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Tom Swift: Inventors' Academy #1
The Drone Pursuit
The Hardy Boys meets Alex Rider in this start to a brand-new series starring everyone’s favorite inventor—Tom Swift!
When your dad funds the Swift Academy of Science and Technology, you’re bound to have a bunch of tech at your disposal. So no one bats an eye when Tom and his best friend, Noah, test their new virtual reality drone before class. At the academy, once class starts and the drone is parked, their brainiac friends then launch into farfetched discussions about the curriculum. And when they watch a documentary about the FBI’s most wanted hackers from the eighties, they quickly start speculating that the academy custodian is one of them.
At first, Tom dismisses the idea as another one of his friends’ conspiracy theories. But using their new drone, he spies the custodian acting suspiciously around school. As Tom and his friends search for evidence that the custodian is the missing hacker, the signs become impossible to ignore when Tom gets threatening messages that warn him away from investigating. And when someone releases a virus in the school servers, all bets are off as the adjoining servers at tech giant Swift Enterprises come under fire. Can Tom and his friends uncover the true culprit before it’s too late?
When your dad funds the Swift Academy of Science and Technology, you’re bound to have a bunch of tech at your disposal. So no one bats an eye when Tom and his best friend, Noah, test their new virtual reality drone before class. At the academy, once class starts and the drone is parked, their brainiac friends then launch into farfetched discussions about the curriculum. And when they watch a documentary about the FBI’s most wanted hackers from the eighties, they quickly start speculating that the academy custodian is one of them.
At first, Tom dismisses the idea as another one of his friends’ conspiracy theories. But using their new drone, he spies the custodian acting suspiciously around school. As Tom and his friends search for evidence that the custodian is the missing hacker, the signs become impossible to ignore when Tom gets threatening messages that warn him away from investigating. And when someone releases a virus in the school servers, all bets are off as the adjoining servers at tech giant Swift Enterprises come under fire. Can Tom and his friends uncover the true culprit before it’s too late?
144 pages, Hardcover
Published July 2, 2019
About the author
Victor Appleton
544 books49 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 11, 2020
it had twist at the end
December 28, 2018
An Updated, Lighter Weight, "Tom Swift"
In the old days, (which I remember well), the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and Enid Blyton's various kid combos, searched for smugglers in hidden sea caves. Good stuff. Now, these same heroes track down hackers in hidden server farms. Also good stuff, but maybe not as salty and adventurous as the originals.
This is the opening book in a series that reimagines Tom and his pals as twelve year old students at a high end STEM academy attached to Swift Enterprises. Lots of opportunities for high tech action and adventure. I enjoyed this outing, but must observe that it seems to read a lot younger, (I mean middle grade), than the adventures you might remember. That seems to have happened to most of the reboots. The Hardy Boys have returned in several versions, mostly in a comic book fashion. Only Nancy Drew is sometimes reimagined as an older teen placed in grittier narratives. This Swift is clearly toward the lightweight side of the ledger.
That said, it's still a lot of fun. "Victor Appleton" is the author, and since that was the house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate starting in the 1910's, you get the sense that the publisher wants to have some fun with this. It's interesting that when Tom Swift was started in 1910 the reasoning behind it was that the publisher wanted to get into the market for science and technology adventures. Now, of course, we call that STEM, but the reasoning is the same. Great. Bring it on.
If this book is any indication it looks like each volume will have a central piece of tech, (this time it's a drone), a mystery, (who's the unknown hacker?), and some hiding and sneaking and investigating and lurking by Tom and his three pals. The pals are also top drawer science types, so we get a varied crew of heroes. The mystery is pretty mild and the tech isn't quite as Wow! as some of the stuff the original Tom Swift played with, (photo telephone, diamond synthesizer, electric locomotive), but the tech energy and can-do spirit is authentic enough.
Anyway, my bottom line is that reviving Tom Swift as a STEM hero is a good idea, and this book is fast paced, entertaining, well balanced, and has a nice tone and an engaging style. I enjoyed it and hope it finds a place in the hearts of budding geeks.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
In the old days, (which I remember well), the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and Enid Blyton's various kid combos, searched for smugglers in hidden sea caves. Good stuff. Now, these same heroes track down hackers in hidden server farms. Also good stuff, but maybe not as salty and adventurous as the originals.
This is the opening book in a series that reimagines Tom and his pals as twelve year old students at a high end STEM academy attached to Swift Enterprises. Lots of opportunities for high tech action and adventure. I enjoyed this outing, but must observe that it seems to read a lot younger, (I mean middle grade), than the adventures you might remember. That seems to have happened to most of the reboots. The Hardy Boys have returned in several versions, mostly in a comic book fashion. Only Nancy Drew is sometimes reimagined as an older teen placed in grittier narratives. This Swift is clearly toward the lightweight side of the ledger.
That said, it's still a lot of fun. "Victor Appleton" is the author, and since that was the house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate starting in the 1910's, you get the sense that the publisher wants to have some fun with this. It's interesting that when Tom Swift was started in 1910 the reasoning behind it was that the publisher wanted to get into the market for science and technology adventures. Now, of course, we call that STEM, but the reasoning is the same. Great. Bring it on.
If this book is any indication it looks like each volume will have a central piece of tech, (this time it's a drone), a mystery, (who's the unknown hacker?), and some hiding and sneaking and investigating and lurking by Tom and his three pals. The pals are also top drawer science types, so we get a varied crew of heroes. The mystery is pretty mild and the tech isn't quite as Wow! as some of the stuff the original Tom Swift played with, (photo telephone, diamond synthesizer, electric locomotive), but the tech energy and can-do spirit is authentic enough.
Anyway, my bottom line is that reviving Tom Swift as a STEM hero is a good idea, and this book is fast paced, entertaining, well balanced, and has a nice tone and an engaging style. I enjoyed it and hope it finds a place in the hearts of budding geeks.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
August 3, 2021
The Drone Pursuit by Victor Appleton is the first book in the Tom Swift: Inventors Academy series and it targeted to that 3-5th grade age range.
A school with the name of Swift Academy of Science and Technology, is bound to have some pretty cool tech tools. So seeing a drone flying around the school is no big deal. What is a big deal, is when that drone goes missing and you stumble upon a conspiracy theory that show all signs of not being a theory.
Along with his friends, Tom Swift must use their wits and the technology at their disposal to uncover a secret and save the school.
This was a quick read that I've been meaning to give a try for a while now. It's got all the checkmarks of your typical kid STEM book--Smart kids, who use their wits and tech, friendship and usually a school or club of some sort.
I can see why we shelve it in our series section of the library because there isn't, at least yet, an over arching challenge or bad guy to fight. It looks like each book will be a unique problem for Tom and his friends.
I don't really have too much else to say, other than it was a good read for both boys and girls and it was fun to try to figure out who the real bad guy was going to be. I think it is probably too easy of a read for my 4-6th graders but it will be perfect for a good 3rd grade reader and 4th grade. This one gets 3.5 stars from me.
That's all for now!
-M-
A school with the name of Swift Academy of Science and Technology, is bound to have some pretty cool tech tools. So seeing a drone flying around the school is no big deal. What is a big deal, is when that drone goes missing and you stumble upon a conspiracy theory that show all signs of not being a theory.
Along with his friends, Tom Swift must use their wits and the technology at their disposal to uncover a secret and save the school.
This was a quick read that I've been meaning to give a try for a while now. It's got all the checkmarks of your typical kid STEM book--Smart kids, who use their wits and tech, friendship and usually a school or club of some sort.
I can see why we shelve it in our series section of the library because there isn't, at least yet, an over arching challenge or bad guy to fight. It looks like each book will be a unique problem for Tom and his friends.
I don't really have too much else to say, other than it was a good read for both boys and girls and it was fun to try to figure out who the real bad guy was going to be. I think it is probably too easy of a read for my 4-6th graders but it will be perfect for a good 3rd grade reader and 4th grade. This one gets 3.5 stars from me.
That's all for now!
-M-
July 5, 2019
A new Tom Swift, Jr. series. I wasn't a fan of Tom Swift until the Wanderer Books series that first saw publication in 1981. That series is still my favorite of the six Tom Swift series. Yet I find this series starts off surprisingly better than the current Nancy Drew Diaries and Hardy Boys Adventures series did (though both of thise series have improved over time despite quibbles I have with the length of the stories and the preoccupation with sabotage in the Diaries series).
This time around, Tom is motherless, having lost his mom at a young age, and has three best friends--Noah Newton, a nod to Ned Newton from the original 1910s Tom Swift series, Amy Hsu, and Samantha Watson. Each of the friends brings his/her own scientific skill set to the group.
While the mystery element is present, I was far more interested in the technology mentioned. As someone who has never been all that interested in the inventing side of science and technology, it's safe to say that I'm sold on this series.
If only Simon & Schuster would work on bringing the Dana Girls back into print next.
This time around, Tom is motherless, having lost his mom at a young age, and has three best friends--Noah Newton, a nod to Ned Newton from the original 1910s Tom Swift series, Amy Hsu, and Samantha Watson. Each of the friends brings his/her own scientific skill set to the group.
While the mystery element is present, I was far more interested in the technology mentioned. As someone who has never been all that interested in the inventing side of science and technology, it's safe to say that I'm sold on this series.
If only Simon & Schuster would work on bringing the Dana Girls back into print next.
June 3, 2021
I felt this book was underwhelming. I remember reading Tom Swift as a kid and being entranced by the science and tech. But in this case, I feel it fell flat. Knowing that "Victor Appleton" is a pseudonym that has been used since 1910, I might have just not liked this author. But in general, if you didn't tell me the characters were diverse, I wouldn't have known at all. And the things they get in to didn't really make a ton of sense to me. On top of that, I couldn't really relate to the characters at all, and I had some questions that I didn't feel were answered-mainly is this academy for gifted kids or is it just like a STEM magnet school. As opposed to the original series (as well as nancy drew, and the hardy boys-by the same publishing house) the side characters weren't really developed much.
That being said, this was a quick read that I think that reluctant middle grade readers would enjoy.
That being said, this was a quick read that I think that reluctant middle grade readers would enjoy.
May 15, 2021
I haven't read a lot of Tom Swift, a few of the original books, maybe 1 or 2 of the later ones.
So I can't really compare this to them.
But I thought it was a fun, quick read for the target audience.
I think I would have liked this when I was about 10-12.
I think it is actually more like the Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint books than the original Tom Swift.
So I can't really compare this to them.
But I thought it was a fun, quick read for the target audience.
I think I would have liked this when I was about 10-12.
I think it is actually more like the Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint books than the original Tom Swift.
December 23, 2019
A surprisingly good entry in this long running series. Middle school students use tech to solve a mystery involving, hackers, mysterious adults and interference with school operations. It moves along well and should entertain any young students, especially those with some STEM interests. First book in a new series.
December 18, 2025
I never read the original Tom Swift novels, but I think that this is probably a fun reboot/spinoff suitable for kids today. I actually think it's nice that there are new versions of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and Dragonlance books to possibly be the series that gets kids excited to read a lot of volumes.
July 15, 2021
I enjoyed the mystery in this story and how all the pieces seemed to fit together, but in the end all had logical reasoning. I think the story wrapped up well and I would read others in the series. I feel kids would enjoy these, especially those who are intimidated by thicker books.
July 31, 2025
A good read aloud. I'm unfamiliar with the original Tom Swift books, but I'm familiar enough with works from that era, that I can see where this book pulls references from the originals. we will definitely be picking up the next on!
March 16, 2019
Simple and quick action-filled mystery. Good choice for reluctant readers.
November 20, 2019
Thrilling ; Fun !recommended
December 29, 2019
I really enjoyed this one. Quick, clever, and fun. Great for family reading. It's interesting, quirky, a little suspenseful and a good ending. Definitely gonna read the rest. Enjoy!
January 30, 2020
Read aloud to my 3rd grader. Entertaining, lots of action and my kid loved the story and is excited to start book 2.
August 4, 2020
A marvelous book for the upper Elementary and Middle grade, readers.
My grandson that is in 7th grade and usually only reads non-fiction read the first book in one day.
My grandson that is in 7th grade and usually only reads non-fiction read the first book in one day.
September 3, 2020
Fun reads, love the Tom Swift characters, these are short but great none the less.
January 8, 2025
It was too easy to read and there was not much difficult vocabulary.
Want to Read
April 17, 2025J FIC APPLETON, V.
September 14, 2021
This was a pretty good book! It was short, sweet, and to the point.
The characters are likeable for the most part. I will say that they all needed better development to make them unique in their own way. However, maybe more things will be discovered about them in the books to come.
But I did enjoy the slight suspense. There were so many times when Tom and his friends almost got caught! It makes the readers heart beat faster, anticipating if they can make it through certain obstacles. Definitely brings excitement!
Also, I will say that I dislike who the culprit ended up being and I'm still somewhat confused about why she hacked into the school computers. Honestly, to make it more interesting, I kind of wish that it was Tom's Dad thought; he seemed suspicious enough and I think it would have a different impact.
Nevertheless, I think I'll probably continue reading the rest of the series. I haven't read MG's in a way since I've DNF'd a lot of them, so this should be a fun journey.
The characters are likeable for the most part. I will say that they all needed better development to make them unique in their own way. However, maybe more things will be discovered about them in the books to come.
But I did enjoy the slight suspense. There were so many times when Tom and his friends almost got caught! It makes the readers heart beat faster, anticipating if they can make it through certain obstacles. Definitely brings excitement!
Also, I will say that I dislike who the culprit ended up being and I'm still somewhat confused about why she hacked into the school computers. Honestly, to make it more interesting, I kind of wish that it was Tom's Dad thought; he seemed suspicious enough and I think it would have a different impact.
Nevertheless, I think I'll probably continue reading the rest of the series. I haven't read MG's in a way since I've DNF'd a lot of them, so this should be a fun journey.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews