moment.

Quote from: SDLagent on May 29, 2010, 07:30:31 PM
"Thanks for finding the time to save me, boys. I know you're busy."

:) Gotta love some of these lines. Makes her sound like she's not their friend enough for them to drop everything and find her. Frank and Nancy always had a chemistry in the tv show that eluded to romance but they wouldn't help find her when she was presumed dead?? Yeah....I don't think so.

Quote from: tomswift2002 on May 30, 2010, 01:37:34 PM
And in the same episode you really got the feeling the Fenton Hardy and Carson Drew had met previously and were the best of friends.

I actually like that they seemed like old friends because to me that makes sense. Not sure why...given I don't know much about Carson or Nancy...but they have somewhat of a kindred spirit thing going on. I don't know. :)


Back to the child abduction thing though...

The Hardys have faced a lot of difficult things in all of their series but child abduction is one that they don't tackle too often. I think the writers do that on purpose. It's a rough subject and more "touchy". Plus, with a child/young audience, it would be too close to home. That's my theory anyways....

I guess I will have to order this trilogy because it is not at the store. :(
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on June 03, 2010, 01:57:59 AM
Quote from: hardygirl847 on June 02, 2010, 07:18:51 PM
The Hardys have faced a lot of difficult things in all of their series but child abduction is one that they don't tackle too often. I think the writers do that on purpose. It's a rough subject and more "touchy". Plus, with a child/young audience, it would be too close to home. That's my theory anyways....

Pretty much what I was thinking. I know I would have been freaked out by a story like this when I was younger.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: hardygirl847 on June 03, 2010, 04:41:32 PM
Yeah...as an adult I don't like hearing about that either. It's definitely too taboo for the Hardys universe.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: MacGyver on June 03, 2010, 06:03:30 PM
But this topic is in a current Hardy Boys book aimed at children- surely they must be handling this topic in a very tactful and careful way, hopefully. Though to be honest, sadly- this is probably something kids today are more used to hearing about in the news- if not in the newspaper or on TV- then through their Twitter feeds, Facebook links or online somewhere, etc.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on June 03, 2010, 07:32:34 PM
Quote from: hardygirl847 on June 02, 2010, 07:18:51 PM
LOL yeah for real. I guess the only way to get around that is that they didn't know before then. Or did they? I can't remember at the moment.

No they knew about Nancy's disappearance from day 1.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: hardygirl847 on June 11, 2010, 03:54:01 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on June 03, 2010, 06:03:30 PM
But this topic is in a current Hardy Boys book aimed at children- surely they must be handling this topic in a very tactful and careful way, hopefully. Though to be honest, sadly- this is probably something kids today are more used to hearing about in the news- if not in the newspaper or on TV- then through their Twitter feeds, Facebook links or online somewhere, etc.

Just because we hear about it all the time doesn't mean it should be a topic in a children's book. I understand your point and share your views that it is a very sad thing. Children today are exposed to way more than they should be at their age.

Quote from: tomswift2002 on June 03, 2010, 07:32:34 PM
No they knew about Nancy's disappearance from day 1.

Oh dear! Well...I didn't write this episode so who knows? lol
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: MacGyver on June 11, 2010, 04:58:48 PM
QuoteJust because we hear about it all the time doesn't mean it should be a topic in a children's book.
Oh, I definitely agree- I certainly wasn't arguing that it needed to be the topic for a children's book. There's lots of junk out there in the world and we definitely don't need kids reading about it in books aimed at their age level.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: hardygirl847 on June 12, 2010, 01:01:06 PM
I know MacGyver :) I was "just saying" my statement in general too. I work with kids and it amazes me how much they know at 10. I'm talking things I didn't know until middle school or high school. We had a talk about taxes or something one day in third grade and  someone had a very mature opinion about it. Taxes are not child abduction but still something a kid shouldn't have to worry about. Some of them seem to understand more of the world around them...and the harsh realities. Can't they just be kids??!!!

As far as the book is concerned, I intend on reading it once  I get it from Amazon.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: hardycats on September 05, 2010, 03:09:29 PM
I kind of think its the CIA, whos kidnaping the kids to try different experiments on their developmental growth, which might be why justin has those odd behaviors.
I doubt thats what it really is though
Although i think whoevers doing it, are releasing the bears a few days before they strike for some reason (maybe to have it pass as a bear attack)

Thats my speculation
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: JoeHardyRocks on September 30, 2010, 06:11:53 PM
I just kinda loved this one! I mean, I thought it was better than, like, the last "mystery" they had.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: SDLagent on October 01, 2010, 02:33:06 AM
Quote from: JoeHardyRocks on September 30, 2010, 06:11:53 PM
I just kinda loved this one! I mean, I thought it was better than, like, the last "mystery" they had.

True that.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on October 27, 2010, 05:36:21 PM
I just received an email from Chapters-Indigo today saying that my copy of Book 2 of the Lost Trilogy has shipped.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: JoeHardyRocks on October 28, 2010, 07:56:40 PM
For once my library got a book the day it came out!! But alas, I did not reserve my copy of Lost Brother, so now I'm number 4 on their cruel waiting list  >:( :( :P
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on February 06, 2011, 02:46:27 PM
I just started to read The Children Of The Lost, and I must say that the editor's must've been sleeping on the job when they edited this book, since I've found a few rather weird sentences, such as one in Chapter 1 where Joe says "I startled."  What type of grammar is "I startled."? 

But, then I couldn't help but laugh when Frank says that it was "rare" for ATAC to need them so quickly after one case for another one.  Oh----REALLY?  Let's see, just about every UB book since 2005 has had the Hardy's getting their next case within 24 hours of finishing the case from "Chapter 1". 

And then when Corrine asked Frank what he had done in school that week, okay that was absolutely senseless and meaningless, since both Frank and Joe had "apparently" been in New York.  I would've thought that Corrine would've asked Frank "So...where were the two of you this week?", or mentioned something about all the times that the boys are absent from school.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: tomswift2002 on February 14, 2011, 07:52:38 PM
I finished Children of The Lost a few days ago---and really I have no inclination to pick up Lost Brother and continue on in the story.  Sure the book didn't end with one suspect being arrested and the author having to think of a contrivance to continue the story, like all the other trilogies have ended in their first book, but the author made the book end on an overused cliff-hanger in the Undercover Brothers series---murder. 

Plus, as I've mentioned in the past, with Children of the Lost I found that Frank and Joe  have become very stagnant characters in this series in comparison to their counterparts from the Original Continuity and the Casefiles continuity.  When I recently read The Borderline Case, even though I hadn't read the Casefiles in order in over a decade and I hadn't read the Casefiles in order before the book, I found that the Frank and Joe in that book had a history with crime fighting that you didn't need to read any other books to know that Frank and Joe had solved other cases by themselves and with the Network and the boys knew how to handle the situation in a way that showed that they were mature enough to be on the mission, but at the same time they still had that vulnerability about them because they were teenagers (who couldn't age).  The Frank and Joe of the Casefiles and Original Continuity had a 3-dimensionality about them that is not evident in the Undercover Brothers Frank and Joe.

In The Children Of The Lost, sure I had not read an Undercover Brothers book completely since March of 2010,  I found that the Frank and Joe who were presenting themselves too me were very 1-dimensional and could easily be replaced with another character who had a different name.  These Hardy Boys were very timid and almost scaredy cats who seemed to have very little knowledge about investigating anything, and were more interested in being "journalists" that are along for the ride in order to tell a story, and nothing more.  And with the books written in the first-person you exepect to have a more personal story about the boys, but I really felt like I was watching a play behind a theater curtain, where when it was lit you could see right through it, but when the lights are turned off it's just another curtain.  And the Frank and Joe that were presented seemed to be the type of tertiary character where you are maybe given enough information to learn that they have a wife or husband, but once the character leaves the scene,  that's it for that character. 

Rating for The Children Of The Lost: 4 out of 10.
Title: Re: Children of the Lost
Post by: Hardy Boys UB Fan on February 14, 2011, 08:02:23 PM
Quote from: tomswift2002 on February 14, 2011, 07:52:38 PM
I finished Children of The Lost a few days ago---and really I have no inclination to pick up Lost Brother and continue on in the story.  Sure the book didn't end with one suspect being arrested and the author having to think of a contrivance to continue the story, like all the other trilogies have ended in their first book, but the author made the book end on an overused cliff-hanger in the Undercover Brothers series---murder. 

Plus, as I've mentioned in the past, with Children of the Lost I found that Frank and Joe  have become very stagnant characters in this series in comparison to their counterparts from the Original Continuity and the Casefiles continuity.  When I recently read The Borderline Case, even though I hadn't read the Casefiles in order in over a decade and I hadn't read the Casefiles in order before the book, I found that the Frank and Joe in that book had a history with crime fighting that you didn't need to read any other books to know that Frank and Joe had solved other cases by themselves and with the Network and the boys knew how to handle the situation in a way that showed that they were mature enough to be on the mission, but at the same time they still had that vulnerability about them because they were teenagers (who couldn't age).  The Frank and Joe of the Casefiles and Original Continuity had a 3-dimensionality about them that is not evident in the Undercover Brothers Frank and Joe.

In The Children Of The Lost, sure I had not read an Undercover Brothers book completely since March of 2010,  I found that the Frank and Joe who were presenting themselves too me were very 1-dimensional and could easily be replaced with another character who had a different name.  These Hardy Boys were very timid and almost scaredy cats who seemed to have very little knowledge about investigating anything, and were more interested in being "journalists" that are along for the ride in order to tell a story, and nothing more.  And with the books written in the first-person you exepect to have a more personal story about the boys, but I really felt like I was watching a play behind a theater curtain, where when it was lit you could see right through it, but when the lights are turned off it's just another curtain.  And the Frank and Joe that were presented seemed to be the type of tertiary character where you are maybe given enough information to learn that they have a wife or husband, but once the character leaves the scene,  that's it for that character. 

Rating for The Children Of The Lost: 4 out of 10.

I liked it! :)