What do you think?
Rate this book
Tom Swift III #2
terror on the moons of jupiter [ Tom Swift] by Appleton, Victor (January 1, 1981) Paperback
Tom Swift and his friends Ben and Anita travel with their new robot, Aristotle, to the moons of Jupiter where they encounter a sinister rival.
Unknown Binding
First published June 1, 1981
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Victor Appleton
353 books44 followersVictor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its successors, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_...
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_...
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 20, 2022
I read this series cover-to-cover repeatedly as a child and enjoyed it thoroughly at the time. My dad had tried to get me into the Hardy Boys and gave me his set, but I was always more compelled by sci-fi. Looking back, the series hasn't aged as well as it could have, but then again, it's *always* going to be loaded with Tom Swifties, overly-purple prose, simplistic characters, and situations and plot turns an adult reader just has to let go.
This book serves as a transition point in the series. The prior novel, The City in the Stars, shows ties to the prior 50s-era Tom Swift stories, with a bright young inventor whipping out new wonders on improbable timelines but still grounded heavily in the science of the day (or, rather, a layperson's understanding of that science). The chief antagonists are often authority figures, red tape, and unfair restrictions--remember, the books are written for young boys! But starting with the next book, The Alien Probe, the series transforms more into outright space opera, with Tom building his own interstellar space ship for his future adventures. It's here, too, where the main characters for the remainder of the series begin to come into their own: Tom and his friend and computer jockey Ben Walking Eagle team up with their former adversary Anita (the stereotypical fiery redhead and vague love interest in so much as any books written for 8 year old boys have love interests) and of course Tom's robot, Aristotle. Even David Luna, Tom's foil and villainous owner of the world's other mega-corporation (besides Swift Enterprises), gets a passing mention.
The plot diverges completely from the jacket text--perhaps the blurb about espionage and a plague unleashed by a madman bent on exploiting the minerals of Jupiter's moons (clearly a reference to David Luna) had been written from an early plot outline and never updated before publication? And indeed, that jacket blurb sounds a fair bit more aligned with the prior Tom Swift series... whereas what *actually* happens is that while helping set up a base on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, Tom and his friends discover an alien probe on another of the moons (Io). Which brings us to the stardrive and the upcoming space opera explorations, of course... and the transition from implausible-but-grounded-in-science stories of the prior series and into outright adventure with a gentle hand wave at actual science (but hey, remember, Star Wars was the top film series of the day).
The prose has its share of groaners (as do all Swift stories), but they're still approachable and engaging for the target audience of grammar-school-aged boys. The addition of Anita as a core character might even give young girl readers something to connect to, and though at times there's a bit too much dependence on the boys (Tom, Ben, and Aristotle), for writing of the early 80s inspired by golden-age space opera sci-fi, she's actually a pretty decent character.
This book serves as a transition point in the series. The prior novel, The City in the Stars, shows ties to the prior 50s-era Tom Swift stories, with a bright young inventor whipping out new wonders on improbable timelines but still grounded heavily in the science of the day (or, rather, a layperson's understanding of that science). The chief antagonists are often authority figures, red tape, and unfair restrictions--remember, the books are written for young boys! But starting with the next book, The Alien Probe, the series transforms more into outright space opera, with Tom building his own interstellar space ship for his future adventures. It's here, too, where the main characters for the remainder of the series begin to come into their own: Tom and his friend and computer jockey Ben Walking Eagle team up with their former adversary Anita (the stereotypical fiery redhead and vague love interest in so much as any books written for 8 year old boys have love interests) and of course Tom's robot, Aristotle. Even David Luna, Tom's foil and villainous owner of the world's other mega-corporation (besides Swift Enterprises), gets a passing mention.
The plot diverges completely from the jacket text--perhaps the blurb about espionage and a plague unleashed by a madman bent on exploiting the minerals of Jupiter's moons (clearly a reference to David Luna) had been written from an early plot outline and never updated before publication? And indeed, that jacket blurb sounds a fair bit more aligned with the prior Tom Swift series... whereas what *actually* happens is that while helping set up a base on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, Tom and his friends discover an alien probe on another of the moons (Io). Which brings us to the stardrive and the upcoming space opera explorations, of course... and the transition from implausible-but-grounded-in-science stories of the prior series and into outright adventure with a gentle hand wave at actual science (but hey, remember, Star Wars was the top film series of the day).
The prose has its share of groaners (as do all Swift stories), but they're still approachable and engaging for the target audience of grammar-school-aged boys. The addition of Anita as a core character might even give young girl readers something to connect to, and though at times there's a bit too much dependence on the boys (Tom, Ben, and Aristotle), for writing of the early 80s inspired by golden-age space opera sci-fi, she's actually a pretty decent character.
July 13, 2008
If you are looking for a book with adventure and action...
READ THIS ONE!!!
READ THIS ONE!!!
Read
August 5, 2008I looove this book! I looooooove Tom Swift!
October 28, 2013
A great series for young adults. Tom Swift continues his adventures in outer space. A great adventure. I enjoyed these when I was in junior high.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews