Book Review: Tom Swift and His Motor-boat by Victor Appleton
When I was a lad, lo these many years ago, one of the things that delighted me was running across old boys’ adventure books, from when my grandfather was young. The world they described was so strange and far away, even then. So when I run across one these days, I have a look for old time’s sake.
This is the second book in the original Tom Swift series. Tom was the son of a gifted but not yet prosperous inventor, and a skilled engineer/mechanic/inventor in his own right. Early in the series, the books revolved around the latest real-life technology, edging into techno-thriller territory as Tom’s inventions became more advanced. They were written by a publishing syndicate under the house name of Victor Appleton, and the straight-up science fiction series of Tom Swift, Jr. books were assigned to Victor Appleton, Jr.
In the first Tom Swift book, he had lucked into a motorcycle and had a series of adventures on it, including tracking down a stolen motorboat. Said boat was pretty banged up by the end, and in the beginning of this book, the owner sells it to Tom at a very reasonable price. Tom repairs and upgrades the boat, and soon is having adventures on and around the local (very large) lake. There’s a subplot with the Happy Harry gang that also appeared in the previous volume. For some reason they seem bent on staying in the area and harassing the Swifts.
This volume illustrates how much the technology of gasoline motors has advanced in the intervening century–Tom and the other motorboat pilots must frequently tinker with the engines mid-race to get the best performance or prevent breakdowns. It’s made very clear that merely purchasing a faster engine won’t let you win if you don’t know how to use it properly.
The last quarter of the book sets up the airship that will be the focus of the next volume, with the final fate of the Happy Harry gang.
The character of Eradicate (a black handyman) may come off as offensively stereotyped, and Tom shows some mild sexism when it comes to girls and motors. (The romantic interest gets better at it, but only because of his tutoring.) And towards the end, one character suddenly reveals he has more political power than he’d let on, with no foreshadowing.
But these are minor quibbles, and I think this book would be fine to share with a son, grandson or nephew with the usual discussions of what has changed in the last century and why.
