The Alien Probe

by Mega-books and Victor Appleton

An alien probe found wrecked on one of Jupiter's moons and containing insane intelligence is stole from a laboratory before its secret of stardrive is obtained.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671425781
• ISBN13: 9780671425784
• Release Date: July 1981
• Publisher: Wanderer Books
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Better than the first two books in the series, Tom is once again the capable inventor

This book is a continuation of the first two in the series, "The City in the Stars" and "Terror On the Moons of Jupiter." In "Terror" Tom and his friends Anita Thorwald and Benjamin Walking Eagle and the intelligent robot Aristotle encountered an interstellar probe from the race called the Skree. The probe is called Aracta and it brings news of the existence of a drive mechanism which makes travel between the stars possible and a request for help in the Skree's battle with another race called the Chutans. In this story, Aracta is stolen by the villain of the previous story and flown to the asteroid belt, where the evil David Luna takes control. Luna is a rich, powerful and ruthless tycoon who is the Swift Company's main rival. With the help of the quick-thinking Aristotle, Tom and his group are able to escape with Aracta. The story closes with a discussion of the structure of the star drive and the possibilities for aiding the Skree against the Chutans. I found this book to be better than the first two; Tom is once more the capable inventor, which is the whole point of the series. Another improvement was that Tom's father only has an incidental role at the beginning; in the first two books he was too much of an imposing father figure, which tended to diminish Tom.

Great Series to Introduce Young Boys to Science Fiction

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.