Product Description
by Thomas Hudson (Author), T. Edward Fox (Author), Victor II Appleton (Author)
In this 7th novel in the Tom Swift Invention Series, the planet Pluto suddenly disappears. It is there one minute and gone the next. Is this the start of an invasion, or something even worse? Tom Swift is called upon to investigate. For starters he agrees to refurbish and move the long-defunct Hubble Space telescope into a position where it might scan the now empty area. Finding nothing he builds an ultra fast space probe. But when that disappears as it nears the missing planet's old position, it raises even more questions. A second probe is flung far to one side by an invisible force. The only thing to do is to go out himself, and so Tom sets about building a new, giant and incredibly fast spaceship, The Sutter. Before he can launch it, Pluto-or something slightly larger-reappears and begins heading inward toward the Sun. The problem is that the Earth is going to be right in the way. If Tom can't deflect this paradox planet from its course, all mankind might perish. But what secrets can this planet hold? And, why does it suddenly slow down inside Jupiter's orbit?
Author Biography
Victor Appleton II (and his predecessor, Victor Appleton) is the blanket pen name for a group of authors-for-hire who wrote all the Tom Swift novels starting back in 1910. The V.A. II for this Tom Swift Invention Series is a single author who grew up entranced by the world of Tom Swift Jr. He is now quite a long way from being a young reader, but still still remembers the thrill of reading about the famous teen inventor who could do anything from rocketing into space, building robots, communicating with aliens, and creating a road that could float in the air. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest-the author, not Tom!-where his time is divided between writing and being a lazy retired guy. While he hopes that both old and new readers will enjoy the stories, he offers a word of caution: The innocence and naiveté of the original Tom Jr, along with some of the lesser characters, do not appear in these books. Some have been replaced by "stronger" individuals. There are a few people with similar names but this series is not just an add-on to the 1954-1971 books. It takes place in the near future to today that sees our hero more involved in issues concerning all of mankind rather than just building stuff. They are still meant to be enjoyed by readers as young as 8-9 who possess good reading skills, and can be enjoyed by people the author's own age bracket, that being below, at or above the 60-year mark. A total of at least 20 books are planned with the first 12 written as of December 2013.
