Customer Reviews

The Viking Symbol Mystery (Hardy Boys, Book 42)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The front teaser to this book promises that this story will be one that thrills Franklin W. Dixon's legion of fans. This sentence has a couple of problems. First, Franklin W. Dixon never existed. Second, this story is far from thrilling. Indeed, this story is one of the slowest moving of the Hardy Boys series.

Frank and Joe Hardy and their friends Chet Morton, Tony Prito and Biff Hooper join Frank and Joe's famous father Fenton Hardy and his associate Sam Radley in searching for criminals around the Great Slave Lake in Canada. Mysteries abound as the friends try to learn who is robbing cabins around the lake and who has stolen a Viking rune stone that may prove that Vikings visited western Canada centuries ago, but may also be a clue to a fabulous treasure.

Unfortunately, this story seems to plod, though I am unable to point to any one reason why. I was unable to become concerned with the plight of the Hardys at any point in the novel. I think part of the reason is that the boys, their friends and their father seemed to escape from danger so readily and easily. Thus, I found it difficult to sustain any concern for any them. If the boys would have appeared to be in perilous danger and it was more difficult for them to escape, I might have more involved in the story. Instead, each time the Hardys or their friends got into any trouble, they easily got back out of trouble. I found myself wondering how quickly I could finish the book instead of being thrilled.

This story is one of the weaker stories of the first 59 books. Fans of the series will want this book to complete their collection. However, new fans should start at the beginning of the series to get a better impression of the series.

The publisher recommends the Hardy Boys series for ages 8 to 12 because the series is relatively tame for the previous target audience of ages 10 to 14. This particular book is a very good fit for the new age range. Though the Hardy Boys series contains archaic information, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are fine. 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.

This book is pretty good, because I like Canada, it contains some good plane action, and I laughed at the buffalo stampede. I'd be frozen for a day if I found a Viking rune stone. Another funny part in the story is when Chet wants to eat the bread in the cave, and his appetite brings total sucess of having solved half of the mystery. I can't imagine Chet eating rocks, or he'd eat his teeth too! In the end it seems that it's as easy to catch the theives as finding the rune stone. This was my 6th book and I really enjoyed it, as usual.

Why the Hardy Boys Book -The Viking Symbol Mystery - was good and bad


The Hardy Boys books chronicle the adventures of young detectives Frank and Joe Hardy. Frank and Joe are the sons of the famous private eye Fenton Hardy. The brothers help to solve challenging cases aided by their friends Tony, Biff and Chet. In this book the Hardys have to find a mysterious Viking rune stone that leads to a fabulous treasure. Also in pursuit of the riches is a gang of thugs led by the cunning John Kelly. Also in the gang is Abner Dulac, a desperate trapper who will go to any lengths to get the treasure. Throughout their adventures, the Hardys and their friends meet new allies like the knowledgeable trapper Caribou. They also have many clever tactics and hair rising escapes as they try to locate the rune stone and stop the gang.

This book was a pretty good read; it had lots of action and clever plans. The Hardys came up with many smart ways to capture members of the gang and to locate the rune stone. The characters were likeable and clever and the gang was a good enemy for the Hardys to go up against. My two complaints about this book would be that the dialogue sounded like something out of Scooby-Doo and the plans--although clever--were predictable in their outcomes. The author gave too many hints as to how the plans would turn out so there were really no surprises. Overall, this was a good book and I rate it three stars out of five.

I love all Hardy Boys Books, they are filled with lots of adventure and are very fun to read.

Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff go to northern Canada to locate an ancient Viking rune stone that was recently stolen from the man who found it. This is an average book, so there is not much to say about it really. The plot isn't bad and there is a moderate amount of action. Most fans will probably not be overly excited about this book, but it shouldn't bore them either.

The Viking Slmbol Mystery is a great book in my opinion.This book is not just another boring book,it is an exiting book.The chareters were very detailed.Ihad a good picture of them in my head.This book is a book that keeps you in it.I would recomind this book to you.

This book is the kind that you want to read again and again. It is about Frank and Joe who take a trip to Canada on a case because someone robbed a man of a valuable stone left by the Vikings. Carabou, a french canadian trapper was robbed of 1000.00 in cash from the sale of the stone. Will Frank and Joe find it?

The Viking symbol mystery is typical of the series full of mystery and suspence. As one chapter ends your left wondering what will happen next so you begin reading the next chapter and before you know it you've read the entire book in one sitting.

This book I rate a 1.6 in a sense. It was ok and worth reading, but was not all that wonderful. My biggest critique of this volume was simply this - and pardon me - but "American ignorance" And any Canadian will know what I'm talking about. First of all, before something goes to print - get your facts together and make sure its accurate. I see this with Scooby Doo, The Hardy Boys and other works of jeuvenille fiction. Americans think there are no English people in Canada!. The brothers travel to the Prairie provinces in Canada in this volume and meet up with who? PIERRE! A Frenchman. Everytime Americans come to Canada they run into French police officers, French fur traders, French lumberjacks etc. French people historically settled in Quebec, New Brunswick and to a lesser degree Nova Scotia - NOT the Prairies - which was settled by people of Ukranian ancestry. My problem with this volume is simply a lack of knowledge on behalf of the Syndicate. The book itself otherwise is medicore. RATED C-