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Rick Brant Science-Adventures #1
The Rocket's Shadow
Rick Brant's father is planning a rocket launch to the Moon. Saboteurs are trying to delay takeoff to claim a two million dollar prize.
209 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
21 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
John Blaine
166 books9 followers"John Blaine" was a pseudonym of Harold Leland Goodwin and Peter J. Harkins.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 25, 2021
The Rick Brant Science-Adventure series began almost forty years after the first Tom Swift book appeared in 1910, but has its own original elements and character types, and The Rocket's Shadow was our introduction to them. Just off the New Jersey coast, Spindrift Island is home to a sophisticated laboratory headed up by former university physics professor Hartson Brant. After World War II, government funding to Spindrift was cut, and its future is uncertain. For now, though, Dr. Brant's elite team of scientists continues its experiments, and the most eager scientist of all is Brant's teenage son, Rick. The team is on the verge of a breakthrough: they have developed a rocket capable of flying to the moon, a venture never successfully attempted by mankind. It would be Hartson Brant's crowning achievement, certain to earn him the prestigious research grant put up by John Stoneridge, who has pledged two million dollars to fund the most promising scientific project he can find. Will the Spindrift team be able to engineer the rocket launch and earn that money?
Rick's father doesn't seem concerned by a series of minor malfunctions that occur while finishing the rocket, but Rick is uneasy. Could a rival be sabotaging the project? Piloting his own Little Cub airplane back to the mainland on supply runs is when Rick first sees evidence that his instinct about sabotage is correct. First, a group of men in a gray sedan show up at every store just before he does and buy up their entire supply of the electronic device Rick was sent to fetch. When he follows them, they initiate a physical confrontation; Rick can hold his own in a fight, but the men are strong and aggressive, and it is the impeccably timed arrival of a young man in a marines uniform that saves Rick. Donald Scott (better known as Scotty) is wandering the country looking for a job after his departure from the marines. He'd never met Rick, but the two will become best friends before long. Rick suggests that Scotty join the Spindrift Island team; they could use a good security man. Rick is coming to suspect that one of his father's scientists is a traitor, and with Scotty's help, he aims to expose the offender's identity.
An attack thousands of feet above the earth, while Rick is in his airplane; cryptic messages on the roof of a barn between Spindrift Island and the mainland; vital technical products that go missing without a trace. All the Spindrift scientists are like brothers to Hartson Brant, but over time it becomes obvious that one is working for the enemy. Is it Hobart Zircon, the barrel-chested electronics man? John Stringfellow, the mathematician and radio communications specialist? Or Julius Weiss, a scrawny man with a strong gaze and brilliant mind? Whoever it is, the guilty party is smart, and catching them in the act is a tall order. When Scotty tracks the saboteur's hired thugs to a hidden laboratory on the mainland, he and Rick know this is the break they've waited for, but the teens won't get away without an armed confrontation. The traitor is willing to kill to derail the Spindrift rocket launch, but can Rick and Scotty neutralize him so Hartson Brant gets his fair shot at winning John Stoneridge's two million dollars? A private citizen landing a rocket on the moon would usher in the space age, and propel Rick and his father into a future of groundbreaking scientific discovery.
Originally published in 1947, The Rocket's Shadow predates the first manned moon landing by twenty-two years. Like most of the Rick Brant Science-Adventure novels, this one isn't wildly speculative; it takes a reasoned approach to cutting-edge science, just as Rick and Scotty do to hunting down the man who is betraying the Spindrift team. Like the original Tom and Barton Swift, Rick and Hartson Brant would collaborate on many crucial projects through twenty-four books in the series, inspiring young readers to push the boundaries of science. For his part, Scotty is just as important as the Brants: his courage, combat skill, and unwavering loyalty protect the Spindrift scientists from those who would destroy their work in the name of politics or personal profit. I enjoy the Rick Brant Science-Adventure series, and look forward to book two, The Lost City. The plot resumes right where The Rocket's Shadow ends, and promises to be intriguing. I'll see you there.
Rick's father doesn't seem concerned by a series of minor malfunctions that occur while finishing the rocket, but Rick is uneasy. Could a rival be sabotaging the project? Piloting his own Little Cub airplane back to the mainland on supply runs is when Rick first sees evidence that his instinct about sabotage is correct. First, a group of men in a gray sedan show up at every store just before he does and buy up their entire supply of the electronic device Rick was sent to fetch. When he follows them, they initiate a physical confrontation; Rick can hold his own in a fight, but the men are strong and aggressive, and it is the impeccably timed arrival of a young man in a marines uniform that saves Rick. Donald Scott (better known as Scotty) is wandering the country looking for a job after his departure from the marines. He'd never met Rick, but the two will become best friends before long. Rick suggests that Scotty join the Spindrift Island team; they could use a good security man. Rick is coming to suspect that one of his father's scientists is a traitor, and with Scotty's help, he aims to expose the offender's identity.
An attack thousands of feet above the earth, while Rick is in his airplane; cryptic messages on the roof of a barn between Spindrift Island and the mainland; vital technical products that go missing without a trace. All the Spindrift scientists are like brothers to Hartson Brant, but over time it becomes obvious that one is working for the enemy. Is it Hobart Zircon, the barrel-chested electronics man? John Stringfellow, the mathematician and radio communications specialist? Or Julius Weiss, a scrawny man with a strong gaze and brilliant mind? Whoever it is, the guilty party is smart, and catching them in the act is a tall order. When Scotty tracks the saboteur's hired thugs to a hidden laboratory on the mainland, he and Rick know this is the break they've waited for, but the teens won't get away without an armed confrontation. The traitor is willing to kill to derail the Spindrift rocket launch, but can Rick and Scotty neutralize him so Hartson Brant gets his fair shot at winning John Stoneridge's two million dollars? A private citizen landing a rocket on the moon would usher in the space age, and propel Rick and his father into a future of groundbreaking scientific discovery.
Originally published in 1947, The Rocket's Shadow predates the first manned moon landing by twenty-two years. Like most of the Rick Brant Science-Adventure novels, this one isn't wildly speculative; it takes a reasoned approach to cutting-edge science, just as Rick and Scotty do to hunting down the man who is betraying the Spindrift team. Like the original Tom and Barton Swift, Rick and Hartson Brant would collaborate on many crucial projects through twenty-four books in the series, inspiring young readers to push the boundaries of science. For his part, Scotty is just as important as the Brants: his courage, combat skill, and unwavering loyalty protect the Spindrift scientists from those who would destroy their work in the name of politics or personal profit. I enjoy the Rick Brant Science-Adventure series, and look forward to book two, The Lost City. The plot resumes right where The Rocket's Shadow ends, and promises to be intriguing. I'll see you there.
August 13, 2018
The Rocket's Shadow is the first Rick Brant adventure, and is a good kick-off to the series. Rick is introduced as a former member of the high school track team who used to fly to school; we meet the scientists of Spindrift and the rest of the Brant family as they are all anxious to win a grant which will enable them to stay on the island and pursue their work and research presumably permanently. Scotty is introduced as a veteran of three major actions against Japan and an orphan. Rick is shown as a tinkerer/amateur inventor, who has come up with some amusing if impractical devices. The Rick Brant books were a series of boys' (today they'd just be labeled "y.a.") scientific (originally called "electronic") adventures that were written between the late '40s and '60s. They were in many ways superior to the better-known Tom Swift, Jr. books; they were more realistic and included descriptions of projects and puzzles that engaged the reader, as well as having more down-to-earth settings and set-ups and more realistic and likable characters. Rick lived on Spindrift Island, the location of a small but superior scientific facility headed by his father, Hartson Brant, along with his friend Scotty (who was originally an ex-Marine veteran of World War Two), his younger sister Barby, his mother (who was never named other than "Mom" or "Mrs. Brant" so far as I can recall, and a large and expanding likable cast of scientists, and including Dismal (Diz), the family dog. Spindrift was a lovely and wonderful location, as detailed by the map on the endpapers in each volume, with a farm, a rocket launcher, cliffs and woods, a pirate's field, a dock and airfield, an orchard, a large house and laboratory facility; in short, everything a right-thinking young person of the 1950's could ever need. There was a fine and ever-changing cast of supporting characters in addition to the Island residents, including Chahda (an enterprising and bright young friend from India), and Agent Steve Ames, government liaison beyond compare, whom I always believed to be related to Harlan Ames, the security chief in the Tom Swift, Jr. books. Typically the stories started at home, on Spindrift, and then took the boys to some remote and exotic location in the company of one or more of the cast of scientists, where they would have adventures, solve mysteries, and perform valuable scientific experiments and research. They're fun and exciting stories despite inevitable dating, and I am enjoying revisiting them.
December 19, 2024
Anyone who loves old adventure stories like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift… well, I do too, but the Rick Brant books were my favorites of the old books like that. I just LOVE them. Rick Brant and his friend Scotty (who was in the Marines and so Knows Stuff) are some of the bestest buddies ever and they have epic adventures all around the world and it’s great. I just love these. This first one’s my favorite because it’s when Rick and Scotty meet. And it’s just a cool adventure/mystery trying to track down people who are trying to sabotage the rocket Rick’s father and people are making. It’s like the Hardy Boys, only even better. :)
November 9, 2015
Confession Time: Hello, my name is Naomi, I'm nineteen, and I'd never read the Rick Brant books until yesterday. * hangs head in embarrassment.* To be honest, I never gave these books more than a glance through-I thought they were a more travel-to-the-moon thing, like the Tom Swift books, (which I've never read either because I'm not into space-type books), and thus missed out on getting to read this series sooner! They are really quiet good! A cross between Hardy Boys and Ken Holt mystery's, with more depth than the H.B. books, like Ken Holt's. They have wit, and an exciting plot-and family ties, which a lot of YA series seem to skip over. They may be considered "outdated" because the characters don't sport cell phones, but I like them even more for that-it's a slower pace of life, where good guys triumph over the bad, and teens fly airplanes without worrying anybody.
Rick Brant meets ex-military Don Scott ,"Scotty", for the first time in this one, when he's in a fix, and the two boys become good friends, as they solve who is behind all the sabotage on the secret project Rick's dad and other scientists are working on. There is also the worried mom, a little sister, Barby, (who isn't a brat thankfully, but a pretty good chum), and an adorable dog named Dismal.
Rick Brant meets ex-military Don Scott ,"Scotty", for the first time in this one, when he's in a fix, and the two boys become good friends, as they solve who is behind all the sabotage on the secret project Rick's dad and other scientists are working on. There is also the worried mom, a little sister, Barby, (who isn't a brat thankfully, but a pretty good chum), and an adorable dog named Dismal.
April 13, 2019
I discovered the Rick Brandt series shortly after finishing all the Hardy Boys that had been published to that point. I remember thinking that these were better than the Hardy Boys. Plenty of science, plus some historical references, such as Rick in one of the books learning to use a slingshot such as David is said to have used against Goliath. I read all the titles in this series when I was about 11. They were slightly dated then, and would be ridiculously so now, but I believe they are still worth giving to an enthusiastic tween.
July 26, 2022
In the same vein as Tom Swift and, to a lesser extent, the Hardy Boys, this series follows Rick and his friend Scotty on science-themed adventures around the globe.
In this first story, we meet Rick, his family, and the scientists that live at the research lab on the family island near New Jersey. We also get an introduction to Scotty, the recurring friend and partner in these adventures. The plot in book 1 is pretty basic: someone is trying to sabotage the rocket in order to win a scientific contest (and the prize money). Rick and Scotty try to solve the mystery. Along the way, we meet a cast of secondary characters; obviously one of them will be discovered to be the Bad Guy by the end of the story.
This wasn't my favorite story ever. I'd give the basic story a 4/5 stars, but the following items drop that to 3/5:
Among other frustrations: the reader is introduced to some obvious clues early on that Rick fails to investigate until later, and the clues also aren't spelled out (like the 'love letter' and the number message), so the reader doesn't get the fun of trying to solve the puzzle or clue before the hero figures it out. I was also mildly annoyed to accurately guess the culprit was about 3 chapters in.
Rick's age doesn't always match his actions. Rick acts like an 8-year-old when making inventions and talking to his dog and sister, but he also is given the responsibility of flying an airplane to the mainland to run errands and pick up science supplies. Scotty, on the other hand, is a Marine who served in the war; at one point, he is given a .45 to use while standing watch. Because I pictured Rick as being much younger (Scotty must be in his 20's at this point, and has seen some action), some of their interactions were a bit jarring: what war-hardened Marine wants to hang out with some nerdy teenager? I had to go back and re-read a couple of chapters because I was giving Scotty the tone of voice that older brothers use when introduced to their friend's little sister. That half-nice, half-annoyed, "aw, you're so sweet" tone... we've all heard it at some point.
Barby was annoying... until I realized that this was published pre-Barbie Doll, so the visual stereotype hadn't been created yet. She's still a stereotypical girl (mostly clueless and/or annoying unless the plot requires otherwise; stays at home and does girly jobs unless the plot requires otherwise).
My biggest complaint, though, is the actual science itself. Much of the rocket stuff is kept vague enough (and I'm sure that the science was new enough then) that it kind of works for the story. However, there are some jarring instances where the science doesn't work. Two in particular come to mind: 1) 'phrenodyne,' a supposedly fast-acting explosive, and 2) a rocket with a median speed of a mile or two per second reaching the moon in 1-2 minutes. Since these are supposed to be science-themed stories, I find it borderline unforgivable to not do at least some basic research. The distance to the moon has been known in rough estimates since the 2nd century BC; surely some basic math from any library astronomy book would have been possible? Why be vague about the rocketry stuff up until this point, only to throw in completely wrong facts in the last chapters? (I'm sure there were more errors earlier, but the '1.5 minutes to the moon' bit was particularly awful.)
On the upside:
The pacing and tone of the story are different from what I expected. It seems geared toward a slightly older audience than Tom Swift or Hardy Boys, which makes for more interesting reading overall. That was definitely a plus. The fight scenes seemed more realistic (HB fight scenes always felt like a Batman scene: "POW!" "SMACK!"). Scotty is a great character, and I really wish he'd been fleshed out more. And flying your own airplane- what kid wouldn't want to have a small Cessna they could use to run errands? I would've been sooooo much more interested in going shopping if I could have flown to the store as a teen.
Overall, not great, not terrible. I haven't been able to get my hands on the 2nd book yet, but I noticed that several others have expired copyrights and are available on Project Gutenburg, so I'll be reading those shortly.
In this first story, we meet Rick, his family, and the scientists that live at the research lab on the family island near New Jersey. We also get an introduction to Scotty, the recurring friend and partner in these adventures. The plot in book 1 is pretty basic: someone is trying to sabotage the rocket in order to win a scientific contest (and the prize money). Rick and Scotty try to solve the mystery. Along the way, we meet a cast of secondary characters; obviously one of them will be discovered to be the Bad Guy by the end of the story.
This wasn't my favorite story ever. I'd give the basic story a 4/5 stars, but the following items drop that to 3/5:
Among other frustrations: the reader is introduced to some obvious clues early on that Rick fails to investigate until later, and the clues also aren't spelled out (like the 'love letter' and the number message), so the reader doesn't get the fun of trying to solve the puzzle or clue before the hero figures it out. I was also mildly annoyed to accurately guess the culprit was about 3 chapters in.
Rick's age doesn't always match his actions. Rick acts like an 8-year-old when making inventions and talking to his dog and sister, but he also is given the responsibility of flying an airplane to the mainland to run errands and pick up science supplies. Scotty, on the other hand, is a Marine who served in the war; at one point, he is given a .45 to use while standing watch. Because I pictured Rick as being much younger (Scotty must be in his 20's at this point, and has seen some action), some of their interactions were a bit jarring: what war-hardened Marine wants to hang out with some nerdy teenager? I had to go back and re-read a couple of chapters because I was giving Scotty the tone of voice that older brothers use when introduced to their friend's little sister. That half-nice, half-annoyed, "aw, you're so sweet" tone... we've all heard it at some point.
Barby was annoying... until I realized that this was published pre-Barbie Doll, so the visual stereotype hadn't been created yet. She's still a stereotypical girl (mostly clueless and/or annoying unless the plot requires otherwise; stays at home and does girly jobs unless the plot requires otherwise).
My biggest complaint, though, is the actual science itself. Much of the rocket stuff is kept vague enough (and I'm sure that the science was new enough then) that it kind of works for the story. However, there are some jarring instances where the science doesn't work. Two in particular come to mind: 1) 'phrenodyne,' a supposedly fast-acting explosive, and 2) a rocket with a median speed of a mile or two per second reaching the moon in 1-2 minutes. Since these are supposed to be science-themed stories, I find it borderline unforgivable to not do at least some basic research. The distance to the moon has been known in rough estimates since the 2nd century BC; surely some basic math from any library astronomy book would have been possible? Why be vague about the rocketry stuff up until this point, only to throw in completely wrong facts in the last chapters? (I'm sure there were more errors earlier, but the '1.5 minutes to the moon' bit was particularly awful.)
On the upside:
The pacing and tone of the story are different from what I expected. It seems geared toward a slightly older audience than Tom Swift or Hardy Boys, which makes for more interesting reading overall. That was definitely a plus. The fight scenes seemed more realistic (HB fight scenes always felt like a Batman scene: "POW!" "SMACK!"). Scotty is a great character, and I really wish he'd been fleshed out more. And flying your own airplane- what kid wouldn't want to have a small Cessna they could use to run errands? I would've been sooooo much more interested in going shopping if I could have flown to the store as a teen.
Overall, not great, not terrible. I haven't been able to get my hands on the 2nd book yet, but I noticed that several others have expired copyrights and are available on Project Gutenburg, so I'll be reading those shortly.
January 19, 2026
Excellent science based young adult adventure book
I admit, I had never heard of Rick Brant before. And I've been reading books since the early 1970s. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed Rocket's Shadow, the first book in the Rick Brant Electronic Adventure series. It's similar to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew but focuses more on science and adventure, even though Rick ultimately uses detective skills to solve a "case."
Written by Harold L. Goodwin under the pen name of John Blaine, Rocket's Shadow introduces us to young adult Rick Brant, who runs errands for his eminent scientist father, Hartson Brant. With help from his cohort, Scotty (Don Scott), and his sister Barby, Rick attempts to thwart an ongoing sabotage of his father's latest project, an unmanned rocket launch to the moon. Hartson and his staff are vying for a $2 million prize if they can successfully get the rocket to the moon.
Aside from the hilariously and stupendously inaccurate rocket science, which has the rocket making the journey in one and a half minutes, I found the writing excellent, with lots of tension laced throughout the pages as Rick and Scotty deal with the thugs who are behind the sabotage. The characters come off like real people—some honorable and courageous, some dishonorable and sinister. It was hard to stop reading, and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.
I admit, I had never heard of Rick Brant before. And I've been reading books since the early 1970s. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed Rocket's Shadow, the first book in the Rick Brant Electronic Adventure series. It's similar to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew but focuses more on science and adventure, even though Rick ultimately uses detective skills to solve a "case."
Written by Harold L. Goodwin under the pen name of John Blaine, Rocket's Shadow introduces us to young adult Rick Brant, who runs errands for his eminent scientist father, Hartson Brant. With help from his cohort, Scotty (Don Scott), and his sister Barby, Rick attempts to thwart an ongoing sabotage of his father's latest project, an unmanned rocket launch to the moon. Hartson and his staff are vying for a $2 million prize if they can successfully get the rocket to the moon.
Aside from the hilariously and stupendously inaccurate rocket science, which has the rocket making the journey in one and a half minutes, I found the writing excellent, with lots of tension laced throughout the pages as Rick and Scotty deal with the thugs who are behind the sabotage. The characters come off like real people—some honorable and courageous, some dishonorable and sinister. It was hard to stop reading, and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.
May 14, 2024
Mildly entertaining with questionable science even for its time. The mystery doesn't always make a lot of sense and it just feels like the writer doesn't have the ability to paint pictures quite as well as he or the reader would like. Too much confusion at times trying to figure out what he is talking about.
Still it is fun enough to follow along with Rick and Scotty in their adventure even if Tom Swift is a better told set of tales. Probably worth seeing if book two sees improvement.
Still it is fun enough to follow along with Rick and Scotty in their adventure even if Tom Swift is a better told set of tales. Probably worth seeing if book two sees improvement.
September 5, 2008
This is the first book in this series and I enjoyed it, although I'm sure I would have liked it much, much more had I been 13. It's very much in the vein of Tom Corbett and the like, although I didn't think it was quite as well written. It's pretty dated, but what do you expect for a work written in 1947.
September 23, 2011
At long last, I found the series upon which Jonny Quest was based!
January 8, 2012
I love the old Tom Swift Jr books, and this is another similar fun series.
August 16, 2016
Omg! Ex-Nazi agents are trying to keep us from winning $2m by nuking the moon! If only my plucky sidekick and I could stop them!
A wonderful serial romp from the '40's.
A wonderful serial romp from the '40's.
June 1, 2024
Fun adventure book from 1947! Read like the root material for “Johnny Quest.”
January 28, 2019
After reading Harold Goodwin's The Real Book About Space Travel, I tracked down some of his Rick Brandt Science-Adventure books. Written under the pseudonym John Blaine, I can imagine this would have thrilled a post-WWII 1947 boy - yes, they were gender-binary in their targeting back then; girls had Nancy Drew and boys had the Hardy brothers. Ten years before Sputnik, the rocket to the moon in this tends more toward Swift's or Verne's imagination. Still, there are the elements of science that do make this a "Science-Adventure". One serendipitous to only me cross-over, Blaine/Goodwin had the teen character Rick fiddling with a Model-T ignition coil and some batteries to deliver an electric shock and Thomas Willeford's Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos: A Maker's Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts used one in one of his steampunk creations. Not to shock, but for it's geek value, of course!
Fun stuff I never read as a kid. I'll keep the series in mind for a diversion or three this year.
Fun stuff I never read as a kid. I'll keep the series in mind for a diversion or three this year.
February 23, 2020
I first started the Rick Brant books as a teenager and enjoyed them so much I started buying them. I re-read my hard copies every few years and continue to enjoy them even though I could almost recite them from memory. A year or so ago I acquired all of the books in PDF format and uploaded them to my Amazon Kindle account, re-read the entire series including the last few books I had never read before, and actually got my wife to read them. She was surprised that she actually enjoyed the books.
This is (obviously) the first book in the series and all of the main characters are introduced here. It's not my favorite book in the series but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining or worth a read. Granted the technology is dated (ca. late 40s). but the adventure is real, the mystery is well-developed, and the characters are cleverly drawn and sympathetic. You'll also find the female characters pretty short-changed for modern sensibilities but if you can pass over these time-dated flaws I think you'll enjoy these books.
This is (obviously) the first book in the series and all of the main characters are introduced here. It's not my favorite book in the series but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining or worth a read. Granted the technology is dated (ca. late 40s). but the adventure is real, the mystery is well-developed, and the characters are cleverly drawn and sympathetic. You'll also find the female characters pretty short-changed for modern sensibilities but if you can pass over these time-dated flaws I think you'll enjoy these books.
March 21, 2018
Taken with the largest grain of salt possible to excuse the antiquated ideas and customs that are rampant throughout the book, it’s still a pretty good adventure tale. With a bit of editing for the casual misogyny and preposterously backwards “scientific” ideas, it is a book that would be fun to read to a young elementary age child.
December 31, 2017
After reading all the Tom Swift books I could find, my literary tastes matured somewhat with the discovery of the Rick Brant series. A bit less improbable, with characters that were a little less cartoony.
July 13, 2020
I grew up with this series and I'd love to re-visit them. They inspired me to join the Air Force in a technical field and I now run a public library makerspace and hope to influence a new generation of makers in the vein of Rick Brant. I heartily recommend these books!
April 7, 2021
Rated a 3.5 but rounded up. I really did enjoy this book. I would have just liked a little more character detail. For instance, it keeps calling Rick and Scotty 'kids' yet one is a Marine and the other drives a car and flies a plane. Not kid activities. So my guess is they are around 17-19.
July 30, 2021
This is an interesting book mostly because it was written for teens about 75 years ago. Looking through that lens gives a wonderful glimpse into the thoughts and lives of people just after the war and the science from 1947 can best be described as 'quaint'. It is a fun, nostalgic little read.
May 18, 2017
If it hadn't been for those meddling kids. I want to read the whole series, now.
June 19, 2017
Fun. Product of its time. Howler of velocity in space with a rocket being able to travel from the Earth to the moon in a minute and half.
October 8, 2017
Read a few Rick Brant series books back in the 70s
September 8, 2020
Post war juvenile science/adventure fiction
The marines once again save American way of life from the ravages of former NAZIs. Classic American ideology and faith in science.
The marines once again save American way of life from the ravages of former NAZIs. Classic American ideology and faith in science.
November 16, 2020
3 1/2 stars.
December 6, 2020
Have PC and DJ
May 26, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this book...looking forward to the next one!
November 8, 2021
Wonderful mid 20th C Johnny Quest type fun
March 10, 2017
The Rocket’s Shadow is the first of twenty four Rick Brant adventures. Sold by Grosset and Dunlap in editions resembling Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys, this series stands head and shoulders above the rest of the G&D line. There are a few cringeworthy scientific errors here, which author Harold Goodwin later kicked himself about, resulting in a four star rating in a five star series. For a full listing of current availability see http://sydlogsdon.com/2015/12/10/60-t...
January 3, 2020
There will be a number of these as I am re-reading the series this year.
I thought this was pretty exciting and a good introduction to the characters.
It's been a long time since I last read it but could identify the bad guy because I didn't remember the name.
The settings and people all felt real.
It might be hard for younger people to get past the tech and cultural differences between now and the late 1940's when this book was written.
But it still expresses the excitement of science and engineering
and the characters are well defined and likable.
This could easily be a current story.
There are a number of organizations trying to land on the moon to win a challenge from Google.
You would have to change the references to radio tubes
to be some kind of custom computer interface.
It would be hard to explain Scotties military background in modern times.
Perhaps he went to a military high school?
I thought this was pretty exciting and a good introduction to the characters.
It's been a long time since I last read it but could identify the bad guy because I didn't remember the name.
The settings and people all felt real.
It might be hard for younger people to get past the tech and cultural differences between now and the late 1940's when this book was written.
But it still expresses the excitement of science and engineering
and the characters are well defined and likable.
This could easily be a current story.
There are a number of organizations trying to land on the moon to win a challenge from Google.
You would have to change the references to radio tubes
to be some kind of custom computer interface.
It would be hard to explain Scotties military background in modern times.
Perhaps he went to a military high school?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews