The Tom Swift adventure about his Rocket Ship doesn't tell much of the real tale other than the build and launch. In fact it just assumes that things like Fearing Island exist and his own father, Damon, has nothing better to do than stand and watch his son shoot into space. The truth is Damon also built a privately-funded rocket as part of an X-Prize competition. His was unique with a series of obstacles to overcome and began even before Tom had finished his Flying Lab. This included locating and building out Fearing Island off the coast of Georgia and everything that went into that massive operation. This is the story of how Fearing island came to be, how Damon became very good friends with the U.S. Senator who would play a large part in their lives, how he designed and built something more like a monstrous child's toy than a heavy-lifting rocket, and how he and Tom went into a friendly competition to see whose rocket would be launched first. It is a unique look into the father of Tom Swift.

In this 8th in the new Tom Swift Invention Series, Tom Swift finds himself involved in a galactic mystery. Something very much like a black hole has been discovered a dozen light years away, but nobody can say for certain what it really is... or if it will affect the Earth. The thing about black holes is they suck in light so they can't really be seen. Tom wants to go investigate. Even his quickest unmanned rockets can't carry enough fuel for such a trip. So a shortcut seems to be the only chance. His knowledge tells him that wormholes are more than a science fiction hypothesis, but how the heck can he go about locating one? Even if he finds one, how can he determine where it might exit? When an old video surfaces showing proof to and open and willing mind that wormholes exist and can be opened for brief periods, he also finds it takes the power of a nuclear bomb to do so. If he overcomes all issues, he and Bud may be on a one way trip. They encounter the anomaly-and it's a doozy-but they also find themselves face-to- uhhh, hands? Giant ghostly hands beckon them, but what can it all mean? With little air and no fuel, what can Tom do? NOTE: Although this book shares a common title with one of the Tom Swift Jr. books published in late 1971, it IS NOT that book. Nor is it that story.