"Joe realized that he and Frank would never be able to accomplish the task. And he knew there was no hope of assistance from outside, for no one knew where they were."Indeed. You have to read the original version of this book (published in 1928) and not one of the revised versions (1963) or updated since. In revised versions, the Hardy Boys end up kissing up to the police and working for the Department of Homeland Security. Only the original versions of the Hardy Boys are worth reading. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that the brothers get attacked by some wolves while in an abandoned mine, and they are forced to shoot the wolf leader. While this might be pretty realistic, I don't like that much violence. But it is what it is; it's not right to rewrite it! There is a description of The Hardy Boys lost in a blizzard that is very well written and truly frightening. And all the parts where they are underground really let you imagine the tight spaces and immense darkness. They eventually get trapped in a mine shaft collapse, and while making their way from one tunnel to the next, in a series of underground caverns and passageways that never seem to end, they never actually find their way out. Ultimately they realize that the real "hidden gold" would just be seeing the sunlight again, and then they perish. It's the last book in the series. It didn't really end that way. I liked this book so much that after 458 days of reading it, I finally put it back on the shelf unfinished and made up my own ending. I just didn't think I could handle the emotional turmoil of it ending! Also, I like to think that the notorious Black Pepper is still out there!
The Hardys, Frank (short for Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Joe (short for Josephine), manage to get involved in yet another one of their father's cases when the old man proves as breakable as a Lladró. This time Pa Hardy had a few ribs busted—he may have been caught casing a bordello, or he slipped in the shower, or something... I can't recall. As a result he has to recover in a cabin while his obsessive-compulsive sons do all the heavy lifting. After being waylaid in Chicago by kidnappers and shifty cabdrivers, the boys face off against gang leader Big Al (aka Black Pepper; aka Lady Marmalade), who tried to screw another guy out of four sacks of gold 25 years ago, somewhere in the Yukon, or wherever. Driven by a psychopathic lust for justice, the hardied boys investigate a ghost town and discover a player piano powered by musically inclined rats, before riding off into the wilderness on horseback in search of Big Al. Some concern is expressed for the fact that the boys, or at least Joe, are minors, and probably shouldn't be pursuing hardened felons across a bleak wintery hellscape, but this soon fades after Jank and Fro find an amnesiac snitch, fight timber wolves with flashlights, find the gold, beat the living crap out of Big Al with shovels, and then shame him by sleeping with his wife while he watches, weeping. I might have dreamed that last part. Frank and Joe bring back Big Al, suggestively trussed up and slung over the back of a horse, and explain to their dad and the sheriff that they just couldn't find that darn gold. In the final chapter, everyone at school admires their new matching Porsches. Again, I might have dreamed that.
What do You think about Hunting For Hidden Gold (1963)?
How Fenton Hardy ever become on of the best known, well respected detectives in the US, I will never know. He is forever getting sick, injured, captured and usually disappears not too far into each book. His sons Frank and Joe pick up the pieces of the mystery, battle the bad guys, find dad, solve the mystery and save dad. This particular installment has Fenton injured and laid up in some old-timer's cabin for the entire story while his sons nearly die a few times. Aside from all that, this isn't one of my favorites. I was reading the original 1930's version so don't know if that had anything to do with it. I had to skip over the part where they encounter a pack of wolves and keep shooting dead one after another with one of the bad guys' guns.
—girl writing
Frank and Joe Hardy are out on a camping trip with their friends, Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, when they get an urgent call from their father, the famous detective Fenton Hardy. Fenton has been injured while in the midst of important case involving a dangerous hijacking, smuggling felon named Big Al. Fenton is certain that Big Al is holed up somewhere in Lucky Lode planning his next raid, and Fenton wants Frank and Joe to be his eyes and ears in the case.Frank and Joe agree, but end up using not only their eyes and ears, but also their brains and fists. But will they catch Big Al and solve the long-standing mystery of the missing gold?Discussion. Okay, first off, can I say how much I love the setup of the Hardy Boys? Frank and Joe are amateurish detectives who, thanks to the talent and prowess of their father, get to be involved in lots of high-profile cases in a way that makes sense because of that connection. They work together and instead of Fenton acting as a negative or “restraining” influence, he is the first to urge his sons to do what is needed in the fight for justice. THANK YOU FRANKLIN DIXON.Also, why did you name one of your main characters after yourself? Sorry, I just had to ask.Conclusion. Fun – perhaps my favorite Hardy Boys story thus far.Visit The Blithering Bookster to read more reviews!www.blitheringbookster.com
—Laura Verret
Frank and Joe Hardy are out on a camping trip with their friends, Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, when they get an urgent call from their father, the famous detective Fenton Hardy. Fenton has been injured while in the midst of important case involving a dangerous hijacking, smuggling bad guy named Big Al. Fenton is certain that Big Al is holed up somewhere in Lucky Lode planning his next raid, and Fenton wants Frank and Joe to be his eyes and ears in the case.Frank and Joe agree, but end up using not only their eyes and ears, but also their brains and fists. I think that this was an great book and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a good mystery.
—Julian Barab
