Victor Appleton books

Victor Appleton is a house pseudonym used for the Tom Swift series of science fiction adventure books for young readers, spanning over a century from 1910 to the present.

Don Sturdy Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Don Sturdy on the Desert of Mystery / Autoing in the Land of Caravans 1925 Buy
Don Sturdy with the Big Snake Hunters / Lost in the Jungles of the Amazon 1925 Buy
Don Sturdy in the Tombs of Gold / The Old Egyptian’s Great Secret 1925 Buy
Don Sturdy Across the North Pole / Cast Away in the Land of Ice 1925 Buy
Don Sturdy in the Land of Volcanoes / The Trail of the Ten Thousand Smokes 1925 Buy
Don Sturdy in the Port of Lost Ships / Adrift in the Sargasso Sea 1926 Buy
Don Sturdy Among the Gorillas / Adrift in the Great Jungle 1927 Buy
Don Sturdy Captured by Head Hunters / Adrift in the Wilds of Borneo 1928 Buy
Don Sturdy in Lion Land / The Strange Clearing in the Jungle 1929 Buy
Don Sturdy in the Land of Giants / Captives of the Savage Patagonians 1930 Buy
Don Sturdy on the Ocean Bottom / The Strange Cruise of the Phantom 1931 Buy
Don Sturdy in the Temples of Fear / Destined for a Strange Sacrifice 1932 Buy
Don Sturdy Lost in Glacier Bay / The Mystery of the Moving Totem Poles 1933 Buy
Don Sturdy Trapped in the Flaming Wilderness / Unearthing Secrets in Central Asia 1934 Buy
Don Sturdy with the Harpoon Hunters / The Strange Cruise of the Whaling Ship 1935 Buy

The Moving Picture Boys Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Moving Picture Boys in the Jungle 1913 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys on the Coast 1913 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys in the West 1913 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys in Earthquake Land 1913 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys and the Flood 1914 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys at Panama 1915 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys Under the Sea 1916 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys on the War Front 1918 N/A
The Moving Picture Boys on the French Battlefields 1919 N/A

Tom Swift I Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle / Fun and Adventure on the Road 1910 Buy
The Black Dragon 1991 N/A
Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat / The Rivals of Lake Carlopa 1910 Buy
The Negative Zone 1991 N/A
Tom Swift and His Airship / The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud 1910 Buy
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat / Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure 1910 Buy
Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout / The Speediest Car on the Road 1910 Buy
Tom Swift and His Wireless Message / The Castaways of Earthquake Island 1911 Buy
Tom Swift Among the Diamond Makers / The Secret of Phantom Mountain 1911 Buy
Tom Swift and His Sky Racer / The Quickest Flight on Record 1911 Buy
Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle / Daring Adventures in Elephant Island 1911 Buy
Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice / The Wreck of the Airship 1911 Buy
Tom Swift in the City of Gold / Marvelous Adventures Underground 1912 Buy
Tom Swift and His Air Glider / Seeking the Platinum Treasure 1912 Buy
Tom Swift in Captivity / A Daring Escape by Airship 1912 Buy
Quantum Force 1993 N/A
Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera / Thrilling Adventures While Taking Moving Pictures 1912 Buy
Tom Swift and His Great Search Light / On the Border for Uncle Sam 1912 Buy
Tom Swift and His Giant Cannon / The Longest Shots on Record 1913 Buy
Tom Swift and His Photo Telephone / The Picture That Saved a Fortune 1914 Buy
Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship / The Naval Terror of the Seas 1915 Buy
Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel / The Hidden City of the Andes 1916 Buy
Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders / The Underground Search for the Idol of Gold 1917 Buy
Tom Swift and His War Tank / Doing His Bit for Uncle Sam 1918 Buy
Tom Swift and His Air Scout / Uncle Sam’s Mastery of the Sky 1919 Buy
Tom Swift and His Undersea Search / The Treasure on the Floor of the Atlantic 1920 Buy
Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters / Battling with Flames in the Air / Tom Swift and the Flaming Air Battle 1921 Buy
Tom Swift and His Electric Locomotive / Two Miles a Minute on the Rails 1922 Buy
Tom Swift and His Flying Boat / Castaways of the Giant Iceberg 1923 Buy
Tom Swift and His Great Oil Gusher / The Treasure of Goby Farm 1924 Buy
Tom Swift and His Chest of Secrets / Tracing the Stolen Inventions 1925 Buy
Tom Swift and His Airline Express / From Ocean to Ocean by Daylight 1926 Buy
Tom Swift Circling the Globe / The Daring Cruise of the Air Monarch 1927 Buy
Tom Swift and His Talking Pictures / The Greatest Invention on Record 1928 Buy
Tom Swift and His House on Wheels / A Trip Around the Mountain of Mystery 1929 Buy
Tom Swift and His Big Dirigible / Adventures Over the Forest of Fire 1930 Buy
Tom Swift and His Sky Train / Overland Through the Clouds 1931 Buy
Tom Swift and His Giant Magnet / Bringing Up the Lost Submarine 1932 Buy
Tom Swift and His Television Detector / Trailing the Secret Plotters 1933 Buy
Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport / Foiling the Haargolanders 1934 Buy
Tom Swift and His Planet Stone / Discovering the Secret of Another World 1935 Buy
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope 1939 Buy
Tom Swift and His Magnetic Silencer 1941 N/A

Tom Swift III Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The City in the Stars 1981 Buy
Terror on the Moons of Jupiter 1981 Buy
The Alien Probe 1981 Buy
The War in Outer Space 1981 Buy
The Astral Fortress 1981 Buy
The Rescue Mission 1981 Buy
Ark Two 1982 Buy
Crater of Mystery 1982 Buy
The Gateway to Doom 1983 Buy
The Invisible Force 1983 Buy
Planet of Nightmares 1984 Buy

Tom Swift IV Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Black Dragon 1991 Buy
The Negative Zone 1991 Buy
Cyborg Kickboxer 1991 Buy
The DNA Disaster 1991 Buy
Monster Machine 1991 Buy
Aquatech Warriors 1991 Buy
Moonstalker 1992 Buy
The Microbots 1992 Buy
Fire Biker 1992 Buy
Mind Games 1992 Buy
Mutant Beach 1992 Buy
Death Quake 1993 Buy
Quantum Force 1993 Buy

Tom Swift Invention Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Black Dragon 1991 N/A
Tom Swift and His EnvirOzone Revivicator 2010 Buy
The Negative Zone 1991 N/A
Tom Swift and His QuieTurbine Skyliner 2010 Buy
Tom Swift and His Transcontinental BulleTrain 2011 Buy
Tom Swift and His Oceanic SubLiminator 2011 Buy
Tom Swift and His Cyclonic Eradicator 2011 Buy
Tom Swift: Galactic Ambassador 2011 Buy
Tom Swift and the Paradox Planet 2012 Buy
Tom Swift and the Galaxy Ghosts 2012 Buy
Tom Swift and His Martian TerraVironment 2013 Buy
Tom Swift and His Tectonic Interrupter 2013 Buy
Tom Swift and the AntiInferno Suppressor 2013 Buy
Tom Swift and the High Space L-Evator 2014 Buy
Quantum Force 1993 N/A
Tom Swift and the IntraEarth Invaders 2014 Buy
Tom Swift and the Coupe of Invisibility 2014 Buy
Tom Swift and the Yesterday Machine 2015 Buy
Tom Swift and the Reconstructed Planet 2016 Buy
Tom Swift and His NanoSurgery Brigade 2016 Buy
Tom Swift and His Thermo-Ion Jetpack 2016 Buy
Tom Swift and the Atlantean HydroWay 2016 Buy
Tom Swift and the Martian Moon Re-Placement 2018 Buy
Tom Swift and the Venusian InvulnoSuit 2018 Buy
Tom Swift and the HoverCity 2018 Buy
Tom Swift and the SubNeptunian Circumnavigation 2019 Buy
Tom Swift and the Marianas Aquanoids 2019 Buy
Tom Swift and His Hypersonic SpacePlane 2019 Buy
Tom Swift and His Cybernetic Planeteers 2023 Buy
Tom Swift and His Flying RaceYacht 2023 Buy

Tom Swift Jr. Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Tom Swift and His Flying Lab 1954 Buy
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine 1954 Buy
Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship 1954 Buy
Tom Swift and His Giant Robot 1954 Buy
Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster 1954 Buy
Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space / Tom Swift and His Sky Wheel 1955 Buy
Tom Swift and His Aquatomic Tracker 1964 Buy
Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter 1956 Buy
Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire 1956 Buy
Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite 1956 Buy
Tom Swift and His Ultrasonic Cycloplane 1957 Buy
Tom Swift and His Deep-Sea Hydrodome 1958 Buy
Tom Swift in the Race to the Moon 1958 Buy
Tom Swift and His Space Solartron 1958 Buy
Tom Swift and His Electronic Retroscope / Tom Swift in the Jungle of the Mayas 1959 Buy
Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung 1961 Buy
Tom Swift and His Spectromarine Selector / Tom Swift and the City of Gold 1959 Buy
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X 1961 Buy
Tom Swift and His Megascope Space Prober 1962 Buy
Tom Swift and the Cosmic Astronauts 1960 Buy
Tom Swift and the Asteroid Pirates 1963 Buy
Tom Swift and His Repelatron Skyway 1963 Buy
Tom Swift and His Triphibian Atomicar 1962 Buy
Tom Swift and His 3-D Telejector 1964 Buy
Tom Swift and His Polar-Ray Dynasphere 1965 Buy
Tom Swift and His Sonic Boom Trap 1965 Buy
Tom Swift and His Sub-ocean Geotron 1966 Buy
Tom Swift and the Mystery Comet 1966 Buy
Tom Swift and the Captive Planetoid 1967 Buy
Tom Swift and His G-Force Inverter 1968 Buy
Tom Swift and His Dyna-4 Capsule 1969 Buy
Tom Swift and His Cosmotron Express 1970 Buy

Tom Swift, Young Inventor Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Black Dragon 1991 N/A
Into the Abyss 2006 Buy
The Negative Zone 1991 N/A
The Robot Olympics 2006 Buy
The Space Hotel 2006 Buy
Rocket Racers 2007 Buy
On Top of the World 2007 Buy
Under the Radar 2007 Buy
Quantum Force 1993 N/A

Tom Swift: Inventors’ Academy Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Drone Pursuit 2019 Buy
The Sonic Breach 2019 Buy
Restricted Access 2019 Buy
The Virtual Vandal 2020 Buy
The Spybot Invasion 2020 Buy
Augmented Reality 2021 Buy
The Blurred Blogger 2021 Buy
Depth Perception 2022 Buy

Victor Appleton is not a real person but a house pseudonym created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1910 for the Tom Swift series. Over more than a century, dozens of ghostwriters have written under the name, producing adventures about a young inventor whose gadgets were often ahead of real-world technology. The original Tom Swift series ran forty-three books, followed by Tom Swift Jr. in the 1950s-60s, and multiple reboots including Tom Swift III, IV, the Invention series, and the Inventors’ Academy.

The pseudonym was also used for the Don Sturdy adventure series and The Moving Picture Boys, though Tom Swift remains the franchise’s defining creation. With 170 books spanning from 1910 to 2023, the Victor Appleton name represents one of American children’s publishing’s most enduring brands.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Victor Appleton written?

Victor Appleton has written 170 books across nine series.

What was Victor Appleton's first book?

Victor Appleton’s first book is Tom Swift and His Airship / The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud, published in 1910.

What is Victor Appleton known for?

Victor Appleton is the house pseudonym behind the Tom Swift series, one of the longest-running science fiction franchises in publishing. Starting in 1910 with Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle, the series has been written by dozens of ghostwriters across multiple eras, following young inventor Tom Swift (and later his son and descendants) through technological adventures. The name was also used for the Don Sturdy and Moving Picture Boys adventure series.

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