Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster

Tom Swift Jr. #5

by Victor Appleton II, Graham Kaye (Illustrator)

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Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Childrens, Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy, Juvenile

210 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

see 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my doubts about Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster in which the titular character invents essentially a boring machine/vehicle. After having read about Tom Swift Jr. inventing super jets, submarines, rockets, and giant robots, an atomic powered earth mover seem a bit of let down. However, through a series counter intuitive plot twists the last section of the novel takes place in Antarctica which when reading it to my nine year old son made him super curious and interested in the story. Add some "Kranjovian" spies and risk of starting WWIII and it turned out to be a decent bedtime read.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great and fun science fiction story for young readers that actually used real science and real science terms to explain what was going on in the story. Add international intrigue and exotic locations and you have a really fantastic book.

[Rob Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Tom Swift Jr. as a kid.

[Brentman99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 5th book in the series, TS and His Atomic Blaster was far better than the last one. The story had a more of a plot and moved along fairly well. However, a few things keep jumping out at me.

Like the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift has an seemingly inexhaustible supply of money.

Atomic energy apparently solves all problems. But there is no mention of waste or what will happen to it.

Tapping into the Earth's core to create a supply or iron seems interesting, but ill fated.

I was quite surprised that another nation, the Kranjovians, has spies that will drop bombs on Tom's Swift's camp and not expect to start a war with the US. In the 1950s, tensions between the Russia and the US were building, with round the clock bombers carrying nuclear weapons as deterrents against all out nuclear war. This thinly veiled enemy was a bit interesting, but far-fetched, even for children.

Overall, the book had some entertainment value. Some of the language was a bit dated, but nothing offensive.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in honor of my dad. It was his favorite series growing up. I really did enjoy it quite a bit. I think it can best be described as a classic Nancy Drew adventure mystery, only swap out Nancy Drew for a young, clean-cut Iron Man character- AKA impossibly wealthy, impossibly genius inventor- and theme it all around the then current scientific advancements like flying contraptions, space exploration, and nuclear power. I can see the appeal but I probably won't go through the series my self.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

For its target audience, this is very well written and engaging; all the typical intrigue and adventure one expects from story about a wealthy teenage genius inventor. Of course, much of the science feels pretty dated (atomic-powered everything), especially when everything else described (and illustrated) is still stuck in the time it was written (or drawn). You just need to read it as a story of the ‘50s, not any time.

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 5th volume is quite different from the previous four. Though it begins with the now familiar formula, the story quickly unravels and wanders into odd territory. It’s much more violent than the series has been before, which is particularly jarring. The title gadget only really comes into play in the last chapter while the rest of the book goes a little out of control in a weirdly fun, even comical way.

Definitely an odd turn.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s old and you can tell but I still enjoyed reading it.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read.

[Mr. MojoRisin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My great grandmother gave me three of these books a couple of years before she died. Fun to find one on the street in Sunnyside. Good clean mass produced Cold War propaganda.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 fifth volume has a cool and colorful cover, quite fitting for an atomic earth blaster.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books for young people today are often too adult in nature and content, and so are very accessible to and appealing to adults. By contrast, 60 years ago books for young people had appropriate content for kids, but as a result they weren't very appealing to adults. That was particularly true if you read them for the first time as an adult, which was my experience with this installment of the "Tom Swift, Jr." series.

I would have loved these books when I was 10 or 11. As an adult, they seem simplistic, contrived, and unbelievable. It doesn't help that these books are supposedly based in science. Science has come a long way since this book was written, and the 'scientific' ideas driving the plot don't hold up well as a result. The odd political entities that are set up as straw man rivals for the main characters suffer from the same problem. Sixty years of political change and perspective make the bad guys seem comical. They are cardboard characters, and they seem even flatter, less real, and less interesting with the passage of time.

The Hardy Boys series have held up better. While they suffer from some of the same issues (stock characters, contrived plot elements, and stilted, out of date language), they still work on some level as period pieces. Reading them is like stepping back in time, and discovering among the fiction certain realities about what American culture valued at a point in time. Tom Swift's heavy focus on 'new' technology robs us even of this minor historical value -- almost.

The one thing left to us is a window into the imagination, afforded us by the very technology that makes the books so dated. What did a teenage boy dream about in the 1950s? Jet planes ... rocket ships ... atomic power ... electronics ... artificial satellites. Things that seem commonplace now, but were shiny and new, and full of unlimited possibilities for young, inventive minds.

Recommended cinematic pairing: "October Sky"

[Jim Razinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first Tom Swift I read...maybe 11 or 12 years old. Shlock and pulp...I think "reality" television "writers" learned from pulpy stuff like this. Except these are fun. Another for the Nostalgic Re-read shelf.

[Colby · Rating 2 out of 5]

An exercise of terrific grammar; a rubber stamp of the times.

[Ronald]

probably read in fall 1966