Customer Reviews

Tom Swift and The Asteroid Pirates (The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures, Book 21)

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In this adventure, Tom and his companions battle an organization called the Black Cobra, whose leader goes by the same name. The goal of the Black Cobra is to take control of the asteroid Nestria, which has been colonized by members of the Swift group. The evil organization is well funded and equipped, they create a field of anti-matter particles around the asteroid, effectively isolating it from being re-supplied. When the first supply rocket from the Swift group encounters the field, it explodes and the radiation surge poisons all the food on Nestoria.

Tom tries desperately to find a way to get food to his group and fails. However, his space friends come to his aid. They send a message explaining that food can be found in caverns inside Nestoria. Forces of the Black Cobra land on Nestoria and take control of the facilities, and Tom and a small group finally manage to get through the field and do battle with the evil forces. They emerge victorious and regain control of Nestoria.

I consider this one of the better stories in the series, because there is only one plot element. So many other stories introduce secondary elements that detract from the main theme. There is a strong and resourceful villain and the focus remains on the battle between the Swift forces for good and the evil forces of the Black Cobra.

I have repeatedly said in other reviews that the Tom Swift/Tom Swift, Jr. books are archtypical edisonades. Let us take a more detaild look at his 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 an to overcome vilainy (Clute, 1993). Most inventor heroes are male, but there are rare cases when there is a girl inventor. The edisonade flourished in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. It sometimes used 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 them were written by the prolific Luis P. Senarens under the pseudonym of "Noname". Many of the inventions in this series were various types of steam robots. 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 certainly 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 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. has grown up, married his childhood sweetheart, has had two children, and directs the gargantuan Swift Enterprises. His perptually eighteen-year-old son is now the 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). Al five books were written to formula by James Duncan Lawrence, that champion TSJ author. Charles Brey illustrated the first four books, while Edward Moritz illustrated the _Polar-Ray Dynosphere. 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 him 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 thousands. In Serviss's novel, 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, Jr. mows down "chinks," "greasers," and Indians by the hundred with a gatling gun. One reviewer reports that he always feels the need to take a shower after rereading the Frank Reade dime novels.

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

_Reference_: Clute, John. "Edisonade". _The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction_, ed. Clute, John and Peter Nichols. New York: St. Martins Griffin, 1993, 368-370.