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Tom Swift Jr. #8
Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire
"Tom, this strange gas is fantastic--disintegrates everything it touches! What do you think it is?"
Fascinated by the amazing report from a pilot who crash-landed in the African jungle, Tom Swift Jr.'s eyes glow with curiosity as he replies: "sounds like anti-protons rampaging. Such a phenomenon is unknown on earth. This may be the greatest discovery of the century. It could revolutionize the whole science of atomic energy. Let's investigate that taboo mountain."
Altho several of the young inventor's associates view his latest expedition with skepticism, Tom sets off in the Flying Lab for the Dark Continent to fathom the secret of the mysterious mountain. The deadly vapors which have terrified the natives for generatoins challenge even the scientific genius of Tom and his companions.
When their atomic drill enexplicably is sucked into a forbidding peak, a series of startling events threaten the Swift expedition. How Tom, with his new invention the Terrasphere, conquers a heretofore unknow, violent quirk of nature brings this breath-taking story to a spectacular finish.
Fascinated by the amazing report from a pilot who crash-landed in the African jungle, Tom Swift Jr.'s eyes glow with curiosity as he replies: "sounds like anti-protons rampaging. Such a phenomenon is unknown on earth. This may be the greatest discovery of the century. It could revolutionize the whole science of atomic energy. Let's investigate that taboo mountain."
Altho several of the young inventor's associates view his latest expedition with skepticism, Tom sets off in the Flying Lab for the Dark Continent to fathom the secret of the mysterious mountain. The deadly vapors which have terrified the natives for generatoins challenge even the scientific genius of Tom and his companions.
When their atomic drill enexplicably is sucked into a forbidding peak, a series of startling events threaten the Swift expedition. How Tom, with his new invention the Terrasphere, conquers a heretofore unknow, violent quirk of nature brings this breath-taking story to a spectacular finish.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
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About the author
Victor Appleton II
121Ìýbooks22Ìýfollowerssee 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 10, 2020
Boy inventor Tom Swift experiments with nuclear energy and has quite an adventure. I like this rendition better than the 80's rendition.
November 5, 2019
The sub-title says Tom Swift Jr. #8, but the cover has #6 on it.
This is one of the early Tom Swift Jr. books, originally published in the 50s. Be prepared for cringe-worthy dialogue, not anything racist or sexist, but the character of Chow (a Texas cook) is so awful, he brings the rest of the team down.
That said, Tom and his crew are firing on all cylinders here. Take out Chow (pun intended) and it would be an easy four stars. The mystery and the hunt for a source of radiation, are done well. Like many of the Swift adventures, the pseudo-science (and a little real science) take the center stage as often as the need to chase down crooks or throw a punch. It is what made the Swift books stand out from the Hardy Boys and other such books of the day, and why they are still in print a century later.
Find it! Read it!
This is one of the early Tom Swift Jr. books, originally published in the 50s. Be prepared for cringe-worthy dialogue, not anything racist or sexist, but the character of Chow (a Texas cook) is so awful, he brings the rest of the team down.
That said, Tom and his crew are firing on all cylinders here. Take out Chow (pun intended) and it would be an easy four stars. The mystery and the hunt for a source of radiation, are done well. Like many of the Swift adventures, the pseudo-science (and a little real science) take the center stage as often as the need to chase down crooks or throw a punch. It is what made the Swift books stand out from the Hardy Boys and other such books of the day, and why they are still in print a century later.
Find it! Read it!
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 eighth volume has a very good cover showing the descent into the nuclear inferno; this was one of my favorite books in the series.
February 9, 2023
Keeping the reader's block at bay with a filler book. I've been collecting this series and Tom's father's series for a few years now and have 38 of the 40 in this one (the last two are rare-ish and rather pricey.) Now and then I'll pull one off the shelf because I do intend to read them all. Standard fare: Tom has enemies, has a Marvel hovercarrier of a VTOL plane that can manufacture almost anything in its labs in a few hours, all while housing a helicopter, a mini jet, a heavy tank and "Terrasphere", and keeps to the formula of a cliffhanger every chapter or so. Impressive. What isn't impressive are the offensive stereotypes that litter these young male-directed stories in the 1950s and earlier. The titular caves are in Africa and the author(s) don't stray from the "tribes" and "white man from sky like god" stereotypes. Chow, a comic relief character with his own Texas stereotype affectations, on finding out that they are going to Africa, dons "native" dress and smears brown make-up all over to complete the picture. Tom is "an old hand at hypnotizing the girls" (after "hypnotizing" a leopard into going away) - a wee bit of predation in our want to be wholesome crew. There is the smattering of real science mixed in with the slathering of imaginative fictional science (a radioactive gas that can melt almost anything into nothingness? sure!), and as always, Tom can invent something on the spot, or discover something never before seen on Earth!
Big adventure for adolescent boys nearly 70 years ago. My copy is a yellow bound later printing.
Big adventure for adolescent boys nearly 70 years ago. My copy is a yellow bound later printing.
February 14, 2018
Tom Swift is of course a popular old series of books for young boys about the adventures of young inventor Tom Swift. It’s like atompunk, but completely earnest � no punk. Atomearnest.
Grosset & Dunlap is the same publishing company that did Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (favorites of mine) so it’s in that vein. You can think of it kinda like, if Frank and Joe Hardy were combined into one kid, who wore a lot of spacesuits and did a lot of laboratory science and sometimes even maybe talked to distant advanced alien beings.
Actually I think there were some crossovers so technically aliens exist in the Hardy Boys universe? Ok.
These old books also have some killer interior cover art and illustrations. I’m a sucker for that kinda stuff, and I wish books still had this.
Such excitement! It’s so thrilling and action packed. Actually, this book was pretty decent on the scientific method when it tried to be; it was a science thriller for young boys and girls.
I’m not a Tom Swift Jr. fan like I am a Hardy Boys fan, but I’ll certainly read more if I find ’em.
Grosset & Dunlap is the same publishing company that did Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (favorites of mine) so it’s in that vein. You can think of it kinda like, if Frank and Joe Hardy were combined into one kid, who wore a lot of spacesuits and did a lot of laboratory science and sometimes even maybe talked to distant advanced alien beings.
Actually I think there were some crossovers so technically aliens exist in the Hardy Boys universe? Ok.
These old books also have some killer interior cover art and illustrations. I’m a sucker for that kinda stuff, and I wish books still had this.
Such excitement! It’s so thrilling and action packed. Actually, this book was pretty decent on the scientific method when it tried to be; it was a science thriller for young boys and girls.
I’m not a Tom Swift Jr. fan like I am a Hardy Boys fan, but I’ll certainly read more if I find ’em.
December 25, 2020
The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it awakens the same wonder I felt as a young boy reading Tom Swift books.
It was truly a product of its time. The authors didn't write this to make a point or sway their readers; they wrote it to appeal to their audience's already-formed tastes. This allows us to draw a rough sketch of the authors' idea of what the reader likes. Based on my analysis, the authors assumed their readers thought:
- Texan cowboys are hilariously simplistic.
- Africans are also simplistic. They think white men are gods, eat awful food, and understand herbal medicine enough to ward off radiation poisoning.
- Anything 'atomic' or 'molecular' as magical and super cool.
- The only reason to read the next chapter is to resolve the cliffhanger (sometimes hilariously unnecessary).
My favorite art is the kind that inspires me to create my own. Although there are so many reasons I don't like this book, it does inspire me to write fiction due to the wonder I feel while reading it.
It was truly a product of its time. The authors didn't write this to make a point or sway their readers; they wrote it to appeal to their audience's already-formed tastes. This allows us to draw a rough sketch of the authors' idea of what the reader likes. Based on my analysis, the authors assumed their readers thought:
- Texan cowboys are hilariously simplistic.
- Africans are also simplistic. They think white men are gods, eat awful food, and understand herbal medicine enough to ward off radiation poisoning.
- Anything 'atomic' or 'molecular' as magical and super cool.
- The only reason to read the next chapter is to resolve the cliffhanger (sometimes hilariously unnecessary).
My favorite art is the kind that inspires me to create my own. Although there are so many reasons I don't like this book, it does inspire me to write fiction due to the wonder I feel while reading it.
June 26, 2021
Tom and his friends take a trip to Africa to investigate a forbidden mountain. They run into mysteries and crooks on the way.
It's nonsense, of course, and unconvincing to anyone but pre-teens, but it's amiable fun.
It's nonsense, of course, and unconvincing to anyone but pre-teens, but it's amiable fun.
April 5, 2020
Each book in this series is a sheer delight, full of adventure and excitement. Granted, many of the books in this series were written in the 1950s and certain attitudes and comments are dated, but that doesn’t detract from how entertaining they are, as long as the reader keeps these caveats in mind.
June 14, 2014
One of the stronger novels of the Tom Swift Jr. series, if memory serves. The scene at the end where the villains Hoplin and Cameron "began to scream in terror" when they find out they are going to die of radiation poisoning chills me to this day.
January 18, 2017
probably read some time in fall 1966
July 23, 2020
Dated adolescent fiction, like a long Graphic Novel with no illustration s.
Read
December 19, 2017Me encantó UwUr
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