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Tom Swift Jr. #16
Tom Swift and the Cosmic Astronauts
When his latest invention is stolen, Tom Swift, Jr., and his associates pursue a ruthless scientific pirate.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1960
85 people want to read
About the author
Victor Appleton II
149books22followerssee also Victor Appleton
The character of Tom Swift was conceived in 1910 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging company. Stratemeyer invented the series to capitalize on the market for children's science adventure. The Syndicate's authors created the Tom Swift books by first preparing an outline with all the plot elements, followed by drafting and editing the detailed manuscript. The books were published under the house name of Victor Appleton. Edward Stratemeyer and Howard Garis wrote most of the volumes in the original series; Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, wrote the last three volumes. The first Tom Swift series ended in 1941.
In 1954, Harriet Adams created the Tom Swift, Jr., series, which was published under the name "Victor Appleton II". Most titles were outlined and plotted by Adams. The texts were written by various writers, among them William Dougherty, John Almquist, Richard Sklar, James Duncan Lawrence, Tom Mulvey and Richard McKenna. The Tom Swift, Jr., series ended in 1971.
The character of Tom Swift was conceived in 1910 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging company. Stratemeyer invented the series to capitalize on the market for children's science adventure. The Syndicate's authors created the Tom Swift books by first preparing an outline with all the plot elements, followed by drafting and editing the detailed manuscript. The books were published under the house name of Victor Appleton. Edward Stratemeyer and Howard Garis wrote most of the volumes in the original series; Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, wrote the last three volumes. The first Tom Swift series ended in 1941.
In 1954, Harriet Adams created the Tom Swift, Jr., series, which was published under the name "Victor Appleton II". Most titles were outlined and plotted by Adams. The texts were written by various writers, among them William Dougherty, John Almquist, Richard Sklar, James Duncan Lawrence, Tom Mulvey and Richard McKenna. The Tom Swift, Jr., series ended in 1971.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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May 21, 2020This is probably he first book I ever owned (except baby books) and I still have it. It was given to me by Jeff Murray in the 3rd grade (possible 4th) Christmas exchange. Over the year I grew out of this series, although I've accumulated most of the series as well as some of the later series.
I happened to come across a couple of the original series published pre-WW2. They are hard to read due to the language/prejudices common through out them.
Any way, I credit this book with my lifelong love of SF. I now own over 1,700 SF books. I've read them all, except 70-100 that I'm waiting to read.
If any reads this and knows Jeff Murray (from Zanesville, OH) please let him know how he's influenced my life.
I happened to come across a couple of the original series published pre-WW2. They are hard to read due to the language/prejudices common through out them.
Any way, I credit this book with my lifelong love of SF. I now own over 1,700 SF books. I've read them all, except 70-100 that I'm waiting to read.
If any reads this and knows Jeff Murray (from Zanesville, OH) please let him know how he's influenced my life.
January 3, 2025
I took physics in high school, but Tom Swift still boggles my little brain 😵� oh well, still an enjoyable story! Reminiscent of the old Jonny Quest cartoon from the same era, in which the villains are always trying to steal Dr. Quest's inventions. Beats me why they need them, when they're clever enough to come up with so many of their own. 😆
(I couldn't help laughing over the villain's name in this, because my brother once had a character named Li Ching in a game - spelled the exact same way. His Li Ching was a robber too, lol. 😂)
(I couldn't help laughing over the villain's name in this, because my brother once had a character named Li Ching in a game - spelled the exact same way. His Li Ching was a robber too, lol. 😂)
May 2, 2025
Fun Tom Swift. brief mentions of aliens and life on other planets. It's interesting that the author imagines a space sailboat back in 1960, which is something that has recently been theorized would actually work! I enjoyed reading it especially from the standpoint of being written in 1960, and what they knew and what they didn't know about science then, and what the author imagined.
June 28, 2015
The Tom Swift, Jr., books were a fun, upbeat, and interesting adventure series published for kids from 1954 to 1971 that promoted science, fair-play, patriotism, and team-work; they were good, positive books. The series served as a sequel to the original Tom Swift series that appeared from 1910 to the beginnings of World War II; Tom and his sister, Sandy, are the children of the first Tom and his wife, Mary Nestor; Tom's girlfriend Phyllis Newton is the daughter of Tom Sr.'s sidekick Ned Newton (now Uncle Ned to Tom and Sandy); the family home is still located in Shopton along Lake Carlopa, etc. It's nice that the continuity is preserved rather than just being over-written as happened to The Hardy Boys; in the first Tom Jr., book beings make contact that were first hinted at in the final real Tom Sr., book, Planet Stone, and throughout the series references to the history are made such as naming a device the Damonscope in honor of a character from the first series, Mr. Wakefield Damon. In addition to the Swifts and Newtons, Tom Jr. has his own sidekick, Bud Barclay, and there are several interesting supporting characters such as Phil Radnor, Harlan Ames (I wonder if Harlan Ellison was the inspiration for the name?), Hank Sterling, Miss Trent (who I don't believe ever had a first name), and especially Chow Winkler, Tom's cook, a former "Texas chuck-wagon" cook who was given to a variety of wild and unlikely expressions such as, "Well, brand my space biscuits!" The earlier books had nice covers, end-papers, and illustrations: Graham Kaye and Charles Brey provided the art for the first twenty-five volumes, followed by Edward Moretz, after which the artistic (as well as the literary) quality starting going downhill. Tom invented and built many fantastic inventions (but remember it was the '50s and '60s), and had many exciting adventures along with his friends and family. They faced off against saboteurs and spies and the evil Brungarians but their good spirits and hard work and can-do attitude always paid off in the end. The continuity didn't always hold logically from book to book, and looking back it's easy to pick apart one thing or another, but they were fun and fine books in their time. This sixteenth volume has a neat cover showing the space kite. This wasn't one of my favorites of the books in the series; the continuity didn't track for me.
June 9, 2014
Since the birth of my nephew I've been reviewing books which are supposed to appeal to boys. (By the time he's old enough to need them, I hope to have some good recommendations and ideas for gift giving.)
This is my first Tom Swift book but I doubt it will be my last. The technical jargon can be a bit thick, but the chapters are relatively short and each one ends with an exciting cliffhanger. I could easily see a child being hooked if you read them one chapter a day.
There is some outdated material here. The Asian bad guys are referred to as "Oriental." If that's not exactly incorrect, neither is it polite in today's society. Also the girls of the story, while intelligent and spoken of respectfully, do not get to participate in Tom and Bud's adventures.
Despite that, I would still feel comfortable reading or recommending this book to my nephew. We may need to talk briefly about gender equality and racism, but that's something we should be doing regardless of the books we read.
This is my first Tom Swift book but I doubt it will be my last. The technical jargon can be a bit thick, but the chapters are relatively short and each one ends with an exciting cliffhanger. I could easily see a child being hooked if you read them one chapter a day.
There is some outdated material here. The Asian bad guys are referred to as "Oriental." If that's not exactly incorrect, neither is it polite in today's society. Also the girls of the story, while intelligent and spoken of respectfully, do not get to participate in Tom and Bud's adventures.
Despite that, I would still feel comfortable reading or recommending this book to my nephew. We may need to talk briefly about gender equality and racism, but that's something we should be doing regardless of the books we read.
September 16, 2014
Readable and entertaining, but very simple. Every conflict is only a conflict as long as it takes Tom to comprehend the problem. Then he just has the solution, sometimes with his dad Tom Sr. concurring that that is the right solution.
Also kinda racist against people from China and Texas.
Also kinda racist against people from China and Texas.
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October 23, 2016read some time in fall 1966
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