The Rocket's Shadow

A Rick Brant Electronic Adventure, Book 1

De: John Blaine

Narrado por: J.J. Campanella

In 1947, YA author Hal Goodwin (aka John Blaine) started writing a series of books about an adventurous teen by the name of Rick Brant, his best friend Scotty, and their east Indian companion, Chada. These books were published as the Rick Brant Electronics Adventure Stories by Grosset and Dunlap until 1968. In the series, teenaged Rick Brant and his ex-Marine pal, Don Scott, live on Spindrift Island off the coast of New Jersey, where Rick's father, Dr. Hartson Brant, heads the scientists of the Spindrift Foundation.

In The Rocket’s Shadow, Rick Brandt first meets his new friend Don Scott, and investigates the apparent sabotage of the Spindrift Foundation’s new experimental rocket, which if successful, will net them a two-million-dollar grant. The deadline is only a few days away, and confused fingers of guilt point to more than one suspect. But, who can it be? This novel is not only a ripping tale of young adventure, but it is very much a slice of life from the beginning of the cold war and serious experimentation in the U.S. with rockets.

©1947 John Blaine (P)2023 Uvula Publishing

Very fun!

What an astonishingly fun read this was. I've been in a horrible book slump; everything I read from modern publishers ends up being preachy, dull, trope-laden fluff. The Rick Brant series is also somewhat fluff, but it's fluff of the best kind: fun as heck, and although the technology involved is no longer "cutting edge," it's still pretty scientifically sound (John Blaine is the pseudonym for a popular science writer of the time), and the entire series is a time capsule from the 40s and 50s. I've already bought the rest of the series that's available with this same narrator and I'll be buying the rest of them as they come out.

And J.J. Campanella, the narrator, is great! I was worried a bit at first because he sounds a bit like he's lying down as he narrates, but the dialogue is amazing; every character is distinct and well performed. I particularly like Scotty's "aw, shucks" drawl, but every character is fully realized.

I've listened up until book six at this point and I'd give each of them five stars, and I don't anticipate them tapering off in quality. Highly recommended.