Volcano Adventure

Hal & Roger Hunt Adventures #4

by Willard Price

One of a series of adventure stories featuring Hal and Roger Hunt. The boys are helping Dr Dan Adams to research volcanoes in the Pacific. When Mount Myojin erupts, the doctor's strange behaviour endangers them all as they flee an eruption big enough to devastate a city the size of New York.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult, American, Animals, Action

206 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Willard DeMille Price was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and moved to the US when he was four. He got his MA and Litt.D from Columbia. He held a special interest for natural history, ethnology and exploration and made numerous expeditions for the American Museum of Natural History and the National Geographic Society. Price also went on to edit various magazines on travel and world affairs and spent six years working in Japan as foreign correspondent for New York and London newspapers. He travelled in seventy-seven countries before his death in 1983.

Reviews

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok but was a bit far fetched in terms of what happened to the boys.

It is some good escapism as long as you don't have to think too much.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a few of these as a kid, but they were more my brother's thing. Now that I have my own son, I am on the lookout for good books for him.

So I picked this up and gave it a whirl. I can't say that it's as exciting as some of the more modern books in this age range (though a young boy may disagree), and a lot of it is quite dated (author was born in 1887), but in terms of character, I can't fault it.

Hal and Roger are young teens who are skipping a year of school because they're ahead of their age group. They are going on expeditions with various scientist friends of their father's. Each friend basically equals a new book, from what I can tell.

Both boys are respectful and intelligent. Roger is 14 and a bit impetuous. I think Hal is 16 and a creative problem solver.

They face the expected challenges in the form of being discounted because of their age, but they are determined and polite in their efforts to prove themselves.

So from a parenting perspective, I would be quite happy for my son to read these. From a science and social perspective, I think I would want to read each one first so I know what erroneous information might be in them.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action, adventure, survival, environment, conservation...
I loved these books when I was a kid. At the time, they seemed to border on sci-fi regarding the at-the-time-amazing technology the boys used.
Of course, looking back you can see how these stories are flawed, but I still think they are enjoyable. In fact, it would make for a really interesting middle school science project for children to read one of these books and then compare them with the knowledge of the world and technology we have today.

[Soho_Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the third novel in the Hal and Roger Hunt series lessened the amount of animal interactions, it’s still a surprise that the fourth should take the brothers to a place where natural life struggles to exist in any form. Whilst the novel has a natural follow on from the earlier ones, at least in terms of location, it’s an evolution of the focus which started in the previous novel and edges further away from the original purpose of the series.

Having spent some time in the Pacific Ocean, Hal and Roger Hunt are hired to work alongside another scientist, but this time to investigate volcanoes. Working with Dr. Dan, a volcano expert, they visit lots of volcanoes in the Pacific region, from japan to Hawaii and many smaller sites in between, to investigate their eruptions and what is going on with them all. Along the way, they visit underwater volcanoes and get stuck inside a ring of volcanoes large enough to be considered an island in their own right and which have decided to erupt at the time.

Whilst all the stories featured here are apparently true, the way they are presented as all occurring at more or less the same time, as there is little frame of reference for a timeframe in the novel, it seems just a little too unrealistic. Had this been a novel that focused on fewer events and spent more time on them, it may have been better, as there was little here that taught about volcanoes except on a very basic level, as there was little time to go over much more than the terminology before having to move on to the next piece of action.

This certainly kept the pace of the novel very high and Price’s writing style that uses mostly simple language and short chapters assists with this. However, on this occasion, where there has been a huge change of direction in the focus of the novel, it seems to be rather breathless and stifling, much like the breathing conditions the characters experience around the volcanoes, rather than exciting. Even in the rare scenes where Price returns to what he knows and there are some marine animals and diving involved, these pass all too briefly and Price repeats lines and diving instructions used in the previous novel, which an established reader of the series didn’t need.

With no human antagonist this time around, the only danger the boys experienced was from the volcanoes themselves and this didn’t do anything to add to the sense of threat in the novel. Given that the last novel introduced an effective and well-drawn human antagonist for the first time, to revolve away from that this time took something away from the novel. Admittedly, the volcano expert, Dr. Dan, was better drawn as a companion than any of the others have been so far, even if we don’t get his backstory until quite late on. I did feel that a brief side plot featuring the Japanese students they meet early on, which soon gets dropped again, was a distraction as well.

“Volcano Adventure” reads very well, as is Price’s way, but it’s a bit of a disappointment. Whereas earlier books have felt slightly educational as well as being quick reads, this time it feels as if everything has been a little bit too rushed. The removal of the animals takes something away from the feel of the series and the lack of any real threat and any antagonists, either human or animal, also takes something away from the novel, particularly as that was the strength of the previous one. There is some interesting information here and the varying kinds of volcano are good to learn a little about, but this book feels a little too rushed and only skimming the surface of what it could have been and feels like a missed opportunity to expand the series beyond what it is.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth instalment of the series sees another change-up to the animal-collecting scene, this time with Hal and Roger joining Dr. Dan and exploring volcanoes. Omo, the Lively Lady and her captain join in with the adventures for one last time, though less prominently. The other big change from not focusing on animals was the lack of a villain. Instead Dr. Dan suffers from mysterious mental health issues which are revealed by the end of the story. As always with this series, it’s always important to keep in mind the author was born and the books were written in a time of different sensibilities to today’s. Attitudes regarding race, gender and mental health have evolved since then (in theory).
Once again I really felt the impressions of being there, experiencing the things Hal and Roger did and enjoyed the (somewhat dated) educational aspect as well.

[DJ_Keyser · Rating 3 out of 5]

An always welcome return to Willard Price’s Adventure series, and this was one I had missed out reading as a child (not through lack of want—none of my local libraries had a copy). Price must’ve posthumously heard my praise of the wonderful descriptive prose he employed to depict a typhoon in a previous entry and travelled back in time to write a book almost entirely consisting of chaotic maelstrom. Whilst there is unfortunately barely a creature to be found in Hal and Roger’s Volcano Adventure, they are subjected to an almighty barrage of fire and flame in their travels across the Pacific Rim, and the wild experience makes this book worthy of inclusion in any serious boy’s own adventure canon.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the superb Diving Adventure this was the first disapointing entry in the series.

The boys do not collect wild animals but spend the book visiting endless volcanoes. Mostly seems an excuse for the author to share his own knowledge and experience.

There is not even a proper villain, instead an unstable scientist with a head injury. Omo and Captain Ike are also quiet here.

The series is very good on the whole but this is an outlier.

[Theo Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

- This book was better than the other books I've read in the series so far, it had an overall plot, and many different subsections of problems and resolutions, and I also found information about the volcano eruptions and craters to be really interesting to read about.
- I would recommend this to anyone who likes adventure or learning about volcanoes.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about two boys called Hal and Roger Hunt, who go with a scientist called Dr. Dan Adams. But he has a mental condition which is unknown to the boys, and he starts acting weirdly. My favourite part is where they climb up the volcano for research. Roger is my favourite character because he's really smart.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volcano Adventure is an entertaining book with fascinating information about volcanoes and their research. It gets a small minus because the attitude towards mental illnesses in the 1950s was distasteful.

[The Smoog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not the best of the Adventure series, though it’s still a good old-fashioned read. It’s true that it’s pretty far-fetched, but let’s face it, nobody comes to these books for gritty realism.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A bit dated and it does have some mild problematic content (racist leaning language, slight usage), but overall a good middle grade adventure tale. My kids are hooked on this series and it's a good nostalgic kick back for me.

[Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, but not as good as the other Adventure with animals.

[Jacob Shute · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book had a worse storyline than the other ones because the chapters weren’t as long and I just didn’t think that it had a good story. Overall it was an alright book. 3 stars.

[Erin Rivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanna bomb a volcano too

[Jihan Kavishka · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is a great and informative although I read the sinhala translation

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This used to be my least favourite in the collection due to its lack of a strong plot, villain, and the series' animal collecting staple, but it's grown on me over time. The likely lads are hired to study irregular volcanic activity in Japan and the Pacific under the volcano expert, Doctor Dan. Unfortunately, the good doctor is a bit touched in the head, and has seizures at critically dangerous moments. As the author's note tells us, the gang's adventures are based on real events that took place around the time Price was writing the book.

Due to the documentary realism of this entry, the overarching narrative is rather flat, although the fiery escapades are exciting enough in themselves. The facts and figures are (besides being inaccurate) a bit on the heavy side for kids, but along with the geology, there's a lot of Japanese culture shoehorned in as well; even touching on the suicide epidemic. Real events depicted include a diving bell's descent into Mihara, the sinking of the Kaiyo Maru, the exacuation of Tin Can Island, and the rescue of Hilo in Hawaii by military intervention of dropping bombs to divert a lava flow. Overall it's fun, but the books with animals are, in my opinion, better.

[Monica Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first read this book (and as many of the other books in the series that I could get my hands on), when I was 15 years old. Back then, I really enjoyed reading about the adventures that Hal and Roger had, in all these exotic places that I had never been to.

Unfortunately, the passage of time has dated this book (and probably the others too), terribly. As far as going to exotic places goes, it is still interesting. As far as the type of language used, it is kind of cringe-worthy. There are phrases which sound very patronising, others which are racist and all in all, it was a bit of an eye-opener.

This book was first written in 1956, so I guess it's understandable that in the intervening 60 years, societal attitudes have changed. I am glad that they have and I am a little sad that this book, which I had such fond memories of, hasn't fared well when looked at for a second time, over 30 years after the first.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found it interesting to learn more about volcanoes and geography and follow the story line, it did seem to cross the line repeatedly into highly improbable rescues and near death experiences for the characters. If you're familiar with the television show 24, think Jack Bauer. Would I try another in the series? Likely yes. Would both boys and girls like them? Likely so. Not quite a ringing endorsement, but adequate.

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Focusing on volcanoes rather than capturing animals, this Hal and Roger adventure is nevertheless comparatively tepid. The action does not match that of other books in the series - perhaps the chief interest is the portrayal of the Japanese in the wake of American-led reconstruction after the Second World War.

[Amanda Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's difficult to review a book I read so long ago. I read all of these adventure stories where Hal and Roger find themselves in some odd place fighting for survival.
However, I remember that this was not one of the best in the series. I preferred the sea adventures.

[Jacob Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Willard Price's books as a child, they got me to love wild animals and hate hunters and poachers. Reading as an adult these adventures seem a little juvenile.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventure series good for the Grade 3+. Interesting adventure, informative and takes you to the thrill of visiting volcanoes.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

possibly read in winter 1967

[Row · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hal and Roger can tackle any adventure that comes there way, but they'd never imagined diving into the molten heart of an active volcano. Will they survive?! Read it yourself to find out...

[Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

read Hal and Roger books as a kid. Fond memories.