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harperbrum's review
adventurous
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
manwithanagenda's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
When the boys take home a man freshly dunked in Barmet Bay for a change of clothes, little do they know they were about it be in over their heads in a feud between rival underwater salvage companies and lost gold bullion.
'The Secret Warning' is mostly the fun kind of bonkers in that it involes the boys (with Chet) being active crew members on a diving expedition looking for salvage, are chased by a pair of bumbling hired thugs, receive cryptic doom-saying notes, and generally have no regard for their health or Aunt Gertrude's. The negative comes with a bit of light old-timey racism including a blackface disguise and a cavalier attitude towards those with mental health problems. However, there is a scene where one of the boys must battle fierce sea-demons (octopus) to escape from a wreck alive. All in a day's work for our intrepid sleuths.
The 1966 rewrite isn't as dramatic as some. It replaces the gold bullion lost during World War I with Egyptian antiquities. Presumably there is some light scrubbing of racism and (more importantly to the Stratemeyer Syndicate) disrespect to authority.
Hardy Boys
Next: 'The Twisted Claw'
Previous: 'A Figure in Hiding'
'The Secret Warning' is mostly the fun kind of bonkers in that it involes the boys (with Chet) being active crew members on a diving expedition looking for salvage, are chased by a pair of bumbling hired thugs, receive cryptic doom-saying notes, and generally have no regard for their health or Aunt Gertrude's. The negative comes with a bit of light old-timey racism including a blackface disguise and a cavalier attitude towards those with mental health problems. However, there is a scene where one of the boys must battle fierce sea-demons (octopus) to escape from a wreck alive. All in a day's work for our intrepid sleuths.
The 1966 rewrite isn't as dramatic as some. It replaces the gold bullion lost during World War I with Egyptian antiquities. Presumably there is some light scrubbing of racism and (more importantly to the Stratemeyer Syndicate) disrespect to authority.
Hardy Boys
Next: 'The Twisted Claw'
Previous: 'A Figure in Hiding'
mouseinmypocket's review
4.0
Hardy Boys novels are great for reading before bed. Exciting things happen, but I don't have to worry about anything really baf happening to the protagonists. Read this one over a couple evenings.
awamiba's review
Hardy Boys 17: The Secret Warning (Hardy Boys) by Franklin W. Dixon (1938)
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