The first book in this series, 'Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle', surprised me in two ways. For one, it was published as long ago as 1910, which was much further back than I expected. The other that it was a heck of a lot of fun, not merely introducing us to the primary characters and general setup for the series but giving us an actual story. There are twists and turns and plenty of suspense and even a sense of danger as young Tom Swift faces off against the bad guys who ruthlessly stole his father's latest invention. This second book only really brought one surprise: it doesn't do that.

What it does is grow the characters, which is a good thing, but it's the only good thing here. Many of the characters we met in the first book return here and, while not all of them are deepened by what goes on this time, they are reinforced at the very least and the relationships between them grow. I can't promise that they're going to grow much further over a forty-book series but this is a good start. Clearly Mary Nestor is set up to be Tom's future girlfriend and Andy Foger remains his nemesis, even if they do agree to put their antagonism on hold occasionally when needs must.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot else, just an episodic series of adventures, some of which vaguely continue the story from the first book and most of which don't even try. It was clear going in that those bad guys would be back again, likely to steal more inventions from Tom's dad, Barton Swift. They do show up but only in a half-hearted fashion starting about halfway through the book. That seems even more surprising given the fact that there's some obvious foreshadowing right at the outset when Tom buys the motor-boat they stole in the first novel.

It's the 'Carlopa' and it was damaged in their custody so, after it's returned to its owner, Bentley Hastings, he puts it up for auction in as is condition. Andy Foger wants it badly but Tom wins it for the two hundred dollar maximum he was willing to bid. And, while that sets up a new level to the existing rivalry between the two young men, someone clearly tries and fails to recover something hidden in the gas tank in its forward compartment. For some reason, Tom fails to acknowledge it at the time and the point has to be hammered home a few more times before he's bright enough to actually investigate. That seems odd but it's really just keeping something for the finalé.

Tom's new boat, which he renames from 'Carlopa', for the lake behind Shopton, to 'Arrow', due to his desire to fix it up and tweak it to be more efficient, is a lush affair. However, when we get the details of why, we realise just how long ago this was. It's a family launch that carries twelve and it has a maximum speed of ten miles per hour. Damn! Why this sort of boat is suddenly involved in a series of races, both impromptu against Mr. Hastings and then Andy Foger, then organised for no better reason than there are a bunch of characters with motor-boats, I have no idea.

Yes, Andy ends up with a boat, a better one than the 'Arrow', but he doesn't know how to use it to its best advantage and he certainly doesn't have the engineering know-how to improve it the way Tom can, swapping out spark plugs and adjusting his timing. Mary Nestor also ends up with a boat, though it isn't hers. She's just borrowed it because conveniences are everywhere this time out. As you might expect, it breaks on her and he fortuitously shows up to fix it. He doesn't do that sort of thing as often as he did in the first book, but he fixes another vehicle for Wakefield Damon, Andy's boat after he crashes into Tom—at least he knows his went too far that time—and others.

He even helps out Mr. Duncan, the hunter from the first novel, after hearing a shot in the woods while heading back home in the 'Arrow'. It turns out that Duncan shot himself by accident and so Tom gets him to a sanitarium, then visits Duncan's wife to let her know what happened. For that, Duncan gives him a shotgun and a compass. I wonder how much stuff Tom will end up with by the end of this series. It's not like he doesn't have plenty already: he upgraded from bicycle to motor-bike last time out and buys this motor-boat here, even though he already has both a rowing skiff and a sailboat. I want to know how much space he has to store all these vehicles.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost all the action takes place on Lake Carlopa this time out. There's a brief section to start out with Tom on the road but, once he has the boat fixed up, he switches to the water and rarely leaves it, at least when it comes to transportation. He even takes his father and his friend Ned Newton on a brief holiday to the other side of the lake, where dad takes a well-earned break from inventing and stays in a hotel but the boys camp out for fun. Finding Mary, he takes her and her friends out for a ride, then has lunch with them and her parents. There are the races and the side trip with Mr. Duncan and even the rescue of a hot air balloonist after tragedy strikes in the sky. Everything's on the water, even the eventual rumbling of the crooks.

I can't say that I didn't enjoy this, but it's flimsy at best, especially compared to the first book. It's short on intrigue and long on convenience. When he bumps into Wakefield Damon again towards the end of the book, inevitably fixing his automobile yet again, Damon suggests that "You always seem to turn up at the right moment. How do you manage it?" This is book two of forty; if it's this convenient this early, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the series! I will continue, though, as I want to find out how it shifts from basic engineering into more outrageous adventure and later a more science fiction approach. I also want to get past this initial plot about simple thieves which I enjoyed in the first book but which was past its sell-by-date already in the second.

Tom remains fun, a worthy lead for a slew of reasons. Ned Newton does very little, spending part of the book stranded with his friend's dad while Tom's motor-boat is stolen and he has to search a good chunk of the lake in Andy Foger's boat instead. Foger grows here, from an obnoxious brat to someone with a little more substance. That may or may not last. His sidekick Sam Snedecker only serves as a sidekick. Eradicate Sampson is back and he's always fun, and there's Wakefield Damon and Mr. Duncan too. And, of course, there's Mary Nestor, who's a distraction for parts of this one but with the potential to grow as she and Tom become an item.

And, really, that's about it, except for the new character, John Sharp, the professional balloonist who Tom rescues at a crucial moment and who promptly helps him out in return. I'm sure he'll be back in book three, 'Tom Swift and His Airship', because we learn here that he wants to build one. What more incentive could Tom have? And, as a steampunk, I'm eager to see how this airship will function! See you next month for some aerial action! Here's to hoping that it's more like the first book than its first sequel. ~~ Hal C F Astell

For more titles in this series click here