Time Bomb



Time Bomb is the first book in A Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Ultra Thriller series. It was first published by Archway Paperbacks (an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc.) in August 1992. Produced by Byron Preis Visual Publications, Inc. the same company that produced the then current Tom Swift series.

Plot Summary

 * Back cover summary:

A Twist in Time...A Twisted Mind...A Terrifying Twist of Fate for Frank and Joe and Tom!

''A dream that has long fired the human imagination has become a reality: time travel. But as Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys are about to discover, the dream can become a nightmare in the blink of an eye. An attack force of techno-thugs, under the command of the evil genius the Black Dragon, have seized control of a top-secret time-warp-trigger!''

''Frank and Joe and Tom leap into battle---shock troops in a war that stretches across the eons to the edge of time. But whether chasing asteroids or dodging dinosaurs, they know they haven't a moment to lose. They must stop the Dragon before he carries out his final threat: turning the time machine into the ultimate doomsday device!''

Characters

 * Tom Swift Sr.
 * Tom Swift Jr.
 * Frank Hardy
 * Joe Hardy
 * Harlan Ames
 * Mary Nestor Swift
 * Sandra Swift
 * Xavier Mace
 * The Black Dragon
 * Goons
 * Upton
 * Steve
 * Professor Drake
 * Daltan Barnes
 * Ernst Reisenbach
 * S.T. Charteris (father, mention only)
 * S.T. Charteris (son, mention only)
 * Stan Charteris (grandson and son of above mentioned S.T. Charteris's)
 * Fenton Hardy
 * Laura Hardy (mention only)
 * Gertrude Hardy (mention only)
 * Professor Lord (mention only)
 * Sandy Koufax (mention only)
 * Howard Zeeman

Locations

 * New York State
 * Bayport
 * New York City (Present Day)
 * New York City (1932)
 * Prehistoric North America
 * Ontario
 * Niagra
 * 43 Sir Adam Beck Road
 * Niagra Falls

Businesses and Organizations

 * Swift Enterprises
 * Dragon Enterprises
 * Dumont, Crank & Clarkson
 * Charteris, Caldecott and Pagliarusso
 * Niagra Falls Public Library (Niagra, Ontario)

Other

 * Unlikely Times (magazine)
 * November 9, 1965 Northeast Blackout

Alternate Realities
In this book there are two realities presented to us, and due to the fact that the timeline of one reality comes to an end in this book, when Frank and Joe and Tom meet again in The Alien Factor they only have the memories of the events that occurred in the last chapter.

Book references in text
Time Bomb makes reference to the following books, and unless otherwise noted, are mentioned on pages 55-57:


 * Tom Swift #1 The Black Dragon
 * Tom Swift #2 The Negative Zone
 * Tom Swift #3 Cyborg Kickboxer (page 68)
 * Tom Swift #4 The DNA Disaster
 * Tom Swift #6 Aquatech Warriors
 * Tom Swift #7 Moonstalker
 * Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle (page 156)
 * The Hardy Boys Casefiles #5 Edge of Destruction (page 163)

Note: for the following books reference is made shortly after Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys join up, on page 109.


 * The Hardy Boys Casefiles #64 Operation Phoenix #1: Endangered Species
 * The Hardy Boys Casefiles #65 Operation Phoenix #2: No Mercy
 * The Hardy Boys Casefiles #66 Operation Phoenix #3: The Phoenix Equation