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Wikipedia

Rick Brant

January 01, 1970

For the Canadian athlete, see Rick Brant (athlete).

Rick Brant is the central character in a series of 24 adventure and mystery novels by John Blaine, a pseudonym for authors Harold L. Goodwin (all titles) and Peter J. Harkins (co-author of the first three). The series was published by Grosset & Dunlap between 1947 and 1968, with the previously unpublished title The Magic Talisman printed in 1990 in a limited edition as the concluding #24.[1]

Rick Brant
Volume 1
AuthorJohn Blaine, pseudonym
Harold L. Goodwin
Peter J. Harkins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreAdventure
Science
PublisherGrosset & Dunlap
Published1947-1990 (#1-24)
Media typePrint

Description edit

The Rick Brant series has a scientific tone and was taglined as "Electronic Adventures", "Science-Adventure Stories", and finally "SCIENCE Adventures". The science in the stories is realistic, unlike the more fantastic science of Tom Swift, Jr. In the series, Rick Brant lives on Spindrift Island off the coast of New Jersey, where his father heads the Spindrift Foundation, a group of scientists. Rick is involved in various adventures at home and abroad.

The series is divided between stories that take place in the United States and in foreign countries. The Spindrift Foundation sends scientific expeditions to various foreign locations, with Rick sent along as an assistant. In the United States the stories take place in New Jersey, Nevada, Virginia, and Washington D.C. The foreign locales include the Virgin Islands, Tibet, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Tahiti, India, Nepal, Egypt, Nigeria, and Europe. For most of the series the locale alternates from the United States to a foreign land, with some exceptions.

Hal Goodwin was a popular science writer with a strong technical background and a sense of style unusual in the juvenile adventure-series field. The books are suspenseful, well-plotted, atmospheric, and enriched by humor and acute characterization as well as personal experience. Exotic locales such as tropical islands, the Philippine jungles, and the Himalayas are given vivid and well-researched depictions, as are a variety of specialized hobbies and professions, such as scuba diving, infrared photography, home rocketry, and the inevitable espionage work. Like the Ken Holt mystery series, the tales appeal to a slightly older audience than do comparable Grosset & Dunlap series. Ken Holt had a crossover cameo in The Flying Stingaree, and Rick lent some of his gadgets to Ken in The Mystery of the Plumed Serpent, by agreement of the two authors.

Rick is also a private pilot who owns his own airplanes and uses them in a number of the books. His first plane was a Piper Cub, presumably a Piper J-4, and his second was a "Sky Wagon", presumably a Cessna 180 Skywagon.

Main characters edit

  • Rick Brant, the teenaged hero of the stories, son of Hartson Brant the leader of the Spindrift Foundation
  • Donald "Scotty" Scott, his ex-Marine pal, and his sidekick in most of the events

Secondary characters edit

  • Barbara "Barby" Brant, Rick's younger sister
  • Chahda, a resourceful youth from India, who learned everything he knows, including how to speak English, from reading an old edition of the World Almanac
  • Janice Miller (Jan), daughter of Dr. Walter Miller, a Spindrift scientist; Barbara's friend.
  • Dismal, the Brant family dog
  • Steve Ames, an agent of "JANIG", the fictional Joint Army-Navy Intelligence Group
  • Mrs. Brant, Rick's mother; her given name is never mentioned.

Various Spindrift scientists also appear through the series:

Publishing status edit

The publishers were averse to any suggestion of the supernatural in the series. An ambiguous end to The Blue Ghost Mystery was dropped, and an entire book (The Magic Talisman) was rejected due to its inclusion of ESP elements. This lost tale was eventually published in an independent edition in 1990.

Beginning in the 1980s, Grosset & Dunlap began transferring the copyrights to Hal Goodwin. The rights are now held by the John Blaine/Rick Brant Trust. The Goodwin family has been working to bring the works back in print, starting with the rarer final four books.

Rick Brant never graduated to any other medium of entertainment, although there are notable similarities to be found in the Jonny Quest franchise.

On November 9, 2010 an e-book, The Rick Brant Science-Adventure Series, was released on Amazon for the Kindle eReader containing eleven of the original novels.

List of titles edit

  1. The Rocket's Shadow (1947) Rick meets Scotty and investigates sabotage of Spindrift's experimental rocket.
  2. The Lost City (1947) Rick and Scotty journey to the Himalayas to set up a relay station to bounce a radar signal off the moon. (Chahda character introduced.)
  3. Sea Gold (1947) Rick and Scotty get jobs at a new plant to extract minerals from sea water, and investigate possible sabotage.
  4. 100 Fathoms Under (1947) Rick and Scotty travel to the South Pacific in search of an ancient archaeological artifact.
  5. The Whispering Box Mystery (1948) Rick and Scotty race against time to stop a ring of spies from using a paralyzing weapon to steal government secrets. (JANIG and Steve Ames character introduced.)
  6. The Phantom Shark (1949) Rick and Scotty cross paths with a nefarious pearl thief in the South Pacific.
  7. Smugglers' Reef (1950) Rick and Scotty use an infrared camera to gather evidence against smugglers.
  8. The Caves of Fear (1951) Rick and Scotty travel to the Himalayas again, this time to stop nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands.
  9. Stairway to Danger (1952) Rick and Scotty battle a hardened and desperate criminal in an abandoned amusement park.
  10. The Golden Skull (1954) Rick and Scotty search for a sacred relic in the Philippines.
  11. The Wailing Octopus (1956) On a skin-diving vacation in the Virgin Islands, Rick and Scotty stumble across deadly spies.
  12. The Electronic Mind Reader (1957) Rick and Scotty are shocked as one scientist after another falls victim to a diabolical machine. (Janice Miller character introduced.)
  13. The Scarlet Lake Mystery (1958) Rick and Scotty visit a rocket base in Nevada, and encounter sabotage and a life or death situation for Rick.
  14. The Pirates of Shan (1958) Rick and Scotty search for Spindrift scientists kidnapped by pirates in the Philippines.
  15. The Blue Ghost Mystery (1960) Rick and Scotty's Virginia vacation turns into an encounter with what seems to be a Civil War ghost.
  16. The Egyptian Cat Mystery (1961) Rick and Scotty travel to Egypt and discover that an apparently unassuming cat figurine holds a secret.
  17. The Flaming Mountain (1962) Rick and Scotty aid the Spindrift Foundation's mission to save an island from an active volcano.
  18. The Flying Stingaree (1963) Intrigued by mysterious UFO sightings, Rick and Scotty battle against a group of crafty spies.
  19. The Ruby Ray Mystery (1964) Rick and Scotty walk the line between East and West only to have their allegiance questioned and their lives placed in jeopardy.
  20. The Veiled Raiders (1965) Rick and Scotty go to Nigeria to test laser/satellite communication, and are taken prisoner in the Sahara by hostile natives.
  21. Rocket Jumper (1966) Rick and Scotty use a rocket pack to save their loved ones from a fearsome plot.
  22. The Deadly Dutchman (1967) Rick and Scotty's tour of Europe is interrupted by a fiendish gem trader.
  23. Danger Below! (1968) Rick and Scotty probe the cause of the sinking of an oil rig off Spindrift.
  24. The Magic Talisman (1990) Rick and Scotty investigate mysterious goings-on in a house used for a dinner theater magic show. Unpublished by Grosset & Dunlap, this title was published by Manuscript Press in a limited edition of 500 copies.
  • Rick Brant's Science Projects (1960) Rick and Scotty explain the secrets behind many of the inventions, codes, and logic used in their adventures.

Titles included in eBook edit

  • #7 – Smugglers' Reef
  • #8 – The Caves of Fear
  • #10 – The Golden Skull
  • #11 – The Wailing Octopus
  • #12 – The Electronic Mind Reader
  • #13 – The Scarlet Lake Mystery
  • #14 – The Pirates of Shan
  • #15 – The Blue Ghost Mystery
  • #16 – The Egyptian Cat Mystery
  • #17 – The Flaming Mountain
  • #18 – The Flying Stingaree

These titles are also available from Project Gutenberg.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ Axe, John (2002). All About Collecting Boys' Series Books. Hobby House Press, Inc.
  2. ^ "Books by Godwin, Harold L." Project Gutenberg.

External links edit

  • Rick Brant Science Adventure series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  • The Rick Brant Science-Adventure Series at series-books.com
  • – Rick Brant website – archived
  • at the Series Bookcase (series.net), archived 2013-10-26
  • The Rick Brant Science-Adventure Series at Amazon
  • Rick Brant at SeriesBooks.info
  • John Blaine at Library of Congress, with 23 library catalog records
  • Rick Brant series at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

January 01, 1970
rick, brant, canadian, athlete, athlete, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sc. For the Canadian athlete see Rick Brant athlete This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rick Brant news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Rick Brant is the central character in a series of 24 adventure and mystery novels by John Blaine a pseudonym for authors Harold L Goodwin all titles and Peter J Harkins co author of the first three The series was published by Grosset amp Dunlap between 1947 and 1968 with the previously unpublished title The Magic Talisman printed in 1990 in a limited edition as the concluding 24 1 Rick BrantVolume 1AuthorJohn Blaine pseudonym Harold L Goodwin Peter J HarkinsCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreAdventure SciencePublisherGrosset amp DunlapPublished1947 1990 1 24 Media typePrint Contents 1 Description 2 Main characters 3 Secondary characters 4 Publishing status 5 List of titles 5 1 Titles included in eBook 6 References 7 External linksDescription editThe Rick Brant series has a scientific tone and was taglined as Electronic Adventures Science Adventure Stories and finally SCIENCE Adventures The science in the stories is realistic unlike the more fantastic science of Tom Swift Jr In the series Rick Brant lives on Spindrift Island off the coast of New Jersey where his father heads the Spindrift Foundation a group of scientists Rick is involved in various adventures at home and abroad The series is divided between stories that take place in the United States and in foreign countries The Spindrift Foundation sends scientific expeditions to various foreign locations with Rick sent along as an assistant In the United States the stories take place in New Jersey Nevada Virginia and Washington D C The foreign locales include the Virgin Islands Tibet Hong Kong the Philippines Tahiti India Nepal Egypt Nigeria and Europe For most of the series the locale alternates from the United States to a foreign land with some exceptions Hal Goodwin was a popular science writer with a strong technical background and a sense of style unusual in the juvenile adventure series field The books are suspenseful well plotted atmospheric and enriched by humor and acute characterization as well as personal experience Exotic locales such as tropical islands the Philippine jungles and the Himalayas are given vivid and well researched depictions as are a variety of specialized hobbies and professions such as scuba diving infrared photography home rocketry and the inevitable espionage work Like the Ken Holt mystery series the tales appeal to a slightly older audience than do comparable Grosset amp Dunlap series Ken Holt had a crossover cameo in The Flying Stingaree and Rick lent some of his gadgets to Ken in The Mystery of the Plumed Serpent by agreement of the two authors Rick is also a private pilot who owns his own airplanes and uses them in a number of the books His first plane was a Piper Cub presumably a Piper J 4 and his second was a Sky Wagon presumably a Cessna 180 Skywagon Main characters editRick Brant the teenaged hero of the stories son of Hartson Brant the leader of the Spindrift Foundation Donald Scotty Scott his ex Marine pal and his sidekick in most of the eventsSecondary characters editBarbara Barby Brant Rick s younger sister Chahda a resourceful youth from India who learned everything he knows including how to speak English from reading an old edition of the World Almanac Janice Miller Jan daughter of Dr Walter Miller a Spindrift scientist Barbara s friend Dismal the Brant family dog Steve Ames an agent of JANIG the fictional Joint Army Navy Intelligence Group Mrs Brant Rick s mother her given name is never mentioned Various Spindrift scientists also appear through the series Hartson Brant world famous scientist and Rick s father Hobart Zircon a physicist Julius Weiss a mathematician Parnell Winston a cyberneticist Tony Briotti an archaeologist John Gordon a rocket designerPublishing status editThe publishers were averse to any suggestion of the supernatural in the series An ambiguous end to The Blue Ghost Mystery was dropped and an entire book The Magic Talisman was rejected due to its inclusion of ESP elements This lost tale was eventually published in an independent edition in 1990 Beginning in the 1980s Grosset amp Dunlap began transferring the copyrights to Hal Goodwin The rights are now held by the John Blaine Rick Brant Trust The Goodwin family has been working to bring the works back in print starting with the rarer final four books Rick Brant never graduated to any other medium of entertainment although there are notable similarities to be found in the Jonny Quest franchise On November 9 2010 an e book The Rick Brant Science Adventure Series was released on Amazon for the Kindle eReader containing eleven of the original novels List of titles editThe Rocket s Shadow 1947 Rick meets Scotty and investigates sabotage of Spindrift s experimental rocket The Lost City 1947 Rick and Scotty journey to the Himalayas to set up a relay station to bounce a radar signal off the moon Chahda character introduced Sea Gold 1947 Rick and Scotty get jobs at a new plant to extract minerals from sea water and investigate possible sabotage 100 Fathoms Under 1947 Rick and Scotty travel to the South Pacific in search of an ancient archaeological artifact The Whispering Box Mystery 1948 Rick and Scotty race against time to stop a ring of spies from using a paralyzing weapon to steal government secrets JANIG and Steve Ames character introduced The Phantom Shark 1949 Rick and Scotty cross paths with a nefarious pearl thief in the South Pacific Smugglers Reef 1950 Rick and Scotty use an infrared camera to gather evidence against smugglers The Caves of Fear 1951 Rick and Scotty travel to the Himalayas again this time to stop nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands Stairway to Danger 1952 Rick and Scotty battle a hardened and desperate criminal in an abandoned amusement park The Golden Skull 1954 Rick and Scotty search for a sacred relic in the Philippines The Wailing Octopus 1956 On a skin diving vacation in the Virgin Islands Rick and Scotty stumble across deadly spies The Electronic Mind Reader 1957 Rick and Scotty are shocked as one scientist after another falls victim to a diabolical machine Janice Miller character introduced The Scarlet Lake Mystery 1958 Rick and Scotty visit a rocket base in Nevada and encounter sabotage and a life or death situation for Rick The Pirates of Shan 1958 Rick and Scotty search for Spindrift scientists kidnapped by pirates in the Philippines The Blue Ghost Mystery 1960 Rick and Scotty s Virginia vacation turns into an encounter with what seems to be a Civil War ghost The Egyptian Cat Mystery 1961 Rick and Scotty travel to Egypt and discover that an apparently unassuming cat figurine holds a secret The Flaming Mountain 1962 Rick and Scotty aid the Spindrift Foundation s mission to save an island from an active volcano The Flying Stingaree 1963 Intrigued by mysterious UFO sightings Rick and Scotty battle against a group of crafty spies The Ruby Ray Mystery 1964 Rick and Scotty walk the line between East and West only to have their allegiance questioned and their lives placed in jeopardy The Veiled Raiders 1965 Rick and Scotty go to Nigeria to test laser satellite communication and are taken prisoner in the Sahara by hostile natives Rocket Jumper 1966 Rick and Scotty use a rocket pack to save their loved ones from a fearsome plot The Deadly Dutchman 1967 Rick and Scotty s tour of Europe is interrupted by a fiendish gem trader Danger Below 1968 Rick and Scotty probe the cause of the sinking of an oil rig off Spindrift The Magic Talisman 1990 Rick and Scotty investigate mysterious goings on in a house used for a dinner theater magic show Unpublished by Grosset amp Dunlap this title was published by Manuscript Press in a limited edition of 500 copies Rick Brant s Science Projects 1960 Rick and Scotty explain the secrets behind many of the inventions codes and logic used in their adventures Titles included in eBook edit 7 Smugglers Reef 8 The Caves of Fear 10 The Golden Skull 11 The Wailing Octopus 12 The Electronic Mind Reader 13 The Scarlet Lake Mystery 14 The Pirates of Shan 15 The Blue Ghost Mystery 16 The Egyptian Cat Mystery 17 The Flaming Mountain 18 The Flying Stingaree These titles are also available from Project Gutenberg 2 References edit Axe John 2002 All About Collecting Boys Series Books Hobby House Press Inc Books by Godwin Harold L Project Gutenberg External links editRick Brant Science Adventure series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Rick Brant Science Adventure Series at series books com Spindrift Island Rick Brant website archived Spindrift Scientific Foundation The Rick Brant Page at the Series Bookcase series net archived 2013 10 26 The Rick Brant Science Adventure Series at Amazon Rick Brant at SeriesBooks info John Blaine at Library of Congress with 23 library catalog records Rick Brant series at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rick Brant amp oldid 1181370177, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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