The Hardy Boys #7: The Secret of the Caves

Rating:
Summary: The Secret of the Caves
Review: The most commonly known series, The Hardy Boys, brings you a book called, The Secret of the Caves. I recommend this book for all ages, because I thought it was a fantastic book by Franklin W. Dixon. If people like mystery, this is their kind of book. I like how there are always two cases, one with their dad and one with the Hardys. I like how both cases all come into one solution. When I read the book, I am always interested in it. It's not just for kids, anybody can read it. This book, I would say is a four star book. It has mystery, action, and it is about 280 pages. People will like this book. It also draws people into the book. It does that because, you picture the scene and wanting to be in the book and like be one of the Hardys. When I read it, I picture the action, the mystery. I sometimes think about it after I read it.

Rating:
Summary: The Worst Book Of The First Ten
Review: This review concerns the original 1929 edition. An elderly lady seeks Fenton Hardy's assistence in locating her twin brother who disappeared shortly after an accident. Meanwhile, Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff travel up the coast to camp at some caves where mysterious things are occuring. This book is easily the worst of books 1-10. The writing (language used, descriptive scenes, etc.) is excellent, like in all of the early originals; however the writing is the only saving grace of this book and the only real reason to read it. The plot is weak and their is no real mystery. There is only one criminal in the book. He is captured on page 139 and the manner in which he is captured was the second most pathetic way that I have seen in all of the Hardy Boys books that I have read; the worst being the criminal in #76 "Game plan For Disaster" that the Hardy's find already tied up on a motel room floor. Unfortunately for Frank and joe they had to tie the guy up this time, but; otherwise, it was somewhat similar. The book contains too many ridiculous coincidences. The Hardys are supposed to be miles from Bayport, yet when they look for a passing motorist to take the criminal to the police station in Bayport, not only is the very first car they stop going to Bayport, the driver is someone the Hardy's know. If that wasn't enough, a similar situation happens later in the book. The reader is left to figure out the explanation of the strange happenings at the caves because it is never explained. This book is worth reading for the writing, but that's about it.

Rating:
Summary: What Was The Author Thinking?
Review: This review concerns the revised 1964 edition. A young girl asks Mr. Hardy, Frank and Joe to find her brother, a young university professor, who recently disappeared. A clue left by the professor leads Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff to the Honeycomb Caves, not far from Bayport, where the boys discover a connection to Mr Hardy's other case involving sabotage at a new radar station in Bayport. I don't know what the author of the revised edition was thinking; he/she took the original edition, that was already not very good, largely rewrote it, stripped away the only really good thing about the original (its rich language and descriptiveness) and made an already dull book even worse. This is a bad book with a boring mystery and not much action. If you're determined to read this title, read the original if you can, neither one is very good, but at least the original was well written.

Rating:
Summary: The Worst Book Of The First Ten
Review: This review refers to the original text. The book did not live up to its appealing title and is over rated. While it ranks as one of the best volumes in the set, it ranks among the worst of the early volumes. There is actually one criminal Carl Schaum, captured on page 59. Outside of the brothers going through the caves during the middle chapters the book was rather medicore. The revision (1964) was horrible. Still the book is a definite read as are all the early volumes.

Rating:
Summary: Fine
Review: This review refers to the original text. The book did not live up to its appealing title and is over rated. While it ranks as one of the best volumes in the set, it ranks among the worst of the early volumes. There is actually one criminal Carl Schaum, captured on page 59. Outside of the brothers going through the caves during the middle chapters the book was rather medicore. The revision (1964) was horrible. Still the book is a definite read as are all the early volumes.