The Clue of the Broken Blade (The Hardy Boys, No. 21) [Hardcover]

Franklin W. Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1942 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

While searching for the guard end of a broken saber that will solve one mystery, the Hardy brothers become involved with a gang of bank robbers.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (January 1, 1942)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448089211
• ISBN-13: 978-0448089218
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Dixon, Franklin W.
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Series > Mystery & Detective > Hardy Boys

More About the Author

Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors (Leslie McFarlane, a Canadian author being the first) who wrote The Hardy Boys novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hardys Take Up Fencing, June 5, 2005

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Clue of the Broken Blade (The Hardy Boys, No. 21) (Hardcover)

By coincidence I happened to be in one of California's wine regions when I read this book. Since a good portion of this book takes place in California's grape growing regions, I was able to imagine many of the scenes in this book quite well. Because of this coincidence, I found this book to be very enjoyable.

The Hardy boys have taken up fencing. One day their fencing master, Ettore Russo, tells the boys that he must close the fencing school because he needs to find a piece of a sword that may hold the key to his inheritance. Intrigued, the boys follow clues that lead to California, where they believe the broken piece to be. Of course, at least one other person is also looking for the sword, and that person is stopping at nothing to be sure that person locates the sword first, even if it means someone else gets hurt.

This story is relatively less complicated than many other Hardy Boys stories. To spice the story up a little the author added a subplot about a voice identification system. These systems are quite sophisticated today, but at the time this story was written the systems must have been very new.

While several other reviewers have indicated that this story is mediocre, the author paced it nicely and the story is plotted well. I found myself intrigued by the mystery of the sword, which makes this story more of a true mystery with less of a criminal subplot. Further, other than a few incidents, there is relatively less violence in this book than in many other Hardy Boys books. While the story has less action, the quality of the mystery and the accurate setting in California keep this mystery in the four star range.

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Diamond In The Ruff, April 29, 2004

By 

Scott Thiel (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Clue of the Broken Blade (The Hardy Boys, No. 21) (Hardcover)

Published in 1942 - Although I rate this book a three star which denotes an average book, I cannot slander this book for any particular reason. In fact I cannot find anything wrong with it to any degree - except for this: There are other books in the series that are better and it would be unfair to them to give this volume the same high rating as them. Broken Blade was less breath taking, less action packed and less exciting than several other HB volumes, but I still regard this as a very good volume. The plot is about a search for part of a sword and a race against time as the Hardys and unscrupulous characters hunt for the same sword simultaneously. Their objectives are the same but the goals are different. Who will find the blade first? Broken Blade is one of the least talked about HB books. People rarely list it among their best or worst and it tends to go unnoticed by comparison. RATED B-

REVISION: The 1970 revision was not as good as the first but I still regard it as a pretty good book in its own right and definitely worth reading.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Paced And Lots Of Action, November 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Clue of the Broken Blade (The Hardy Boys, No. 21) (Hardcover)

This review concerns the original 1942 edition. Mr. Hardy's case of thieves stealing merchandise as it is being unloaded from ships leads Frank and Joe into another case concerning a broken sword blade. This book is well written, fast paced, has plenty of action and has a good beginning that quickly grabs the reader. My big problem with the book was that, while Mr. Hardy played a prominent role in this book, he was the only one of the other main characters of the series to do so, since most of the book was set outside of Bayport. Still, it was a really good book that most Hardy Boys fans should enjoy.