Planet of Nightmares

Tom Swift III #11

by Victor Appleton, Betty Schwartz (Editor)

Mr. Swift takes several guests, Tom, and his friends, to a mining planet owned by his company, but what begins as a vacation becomes a nightmare.

Genres: Science Fiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1984

About the author

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

Reviews

[John Nolley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly one of the most fun reads of the third Tom Swift incarnation--perhaps because the central plot element came straight out of a Star Trek episode? Readers should quickly recognize "Shore Leave" in the way that Tom and his friends' worst fears come to life and stalk them across the landscape of a deserted mining base.

Never mind that the "science" of this one is among the iffiest of the entire series--seriously, the notion that creatures wholly of thought and a bit of electricity could shield the humans they possess as "zombies" from the vacuum of open space boggles any rational explanation--and ignore a few of the continuity issues (such as the Exedra having a cargo hold big enough to carry a veritable Noah's Ark of animals despite its origins as a small space fighter turned into a luxury yacht). The narrative is fast-paced and fun, and I always found myself returning to this title as a kid.

It's a shame this is the final title in the third series; two more were planned, with "Chaos on Earth" even referenced in the closing paragraphs like the lead-out of golden age serial, but neither saw publication (and from plot synopses I've seen, they were headed even further into adventure and away from sci-fi proper).

[Jason Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.