Tag Archives: Tony Prito

58: THE STING OF THE SCORPION

 

58

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: James D. Lawrence in 1979.  Twenty years prior to this he wrote 37: THE GHOST AT SKELETON ROCK, 38: MYSTERY AT DEVIL’S PAW and 39: THE MYSTERY OF THE CHINESE JUNK (the first two of which were revised).  Plus he revised three other books in the 1960s.  Mr. Lawrence is an old hand at writing Hardy Boys books, and boy does it show here!

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  A bit too dark, but it’s an interesting symbolic cover with so much green.  There’s the elephant, and an elephant appears several times in the story, and there’s the sign of Scorpio, but no, the Zodiac does not play a part in the story other than the name of the gang.  And for a final time, there are Frank and Joe facing danger while wearing yellow and red.  Keep on fighting, old friends, keep ever fighting.

Setting: Bayport, New York City briefly, and then gloriously back to Bayport for the entire story.  If you are going to end a series, do it at home.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He’s around, and pops in when needed, and yes, he comes riding in at the end.  Whenever life throws you a curve, look for Fenton to show up in the final chapter to help out.  That’s sort of comforting, huh?

Which Chums Show Up?: Everybody!  Even Karen Hunt, Biff’s date.  Who?  Exactly!  This is a Bayport story, and every chum takes part.  Even Chet doesn’t hog it all this time.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Acrobatics, for a show.  But it hardly takes up a lot of the plot, so it’s simply in there because Chet needs a hobby.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Juicy wedges of apple pie!  And a chocolate cake!  Thank you Mr. Lawrence for including them both.

Plot: Someone’s trying to run off the owner of a wild animal park in Bayport.  Meanwhile dirigibles are all over the place as the next big means of transportation, and someone drops an elephant from one of the blimps and then it explodes before it hits the ground.  No really, but I promise you it gets explained in chapter one.

Review:  As we say goodbye to the Hardy Boys, I cannot believe how much of a relief it was to read this book as the final one.  Mr. Lawrence includes everything a good Hardy Boys book should have:

  • Aunt Gertrude making dessert(s)
  • Chet with a hobby
  • The action takes place in Bayport
  • The boys are not super spies working for the government, but typical teens hanging out with friends while solving a mystery.
  • Continuity!  Biff has his Great Dane, Tivoli!  The Chinese junk they used to own gets mentioned!
  • The gang gets to have fun, so it’s not just grim action all the time.  At one point they are enjoying the park with their friends, and they get to do just that, for hours.

I love this book.  It’s as if they knew this would be the last of the classics, so they wanted to create a best-of Hardy Boys book that covered all of the bases.

The mystery is simple but good.  The bad guy hides in plain sight.  And the book — and thus the series — ends with this quote from Chet and no future mystery teased:

“Speaking of which — how about a sky-high malt, fellows?”

Sounds good, Chet.

This is how I want to leave the Hardy Boys.  Forever fighting crime in Bayport, having fun with friends, being normal teens, with a buddy who just wants to get a malt.  You could hardly end it any better.

Score: 10

57: THE FIREBIRD ROCKET

57

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Vincent Buranelli in 1978.  The third of three in a row he wrote, and now we say goodbye to Mr. Buranelli.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  I like this one, with the dominant green in the Australia background, the rocket blasting off, and modern Frank and Joe (with 70s haircuts) bringing the classic red and yellow back.

Setting: Bayport, Princeton NJ and then Australia. Let’s see, they probably figured, the boys had been up and down North and South America, all over Europe, to Japan, and also Africa.  Hey, let’s send them down under!

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He sends them off to investigate, but he shows up before the end to help rescue his sons and catch the bad guys.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Biff, Tony, Phil, Iola and … whoa!  No Callie?  You finally include Iola, Mr. Buranelli, and leave Callie out?!  Anyway, it’s Chet’s show as usual.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Look at the title of this book.  Now you tell me what his hobby is.  Still didn’t figure it out?  Look at the title again.  See the words in the title?  Now what do you think Chet’s hobby is?  Right.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: No dessert for you today.

Plot: The Firebird rocket program is in trouble because its top scientist has been kidnapped.  Frank and Joe go searching for him.  All the way to Australia, mate.

Review:  Another good Buranelli.  I like this one a lot.  It has a very straightforward mystery, with the question of who is or is not a bad guy.  They go off to Australia and do the tourist thing while tracking down the scientist.  The bad guys are suitably bad.  The scenery and local color is cool.  Fenton does his suave thing at the end.

I will note this one sentence as being dated:

“This is one thing Women’s Lib did for us.”

Yes, kids, that’s how people talked in the 70s.  But hey, that’s life.

A really good book.

Score: 9

56: THE JUNGLE PYRAMID

 

56

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Vincent Buranelli in 1977.  The second of three in a row he wrote, among others.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  A beautifully detailed realistic cover representing one scene in the book.  Frank and Joe heading directly into danger.  Nice look, modern, stark.

Setting: Bayport, Switzerland, Mexico and back to Bayport.  

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Oh, he shows up after sending them to Switzerland and then Mexico.  This is a family affair in this book.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Biff and Tony.  What’s up, Mr. Buranelli, don’t you like Callie and Iola?

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: He gets a diploma from a mail-order certifying that he is adept in gold artifacts.  Hey, lots of gold artifacts to be identified in this story, whaddya know?

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Cherry pie with homemade whipped cream.

Plot: Some gold is stolen from a mint, the assistant director of the mint hires Fenton to find it, and Fenton brings in the boys.  Where’s the gold? Hey, maybe Switzerland.  Oh, maybe Mexico.  Hmm…there’s a missing jungle pyramid too.

Review:  I like this one.  The bad guy is a surprise.  The location of the gold is a surprise.  Typical Hardy Boys behavior occurs.  It’s even typical that the boys find the missing pyramid while none of the locals or the visiting archaeologists can figure out its location.  Yessir, you need something found, Frank and Joe are your guys.

It’s a fun adventure tale with lots of typical elements.

Score: 8

54: THE MYSTERIOUS CARAVAN

 

54

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Andrew E. Svenson in 1975.  The third of three in a row he wrote, among others.  And with that we say goodbye to Mr. Svenson.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  A symbolic cover, for no such scene occurs in the book.  In fact, this cover refers to an historical event, not something Frank and Joe are looking at in the present.  A very yellow cover, appropriate for the setting, but hardly my favorite look.  And what are Frank and Joe reacting to in a pose that indicates danger?  Camels?

Setting: Bayport, Jamaica, Morocco in Africa.  The boys really travel in this one!

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Back in the States working on another angle.  Until he shows up in Chapter XX.

Which Chums Show Up?: It’s a Svenson, so we get the whole gang:  Chet, Biff, Tony, Phil, Callie, Iola.  Tony and Phil and Biff and Chet go to Jamaica, but only Chet goes to Africa (along with their new Jamaican friend William).

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: None.  Even Svenson is giving up now.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: An unnamed pie was baked for Chet, but the poor reader never learns what type it was.  C’mon, Chet, spill it!

Plot: The boys find an African mask washed up on the shores of Jamaica where they are on holiday.  Bad guys immediately try to get the mask from them.  Or kill them, if possible.  Meanwhile Fenton is investigating some stolen airplane tickets that are being resold illegally.  Meanwhile the mask seems to hold the key to an ancient African treasure.  You know, a typical Hardy Boys plot.

Review:  Nothing wrong with this one.  Mr. Svenson tries to educate his readers about other parts of the Earth, and it would be fun to discover a bit of Africa and of Jamaica as a ten-year-old.  The actual plot about masks, maps and gold is classic Hardy Boys.

On the other hand, it felt a bit disjointed, as if he was trying to put all the elements of a Hardy Boys story in a big bowl, but just didn’t mix them enough.  It has a bit of by-the-numbers feel to it.

Not my favorite Svenson, but he remains an excellent writer for the series.

Score: 7

53: THE CLUE OF THE HISSING SERPENT

53

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Andrew E. Svenson in 1974.  The second of three in a row he wrote, among others.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Another symbolic cover, this time without the usual red and yellow, but a beautiful blue and green motif.  The elements are all there, the dragon, balloons, chess pieces.  Very nice cover.

Setting: Bayport, nearby, Hong Kong.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Back in the States.  It’s up to the Hong Kong police to show up in Chapter XX this time.

Which Chums Show Up?: All of them.  Svenson likes to bring them all in.  So we have Chet, Biff, Tony, Phil, Callie, Iola in one scene or another.  But it’s Chet who does the heavy lifting, and no, that was not a weight reference, why do you ask?

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Ballooning.  Of course.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Lovely wedges of apple pie after some roast-beef sandwiches.  Now we’re cookin’!

Plot: It’s 1974, chess was quite the rage since the Bobby Fischer world championships a couple of years before.  So a valuable chess piece is in danger of being stolen, and the boys are hired to help.  Who can they trust?  What are the crooks after?

Review:  This one felt odd to me.  It’s a Svenson, and he has written some great ones.  But this one felt disjointed.  If you told me a new writer was assigned this one, I’d believe it.

I kept losing track of the plot.  And pieces of the plot seemed to be brought in almost randomly.  A dragon-shaped balloon?  OK, we got one of those, but now what?  It doesn’t really have much to do with anything.

We get some 70s dialog:

“We flush out vagrants now and then.  Mostly junkies.”

The travel to Hong Kong at the end is nice.  On the whole though, not a great one.

Score: 6

51: THE MASKED MONKEY

 

51

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Vincent Buranelli in 1972.  Besides his revisions, he wrote several original Hardy Boys books in the 1970s.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Two green covers in a row!  This is a symbolic cover that nicely captures the book.  The boys really do go into the jungle, there really is a menacing chimp, it’s a good cover thematically and esthetically.  Boy were we spoiled by Mr. Nappi’s great skill in book after book.

Setting: Bayport, nearby, Brazil, nearby, Bayport again.  Yes, I snuck Brazil in the middle there.  So did the author.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Sets the boys on the case, then stays home while they jet off to Brazil, and finally shows up in Chapter XX as usual.

Which Chums Show Up?: Tony, Chet and Phil.  The gang is half here, but this time the gang stays home while Frank and Joe go to Brazil alone.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Scavenging golf balls from golf course water traps.  Does part of the story take place in country clubs, you ask?  Sparky, you are too clever for this game!

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: No dessert here.  She merely clucks about danger and then clucks no more in this story.

Plot: A missing person, someone is creating false passports, a frenzied chimp taught to steal stuff and attack people, this is an odd little plot.

Review:  Not bad.  The Brazil section is nice as an introduction to the land, but out of date now.  But when you read the book and realize the significance of the Brazil section when you are done with it, you’ll have a laugh as to why it was included.  Hey, it’s an excuse to fly them off to Brazil, what more do we need?

The crooks are devious, ubiqitious and deadly.  The showdown is satisfying.  The explanation of the masked monkey makes sense.  The Brazilian voodoo display is put on by a faker, thus keep alive the Scooby Dooish aspect of the Hardy Boys, and check this quote out:

“Putting his fingers under the chin part of the last mask, he wrenched it off.  Everyone gasped in amazement!”

And he would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you kids!

Score: 8

50: DANGER ON VAMPIRE TRAIL

50

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Andrew E. Svenson in 1971.  One of many he wrote, including my favorite.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Green green green!  Plus vampire bats.  Frank and Joe look older than in the early days, so this is clearly the new house style for the boys.  This is a striking symbolic cover, very distinctive for all you lovers of the color green.

Setting: Bayport and heading West.  Seriously, this is basically one long road trip.  The Hardy Boys Go Camping.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He shows up in the first chapter, hands them this case, and then disappears other than to get occasional phone reports from the boys.  No Chapter XX entrance for him this time.  

Which Chums Show Up?: Biff, Tony, Phil, Chet, Callie and Iola.  Biff and Chet actually go camping with the boys.  Just like the last Svenson Hardy Boys book, he likes Biff and Chet but no one else.  The others get mentioned as if on contract to be part of each book, then get dropped.  If I ever wrote a classic Hardy Boys book I’d have Phil Cohen, Callie and Iola go around the world with Frank and Joe, with each of them doing something brave and smart.  Biff, Chet and Tony can cool their heels back home for a change.  Naaaah, who am I kidding?  Chet has to come too.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Not much of anything, really.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: No direct scene, but a reference is made to her “fluffy meringue on top of her famous lemon pies.”  I wonder how far her fame went?

Plot: In 1971 credit cards were not all that common, and so this plot is about crooks using bad credit cards.  Oh, there’s a side plot about sapphires, but it’s not that important.  In fact, the credit card stuff is what merely gets the story going, but the book itself is about Frank and Joe camping and the trouble that happens along the way.  What about vampires?  Forget it, kid.  Not happening.

Review:  Considering it’s a Svenson Hardy Boys, it’s surprising how atypical this one is.  It’s a camping tale.  Not particularly interesting or memorable.

Score: 6

49: THE BOMBAY BOOMERANG

49

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Vincent Buranelli in 1970.  The same year he revised 20: MYSTERY OF THE FLYING EXPRESS, and one year before he would revise 22: THE FLICKERING TORCH MYSTERY.  He then writes several original Hardy Boys books in the 1970s.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Red fans, this is your cover, the most red since 18: THE TWISTED CLAW.  Bit of yellow in the upper right.  A mix of symbolism (the boomerang) and realism (the dock scenes).  Note how much older Frank and Joe look here compared to, say, 4: THE MISSING CHUMS or 8: THE MYSTERY OF CABIN ISLAND.  Same artist, same rough era (4 was revised in 1962 and 8 in 1966), yet the boys look older.  I have to think as we hit the 1970s, the publishers thought they should look like modern teenagers, not a 1950s concept of teenagers that belong on the Mickey Mouse Club.  Anyway, this is a striking cover, but not a great favorite with me.

Setting: Bayport, Washington D.C. and Baltimore.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Working with the boys, and in fact the boys help him out when he gets in trouble in Baltimore.  As with our last book, Fenton is working with the U.S. government, and this time the boys go right to the Pentagon and get instructions from an Admiral.  It helps that they dialed a wrong number and got the Pentagon.  Man, I hate when that happens.

Which Chums Show Up?: Biff, Tony, Chet, Phil, Callie and Iola.  The gang is all here, but this time it isn’t Chet who shows up to help.  It’s Tony and Phil who get the call, go help, and then return home.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Boomerangs.  Yup, he’s so busy making and selling boomerangs, he doesn’t help Frank and Joe.  But yes, his hobby gets used in Chapter XX, and then never mentioned again in any other Hardy Boys book.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: A “piece of [her] fresh-baked apple pie.”  I can feel the warmth from here.

Plot: Shipments of mercury from overseas are being stolen, someone in the Pentagon gets attacked, there’s talk about a missile, clues are found on freighters from India, and what is the Bombay Boomerang anyway?

Review:  This is a mature Hardy Boys mystery.  The stakes a high (threats to the country, the military on the trail, the crooks professional and deadly), the boys are competent, the clues are realistic.  It’s good.

This is another Indian adventure, so once again I greet my readers from India.  In particular from Mumbai (how Bombay is now known).  This book talks about how Bombay came into being and tells us about the worship of Krishna. As a youngster reading Hardy Boys books, you learn an amazing amount of information about the world.  That’s a good thing.

This is, of course, the first Hardy Boys book I ever read, and clearly it hooked me.  So on the whole I give it a:

Score: 7

45: THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIRAL BRIDGE

45

 

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Andrew E. Svenson in 1966.  Two years before he revised 7: THE SECRET OF THE CAVES.  Four years later he revised 23: THE MELTED COINS.  I was a fan of #23, not so much #7, but I chalked that up to these being revisions.

From 1949 to 1951 he wrote three originals in 28: THE SIGN OF THE CROOKED ARROW, 29: THE SECRET OF THE LOST TUNNEL, and 30: THE WAILING SIREN MYSTERY.  Those got two 7s and a 6.

Finally, we will encounter Svenson originals in #48, #50, #52, #53 and #54.  Basically, Mr. Svenson is one of the giants of the Hardy Boys writing business, involved in the process off and on from 1949 to 1975.  What score will this one get?

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know what I think of this cover for this forms the logo of this site.  That’s right, this is — by far — my favorite Hardy Boys cover.  The classic elements are in pace with Frank and Joe peering at danger.  Joe has his red shirt, the yellow is in the title, and it’s a night scene which remain my favorite.  But what makes this cover soar is the red, orange, yellow shading of Rosy.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  An outstanding cover.

Setting: Bayport, New York City, and then Kentucky.     

Where’s Fenton This Time?: In the hospital.  The entire time.

Which Chums Show Up?: Everybody.  Chet, Biff, Tony, Phil, Callie and Iola.  The gang’s all here (I consider Jerry to be a bench part of the gang, not in the starting lineup), and almost all of them take important parts in the plot.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Shot put.  Yes, so that it can come in handy at the end.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Nothing.  The only thing that keeps this book from being perfect is the lack of a chocolate cake from Aunt Gertrude.

Plot: Fenton Hardy is investigating sabotage on a road building project in Kentucky when he is captured by some crooks, tortured, and winds up unconscious in the hospital.  It’s up to the boys to go down to Kentucky and stop the sabotage and figure out why the crooks want to stop the road being built.  And what’s with that spiral shape?

Review:  Perfection (minus a chocolate cake, although given the seriousness of the story, it’s understandable why Svenson didn’t include such a scene).

Let us count the ways this is the perfect Hardy Boys book:

There is real emotion from real characterization.

“Laura Hardy wept softly as her husband was carried toward the ambulance, and Aunt Gertrude tried hard to hold back her own tears.”

How could you not feel something for poor Laura? The inciting incident is real and powerful.

There is time later in the book for the boys to have an actual scene of pure fun when the gang heads down to a recreation room to play pool and ping-pong.  I always like it when they hang out and do fun things as a group.

Current culture is referenced when Tony jokes about Chet being secret agent 008.  In 1966, James Bond was as big as he ever got in the popular culture, and this book acknowledges that.

The mystery is hard to figure out.  You want to keep reading to understand what is going on.

No Fenton rescuing them in this one; this is the boys rescuing Fenton, so to speak.  They act very grown-up in this one.

It’s interesting, the characters are all here, the mystery is solid, and if for nothing else but the cover, this one finally gets a second:

Score: 10

42: THE VIKING SYMBOL MYSTERY

 

42

Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Alistair Hunter in 1963.  His only original Hardy Boys book, but written in the same year he revised 5: HUNTING FOR HIDDEN GOLD and the year after he revised 3: THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILL.  I gave #5 a rating of 5 and #3 a rating of 6.  Can Mr. Hunter get a 7 at last?

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  Red and yellow, with a mostly realistic setting.  Good, classic look.

Setting: Bayport and then Canada.  Edmonton and Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories.  Come see Canada!     

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He incites the action by getting Tony and Biff to go one way, and the boys and Chet to go another way, and then he joins in midway through and continues with the gang.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Biff, Tony, but it must be said that Tony disappears and Biff is used sparingly.  But at this stage Mr. Hardy is using them all as cheap labor.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Nothing.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Chocolate cake, not to mention “juicy, tender roast beef, buttered baked potatoes, fresh asparagus” before that.  Aunty is on her game in this one.

Plot: An old slab of rock goes missing that, wouldn’t you know, tells how to find a missing treasure if you can only read the Viking symbols.  A gang is trying to read it, and the Boys have to stop them.

Review:  Not bad, though I never want to hear “Bon tonnerre!” ever again.  But hey, Caribou Caron is a stand up guy, so I’ll forgive him for that.

This one has an awful lot of flying back and forth between the lake and Edmonton.  And they are constantly catching members of the gang and locking them up, until the whole book seems like a catch-the-next-guy story.  But it has nice adventure, with bears and salmon and pesky insects, so readers will get a feel for the Canadian wilderness.  And the story has enough suspense to keep you interested along the way.

Score: 7