Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Propelled into a fantasy world through his Total Reality Generator--a computer game that electronically recreates true-to-life scenarios--Tom discovers that the game has turned frighteningly authentic and that he could be in genuine danger.

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

36 people want to read

About the author

Victor Appleton

460 books48 followers
Victor 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

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
17 (36%)
4 stars
20 (42%)
3 stars
8 (17%)
2 stars
2 (4%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Phil.
79 reviews5 followers
September 5, 2011
This was my favorite Tom Swift book from when I was a kid, and I was apprehensive to read it as an adult in case it didn't hold up and wasn't as good. I shouldn't have worried. This book is the best of the Tom Swift series IV, in my opinion.

The plot centers around a Total Reality Generator, a virtual reality simulator, and an Role Playing Game at Tom's school. In order to test the TRG Tom programs it with the characters and the scenario from the RPG. The narrative then shifts from Tom Swift to the characters of the RPG, from a real world sci-fi novel to a fantasy story.

The level of story development and world building in this book far surpasses that of the rest of the series. The world of the RPG is well thought out and carefully crafted. The characters, while based on characters from Tom's reality, are unique and interesting. There could have been more depth to the world, but it was not incomplete. The plot moved quickly, and was fairly straightforward, but the two settings and the excitement of the world of the RPG kept things from being boring.

This book, more than any of the others, inspired my love of all things geek, sic-fi, and fantasy. I love it, and that may color my evaluation, but I think it can hold its own regardless.
Profile Image for Michael.
Author 4 books16 followers
December 5, 2018
Tom's virtual reality machine malfunctions, trapping him inside a fantasy RPG. The goal of the game is to take magic cubes to a specific spot, to defeat the evil Dedstorm and his death hawk! The fantasy world takes up the majority of the book. It seems well-developed and thought out, and based on other reviews, fantasy fans enjoy this book. I'm not a fan of fantasy, so I didn't enjoy it all that much.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews