The Phantom Shark

Rick Brant Science-Adventures #6

by John Blaine, Harold Leland Goodwin

Genres: Young Adult, Action, Adventure

206 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

"John Blaine" was a pseudonym of Harold Leland Goodwin and Peter J. Harkins.

Reviews

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was not as technical or scientific as some of the others in the series, but there was some. It was great that Barby got a chance to go on a trip with the boys this time. She was an important part of story and even took part in the scientific survey that was the reason for the trip they went on. Barby even had knowledge that explained an important part of the mystery that the boys did not have.

There was action but there were also good characters. The secondary characters that were not flat stock characters. Chahda was a great character to see again too. The ending was morally ambiguous, in a way that the Hardy Boys would never be. It was a good adventure, realistic, to some degree, and have some depth.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Phantom Shark is the sixth Rick Brant adventure, and is one of my favorites of the series. For the first time, Barby finally gets to accompany Rick and Scotty on an adventure. It was about time! They're accompanying a team of scientists mapping fishing grounds and the ocean in general, and soon become entangled with smugglers and pearl dealers. It all turns out all right in the end, of course; Chahda and Barby save the day. The dire Phantom Shark turns out not to be too bad after all, apparently, and Barby ably demonstrates the value of making friends. The Rick Brant books were a series of boys' (today they'd just be labeled "y.a.") scientific (originally called "electronic") adventures that were written between the late '40s and '60s. They were in many ways superior to the better-known Tom Swift, Jr. books; they were more realistic and included descriptions of projects and puzzles that engaged the reader, as well as having more down-to-earth settings and set-ups and more realistic and likable characters. Rick lived on Spindrift Island, the location of a small but superior scientific facility headed by his father, Hartson Brant, along with his friend Scotty (who was originally an ex-Marine veteran of World War Two), his younger sister Barby, his mother (who was never named other than "Mom" or "Mrs. Brant" so far as I can recall, and a large and expanding likable cast of scientists, and including Dismal (Diz), the family dog. Spindrift was a lovely and wonderful location, as detailed by the map on the endpapers in each volume, with a farm, a rocket launcher, cliffs and woods, a pirate's field, a dock and airfield, an orchard, a large house and laboratory facility; in short, everything a right-thinking young person of the 1950's could ever need. There was a fine and ever-changing cast of supporting characters in addition to the Island residents, including Chahda (an enterprising and bright young friend from India), and Agent Steve Ames, government liaison beyond compare, whom I always believed to be related to Harlan Ames, the security chief in the Tom Swift, Jr. books. Typically the stories started at home, on Spindrift, and then took the boys to some remote and exotic location in the company of one or more of the cast of scientists, where they would have adventures, solve mysteries, and perform valuable scientific experiments and research. They're fun and exciting stories despite inevitable dating, and I am enjoying revisiting them.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1949, there is still a bit of racism in here but only somewhat off naive. Rick’s younger sister Barry comes along despite “needing taking care of”, but at least “John Blaine” gave her a brain. Another implausible adventure for this boy hero, but not so far fetched as some.

[Steve Rutherford · Rating 5 out of 5]

PC

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick, Scotty, Chandha and Barby, go to a little island outside of Australia, where they are to meet their friends the Warners, and journey on a fishing expidition. While there they run head on into a mystery concerning a mysterious man called the Phantom Shark, who sells the best pears to be had, and has a reputation of being the most dangerous man to cross.
What is really interesting and neat is the beggar, Barthelemi, is actually based off of a real man, who really was a ex-prisoner.

[Kent Archie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better stories. Exotic settings, mysterious people, cool technology and Barbie has a key role.