Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780001605503
Format: Import
ISBN number: 000160550X
Label: Collins
Manufacturer: Collins
Page Count: 153
Printing Date: June 16, 1980
Publishing house: Collins
Studio: Collins
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Rated by buyers 
-
I bought this book back in 2005. I had read many Hardy Boys novels before and I bought it because I didn't have a copy. Originally, I was trying to find the blue spined one, but I found an "A FIGURE IN HIDING", but it had a different cover that interested me. So, I ordered it and just looking at it told me: DIFFERENT STORY.
HOWEVER,
WHAT HAPPENED! THE BOOK IS DEFINITELY # 99 IN THE TOP 100 WORST BOOKS KNOWN TO MANKIND! IT'S BASICALLY the final few chapters of a Hardy Boys book expanded about 12 times!
BUT,
I gave it *** . 1.5* for being a Hardy Boys book and another 1.5* for being somewhat interesting until you get so annoyed you get a headache from the plot ( it gets more & more boring the more times you read it).
ALL IN ALL...
IT'S OK! Not the worst one in the series.
note: i meant to give it 3 * but I accidentally put 2*.
Rated by buyers -
I bought this book back in 2005. I had read many Hardy Boys novels before and I bought it because I didn't have a copy. Originally, I was trying to find the blue spined one, but I found an "A FIGURE IN HIDING", but it had a different cover that interested me. So, I ordered it and just looking at it told me: DIFFERENT STORY.
HOWEVER,
WHAT HAPPENED! THE BOOK IS DEFINITELY # 99 IN THE TOP 100 WORST BOOKS KNOWN TO MANKIND! IT'S BASICALLY the final few chapters of a Hardy Boys book expanded about 12 times!
BUT,
I gave it *** . 1.5* for being a Hardy Boys book and another 1.5* for being somewhat interesting until you get so annoyed you get a headache from the plot ( it gets more & more boring the more times you read it).
ALL IN ALL...
IT'S OK! Not the worst one in the series.
Rated by buyers -
As Hardy boys mysteries go, this one is less thrilling than the others. The mystery revolves around eye symbols, and a gang called the Goggler Gang, also known as the Evil Eyes. The gang used simple hand symbols to alert fellow gang members when to stay away or when everything was okay. Then there was the mysterious eye the Hardy boys found on a hydrofoil, the Sea Spook.
This mystery begins with a blind peddler passing a mysterious note to the boys after a baseball game. The cryptic note read, "WATCH OUT FOR THE FIRST SIGNS OF BAD EYESIGHT!" Scribbled in pencil on the opposite side of the card was "Tell FH!" The boys rightly assume that they should tell their father, Fenton Hardy.
Soon the boys are encountering eye signs everywhere. Since the boys persist in investigating a group that they learn is called the Goggler Gang, someone arranges for an accident that was to murder the boys and the blind peddler. The gang tries several times to warn the boys, without (of course) success. As the boys persist in their investigations they encounter a gang of suspicious characters, and Malcolm Izmir, who is apparently an ordinary businessman. Yet, Izmir seems to turn up far too often during the boys' investigation. The boys also find a mysterious fake eye while on the hydrofoil Sea Spook. The boys realize that the eye is probably part of their mystery, but they do not understand how it is related.
As with most Hardy boys' mysteries, the excitement builds to the end. Even Fenton Hardy is in danger when the Goggler Gang discovers that he has been spying on them. Fortunately ever-faithful friend Chet Morton helps save the day, along with the always timely Chief Collig.
The level of excitement in Hardy Boys books varies a lot. There have been several of the very first sixteen books where the pacing was quick, and I was anxious to get to the end. However, this book moved along too slowly, and the action portions seemed to either develop too slowly, or so quickly that they were over before I had a time to register that action was upon me. While a person interested in the Hardy boys will likely want to read all the books, a casual reader may want to pass this one as this story is the weakest of the very first sixteen books in the series.
Though the Hardy Boys series is written in a relatively archaic fashion, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are excellent. The stories were once recommended for children ages 10 to 14. As children are exposed to more violence and seem to require greater levels of stimulation, the recommended age range has move to 9 to 12. I think any child capable of reading some of the challenging words in these books will enjoy them, regardless of how tame most of the action may be. Once a child has reached age 12 or so the stories may be of less interest, but given the combination of mystery and action, these books remain good safe choices for parents who want to know what their children are reading.
Rated by buyers -
This review concerns the revised 1965 edition. Frank and Joe are drawn into a new mystery when a blind peddler gives them a glass eye and a warning. Through the course of the mystery they are confronted with the theft of the Jeweled Siva, a valuable Oriental idol; an innovative hydrofoil speedboat; a terrified wealthy businessman and a health farm run by a mysterious doctor. You would think that all of this would make an interesting book, but it doesn't. This book rarely held my interest and many of the chapter endings did not make me want to read more. The book is completely different from the original written in the 1930s, but neither book is very good and it is obvious the author of the revised edition had to force the story to fit the title by dropping the line "a figure in hiding" in various places in the book, even though it sounds awkward everytime. The very end of the book is particularly bad. Without spoiling it for anyone who decides to read the book, you go from the criminals having the upper hand to them being caught in a matter of three short paragraphs. This is definately not one of the better Hardy Boys mysteries.
Rated by buyers -
Mr. DIXON died. I think people shoudn't critisize what he worked on so hard. But it doesn't have any mystery....but at least its good.
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