Tom Quest

Tom Quest is the central character in a series of eight adventure novels for adolescent boys written by Lone Ranger series author Fran Striker. The first six novels were published by Grosset & Dunlap between 1947 and 1952. The series was later reprinted by Clover Books, when #7-8 were published. The six Grosset & Dunlap titles were issued in dust jacket; the Clover Books reprints and their two original titles have picture covers and no dust jackets.The plot of volume #8 was lifted from Striker's Gene Autry and the Redwood Pirates.

Tom Quest, the son of a famous scientist and explorer, finds adventure with newspaperman Whiz Walton and a gargantuan Texan named Gulliver. A double spiral symbol, designed by Tom's father, appears on the spine of the books, and sometimes figures in the plot. In the first book, Tom discovers that his father, long believed dead, may still be alive, and, in the second, Tom, Whiz, and Gulliver travel to Central America in search of him. The third and fourth books are also loosely connected, after which each book stands alone. The plots usually involve some kind of criminal activity thwarted by Tom and his pals.