Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel

MP3 Audio CD. The Tom Swift novels, as the several other series initiated by Edward Stratemeyer, is attributed to several authors, co-authors and ghost writers who have contributed to a great extent to the development of juvenile science fiction, and who are known by the collective name of Victor Appleton. This is the 19th volume of the Swift books, and perhaps one of the most notable of the first Tom Swift series.

The story itself ? also known by the title The Hidden City of the Andes ? features an exciting plot which introduces us to the new adventures of the Titus Brothers Contractors company which now finds itself carving a tunnel through a mountain in Peru, for the purpose of reconnecting two isolated railroad tracks.

The company, however, hits a significant block: the stone found in one portion is immune to conventional blasting technologies, and they soon realize they need help. Assistance comes from none other than Tom Swift, whose giant canon is already famous for protecting the Panama Canal. This time, Tom finds himself having to develop a new type of powder that could perhaps blast through the troublesome inner wall. Will he be successful?

The plot thickens as we read through the story, and young readers will find it especially exciting, as they continue on to discover the interesting new developments Tom has to face and the ingenious new innovations he manages to employ for the purpose of making progress with his next great discoveries.

As in the case of most Tom Swift novels, the solution is not one that is clear from the start, and readers are challenged to think hard, before hoping to keep up with the storyline's developments. Nevertheless, Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel is and entertaining as it is engaging and imaginative, having influenced and inspired young readers of the juvenile science fiction genre for many years, and continuing to be just as educational and exciting a read in the 21st century as well.