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Tom Swift III #9
Gateway to Doom
Tom Swift, aboard the science survey ship "Hawking," discovers unusual sunspot activity indicating the sun will soon explode, destroying all life in the solar system.
- GenresChildrensScience Fiction
175 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1983
32 people want to read
About the author
Victor Appleton
350 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
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 27, 2022
This was actually the first Tom Swift book I read back when I was 8 years old. A child of the 70s and 80s, I was already hooked on sci-fi from Star Wars and the many other films that tried to capitalize on Lucas' success (e.g. Disney's The Black Hole, Tron, etc.), and this third Tom Swift series fit right into the paradigm of a voracious reader of the era.
The plot is in many ways more straightforward than those of the earlier books in the series and perhaps even a bit more believable: Essentially, young uber-genius scientist and scion of the Swift Enterprises technological empire Tom Swift discovers that experiments being done on the Sun will bring about its destruction. Tropes of the genre dominate: Adult authority figures scoff at Tom's insistence, a megalomaniacal and ruthless billionaire puts profits over the safety of all humanity, and it's up to Tom and his friends and robot to save the whole solar system before it's too late.
As such, it's even a bit of a turn back to the series' predecessors, with outrageous situations that only Tom's genius for invention can solve but sans the space opera elements that had played out over much of the Tom Swift III series. As for the writing: well, what can you say? It's loaded with Tom Swifties and at-times purple prose... but the audience is that 8 year old boy I was when I read it, over and over again until my allowance let me buy the rest of the series or move on to Pocket's Star Trek catalog of the day (my school library carried the Tom Swift II series--which I read quickly but without the relish given it was written for kids of my father's generation).
The plot is in many ways more straightforward than those of the earlier books in the series and perhaps even a bit more believable: Essentially, young uber-genius scientist and scion of the Swift Enterprises technological empire Tom Swift discovers that experiments being done on the Sun will bring about its destruction. Tropes of the genre dominate: Adult authority figures scoff at Tom's insistence, a megalomaniacal and ruthless billionaire puts profits over the safety of all humanity, and it's up to Tom and his friends and robot to save the whole solar system before it's too late.
As such, it's even a bit of a turn back to the series' predecessors, with outrageous situations that only Tom's genius for invention can solve but sans the space opera elements that had played out over much of the Tom Swift III series. As for the writing: well, what can you say? It's loaded with Tom Swifties and at-times purple prose... but the audience is that 8 year old boy I was when I read it, over and over again until my allowance let me buy the rest of the series or move on to Pocket's Star Trek catalog of the day (my school library carried the Tom Swift II series--which I read quickly but without the relish given it was written for kids of my father's generation).
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 - 2 of 2 reviews