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TOM SWIFT AND HIS REPELATRON SKYWAY (The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures)

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I have repeatedly said in other essays that the Tom Swift/Tom Swift, Jr. books are archtypical edisonades. Let us take a more detailed look at this odd literary form. The edisonade is a kind of breathless adventure featuring a brilliant young inventor-as-hero, who uses his ingenuity to get out of tight spots (Clute, 1993). Usually the hero is male, but a few edisonades feature a girl inventor. The edisonade flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It sometimes featured real-life inventors as heroes. Two examples of this are Garrett P. Serviss's _Edison's Conquest of Mars_ (1898), an unauthorized sequel to _The War of the Worlds_, and Weldon Cobb's _To Mars With Tesla_ (1901).

Edward S. Ellis's dime novel _The Huge Hunter, The Steam Man of the Prairies_ (1868) is generally credited as being the first edisonade. Other dime novels followed. The Frank Reade, Jr. series ran from 1876 to 1939. Many of these stories were written by the prolific Luis P. Senarens under the pseudonym of "Noname". Many of the inventions in this series were variations of the steam robot. Another popular series was the Tom Edison, Jr. stories by Philip Reade, which ran from 1891 to 1892. The hero, we are told, is not directly related to the historical Edison. But we are meant to see similarities. Robert T. Toombs's Electric Bob series had a much shorter run-- only five stories in 1893-- but afictionados value them for their wit and originality.

In genre science fiction, E.E. Smith blended the conventions of the edisonade with those of the western in _The Skylark of Space_ (1928). There were sequels and imitations; but by 1950, genre sf had largely moved beyond the edisonade.

Except for the universe of Tom Swift. The original Tom Swift books (written mostly by Howard R. Garis of _Uncle Wiggly_ fame) ran from 1910 to 1938 to a total of 38 titles. The Tom Swift, Jr. books are an extension of the original series. Tom Sr. grows up, marries his childhood sweetheart, has two children, and directs the gargantuan Swift Enterprises. The perpetually eighteen-year old Tom Swift, Jr. is a second generation inventor. The Tom Swift, Jr. series ran from 1954 to 1971, for a total of 33 titles.

Books twenty-one through twenty-five are: _Tom Swift and the Asteroid Pirates_ (1963), _Tom Swift and his Repelatron Skyway_ (1963), Tom Swift and his Aquotomic Tracker_ (1964), _Tom Swift and his 3D Telejector_ (1964), and _Tom Swift and his Polar-Ray Dynasphere_ (1965). All five books were written to formula by James Duncan Lawrence, that champion TSJ author. Charles Brey illustrated the first book, while Edward Moritz ilustrated the last four. There is not much difference between the styles of the two artists. I would argue that the _Repelatron Skyway_ has the most spectacular cover.

Many of the conventions of the edisonade may be seen in these stories. The hero develops an invention-- usually a transportation or communication device. This invention allows the hero to (in the words of Huck Finn) "light out for the territory"-- go to outer space, under the sea, or to a foreign country. When in these foreign settings, the hero uses his invention to master the forces of nature and to overcome villainous enemies. (_The Asteroid Pirates_ and _The 3D Telejector_ have particularly formidable villains.) If Tom does not actually become the ruler of a foreign country, he becomes a kind of CEO.

Tom Swift, Jr. does not engage in genocide. This may seem like an odd virtue to cite. But earlier edisonade heroes routinely slaughtered enemies by the hundreds-- or even by the thousands. In Garrett Serviss's novel, Thomas Edison slaughters Martians to near extinction. In _The Skylark of Space_, Dick Seaton cheerfully exterminates aliens "root and branch" who are deemed "unfit". And Frank Reade mows down "chinks," "greasers," and Indians by the hundred with a gatling gun. One critic states that he feels a need to take a shower whenever he rereads the Frank Reade, Jr. stories.

To appreciate edisonades, you must not look too hard for dazzling writing; few edisonades are well-written. But they can sometimes have a certain amount of innocent charm and a certain degree of imaginative dash. The Tom Swift, Jr. books maintain the more entertaining traditions of the edisonade and eliminate some of the more repulsive ones. Surely that is worth a few points.