TOM SWIFT AND THE
ASTEROID PIRATES

by VICTOR APPLETON II

A violent explosion in space which wreaks havoc with world communica- tions and defense systems touches off one of the most thrill-packed adventures in Tom Swift's scientific career.
    The appalling news that a cargo rocket has disintegrated while en route with vital supplies to Earth's second moon, the asteroid Nestria, sounds a grim warning that the lives of Nestria's personnel are at stake. A rescue mission is foiled by a mysterious barrier in space — an invisible wall capable of turning anything it touches to raw energy!
    Warned of a determined enemy, the Black Cobra, Tom and Bud receive help by an unknown group and clues that lead them to a fantastic antimatter mine in Africa, and to captivity and the threat of death in the Cobra's fortress in South America. The news that the Nestria colonists have contracted a contagion of unknown origin leads the young inventor, armed with his magnetaser invention, into a desperate battle of wits and courage to win back Nestria from the ruthless asteroid pirates!
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