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Re-writing the Original Tom
There are only four things wrong with the original, now more than 100 years old, Tom Swift stories:
1) There isn't enough mechanics or science taking place; the early stories were pretty pedestrian.
2) Tom's father, Barton, although only in his forties or early fifties is described as being old, frail, infirm, decrepit, and almost weak-minded, yet he is supposedly a great inventor. Huh???
3) They were written at a time when racist remarks were considered to be okay. By today's standards they are insulting, even taken in a historical sense.
4) The sentence structure would give a modern day English teacher a coronary! Back to front sentences. Run on sentences. Words that have gone so far out of use that some people would just stop and stare in disbelief.
So, in preperation for the 100th Anniversary Tom Swift Conference held during the summer of 2010, I rewrote the first four stories. These are not reimagined or different stories from the originals, but are now acceptible by today's literature standards for pre- and young teens, and have been upgraded with some new and interesting scientific and mechanical devices and improvements to Tom's numerous gadgets.
Also available are my Brand New Tom Swift series.
Remember, there is a whole world of Character Short Stories featuring many of the people who live and work with and around Tom Swift. Most appear in 3, 4 and 5 story collections.
These are the first four Tom Swift novels ever published. At some point my plans are to convert up to 12 of these per year until the set of 41 are rewritten, and to add one or two all-new stories of my own—harking back to those simpler times—somewhere along the way.
Each of these is available for purchase as quality paper-bound volumes (or download, at a reduced price) from one of my publishers.
 
#1 - Tom buys a motorcycle from the eccentric Mr. Damon and then repairs and improves it until it about the fastest thing on the roads around Shopton. He sets out to deliver a secret model of his fathers to be patented, but gets waylaid by a team of thieves. He must use his brains and his motorcycle to defeat them and get back the patent model before they can register it as their own. Since they may work for an unfriendly government, it is vital that this new turbine engine remain in the hands of Mr. Swift.
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#2 - Tom, fresh from defeating the patent thieves, buys a motorboat they had stolen from a local man. After making numerous improvements to it, including covering the hull with a super-sleek coating, Tom sets out with his father and his close friend, Ned Newton, on a vacation. They run into the same gang of patent thieves who are out to steal more of Mr. Swift's property and to avenge themselves on Tom. Tom ends up rescuing a balloonist from perishing when his balloon bursts into flames high above Lake Carlopa.
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#3 - Tom and his new balloonist friend build a combination dirigible and biplane in which they intend to cruise the skies. On the eve of their trip, the Shopton Bank is robbed and the finger gets pointed at Tom and Mr. Damon. The three take off unaware that a reward for them has townspeople all along the east coast ready to shoot them down on sight. They must battle against a forest fire that threatens to drag them into its flames, lightning strikes and strangers with guns. It isn't until they are heading back home tht they learn the nature of the danger they face.
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#4 - Tom joins his father to create a submarine. At first they are doing it to try to win a prize being offered by the U.S. government, but they soon turn their efforts to recovering millions in gold bullion lost off the coast of Uraguay. But, their plans are overheard by a competing submarind builder who proves to be unscrupulous enough to andanger their lives as they try to get to the treasure. The submarine utilizes a special silent drive that does not rely on propellers to move the craft through the deep oceans, down to a depth of almost three miles.
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COMING SOME DAY: an all-new original novel starring Tom Swift, his father, Barton Swift, Ned Newton, Mr. Damon, Rad Simpson, and many other characters from the original Tom Swift series.
Tom Swift hears of a terrible accident in the skies over Virginia. A civilian aircraft carrying more than twenty people crashes when the pilot suffers a heart attack and can not land the plane. Tom decides to develop a new radio-based system whereby controllers at major airports might remotely fly any such doomed aircraft.
Knowing how important everyone's efforts are for the military needs of this great country, Tom soon realizes that his efforts will be best aimed to help create an aircraft capable of bombing remote cities, all while its pilot remains safely on the ground. His efforts are greatly assisted when his young son, Tom, Jr., comes up with a cunning device.
Too bad young Tom cannot be told about it. It's war time, after all! |
Most recent
update: November 12, 2012
More updates coming... Whenever my lazy butt gets in gear.
So, bear with me... if you like that sort of
thing.
Copyright
©1999-2012 T Hud
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