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Tom Swift Jr.

April 12, 2024

Tom Swift Jr. is the central character in a series of 33 science fiction adventure novels for male adolescents, following in the tradition of the earlier Tom Swift ("Senior") novels. The series was titled The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures. Unlike the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles that were also products of the prolific Stratemeyer Syndicate, the original Tom Swift stories were not rewritten in the 1950s to modernize them. It was decided that the protagonist of the new series would be the son of the earlier Tom Swift and his wife, Mary Nestor Swift; the original hero continued as a series regular, as did his pal Ned Newton. The covers were created by illustrator J. Graham Kaye.[1] Covers in the later half of the series were mostly by Charles Brey. A total of 33 volumes were eventually published.

Tom Swift Jr.
Front cover of Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X (1961)
AuthorHarriet (Stratemeyer) Adams, James Duncan Lawrence
IllustratorGraham Kaye
CountryUnited States of America
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
Adventure
PublisherGrosset & Dunlap
Published1954-1971
Published in English1954-1971
Media typePrint

For the Tom Swift Jr. series the books were outlined mostly by Harriet (Stratemeyer) Adams,[1] head of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, attributed to the pseudonymous Victor Appleton II, and published in hardcover by Grosset & Dunlap. Most of the books (Titles #5-#7 and #9-#30) were written by James Duncan Lawrence, who had an interest in science and technology and was faithful to the canon of the previous Tom Swift series. Title #7, Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter, has several references to the first series, including a visit with Mrs. Baggert, who was Tom Sr.'s housekeeper,[2] and other volumes feature a rocket named after the old family retainer Eradicate "Rad" Sampson, a radiation-detector (the Damonscope) named after Tom Sr.'s friend Mr. Damon,[3] and a planetoid named in honor of Tom Swift Sr.'s father Barton. As in the original series, the basic locale is the quaint town of Shopton, New York, on Lake Carlopa.

Typical story elements include Tom's loyal and quip-prone friend Bud Barclay, his comic-relief cook "Chow" Winkler, a spy (typically from Soviet stand-ins Brungaria or Kranjovia), use of a wonder-material called Tomasite that did anything the story needed, the amazingly versatile force-ray repelatron, and atomic-powered everything, including the atomicar. The first invention of the series and the one making the most frequent appearances in subsequent stories, the Flying Lab (named Sky Queen), was a giant VTOL research airplane the size of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

The Tom Swift Jr. stories had stronger science-fiction elements than the earlier series, particularly in the later volumes. One subplot, beginning on the first page of the first volume and running the length of the series, is Tom's communication, via mathematical "space symbols", with beings from "Planet X". This mystery is never completely resolved, despite the beings sending a sample of life forms from their planet in book #7 and an artificial "energy brain" to occupy a robot body built by Tom in book #17 (see illustration above).

The stories offered science that was more intriguing than accurate. Yet, the characters and titles are well-remembered and lovingly regarded, and a number of scientists, researchers, and engineers, including Apple's Steve Wozniak, profess to having been set on their courses by Tom Swift Jr.[citation needed]

Regular characters from The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures series edit

  • Tom Swift Jr. — The son of Tom Swift Sr. (see below). He is 18 years of age throughout the run of the series, and is described as lanky, blond, crew-cut, possessed of deep-set blue eyes, and closely resembling his famous father. Virtuous, brave, and very very smart. Typically depicted in illustrations as wearing a blue-striped T-shirt and slacks, even under the sea.
  • Tom Swift Sr. — The protagonist of the previous series, now married to his longtime sweetheart, Mary. Tom Sr., unlike his own father, is still relatively young and vital at the time of Tom Jr.'s adventures and frequently assists his son from behind the scenes while operating the huge family business, Swift Enterprises.
  • Mary Nestor Swift — Tom Sr.'s wife and the mother of Tom Jr. and Sandra. An occasionally fretful, attractive homebody, known for her cooking. Never joins the menfolk on their adventures.
  • Sandra "Sandy" Swift — Tom's year-younger sister. Sandy is pert and blond, also headstrong and brave. She is not quite as scientifically focused as her famed brother, toward whom she is less than reverent, though she clearly idolizes him. A trained pilot and aircraft demonstrator.
  • Bud Barclay — Tom's best friend, who accompanies Tom on all his adventures. Utterly devoted, and a dependable quipster and sometimes prankster, he is a highly qualified pilot in his own right. He is black-haired, the same age as his pal though a bit shorter and huskier, described as a natural athlete who likes to play for fun. Bud's knowledge of science and engineering is rudimentary, prompting many an explanation by Tom (and thus helpful exposition for the reader). By dating Sandy, he keeps his social life within the world of the Swift family.
  • "Uncle" Ned Newton — Tom Sr.'s pal from the previous series and father of Phyllis Newton
  • Phyllis Newton — Daughter of Ned Newton and Tom Jr.'s customary social date. Facing death, Tom Jr. declares his love for Phyllis in Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite.[4]
  • Charles "Chow" Winkler — A comic relief character, successor to both Mr. Damon and Rad Sampson. A roly-poly "former chuckwagon cook" born in Texas, he is an older man, beloved for his gaudy western shirts, cowboy hats, bizarre culinary concoctions (like armadillo stew), and for such expressions as "Brand my space biscuits!". He accompanies all Swift expeditions — even in outer space — as the Swifts' executive chef.

The series also offers a good many recurring characters of lesser rank, in contrast to the original series. Most are Swift Enterprises employees, such as Harlan Ames, Phil Radnor, Hank Sterling, Arvid Hanson, Slim Davis, George Dilling, Art Wiltessa, and Miss Trent — the two Toms' office secretary and the lone female among recurring Swift Enterprises characters.

List of titles edit

  1. Tom Swift and His Flying Lab (1954)
  2. Tom Swift and His Jetmarine (1954)
  3. Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship (1954)
  4. Tom Swift and His Giant Robot (1954)
  5. Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster (1954)
  6. Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space (1955)
  7. Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter (1956)
  8. Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire (1956)
  9. Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite (1956)
  10. Tom Swift and His Ultrasonic Cycloplane (1957)
  11. Tom Swift and His Deep Sea Hydrodome (1958)
  12. Tom Swift in the Race to the Moon (1958)
  13. Tom Swift and His Space Solartron (1958)
  14. Tom Swift and His Electronic Retroscope (1959)
  15. Tom Swift and His Spectromarine Selector (1960)
  16. Tom Swift and the Cosmic Astronauts (1960)
  17. Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X (1961)
  18. Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung (1961)
  19. Tom Swift and His Triphibian Atomicar (1962)
  20. Tom Swift and His Megascope Space Prober (1962)
  21. Tom Swift and the Asteroid Pirates (1963)
  22. Tom Swift and His Repelatron Skyway (1963)
  23. Tom Swift and His Aquatomic Tracker (1964)
  24. Tom Swift and His 3-D Telejector (1964)
  25. Tom Swift and His Polar-Ray Dynasphere (1965)
  26. Tom Swift and His Sonic Boom Trap (1965)
  27. Tom Swift and His Subocean Geotron (1966)
  28. Tom Swift and the Mystery Comet (1966)
  29. Tom Swift and the Captive Planetoid (1967)
  30. Tom Swift and His G-Force Inverter (1968)
  31. Tom Swift and His Dyna-4 Capsule (1969)
  32. Tom Swift and His Cosmotron Express (1970)
  33. Tom Swift and the Galaxy Ghosts (1971)

The first 18 titles were released in a blue tweed cloth cover with a full color paper jacket. Volumes 1–18 were also published in a blue-spined picture cover edition with Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung (in its first printing only) the only title with the picture cover imprinted directly on the "boards" and wrapping around the spine, rather than as a removable dust jacket. The "blue spine" editions lasted about a year and then the entire run of Tom Swift Jr. books was reproduced in yellow spine versions and all later titles were released in this format. The Hardy Boys books (another series from the Stratemeyer Syndicate) was also released in a blue spine version; this may have prompted the change in color.

A few of the early titles of the Tom Swift Jr. series were re-released in the 1970s in paperback with new illustrations. In 1972, four (#14, #15, #16, and #17) were released as trade paperbacks. #14 was retitled Tom Swift in the Jungle of the Mayas and #15 was renamed Tom Swift and the City of Gold. In 1977, six (#1–4, #6, and #8) were released as mass market paperbacks. One of the stories, #6 Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space was renamed Tom Swift and His Sky Wheel and repositioned as #5.

There exist a number of foreign reprints of Tom Swift Jr. titles, including British, Japanese, Icelandic, and Dutch (#1-3, adapted by the Dutch author Willy van der Heide). There is also a Tom Swift Jr. activity/coloring book and a rare Tom Swift Jr. board game. One episode of the Tom Swift/Linda Craig Mystery hour was aired in 1983, the only one of several proposed Tom Swift versions (including an elaborate "road show" movie) to actually appear before the public. The televised "Tom Swift" was unrelated to the character as depicted in any of the published series.

Reception edit

Criticism similar to that of the Nancy Drew Mysteries was leveled by writers Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas, who found the first installments of the series "a most misguided venture, well below juvenile TV or comic book average in crudity of prose, construction, character and ideas."[5] Nonetheless, the series sold a respectable 6 million copies in its 17-year run, spawned at least four subsequent Tom Swift series,[6] and is remembered fondly by generations of children.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Axe, John. All About Collecting Boys' Series Books. Hobby House Press, Inc., 2002.
  2. ^ Appleton II, Victor (1956). Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter. Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New York. pp. 71–75.
  3. ^ Appleton II, Victor (1954). Tom Swift and His Flying Lab. Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New York. pp. 69–70.
  4. ^ Appleton II, Victor (1956). Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite. Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., New York. p. 197.
  5. ^ "Recommended Reading," F&SF, June 1954, p.72.
  6. ^ Tom Swift

External links edit

April 12, 2024
swift, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2014, learn,. 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 Tom Swift Jr news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Tom Swift Jr is the central character in a series of 33 science fiction adventure novels for male adolescents following in the tradition of the earlier Tom Swift Senior novels The series was titled The New Tom Swift Jr Adventures Unlike the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles that were also products of the prolific Stratemeyer Syndicate the original Tom Swift stories were not rewritten in the 1950s to modernize them It was decided that the protagonist of the new series would be the son of the earlier Tom Swift and his wife Mary Nestor Swift the original hero continued as a series regular as did his pal Ned Newton The covers were created by illustrator J Graham Kaye 1 Covers in the later half of the series were mostly by Charles Brey A total of 33 volumes were eventually published Tom Swift Jr Front cover of Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X 1961 AuthorHarriet Stratemeyer Adams James Duncan LawrenceIllustratorGraham KayeCountryUnited States of AmericaLanguageEnglishGenreScience fictionAdventurePublisherGrosset amp DunlapPublished1954 1971Published in English1954 1971Media typePrintFor the Tom Swift Jr series the books were outlined mostly by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams 1 head of the Stratemeyer Syndicate attributed to the pseudonymous Victor Appleton II and published in hardcover by Grosset amp Dunlap Most of the books Titles 5 7 and 9 30 were written by James Duncan Lawrence who had an interest in science and technology and was faithful to the canon of the previous Tom Swift series Title 7 Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter has several references to the first series including a visit with Mrs Baggert who was Tom Sr s housekeeper 2 and other volumes feature a rocket named after the old family retainer Eradicate Rad Sampson a radiation detector the Damonscope named after Tom Sr s friend Mr Damon 3 and a planetoid named in honor of Tom Swift Sr s father Barton As in the original series the basic locale is the quaint town of Shopton New York on Lake Carlopa Typical story elements include Tom s loyal and quip prone friend Bud Barclay his comic relief cook Chow Winkler a spy typically from Soviet stand ins Brungaria or Kranjovia use of a wonder material called Tomasite that did anything the story needed the amazingly versatile force ray repelatron and atomic powered everything including the atomicar The first invention of the series and the one making the most frequent appearances in subsequent stories the Flying Lab named Sky Queen was a giant VTOL research airplane the size of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet The Tom Swift Jr stories had stronger science fiction elements than the earlier series particularly in the later volumes One subplot beginning on the first page of the first volume and running the length of the series is Tom s communication via mathematical space symbols with beings from Planet X This mystery is never completely resolved despite the beings sending a sample of life forms from their planet in book 7 and an artificial energy brain to occupy a robot body built by Tom in book 17 see illustration above The stories offered science that was more intriguing than accurate Yet the characters and titles are well remembered and lovingly regarded and a number of scientists researchers and engineers including Apple s Steve Wozniak profess to having been set on their courses by Tom Swift Jr citation needed Contents 1 Regular characters from The New Tom Swift Jr Adventures series 2 List of titles 3 Reception 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksRegular characters from The New Tom Swift Jr Adventures series editTom Swift Jr The son of Tom Swift Sr see below He is 18 years of age throughout the run of the series and is described as lanky blond crew cut possessed of deep set blue eyes and closely resembling his famous father Virtuous brave and very very smart Typically depicted in illustrations as wearing a blue striped T shirt and slacks even under the sea Tom Swift Sr The protagonist of the previous series now married to his longtime sweetheart Mary Tom Sr unlike his own father is still relatively young and vital at the time of Tom Jr s adventures and frequently assists his son from behind the scenes while operating the huge family business Swift Enterprises Mary Nestor Swift Tom Sr s wife and the mother of Tom Jr and Sandra An occasionally fretful attractive homebody known for her cooking Never joins the menfolk on their adventures Sandra Sandy Swift Tom s year younger sister Sandy is pert and blond also headstrong and brave She is not quite as scientifically focused as her famed brother toward whom she is less than reverent though she clearly idolizes him A trained pilot and aircraft demonstrator Bud Barclay Tom s best friend who accompanies Tom on all his adventures Utterly devoted and a dependable quipster and sometimes prankster he is a highly qualified pilot in his own right He is black haired the same age as his pal though a bit shorter and huskier described as a natural athlete who likes to play for fun Bud s knowledge of science and engineering is rudimentary prompting many an explanation by Tom and thus helpful exposition for the reader By dating Sandy he keeps his social life within the world of the Swift family Uncle Ned Newton Tom Sr s pal from the previous series and father of Phyllis Newton Phyllis Newton Daughter of Ned Newton and Tom Jr s customary social date Facing death Tom Jr declares his love for Phyllis in Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite 4 Charles Chow Winkler A comic relief character successor to both Mr Damon and Rad Sampson A roly poly former chuckwagon cook born in Texas he is an older man beloved for his gaudy western shirts cowboy hats bizarre culinary concoctions like armadillo stew and for such expressions as Brand my space biscuits He accompanies all Swift expeditions even in outer space as the Swifts executive chef The series also offers a good many recurring characters of lesser rank in contrast to the original series Most are Swift Enterprises employees such as Harlan Ames Phil Radnor Hank Sterling Arvid Hanson Slim Davis George Dilling Art Wiltessa and Miss Trent the two Toms office secretary and the lone female among recurring Swift Enterprises characters List of titles editTom Swift and His Flying Lab 1954 Tom Swift and His Jetmarine 1954 Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship 1954 Tom Swift and His Giant Robot 1954 Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster 1954 Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space 1955 Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter 1956 Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire 1956 Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite 1956 Tom Swift and His Ultrasonic Cycloplane 1957 Tom Swift and His Deep Sea Hydrodome 1958 Tom Swift in the Race to the Moon 1958 Tom Swift and His Space Solartron 1958 Tom Swift and His Electronic Retroscope 1959 Tom Swift and His Spectromarine Selector 1960 Tom Swift and the Cosmic Astronauts 1960 Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X 1961 Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung 1961 Tom Swift and His Triphibian Atomicar 1962 Tom Swift and His Megascope Space Prober 1962 Tom Swift and the Asteroid Pirates 1963 Tom Swift and His Repelatron Skyway 1963 Tom Swift and His Aquatomic Tracker 1964 Tom Swift and His 3 D Telejector 1964 Tom Swift and His Polar Ray Dynasphere 1965 Tom Swift and His Sonic Boom Trap 1965 Tom Swift and His Subocean Geotron 1966 Tom Swift and the Mystery Comet 1966 Tom Swift and the Captive Planetoid 1967 Tom Swift and His G Force Inverter 1968 Tom Swift and His Dyna 4 Capsule 1969 Tom Swift and His Cosmotron Express 1970 Tom Swift and the Galaxy Ghosts 1971 The first 18 titles were released in a blue tweed cloth cover with a full color paper jacket Volumes 1 18 were also published in a blue spined picture cover edition with Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung in its first printing only the only title with the picture cover imprinted directly on the boards and wrapping around the spine rather than as a removable dust jacket The blue spine editions lasted about a year and then the entire run of Tom Swift Jr books was reproduced in yellow spine versions and all later titles were released in this format The Hardy Boys books another series from the Stratemeyer Syndicate was also released in a blue spine version this may have prompted the change in color A few of the early titles of the Tom Swift Jr series were re released in the 1970s in paperback with new illustrations In 1972 four 14 15 16 and 17 were released as trade paperbacks 14 was retitled Tom Swift in the Jungle of the Mayas and 15 was renamed Tom Swift and the City of Gold In 1977 six 1 4 6 and 8 were released as mass market paperbacks One of the stories 6 Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space was renamed Tom Swift and His Sky Wheel and repositioned as 5 There exist a number of foreign reprints of Tom Swift Jr titles including British Japanese Icelandic and Dutch 1 3 adapted by the Dutch author Willy van der Heide There is also a Tom Swift Jr activity coloring book and a rare Tom Swift Jr board game One episode of the Tom Swift Linda Craig Mystery hour was aired in 1983 the only one of several proposed Tom Swift versions including an elaborate road show movie to actually appear before the public The televised Tom Swift was unrelated to the character as depicted in any of the published series Reception editCriticism similar to that of the Nancy Drew Mysteries was leveled by writers Anthony Boucher and J Francis McComas who found the first installments of the series a most misguided venture well below juvenile TV or comic book average in crudity of prose construction character and ideas 5 Nonetheless the series sold a respectable 6 million copies in its 17 year run spawned at least four subsequent Tom Swift series 6 and is remembered fondly by generations of children See also edit nbsp Novels portalTom Swift main pageReferences edit a b Axe John All About Collecting Boys Series Books Hobby House Press Inc 2002 Appleton II Victor 1956 Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter Grosset amp Dunlap Inc New York pp 71 75 Appleton II Victor 1954 Tom Swift and His Flying Lab Grosset amp Dunlap Inc New York pp 69 70 Appleton II Victor 1956 Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite Grosset amp Dunlap Inc New York p 197 Recommended Reading F amp SF June 1954 p 72 Tom SwiftExternal links editWorks by Victor Appleton at Project Gutenberg Duntemann Jeff Tom Swift Jr An Appreciation http www duntemann com tomswift htm The Complete Tom Swift Jr Home Page http www tomswift info homepage The Tom Swift Unofficial Home Page http tomswift net ts2 htm Tom Swift adventure series at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Swift Jr amp oldid 1215200278, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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