Nick Carter-Killmaster
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Nick Carter-Killmaster is a series of spy adventures published from 1964 until 1990, first by Award Books, then by Ace Books, and finally by Jove Books. At least 261 novels were published. The character is an update of a pulp fiction private detective named Nick Carter, first published in 1886.
No actual author is credited for the books, with the Nick Carter name being used as a house pseudonym. Volumes varied between first-person and third-person narratives. Authors known to have contributed entries in the series are Michael Avallone, Valerie Moolman, Manning Lee Stokes, Dennis Lynds, Gayle Lynds, Robert J. Randisi, David Hagberg, and Martin Cruz Smith.[1] The name Nick Carter was acknowledged by the series as having been inspired by the early 20th century pulp fiction detective of the same name in the 100th Killmaster volume (labelled Nick Carter 100) which included an essay on the earlier Nick Carter and included a Nick Carter detective short story alongside a Killmaster adventure.
The title character of the series serves as Agent N3 of AXE, a fictional spy agency for the United States government. The novels are similar to the literary James Bond novels—low on gadgets, high on action. Sexual encounters in particular are described in detail.
Contents
1 The character
2 Weapons and paraphernalia
3 AXE
4 AXE agents
5 Novels
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
The character
The definitive description of Nicholas J. Huntington Carter is given in the first novel in the series, Run, Spy, Run. Carter is tall (over 6 feet (1.8 m)), lean and handsome with a classic profile and magnificently muscled body. He has wide-set steel gray eyes that are icy, cruel and dangerous. He is hard-faced, with a firm straight mouth, laugh-lines around the eyes, and a firm cleft chin. His hair is thick and dark. He has a small tattoo of a blue axe on the inside right lower arm near the elbow—the ultimate ID for an AXE agent. At least one novel states that the tattoo glows in the dark. Carter also has a knife scar on the shoulder, a shrapnel scar on the right thigh. He has a sixth sense for danger.
Carter served as a soldier in World War II, then with the OSS, before he joined his current employer AXE.[2]
Carter practices yoga for at least 15 minutes a day. Carter has a prodigious ability for learning foreign languages. He is fluent in English (his native tongue), Cantonese,[3] French,[4] German,[4][5] Greek,[6] Hungarian,[7] Italian,[4] Portuguese,[8] Putonghua (Mandarin),[9] Russian,[9][10] Sanskrit,[11] Spanish[12] and Vietnamese.[13][14] He has basic skills in Arabic,[15] Hindustani,[16] Japanese, Korean,[11] Romansch,[4] Swahili,[15] and Turkish.[17] In the early novels, Carter often assumes a number of elaborate disguises in order to execute his missions.
Weapons and paraphernalia
Nick Carter uses three main weapons during the course of the series, all of which are named, and have histories. The gun, Wilhelmina, is a stripped-down German Luger. In the earliest stories, Carter got the gun off a German officer during a harrowing mission during World War II. Later stories state that he has had a series of Lugers, all named Wilhelmina. The knife, Hugo, is a pearl-handled 400-year-old stiletto crafted by Benvenuto Cellini. The blade retracts into the handle, and the knife is worn on a special sheath on the wrist, designed to release it into the user's hand with a simple muscle contraction. The third member of the triad is Pierre, a poison gas bomb, which is a small egg-shaped device, usually carried in a pocket but sometimes as a "third testicle" at his scrotum. Activated with a simple twist, it would, within seconds, kill anyone or anything that breathed its odorless and colorless gas.
Carter often takes with him other weapons as the mission demands. These have included:
Cousin of Pierre: a smaller version of Pierre the poison gas bomb that can be concealed even more easily—described in The China Doll;
Fang: a poison-tipped needle worn on a concealed index finger cap described in Saigon;
Pepito: a non-lethal stun grenade used in Checkmate in Rio.
Tiny Tim: a nuclear grenade "containing half a grain of sand of fissionable matter" used in Istanbul and The Red Guard
10,000-watt laser pistol used in Hanoi
Cigarette lighter that fires drugged darts used in Hanoi
Exploding cigars used in Hanoi
Carter has used a variety of equipment in the novels, most of which have nicknames. These have included:
Antonio Moreno: a lifelike facemask made of a latex substance called Lastotex (apparently named after Antonio Moreno, the 1920s silent movie star);
Gladstone: a rhino hide suitcase with multiple concealed compartments;
Oscar Johnson: a small radio transmitter (unclear if it is named after Oscar Johnson, a baseball player active in the 1920s and 1930s, or Oscar G. Johnson, the World War II Medal of Honor recipient);
Quantity K: a powerful acid strong enough to destroy evidence/documents;
Laser torch: for burning through door locks used in The Weapon of Night;
Singing Sam: a radio receiver concealed in electric razor/electric toothbrush used in Istanbul;
Wristwatch with UHF transmitter used in Hanoi;
Triple X tablet: a universal poison antidote and pep pill used in Hanoi;
Talkalot: a scopolamine-like truth drug used in Danger Key;
Unnamed injectable knockout drug requiring subsequent injection of antidote to regain consciousness used in The Weapon of Night;
Store: an injectable drug that induces a week-long state of suspended animation used in Peking & The Tulip Affair
AXE
The agency Carter works for is described as being smaller and far more secret than the CIA, mostly concerned with assassinations. In the first novel of the series, Run, Spy, Run, AXE is described as "the trouble-shooting arm of the US secret services". AXE headquarters are located in the 6th floor offices of a building in DuPont Circle, Washington, DC under the cover of the Amalgamated Press and Wire Service. AXE is purported to contain several different departments with specific functions including Editing (later called "Special Effects and Editing")—headed by Geoffrey Poindexter—which, among other things, creates false biographies for agents and provides appropriate props (e.g. fake latex fingerprints); Documents—whose role is to plant stories in the media to support specific activities and create false identification and travel documents; Records—which provides background information on suspects; and Operations—which provides logistic support for specific missions. AXE has a branch office near Columbus Circle, New York City and affiliate offices in countries around the world.
Agents are given code designations; Carter's N3, which has at least once been stated as standing for Number three, identifies him as one of the elite Killmasters. It has been stated in some novels that there are four Killmasters in AXE, with Carter the most senior.[11] The meaning of the code N3 is described differently in different novels—sometimes it is Carter's personal designation, other times it is considered a rank, with N1 being the highest, while in other novels we are told that Carter is the third Killmaster to have worked for AXE, with both his predecessors having been killed in action.
David Hawk, described in early novels as looking a lot like Uncle Sam, is the head of AXE and Carter's personal boss.
Della Stokes, Hawk's personal secretary, is a character similar to Bond's Miss Moneypenny—flirtatious but serious.
Ginger Bateman is Hawk's personal secretary in later novels.
Geoffrey Poindexter, AXE's equivalent to Q, runs the Special Effects and Editing department; in charge of weapons, gadgets, disguises, and papers.
AXE agents
In the first novel in the series (Run, Spy, Run), AXE is described as comprising 24 agents. They are identified by alpha-numeric code. The following agents/codes have been described:
code name book date
A2 unnamed Hanoi 1966
A4 unnamed Fraulein Spy 1964 October
A7 Alec Greenberg; based in AXE's London office The Weapon of Night 1967
A12 using pseudonym "Alfred" Fraulein Spy 1964 October
A24 unnamed Run, Spy, Run 1964 February
B5 unnamed Hanoi 1966
B12 unnamed, but nicknamed "Vitamin" Fraulein Spy 1964 October
C4 unnamed Fraulein Spy 1964 October
D5 Dan Eiger based in Iraq, killed in The Weapon of Night 1967
E14 Red Turner A Bullet for Fidel 1965 March
H19 Hakim Sadek, Egyptian policeman and academic The Weapon of Night 1967
K7 unnamed Run, Spy, Run 1964 February
J2 unnamed; briefs Carter on his trip to Japan The China Doll 1964 April
J20 Jean Paul Turnier The Terrible Ones 1966 May
L32 Hank Peterson Operation Moon Rocket 1968
N1 unnamed stated killed in The Red Guard 1967
N1 unnamed stated killed in Temple of Fear 1968
N1 Stuart Hample The Peking Dossier 1975
N1 David Hawk in Trouble in Paradise 1978
N1 Theodore Salonikos dies in Hide And Go Die 1983
N2 unnamed stated killed in The Red Guard 1967
N2 unnamed stated killed in Temple of Fear 1968
N3 Nick Carter
N4 unnamed stated killed in Temple of Fear 1968
N5 unnamed; an inexperienced agent Temple of Fear 1968
N5 McLaughlin Dr. Death 1975
N6 Joe Banks stated dead in Six Bloody Summer Days 1975
N6 or N7 Tom Boxer Macao 1969
N7 Clay Vincent Agent Counter-Agent 1973
N7 unnamed stated dead in Hide And Go Die 1983
N12 John Sparks Under the Wall 1978
N12 unnamed stated dead in Hide And Go Die 1983
N17 Dennis Gordon dies in The Golden Bull 1981
N17 Bill Qualley Hide And Go Die 1983
N30 Kiki Pederson dies in Trouble in Paradise 1978
N86 Sean Singer recruited in Hide And Go Die 1983
N92 Penelope Taylor knife trained by N86 in Ruby Red Death 1990
P3 David Trainor murdered in A Bullet for Fidel 1965 March
P4 unnamed, described as a mole in the Kremlin Safari for Spies 1964 August
P21 Martha Ryerson Rhodesia 1968
Q7 Ellie Harmon Hanoi 1966
Z4 Zeke, works in the AXE Psycho Lab Hanoi 1966
Novels
N.B.: The listing here is in series order (not necessarily by publication date, which is given)
Run, Spy, Run (Feb. 1964) A101F by Michael Avallone/Valerie Moolman
The China Doll (April 1964) A105F by Michael Avallone/Valerie Moolman
Checkmate in Rio (May 1964) A110F by Valerie Moolman
Safari for Spies (Aug. 1964) A114F by Valerie Moolman
Fraulein Spy (Oct. 1964) A118F by Valerie Moolman
Saigon (Dec. 1964) A122F by Michael Avallone/Valerie Moolman
A Bullet for Fidel (March 1965) A130F by Valerie Moolman
The 13th Spy (May 1965) A139F by Valerie Moolman
The Eyes of the Tiger (Sept. 1965) A152F by Manning Lee Stokes
Istanbul (Oct. 1965) A157F by Manning Lee Stokes
Web of Spies (Jan. 1966) A163F by Manning Lee Stokes
Spy Castle (Jan. 1966) A166F by Manning Lee Stokes
The Terrible Ones (May 1966) A172F by Valerie Moolman
Dragon Flame (May 1966) A173F by Manning Lee Stokes
Hanoi (1966) A182F by Valerie Moolman
Danger Key (1966) A183F by Lew Louderback
Operation Starvation (1966) A197F by Nicholas Browne
The Mind Poisoners (1966) A198F by Lionel White/Valerie Moolman
The Weapon of Night (1967) A215F by Valerie Moolman
The Golden Serpent (1967) A216F by Manning Lee Stokes
Mission to Venice (1967) A228X by Manning Lee Stokes
Double Identity (1967) A229X by Manning Lee Stokes
The Devil's Cockpit (1967) A238X by Manning Lee Stokes
The Chinese Paymaster (1967) A239X by Nicholas Browne
Seven Against Greece (Sept 1967) A247X by Nicholas Browne
A Korean Tiger (1967) A248X by Manning Lee Stokes
Assignment: Israel (1967) A260X by Manning Lee Stokes
The Red Guard (1967) A261X by Manning Lee Stokes
The Filthy Five (Nov 1967) A276X by Manning Lee Stokes
The Bright Blue Death (1967) A277X by Nicholas Browne
Macao (1968) A294X by Manning Lee Stokes
Operation Moon Rocket (1968) A295X by Lew Louderback
Judas Spy (April 1968) A325X by William L Rohde
Hood of Death (1968) A326X by William L Rohde
Amsterdam (1968) A366X by William L Rohde
Temple Of Fear (Oct 1968) A367X by Manning Lee Stokes
14 Seconds to Hell (Nov 1968) A376X by Jon Messmann
The Defector (1969) A405X by George Snyder
Carnival for Killing (1969) A406X by Jon Messmann
Rhodesia (1968) A409X by William L Rohde
The Red Rays (1969) A423X by Manning Lee Stokes
Peking & The Tulip Affair (1969) A424X by Arnold Marmor
The Amazon (1969) A441X by Jon Messmann
Sea Trap (1969) A442X by Jon Messmann
Berlin (1969) A455X by Jon Messmann
The Human Time Bomb (July 1969) A456X by William L Rohde
The Cobra Kill (1969) A495X by Manning Lee Stokes
The Living Death (Sept. 1969) A496X by Jon Messmann
Operation Che Guevara (1969) A509X by Jon Messmann
The Doomsday Formula (Nov. 1969) A520X by Jon Messmann
Operation Snake (Dec. 1969) A559X by Jon Messmann
The Casbah Killers (1969) A560X by Jon Messmann
The Arab Plague (a.k.a. The Slavemaster in the U.K.) (Feb. 1970) A583X by Jon Messmann
Red Rebellion (1970) A584X by Jon Messmann
The Executioners (April 1970) A598X by Jon Messmann
Black Death (March 1970) A631X by Manning Lee Stokes
Mind Killers (1970) A655X by Jon Messmann
Time Clock of Death (June 1970) A656X by George Snyder
Cambodia (1970) A686X by George Snyder
The Death Strain (Aug. 1970) A703S by Jon Messmann
Moscow (1970) A710S by George Snyder
Jewel of Doom (1970) A744S by George Snyder
Ice Bomb Zero (March 1971) A787S by George Snyder
Mark of Cosa Nostra (1971) A847S by George Snyder
The Cairo Mafia (Aug. 1972) AN1001 by Ralph Eugene Hayes
Inca Death Squad (Sept. 1972) AN1016 by Martin Cruz Smith
Assault on England (Oct. 1972) AN1030 by Ralph Eugene Hayes
The Omega Terror (Nov. 1972) AN1033 by Ralph Eugene Hayes
Code Name: Werewolf (Jan. 1973) AN1055 by Martin Cruz Smith
Strike Force Terror (1972) AN1056 by Ralph Eugene Hayes
Target: Doomsday Island (Feb. 1973) AN1075 By Richard Hubbard
Night of the Avenger (April 1973) AN1079 by Chet Cunningham
Butcher of Belgrade (April 1973) AN1109 by Ralph Eugene Hayes / Larry Powell
Assassination Brigade (April 1973) AN1121 by Thomas Chastain
The Liquidator (1973) AN1127 by Richard Hubbard
The Devil's Dozen (1973) AN1133 by Martin Cruz Smith
The Code (1973) AN1146 by Larry Powell
Agent Counter-Agent (July 1973) AN1147 by Ralph Eugene Hayes
Hour of the Wolf (Aug. 1973) AN1157 by Jeffrey Wallman
Our Agent in Rome is Missing (1973) AN1160 by Al Hine
The Kremlin File (Sept. 1973) AN1165 by Willis T Ballard
Spanish Connection (Sept. 1973) AN1166 by Bruce Cassidy
Death's Head Conspiracy (1973) AN1178 by Robert Colby
The Peking Dossier (Dec. 1973) AN1217 by Linda Stewart
Ice-trap Terror (1974) AN1227 by Jeffrey Wallman
Assassin: Code Name Vulture (Jan. 1974) AN1239 by Ralph Eugene Hayes
Massacre in Milan (March 1974) AN1251 by Al Hine
Vatican Vendetta (1974) AN1263 by George Snyder / Ralph Eugene Hayes
Sign of the Cobra (1974) AN1270 by James Fritxhand
The Man Who Sold Death (1974) AN1297 by Lawrence VanGelder
The N3 Conspiracy (Aug. 1974) AQ1332 by Dennis Lynds
Beirut Incident (1974) AQ1333 by Forrest V Perrin
Death of the Falcon (1974) AQ1354 by Jim Bowser
The Aztec Avenger (1974) AQ1356 by Saul Wernick
The Jerusalem File (1975)AQ1400 by Linda Stewart
Dr. Death (1975) AY1424 by Craig Nova
Counterfeit Agent (1975) AQ1439 by Douglas Marland
Six Bloody Summer Days (1975) AQ1449 by DeWitt S Copp
The Z Document (1975) AQ1460 by Homer H Morris
The Katmandu Contract (1975)AQ1479 by Jim Bowser
The Ultimate Code (1975) AQ1486 by William Odell
Assignment: Intercept (1976) AQ1512 by Marilyn Granbeck
Green Wolf Connection (1976) AQ1546 by Dennis Lynds
Death Message: Oil 74-2 (1976) AQ1559 by Dee Stuart / Ansel Chapin
The List (1976) AQ1556 by Jim Bowser
The Fanatics of Al Asad (1976) AQ1575 by Saul Wernick
The Snake Flag Conspiracy (1976) AQ1576 by Saul Wernick
The Turncoat (1976) AQ1581 by Leon Lazarus
The Sign of the Prayer Shawl (1976) AQ1590 by David Hagberg
The Vulcan Disaster (1976) AQ1600 by George Warren
A High Yield in Death (1976) AQ1609 by Jim Bowser
The Nichovev Plot (1976) AQ1623 by Craig Nova
Triple Cross (1976) AQ1636 by Dennis Lynds
The Gallagher Plot (1976) AQ1647 by Saul Wernick
Plot for the Fourth Reich (Jan. 1977) AQ1655 by Bob Latona
Revenge of the Generals (June 1978) (AQ1664 Feb 1977 Cancelled) by Saul Wernick
Under the Wall (July 1978) (AQ1673 March 1977 cancelled) by DeWitt S Copp
The Ebony Cross (Aug. 1978) AQ1683 (April 1977 cancelled) by Jack Canon
Deadly Doubles (Sept. 1978) (AQ1695 May 1977 cancelled) by Lawrence VanGelder
Race of Death (Oct. 1978) by David Hagberg
Trouble in Paradise (Nov. 1978) by Robert Derek Steeley
Pamplona Affair (Dec. 1978) by Dee Stuart/Ansel Chapin
The Doomsday Spore (Jan. 1979) by George Warren
The Asian Mantrap (Feb. 1979) by William Odell
Thunderstrike in Syria (March 1979) By Joseph Rosenberger