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Books to read if you're planning a vacation in "Hardy", sorted by average review score:
Chataine's Guardian
Published in Hardcover by Word Publishing (June, 1984)
Average review score: 
A great read for teenage girls!My sister bought this book for herself and then passed it along to me.I've read it at least fifty times!It's a classic story of a bratty princess(though she's called a 'Chataine' in the book)who eventually falls for her faithful guardian.One of the things that appealed to me was the age difference between Deirdre and Roman(the two main characters).It was encouraging to see maturity and character outweigh handsomeness and charm.The story is told from an angel's point of view(Deirdre's guardian angel)to parallel Roman's guardianship to her.Early on she is dubious of his apparant faith in 'God' but later recognizes His Hand in guarding her life.The story is running over with plot,such as assasination attempts on Deirdre(she's the king's only heir),kidnapping,romance,deception,even murder.This story is absolutely riviting and inspiring,which I believe is rare in the Christian book world.I also highly recomend the two other books in the series,'Stone of Help',in which Deirdre and her newly born baby are kidnapped,separated,and sold as slaves to a neighboring country's queen,and 'Liberation of Lystra' which is a story of combating supernatural forces.I've been searching for the next book in the series for quite some time but I've been unsucessful.If it hasn't been written yet I hope it will soon be.Recomended age of reader:12-18
This book is excellant for all readers.I am a Christian young lady who enjoys romance novels. Robin Hardy has written a series of books that are suitable for Christian readers. I enjoyed this book so much that I read it six times while waiting on the rest of the sequel. Hardy made the characers in this book real to me, allowing me to go through their trials, their fear, their happiness, and their love with them.
Fascinating characters and story line--Couldn't put it down!I have been an avid reader all my life, but very few books have captivated my imagination so much I stayed up all hours of the night to read them. The Chataine's Guardian went with me everywhere I went - I couldn't wait to find out what happened next!
All of the characters have real depth, and the storyline really keeps you guessing. I fell in love with Goldie and Roman and couldn't wait to find out how (or if!) they would get together.
After reading this book and the two sequels, I was disappointed that the world of the Chataine's Guardian had ended! So I started the first book again, this time reading it aloud to my pre-teen son. He loved it, too! He never let me miss a night of reading, and often asked for more than one chapter at a time. He even named his two goldfish Goldie and Roman!
Secrets of the Nile (Keene, Carolyn. Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery.)
Published in Paperback by Archway (November, 1995)
Average review score:
One of my favorites!I thought this book was really cool. Something happens between Nancy and Frank, but I'm not going to say what. Anyway, the Nancy & Frank aspect is very exciting. The action is good, the plot is good, but I mostly read these books because of Nancy and Frank. I mean, Frank's girlfriend Callie never helps on cases (she's a very wimpy girl) and we all know who would win if she and Nancy fought it out. Frank should dump the wench. Likewise with Nancy's boyfriend Ned, except that when he helps on a case, which is rare because he's always at "college" (what's he been doing there all these years, throwing frat parties?), he does something stupid like getting kidnapped. Frank and Nancy need to lose Callie and Ned, and go out with each other. Frank cares about Nancy a lot more than Ned does. Maybe Callie and Ned should hook up and leave Frank and Nancy alone. Back to the point, though, the book is really good and I think almost anyone would like it.
Nancy and FrankHi! I haven't read this book yet, but I heard it was really good, and I have to say that I think Nancy and Frank should get together because they both like each other. Yeah I know Ned really like's Nancy and Nancy really like's Ned they are just not made for each other. Nancy like's mysteries and Ned doesn't like Nancy running after mysteries. I mean Ned cares for Nancy. Frank loves mysteries and he loves it when Nancy helps him with a mystery. I dont think Frank and Callie should be together. I have read a few of the Hardy Boys books and you almost never here about Callie. I read The Last Resort and Frank and Nancy kiss! Thats how I can tell Frank and Nancy like each other.
Hey e-mail me at onavy100@aol.com and tell me do you think Nancy Hardy sounds good or Nancy Nickerson???
RomanticI recommend this book to any book lover! It has mystery & suspense, action & adventure and romance. I love the Nancy and Frank story. He notices every little thing about her. Like how good he thought she looked when they were in the airplane and how beautiful she seemed in front of an exotic sunset backdrop. I love the part when Frank was trapped in a coffin and all his regrets and hopes all washed down on him. And when he saw all the times he could have told her how he felt. I also love the scene in the cab and they were about to kiss.
And when the case ended and Frank and Nancy went out to the hotel's balcony and it was Nancy's turn to feel regret. That she was gonna go back to the States the next day. How she would leave the fantasy of playing Frank's wife and feeling his closeness. And how Frank sort of read her mind, turned her around and kissed her. And how she pulled back because she felt guilty. and the funny part when Bess walked in on their intimate and serious conversation about how they could never be and Frank's reluctantly agreeing with her. It was such a beautiful scene, the Egyptian desert in the background and the sun rising. And how he hugged her. They are meant to be. They shouldn't have left each other! They should've stayed together!
Why Daddy, Why?
Published in Paperback by Writers Club Press (April, 2002)
Average review score:
Fantastic Book!I never do much reading. I went to have my windshield replaced and they told me that it would take a while. My wife had this book in the car that she just bought so I picked it up and started to read it to pass the time.
When I got home, my wife wanted her book but I wasn't about to let it go until I finished reading it! but it didn't take long because I couldn't put it down.
"Why Daddy Why", is a book that everyone should read! it's a rude awakening to things all around you but no one really wants to look!
I can't believe the things that this girl went through.
You need to get this book and read it! and it's real easy to read.
It say's right on the book that there are no words that you can't pronounce or understand. How true that statement is.
Very powerful book!
When I got home, my wife wanted her book but I wasn't about to let it go until I finished reading it! but it didn't take long because I couldn't put it down.
"Why Daddy Why", is a book that everyone should read! it's a rude awakening to things all around you but no one really wants to look!
I can't believe the things that this girl went through.
You need to get this book and read it! and it's real easy to read.
It say's right on the book that there are no words that you can't pronounce or understand. How true that statement is.
Very powerful book!
A true story, heartrending but full of love and hopeThis book about extreme cruelty by a daddy for his children and his loving wife is written simply and from the heart, much of it from the point of view of the little girl Emelia who suffered unimaginable torture at the hands of her abusive, alcoholic father. "I wrote this book simply, like a little girl but with the heart of a woman," the author says. "You will find no words that you can't pronounce or understand. What you will find is the open heart of a little girl, then of the woman she became." The author goes on to give a vivid and heartfelt account of the abuse the same little girl suffered at the hands of nuns...The picture she paints is made all the more poignant by ...[other terrible events]
The book shows how the shadow of a father's cruelty can be cast over the whole life of a child--a child who, in this instance, never failed to turn the other cheek, or return love for cruelty and abuse, who manifested, in the end, the overriding power and strength of Christ who advocated love above all things. The book is a protest against domestic violence and institutionalised cruelty, and will hopefully stand as a beacon and warning against the violations suffered by so many Emelias whose heartfelt cries go unheard behind the closed or locked doors of our apparently respectable western civilization.
The book shows how the shadow of a father's cruelty can be cast over the whole life of a child--a child who, in this instance, never failed to turn the other cheek, or return love for cruelty and abuse, who manifested, in the end, the overriding power and strength of Christ who advocated love above all things. The book is a protest against domestic violence and institutionalised cruelty, and will hopefully stand as a beacon and warning against the violations suffered by so many Emelias whose heartfelt cries go unheard behind the closed or locked doors of our apparently respectable western civilization.
This book, by an angel of the Lord, will make you cry but fill you with hope and the love of God.
Get Your Kleenex!!I've read the book twice!! I was afraid that I missed something the first time. I cannot believe how powerful this story is. I was intrigued with page one. How one family could have gone through so much is beyond me. I was brought to tears many times and actually had to put the book down for a few hours because I was so distraught over what I had read. I cannot imagine what horrible things happened that we didn't read about and the writer having to relive these moments in order to tell her story. I can only hope that this family has overcome the tragic events that have taken place in there life. My heart goes out to this little girl and her brothers and sister. My heart also goes out to the mother of this little girl, who should have died many times but her sheer will and determination kept this woman going, and her desire to get her children away from this evil man. May god bless and take care of this family as they continue on there journey in this world and into the next.
The Last Resort (Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Supermystery)
Published in Paperback by Simon Pulse (May, 1991)
Average review score:
I have not read the book but....My god! I did not realize how many people felt the same way about the Frank and Nancy situation as I did! I mean, What Carolyn Keene and or Franklin Dixon need to do is just get Callie and Ned out of the picture and get Frank and Nancy together. I mean, come on in Secrets of the Nile, they defenatly had sparks between them, especially at the end of the book. Any girl knows that you can not wish for a guy to kiss you like that, and then say "Well, I'm in love with my current boyfriend right now, even though I think about you night and day, whenever we're together on case" That's just craziness! I know that this is just a book, but come on! I just want to see one series when Frank and Nancy are together and I don't care who writes the thing. Heck, if I get the support for it, I'll write the series, if I could get the copyrights to it. Anyways, email me at ... and tell me what you think!
If you can find it, you should read it.This book was cool because Nancy & Frank... Well, you'll have to find out. Honestly, though, if you were trapped in a cabin with a really hot guy (or girl) and you thought you were going to die, what would you do? Nancy should end up with Frank because Ned is a total wimp and he always tells her to drop her cases. Frank doesn't do that, he helps her get them solved. What a pair they make!
Great Book!This was a really good book. I loved how there was a good mystery plot and there was romance too. I hated how Ned showed up though. He needs to get a life, he is so insecure. Oh well, I loved the part where Frank and Nancy were in the cabin alone together...that was great. Anyone who hasn't read the book, must! It was really good! And if you liked the Nancy and Frank relationship, read Secrets of the Nile!
Master of the Five Magics
Published in Paperback by Ballantine Books (May, 1991)
Average review score:
A truly great readLike some other reviewers, I can't remember exactly when I read this, but it seems like freshman year in high school. I just found my old copy of this book in storage, and I suddenly rememebred how incredible this book is. I remember following Alodar through his trials and his desperate search for some way to win a queen's hand. I remember how he went through each of the 5 magics in the hopes of finding something that could aid him in his quest for a woman, and how he in turn becomes involved in a much greater plan. l also rememeber how I threw this book across the room several times because I was so SICK of Alodar getting repeatedly shafted by others that benefited from his hard work. But, most of all, I remember how I actually yelled out with joy (in the middle of class no less) as I read the story's climax. It is that good, and well worth the wait. This book is flawless and fascinating. I can't wait to read it again.
Fantastic Story!It is my understanding that Mr. Hardy is no longer writing. What a shame. In his few books he gave the fantasy world a talent that few others have shown, and it's been around 20 years since I read this book.
His system of magic and magic use is one of the most logical and well-thought out I have ever read. It's rare that a fantasy novel actually shows how a wizard became a wizard. All the work and practice that goes into it.
Do yourself a favor and find a copy at a used book store or online. You will not regret it.
A definite must-readAs my bookshelves continue to grow, I can name only a handful of books that I continue revisit time and time again. Duncan's Magic Casement series. Feist's Riftwar. Moon's Saga of Paksenarrion. And above all, Hardy's Master of the Five Magics.
Hardy's spellbinding tale of Alodar's quest through the five paths of magic, and the climactic culmination of his talents at the end, is a thrilling adventure no matter how many times you've read it. Hardy's detailed explanations of the tenets of each of the magical paths are some of the most logical I've ever encountered in this genre.
The only negative thing I can say about this book is that the romantic scenes read like a daytime soap opera, and not a particularly good one at that. Fortunately they only last a page or two, and then our hero is back on his quest.
Master of the Five Magics is simple to read, complex in scope, and thorougly compelling to the last page. Get it if you can find it; you'll probably never sell it.
Hunting for Hidden Gold (Hardy Boys, 5)
Published in Audio Cassette by Imagination Studio (February, 2003)
Average review score:
Once you start reading, you cant stopHardy Boys, Hunting for Hidden Gold is one of the best books I have read in my life. It combines mystery, adventure, and suspense all crammed in one book. The Hardy Boys series is a really great series. I usually don't like mystery books but this one is really good.Unlike some books that have boring parts. Hunting for Hidden Gold doesn't have any boring parts. That is very good. I really don't like parts where they just talk and talk about boring things that don't interest me. The Hardy Boys have been around for awhile and people still read them. Hardy Boys can be read by all ages. it is not really hard to read. In the whole Hardy Boys series there are 58 books. I am looking forward to reading more books from the series. Hunting for Hidden Gold is a sort of long book. It is about 150 pages long. That is not too long but it is not very short either. Since it is long, it gets lots of action in it. If it was any longer, it would have some boring parts in it. In conclusion, this book deserves five stars.
Incredible!!... This book is excellent; definately one of the top three of the series. The action starts on page 1 and doesn't let up until the book is finished. Hunting For Hidden Gold has perhaps the best mystery out of all of the books in the series and is written quite well unlike most of the books put out after the early 1950s. The book is very exciting, as quite often Frank and Joe are chasing, or being chased by, the criminals. Definately one of the best, no Hardy Boys fan should miss this one.
Exiting, Fun, and a little Scary!If you like to explore secret passage ways or disguise yourself as someone else, if you like to go on adventures and fight the bad guy while solving a mystery, than this is the book for you. I have read several of the Hardy Boys Mysteries that happened before this and this was one of my favorites! Not only will you read just how the boys escape from the bad guys but also you can learn some nice, cunning tricks to make your enemy run!
Bleak House (Everyman's Library Series)
Published in Hardcover by Everyman's Library (October, 1991)
Average review score:
Nothing bleak about this...After years without picking up a novel by Dickens (memories of starchy classes at school), I decided to plunge into "Bleak House", a novel that had been sitting on my bookshelf for about ten years, waiting to be read. Although I found it heavy going at first, mainly because the style is so unfamiliar to modern readers, after about ten pages I was swept up and carried off, unable to put the hefty tome down until I had finished it. This book is a definite classic. The sheer scope of the tale, the wit of the satire (which could still be applied to many legal proceedings today) and the believable characters gripped me up until the magnificent conclusion. One particularly striking thing is the "cinematic" aspect of certain chapters as they switch between different angles, building up to a pitch that leaves the reader breathless. I can't recommend "Bleak House" too highly. And I won't wait so long before reading more Dickens novels.
Magnificent House.This is the second book by Dickens I have read so far, but it will not be the last. "Bleak House" is long, tightly plotted, wonderfully descriptive, and full of memorable characters. Dickens has written a vast story centered on the Jarndyce inheritance, and masterly manages the switches between third person omniscient narrator and first person limited narrator. His main character Esther never quite convinces me of her all-around goodness, but the novel is so well-written that I just took Esther as she was described and ran along with the story. In this book a poor boy (Jo) will be literally chased from places of refuge and thus provide Dickens with one of his most powerful ways to indict a system that was particularly cruel to children. Mr. Skimpole, pretending not to be interested in money; Mr. Jarndyce, generous and good; Richard, stupid and blind; the memorable Dedlocks, and My Lady Dedlock's secret being uncovered by the sinister Mr. Tulkinghorn; Mrs. Jellyby and her telescopic philanthropy; the Ironmaster described in Chapter 28, presenting quite a different view of industralization than that shown by Dickens in his next work, "Hard Times." Here is a veritable cosmos of people, neighbors, friends, enemies, lovers, rivals, sinners, and saints, and Dickens proves himself a true master at describing their lives and the environment they dwell in. There are landmark chapters: Chapter One must be the best description of a dismal city under attack by dismal weather and tightly tied by perfectly dismal laws, where the Lord Chancellor sits eternally in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Chapter 32 has one of the eeriest scenes ever written, with suspicious smoke, greasy and reeking, as a prelude to a grisly discovery. Chapter 47 is when Jo cannot "move along" anymore. This Norton Critical is perhaps the best edition of "Bleak House" so far: the footnotes help a lot, and the two Introductions are key to understanding the Law system at the time the action takes place, plus Dickens' interest in this particular topic. To round everything off, read also the criticism of our contemporaries, as well as that of Dickens' time. "Bleak House" is a long, complex novel that opens a window for us to another world. It is never boring and, appearances to the contrary, is not bleak. Enjoy.
Deep, dark, delicious Dickens!"There is little to be satisfied in reading this book"?? I couldn't disagree more. Bleak House left a profound impression on me, and was so utterly satisfying a reading experience that I wanted it never to end. I've read it twice over the years and look forward to reading it again. Definitely my favorite novel.
I don't know what the previous reviewer's demands are when reading a novel, but mine are these: the story must create its world - whatever and wherever that world might be - and make me BELIEVE it. If the novelist cannot create that world in my mind, and convince me of its truths, they've wasted my time (style doesn't matter - it can be clean and spare like Orwell or verbose like Dickens, because any style can work in the hands of someone who knows how to use it). Many novels fail this test, but Bleak House is not one of them.
Bleak House succeeds in creating a wonderfully dark and complex spider web of a world. On the surface it's unfamiliar: Victorian London and the court of Chancery - obviously no one alive today knows that world first hand. And yet as you read it you know it to be real: the deviousness, the longing, the secrets, the bureaucracy, the overblown egos, the unfairness of it all. Wait a minute... could that be because all those things still exist today?
But it's not all doom and gloom. It also has Dickens's many shades of humor: silliness, word play, comic dialogue, preposterous characters with mocking names, and of course a constant satirical edge. It also has anger and passion and tenderness.
I will grant one thing: if you don't love reading enough to get into the flow of Dickens's sentences, you'll probably feel like the previous reviewer that "...it goes on and on, in interminable detail and description...". It's a different dance rhythm folks, but well worth getting used to. If you have to, work your way up to it. Don't start with a biggie like Bleak House, start with one of his wonderful short pieces such as A Christmas Carol.
Dickens was a gifted storyteller and Bleak House is his masterpiece. If you love to dive into a book, read and enjoy this gem!
Double Crossing (Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mystery, No 1)
Published in Paperback by Simon Pulse (June, 1988)
Average review score:
Double CrossingI love Double Crossing well I love any Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Supermystery well for that matter I love any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mysterys period ,Anyway in Double Crossing Nan is all set to get aboard a cruise ship for a little fun in the sun vacation,but as she gets aboard she runs into Frank Hardy undercover as the S.S.Duchess's photographer,and finds out that he and Joe are working undercover,Oh and Joe's working as 1 of the kitchen's busboys,but when Nan overhears a plan to sell CIA secrets to another country, her vacation turns into a high-risk hunt for a deadly secret agent,but when murder comes aboard the slueths find they're in the same boat- facing death on all sides. there is some romantic parts with Nan and Frank but nothing big,I wish there was some more romance between them though ,thats always my favorite parts in the book.
WONDERFUL BOOK!!!This was the first book I read in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys super mystery book and it is by far the best. I think that the plot is great and I really like the way they solve it.
An Excellent Start to an Excellent SeriesThis was quite a page-turner! I remember the first time that I read this book. I think that I was about 13 or 14 years old. Great stuff! I had read a few Hardy Boys books before, but I liked this a lot better. I really liked Nancy, and the plot was given about 50 more pages to develop. There are plenty of surprises and nail-biting suspense (if you're a young teenager). The search for a spy is central, with a nice sideplot about a thief on the ship. The ending blew me away! The first book in the series, and from what I've read, far and away the best.
H.M.S. Surprise
Published in Audio Cassette by Bantam Books-Audio (September, 1998)
Average review score: 
Aubrey's and Maturin's Indian Voyage"H.M.S. Surprise", the third installment in Patrick O'Brian's magnificient Aubrey/Maturin series is set aboard Aubrey's favorite ship, the slender ex-French frigate Surprise, during a mission to Indian waters. Here O'Brian demonstrates again his great affinity for natural history, portraying Maturin as a fictitious predecessor to the likes of Charles Darwin and Alfred R. Wallace. Meanwhile both he and Aubrey must ponder how they can thwart a French flotilla from seizing the China fleet. Readers will treasure O'Brian's elegant prose and mesmerizing descriptions of natural history and sea battles.
Excellent"H.M.S. Surprise" is Patrick O'Brian's third book in his epic 20-volume 19th-century maritime series. Captain Jack Aubrey, on blockade duty along France's southern coast, must extricate his friend, ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, from a delicate situation. Then, aboard the H.M.S. Surprise they sail to South America, India and beyond, weathering storms, battling enemies, and stewing over their respective romances.
Once again O'Brian delivers an excellent book, spare prose and nautical realism sweep the reader on deck. And, of course, the ending is a cliff-hanger, so you'll have to read the next book.
No better historical fiction has been written.I read the first two in the Aubrey/Maturin series (Master and Commander and Post Captain) a few years ago and liked them. In an idle moment, I recently picked up HMS Surprise and glanced at the first page. Thirty minutes later I was still reading and within the week I had finished the book. Unfortunately my vocabulary cannot do justice to describing just how good this book is. The characterizations are sympathetic and acute, the descriptions of seafaring are hypnotic and the battle scenes are wonderful. These books are not pulp fiction, but finely wrought and accurate depictions of the world nearly two centuries ago. Some of O'Brian's observations are so good, I felt like applauding at times. These books require some patience and discipline, but the pay-off is immense. I'm only sorry that it looks like I'm on the slippery slope that will lead to reading the 17 or 18 other novels in the series. I'm just too busy to read them right now, but there may not be anything I can do about it. If you want books to truly transport you somewhere else, this is the series.
What Happened at Midnight (Hardy Boys Mystery Stories, 10.)
Published in Hardcover by Applewood Books (April, 2000)
Average review score:
Better Than The Original EditionThis review concerns the revised 1967 edition. Mr. Hardy asks Frank and Joe to "break into" the house of a neighbour and retrieve a secret invention to prevent it from being stolen by a gang of thieves he is currently investigating. Later, at a party at Chet's home, Joe is kidnapped at the stroke of midnight. Frank, along with some friends, must find Joe and learn why he was kidnapped; as well, the Hardy's have to keep the gang from stealing the invention. Personally, I preferred this edition to the original. The original edition was better written; although, that is true in most cases. However, I found that revised edition had a more interesting mystery and it had a lot more action. I don't consider this book to be one of the best of the series, but it is far from being one of the worst.
An Average BookThis review concerns the original 1931 edition. At the stroke of midnight, Joe is kidnapped from a party at the Morton farm and Frank and his chums set out, not only to find Joe, but to discover why he was kidnapped. I'd more accurately give the book a rating of 3.5 stars. The writing, like with all previous volumes, is excellent and the mystery is alright, but the book doesn't quite live up to the intriguing title. Mr. Hardy does not make an appearance in the book as he is said to be on a case out West and, in my opinion, his omission only hurts the story. Most readers would probably not rate this book as one of their favorites in the set, but they probably wouldn't rate it as one of their least favorites either.
Midnight MadnessThe odd thing about this book is that all the action occurs at the stroke of twelve midnight. The book starts with the Hardys breaking into a house, with Mr. Hardy's permission! They take a top-secret invention to hide for the owner. This is when the action begins. Then while at a party, Iola spots someone snopping around the brothers' car. When Joe goes after him, he ends up being kidnapped. Follow the adventure as Frank tries to find his brother and crack the case! This is one of my personal favorites!