Order of Book Series
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Tom Swift III Books in Order

Tom Swift III by Victor Appleton contains 11 books, published between 1981 and 1984. The first book is The City in the Stars (1981) and the newest is Planet of Nightmares (1984). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
11
Published
1981–1984
Pages on record
1,307 in 7 of 11 books
Reading time
22–33 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,307 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 11 titles with a page count on record.

See all 11 books in order Printable Tom Swift III checklist

Tom Swift III is a children's science fiction series catalogued under Victor Appleton, with 11 books published from 1981 to 1984. Subject headings name the fictional character Tom Swift, space flight, robots, boys, adventure, and mystery and detective stories. The City in the Stars (1981) comes first, and Terror on the Moons of Jupiter, The Alien Probe and The War in Outer Space share that year. Ark Two (1982), The Gateway to Doom (1983) and The Invisible Force (1983) follow, and Planet of Nightmares (1984) is the newest title.

How many Tom Swift III books are there?

Tom Swift III has 11 books, released between 1981 and 1984.

Tom Swift III Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 11 Tom Swift III books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Terror on the Moons of Jupiter by Victor Appleton, book 2 of the Tom Swift III series (1981)
  2. Cover of The Alien Probe by Victor Appleton, book 3 of the Tom Swift III series (1981)
  3. Cover of The Astral Fortress by Victor Appleton, book 5 of the Tom Swift III series (1981)
  4. Cover of Ark Two by Victor Appleton, book 7 of the Tom Swift III series (1982)
  5. Cover of Crater of Mystery by Victor Appleton, book 8 of the Tom Swift III series (1982)
  6. Cover of The Gateway to Doom by Victor Appleton, book 9 of the Tom Swift III series (1983)
  7. Cover of The Invisible Force by Victor Appleton, book 10 of the Tom Swift III series (1983)
  8. Cover of Planet of Nightmares by Victor Appleton, book 11 of the Tom Swift III series (1984)
  1. 1
    The City in the Stars1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
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  2. 2
    Terror on the Moons of Jupiter1981 · 185 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981185
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  3. 3
    The Alien Probe1981 · 186 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The War in Outer Space1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
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  5. 5
    The Astral Fortress1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Rescue Mission1981 · confirmed 2/4
    1981–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Ark Two1982 · 206 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982206
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Crater of Mystery1982 · 191 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Gateway to Doom1983 · 175 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983175
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Invisible Force1983 · 190 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983190
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Planet of Nightmares1984 · 174 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984174
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Tom Swift III?

No separate chronological order is on record for Tom Swift III, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Tom Swift III books in order?

You should read the Tom Swift III books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Tom Swift III book also stands alone.

Where to start with Tom Swift III

Start with The City in the Stars (1981), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Tom Swift III book?

Planet of Nightmares (1984) is the newest Tom Swift III book released so far.

Is there a new Tom Swift III book coming?

No next Tom Swift III book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Tom Swift III at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Tom Swift III title on record dates from 1984, 42 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Tom Swift III books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
1,307 pages across the 7 of 11 books with a recorded length, a median of 186 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Tom Swift III books, 11 of 11, were published in the 1980s.

What the Tom Swift III books are about

8 of the 11 Tom Swift III books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 8 of 8. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Victor Appleton

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Characters in the Tom Swift III books

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.

Other series by Victor Appleton

Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.