#138: The Legend of the Lost Gold

This is one of the few books that I started reading when I was younger and never finished. I first picked it up because- surprise! It happens to be set in Big Sur, California, which is a seaside-forest area on the Northern coast. And if there’s one thing NorCal people like to boast about in contrast to the hot, beachy settings of Southern California (which seem to be the basis of so many stereotypes about our state), it’s the colder wilderness area of the upper part of Cali. And there are even beaches there- difference is, any girl walking around in a skimpy bikini, jumping around with her friends and taking a million pictures of how awesome they are together, is just bound to get laughed at. We love how mean we are to clueless teenagers who have never seen a cold beach before.

But back to this new mystery- Nancy travels to California with Bess and George for [what else?] another vacation. They check in at a Greek resort named Opa (which is rather random), and on their first day there someone ransacks their cabin. It turns into this huge mystery involving a legend about an old miner, Hubbard Wilson, who supposedly discovered a treasure of epic proportions. (That seems to be a weird stereotype about NorCal- that you can just dig a hole and find some gold. Trust me, it is not by any means true.) And of course, the culprit makes relentless attempts to drive the resort out of business and, for the benefit of all future criminals who dare to cross Nancy’s path, kill off our girl sleuth. Which reminds me, it’s quite remarkable that she makes it through 175 dangerous cases without dying. I don’t even know that she’s sat in a hospital bed before. As I’ve said before- invincible.

Another interesting addition to this book is a castle/mega-
mansion-type place called Cloud Palace. I suppose it was meant to sound all cool, like a castle in the clouds (which is actually fog). But the name makes it sound something like a magical place that the protagonists of a children’s fantasy film must reach after dodging unspeakable dangers (which are of a dark magic such that they’ve never seen before and that they could never perform themselves because they are the essence of innocence, or some crap).

In fact, the description of the place actually brings to mind images of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. Check it out:





I think this ghostwriter had the idea right, but should have taken the time to come up with a better name. This isn’t Pokemon, this is a Nancy Drew book. Get it together.

On a final note (and this is me being all ‘correct’ in terms of details), it drove me nuts that the author wrote an earthquake into the climax when they don't seem to know the first thing about them. Technically speaking, I can’t claim that they’ve never felt an earthquake when I don’t know the person who wrote this book and consequently I know nothing whatever about them. But by the description they’ve given, it’s just not adding up. Following a tremor (during which pebbles fall from the ceiling and walls and the cave starts to shake), the girls are a little freaked out...

“What was that?” Bess said, her voice quavering. “The ground seemed to shake a little.”
“Don’t worry,” [the culprit] said, continuing his pacing. “It’s a common impression. People who explore caves- spelunkers- always feel as if the floor and walls are moving.” (140)

Okay, I really don’t care how entranced you are by the treasure you’ve just found in an underground cave. If there’s an earthquake and pebbles are tumbling down around you, you will feel it. As long as things are swaying and/or falling, you’re not going to be the one clueless person who didn’t feel the earthquake that everyone else is talking about. And furthermore...

Another rumble began.... It sounded as if the entire earth were being torn apart above them. (142)

Basic understanding of earthquakes: they happen deep within the earth, not on the surface. That is perhaps one of the most frightening things about them- it’s not just that the lamps are swaying back and forth and dishes are rattling in the kitchen cabinets. It’s that the ground itself is moving, shaking with an intensity that no one can control or even fully predict. Perhaps being in an underground cave would be an entirely different experience, but the idea that someone could not feel the quake or might consider themselves to be momentarily separate from the event is simply absurd.

I realize it's a nitpicky thing to argue about, and considering the target audience it shouldn't really matter. But what appear to be little details are very much common knowledge, and from all the things I learned by reading Nancy Drew books as a kid, I wouldn't count earthquakes among them- if anything, that's something you learn by experience. And while we can imagine all we want, it's hard to write something you've never experienced before when you don't put the work in. You've got to earn it.