T. Edward Fox

For every Tom Swift novel there are at least one or two inventions that just seem to be "there" as if they always existed. Or, they are important but they don't really get described as to how they came into being or how they function. This book, like the other five in this series, aim to fix that. The ten stories in this collection are individually shorter than previous novellas, but they don't need to be lengthy. These are about 6,000 words each and can easily be read in a single sitting (or reclining.) The book includes: The Big Wheel - Tom designs and builds a fast monocycleFrom Toad to Pigeon - It is time to update the Pigeon aircraft, and Tom is being asked to come up with the new designThe Little Black Bag of Medical Tools - Doc Simpson addresses the AMA and tells them about the nifty tools Tom has created for himThe Pocket Drone - A chance letter gets the inventor working on a new type of drone that can save livesThe Mechanical Arm - An employee loses an arm in an accident, and Tom is determined to replace it with the best prostheses he can buildThe Wasp - The U. S. Navy needs a tiny helicopter and Tom believes he has just the thing, assuming he can prove something never tried can work The Incredible Pen and Pencil - To Swift always has his pen radio and pencil soldering iron in his shirt pocket, but why did he make them and how? The Other Great Polymer - Tomasite is amazing but too expensive, so when Tom is building the Sky Queen he needs a new, strong polymerThe Kangaroo Kub - There is to be a midget jet carried in the Sky Queen, but can Tom design one that will land inside a moving hangar? The Repelatron - It had to come from somewhere and this is the story of how Tom came up with the very first concept, and it was years before he used it for a spaceship

In his 17th adventure, Tom finds himself battling something his scientific knowledge has not prepared him for: personal tragedy Already having conquered several of science fiction's more difficult problems, Tom Swift is faced with a crisis that will test his abilities nearly to the breaking point. An incredibly close person has been stricken with an inoperable tumor inside his head. The tumor will kill him in months, or an operation might do it sooner. At the very least, standard medical procedures would leave him with brain damage. When Doc Simpson proposes an impossible task, Tom, who is mentally fatigued almost to the breaking point, finds that he must rally if there is anything to do to save the man. But the Doctor himself refuses to consider the treatment Tom has in mind when he finds out that what the inventor proposes is more like a living video game that serious surgery. Will it be possible to convince him to let Tom-an unskilled surgeon at the very best-perform the life-saving procedure? And, can Tom rally his emotional and physical strength long enough to make the operation a success?

In this fifth collection of invention novellas and short stories: TOM SWIFT AND HIS EXCEPTIONAL BATTERYWhen a valued employee has an opportunity to create a new and lifesaving device for use on the battlefield, Tom agrees to create an entirely new type of battery for it. TOM SWIFT AND HIS MULTICORDERThere are just too darned many things for the young inventor to keep hauling around for those times he needs some special devices, so he sets about coming up with an all-in-one unit based on a popular old TV show. TOM SWIFT AND HIS POLYMORPHIC GLIDERAfter rescuing a glider pilot it turns out that the father is a very wealthy man who wants Tom to do the impossible, make him an air glider that can fly like a bird, flapping wings and standing starts included. TOM SWIFT TAKES OFFA Young Tom Swift story. Nearly 13, Tom dreams of the day he can fly, but now thinks he can start with a rocket. First, though, he must build a viable solid rocket motor using the things he can find in the late 1940s. TOM SWIFT AND THE MODEL ROCKET MOTORThe son of a friend has become fascinated with model rocketry, something Tom can relate to. When the boy tries to make his own rocket motor, and is seriously injured, Tom decides to come up with a formula that is safe and powerful. An alternate look at Tom Swift creating a solid propellant. This is a shorter, bonus story.

In this third trio of novellas celebrating the inventions of the father of Tom Swift, Damon Swift, the seasoned inventor tackles a problem in Africa, one that will soon be in outer space. and then he heads back to Australia for another interesting project. In "Damon Swift and the Duly Deputized Rhino," he must devise a way to protect endangered rhinos from the poaching squads of an evil dictator of one of the newest nations. "Damon Swift and the One-Man Missile" sees him attempting to work with the French designers of a forthcoming space station to rival Enterprises' own Outpost in Space, only to find that they have made far too many mistakes in their design. But it is what they intend to do with the invention he is creating for them that makes him angry. Finally, in "Damon Swift and the Pretend Pterodactyl," he is hired to create a flying lizard for a man who is more interested in getting his name on a new theme park than in doing things right.

Famous as a young teen detective, Barclay "Brains" Benton and his best friend Jimmy Carson have grown up. After college Brains has gone to work for an electronics company while Jim is now a crime reporter for a newspaper in Los Angeles. Time, work and circumstances have drawn Jim back to his old home town of Crestwood while he takes a summer break from reporting. Brains joins him to take his mind off his girlfriend having moved away from California for a year. They rent an attic room and decide to take on a few small cases. But, when a mysterious woman gets word to them through Jim's sister-she was one of Ann's favorite, if a little eccentric, teachers-that she is being stalked by aliens from outer space, both young men are drawn into one of their weirder mysteries ever. It gets even stranger when the woman's own daughter turns out to be nearly as eccentric. The two have been living in a house where it seems the only way to get in or out is to climb up the side to a second-story window But when the old woman disappears almost out from under Brains' and Jim's noses, they just have to get to the bottom of it. The original Brains Benton series ran just six books in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since then, only a few authors have attempted "fan fiction" to the extent of writing additional novels. This one follows onto the first three by author Scott Lockwood and uses some of his situations. It is the first of a planned pair of Brains and Jim as adults novels by this author. If you will, please note that the style of the writing is designed so the story can be enjoyed by young adult readers as well as old coots such as myself who can recall when the first books arrived on store and library shelves ALSO--There is now a juvenile version of this book "Brains and Jimmy: The Mrs. Periwinkle Case" meant to be read my younger readers while their parents enjoy this one.

In this second collection of Damon Swift Invention novellas we begin by going back nearly 18 years to a time when Damon is working for NASA. Circumstanced there and at home demand he go back to save the family business. To do this, he must get the ball rolling on an incredibly simple but difficult to get manufactured car. This two-seater does something no other car can. it folds up into a narrow package fore easy storage. The only problem is, who wants something like that? This is an enhanced and updated version of a story that appeared in a collection of Tom Swift inventions. Next, we come to modern times where Damon finds himself in the middle of a potential invasion of either north America, Europe, or both by a hostile Asian nation. When asked to come up with something to safeguard the Arctic from these invaders, he comes up with an audacious surveillance robot. Then, his vacation in Brazil is interrupted when he is kidnapped by a member of his own government, told of a potential for a terrible outbreak of disease, and requested to find a way to save members of an elusive tribe stuck int he middle of the danger zone. To round the book off, there is an all-new short story. "Damon Swift and the Scuttle-By-Wire Rat" that takes him back into the worlds of robotics and sewer systems.

One thing all Tom Swift novels have in common is the lack of details about his lesser inventions. How did they come about? Were they part of something else of standalone projects? This series of four collections attempts to put the story behind the 'thingamy' as in, "Tom raced from the room pausing only long enough to cream the thin gamy into his jacket pocket knowing it might come in handy later on." Of course, it usually is a vital device for him, but space and word colt requirements usually meant such details had to be left out. Now you have the tales of seven of Tom's inventions, everything from the origin of his Fat Man deep diving suit to the creation of a brand new kind of forest ranger to an evacuation ball allowing injured people in his outpost in space to get back to Earth to a new jet aircraft that will become a favorite of his in the New Tom Swift Inventions Series (also available from this outlet), and a lot more.

All Tom Swift novels have more than the primary invention from the title, but there is a lack of details about those lesser inventions. How did they come about? Were they part of something else of standalone projects? This series of four collections attempts to put the story behind the 'thingamy' as in, "Tom raced from the room pausing only long enough to cream the thin gamy into his jacket pocket knowing it might come in handy later on." Now you have the latest tales of five of Tom's inventions, plus one from his father, Damon Swift. In this volume is everything from the fight to built a reconnaissance aircraft the Government needs instead of the one they ask for, an incredible set of new musical instruments Tom hopes will help a favorite teacher keep her music program, a high-dive from orbit in only a space suit, an engine that uses only sound, and a giant fish. Most of these are mentioned in various novels from the New Tom Swift Inventions Series (also available from this outlet).

In this 10th book of the new Tom Swift Invention Series, young inventor Tom Swift finds himself with a mystery. Someone is insisting on a face-to-face meeting but refuses to tell Tom why or who he is. All sorts of bells and danger whistles go off in his mind. When the truth becomes known, it sets Tom on a path that will see him building a flying vehicle capable of locating buried bodies, being pressed into a rescue mission when a volcano erupts and threatens to destroy a major city, which then catapults him right into the toughest assignment he's ever faced. Flying through space or swimming deeper in the ocean than anyone ever has been child's play compared to what he faces. The very earth under our feet has a mysterious tear that could destroy several New England states. Nobody knows how long it has been there, but it isn't standing still It might even travel across the country eventually causing a super volcanic eruption under Yosemite. Tom has never faced the very planet he lives on as an opponent in a battle like this.

In this 8th in the new Tom Swift Invention Series, Tom Swift finds himself involved in a galactic mystery. Something very much like a black hole has been discovered a dozen light years away, but nobody can say for certain what it really is... or if it will affect the Earth. The thing about black holes is they suck in light so they can't really be seen. Tom wants to go investigate. Even his quickest unmanned rockets can't carry enough fuel for such a trip. So a shortcut seems to be the only chance. His knowledge tells him that wormholes are more than a science fiction hypothesis, but how the heck can he go about locating one? Even if he finds one, how can he determine where it might exit? When an old video surfaces showing proof to and open and willing mind that wormholes exist and can be opened for brief periods, he also finds it takes the power of a nuclear bomb to do so. If he overcomes all issues, he and Bud may be on a one way trip. They encounter the anomaly-and it's a doozy-but they also find themselves face-to- uhhh, hands? Giant ghostly hands beckon them, but what can it all mean? With little air and no fuel, what can Tom do? NOTE: Although this book shares a common title with one of the Tom Swift Jr. books published in late 1971, it IS NOT that book. Nor is it that story.