The House on the Point, by Benjamin Hoff

Benjamin Hoff, who wrote The Tao of Pooh (which I liked) and The Te of Piglet (which I did not), has set out to rewrite his beloved Hardy Boys. I must begin by saying I have never read a Hardy Boys novel, only a couple of Nancy Drews, so perhaps this book is not meant for me anyway. Actually I enjoyed the story; not having read the original it was based on, The House on the Cliff, I think the reworking worked. However some of the lingo from the 40's and 50's is a bit unnatural to read and clusters around certain scenes rather than organically sprinkled throughout. His lists of items included in various kits are a bit tedious. Another minor annoyance is his tendency toward being pedantic and bemoaning the ills of an unenlightened society (which is why I did not like The Te of Piglet). He simply cannot resist trying to teach us a lesson and includes a 25 page essay on "The Art of Seeing" which I skipped because my @** was twitching. These annoyances oddly enough did not actually detract from the story. They simply highlighted Hoff's inexperience with period fiction.