Tom Swift: The Alien Probe

Rating:
Summary: Great Place for Youngsters to Discover Science Fiction
Review: This particular incarnation of the Tom Swift series is a great place for young boys to discover science fiction. The stories are entertaining and do a good job of holding one's attention, plus the author attempts (with varied success) to weave in actual science here and there. I say the books are good for young boys because the protagonist is of course Tom Swift, and the format the adventure-story favored by many young boys, but the character Anita does offer a strong (but almost tomboyish) female role as well.

In the third story of the series, Tom must protect an alien space probe recovered from Io, one of Jupiter's moons, from theft while seeking to communicate with the artificial intelligence within. The story sets up the later works in the series as the probe helps Tom develop a hyperdrive and thus launch space exploration well beyond the moons of Jupiter.