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Operator #5 #1
Operator #5: The Masked Invasion: First in the Classic Pulp Series!
Invisible, secret, deadly, the masked empire wielded its dread power of darkness throughout the nation. Havoc and ruin followed the terror-torn thousands who fled the country to escape the Thirteenth Darkness. America, faced with certain disaster, placed her chance of survival in one man’s capable hands—and prayed that the warrior gods might smile once more upon the miracle man of her Secret Service—Jimmy Christopher!
170 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1934
6 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Curtis Steele
57 books3 followersHenry Steeger, the owner of pulp publisher Popular Publications, launched the monthly pulp magazine "Operator #5," about a hero who would "single-handedly, or almost, save the nation from complete destruction regularly every month," in 1934. The novels were published under the pseudonym Curtis Steele, and were written by Frederick C. Davis until November 1935, then by Emile C. Tepperman until March 1938, and then Wayne Rogers for the remainder of the run.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 22, 2017
I love the old pulp heroes like The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Spider, Master of Men but I had only heard and read about Operator #5. I finally bought the first in the series The Masked Invasion and it lived up to the hype. As with all the pulp heroes, this story was action packed, violent, and over the top.
Operator #5 is Jimmy Christopher, one of the top intelligence operatives for the American Intelligence Service during the 1930s. The stories involve Jimmy working with Z-7 (his chief), Young Tim Donavan (his sidekick), his sister Nan and his father, John, a retired operative, against super criminals intent on taking over the USA.
This story involved a group of international terrorists in masks to hide their identities wielding the dreaded "negative ray" which completely shuts down all electrical energy sources enveloping NYC and much of the rest of the country in darkness. Fun read.
Operator #5 is Jimmy Christopher, one of the top intelligence operatives for the American Intelligence Service during the 1930s. The stories involve Jimmy working with Z-7 (his chief), Young Tim Donavan (his sidekick), his sister Nan and his father, John, a retired operative, against super criminals intent on taking over the USA.
This story involved a group of international terrorists in masks to hide their identities wielding the dreaded "negative ray" which completely shuts down all electrical energy sources enveloping NYC and much of the rest of the country in darkness. Fun read.
August 6, 2019
America’s secret agent!
Operator 5 is Secret Service Agent Jimmy Christopher, a young man with a lot of raw skill. He works directly under an agent known only as Z-7. As the story begins, Operator 5 is tracking an oriental agent. Discovering the man’s hiding place, Operator 5 puts on a mask and silently battles his way in using a variety of fighting techniques and his ever-ready saber that he keeps inside his belt.
The weird then is, why mask up? He announces himself by name! Why would a crook not trace him by name, regardless of what he looks like? To further seal this discrepancy, the criminals use his twin sister Nan as a hostage against his cooperation with their demands. At least in the Secret Agent X stories, no one knows who X is, but here? Wow, it isn't much of a secret who this agent is...
New York is attacked via blackouts every Friday that stop electrical power, automobiles, trains, and even airplanes! Each period of darkness grows longer, and they all end abruptly at 10:00! As of this story, the darkness has struck 11 times! People are fleeing the country due to these blackouts.
To be honest, I bought this to check on the new format. I had forgotten how dry and boring the Operator 5 stories could get. Outside of the Purple Wars saga, that is. This is likely the reason why there are few reviews on amazon. It’s an uphill battle reading this. And this isn’t due to this format, on the contrary, I find the format easier to read than the original reprints. The story lacks a lot…
I will give it three stars…
Quoth the Raven…
Operator 5 is Secret Service Agent Jimmy Christopher, a young man with a lot of raw skill. He works directly under an agent known only as Z-7. As the story begins, Operator 5 is tracking an oriental agent. Discovering the man’s hiding place, Operator 5 puts on a mask and silently battles his way in using a variety of fighting techniques and his ever-ready saber that he keeps inside his belt.
The weird then is, why mask up? He announces himself by name! Why would a crook not trace him by name, regardless of what he looks like? To further seal this discrepancy, the criminals use his twin sister Nan as a hostage against his cooperation with their demands. At least in the Secret Agent X stories, no one knows who X is, but here? Wow, it isn't much of a secret who this agent is...
New York is attacked via blackouts every Friday that stop electrical power, automobiles, trains, and even airplanes! Each period of darkness grows longer, and they all end abruptly at 10:00! As of this story, the darkness has struck 11 times! People are fleeing the country due to these blackouts.
To be honest, I bought this to check on the new format. I had forgotten how dry and boring the Operator 5 stories could get. Outside of the Purple Wars saga, that is. This is likely the reason why there are few reviews on amazon. It’s an uphill battle reading this. And this isn’t due to this format, on the contrary, I find the format easier to read than the original reprints. The story lacks a lot…
I will give it three stars…
Quoth the Raven…
September 28, 2023
A mediocre science-fiction-y threatened-invasion pulp novel, written by Frederick C Davis, author of the first 20 O#5 novels. I prefer the Emile C Tepperman ones (the next 19). The Purple Invasion stories (starting with 26) are great.
July 16, 2020
Operator 5 #1 The Masked Invasion by Fredrick C Douglas writing as Curtis Steele
America’s Undercover Ace in new paperback form!
First appearing in 1934, Operator 5 was Jimmy Christopher, a young member of the Secret Service often known as the most valuable agent in the United States. Christopher is strangely known to be Operator 5, yet maintains a secret identity as Carlton Victor, photographer to the rich and famous. The character is complete with a studio, an apartment, and even a butler named Crowe!
Recurring characters include Operator 5’s dad, former agent John Christopher, his twin sister Nan, sidekick kid Tim Donavan, Nan’s boyfriend Nick, Jimmy’s girlfriend Diane Elliot, his boss Z-7 and others.
Most of the stories involve the United States being attacked on the home front by various foreign armies, sometimes with devastating results.
The Masked Invasion was published in April 1934
There are periods of absolute darkness plaguing the country. Where that darkness falls, all power shuts down. There is no electricity. Cars, trains, and even planes have their motors go instantly dead. But silently cars of white-masked men leave chaos in their wake.
Operator 5 has traced a man connected with the scarlet masked master of the darkness at a high level. He has been given a fair warning: “Wise men flourish. Fools Perish!”
It takes time to get into the flow of the narrative, but it can be an enjoyable read. It has the usual overblow action of pulp, the larger-than-life characters, the science-gone-mad, and the hidden villain. I thought they really did well on that last account.
I will never like Operator 5 as well as I do other pulp heroes, but this isn’t a bad read. I’ll give it four stars.
Quoth the Raven…
America’s Undercover Ace in new paperback form!
First appearing in 1934, Operator 5 was Jimmy Christopher, a young member of the Secret Service often known as the most valuable agent in the United States. Christopher is strangely known to be Operator 5, yet maintains a secret identity as Carlton Victor, photographer to the rich and famous. The character is complete with a studio, an apartment, and even a butler named Crowe!
Recurring characters include Operator 5’s dad, former agent John Christopher, his twin sister Nan, sidekick kid Tim Donavan, Nan’s boyfriend Nick, Jimmy’s girlfriend Diane Elliot, his boss Z-7 and others.
Most of the stories involve the United States being attacked on the home front by various foreign armies, sometimes with devastating results.
The Masked Invasion was published in April 1934
There are periods of absolute darkness plaguing the country. Where that darkness falls, all power shuts down. There is no electricity. Cars, trains, and even planes have their motors go instantly dead. But silently cars of white-masked men leave chaos in their wake.
Operator 5 has traced a man connected with the scarlet masked master of the darkness at a high level. He has been given a fair warning: “Wise men flourish. Fools Perish!”
It takes time to get into the flow of the narrative, but it can be an enjoyable read. It has the usual overblow action of pulp, the larger-than-life characters, the science-gone-mad, and the hidden villain. I thought they really did well on that last account.
I will never like Operator 5 as well as I do other pulp heroes, but this isn’t a bad read. I’ll give it four stars.
Quoth the Raven…
July 30, 2024
Finished just in time for PulpFest. Operator 5 is even more ambitious than Secret Agent X (what with literally saving the entire country in a Bondian beat-the-clock (not the world, but close enough). Very clearly dated (especially in some non-PC descriptions of ethnicity) in the 1930s, but impressive future tech elements (for the good guys & bad); some hints of Doc Savage. More of a happy family vibe than Secret Agent X's platonic Lois Lane companion, but the identical twin aspect (used in the plot) seemed a little freaky to me. From his mastery of multiple martial arts, impressive personal gadgetry, bailing out the whole secret service (predating WW2 & OSS) & the country, and introduction as "Christopher, James Christopher', lots of Bondian appeal (esp if 007 had a spunky young sidekick). I was pleased that I correctly guessed the secret identities before revelation, but not by that much. The tech sci fi McGuffin element played some ironic notes in counterpoint to contemporary concerns for renewable energy (vs diesel), but I apologize if giving spoilers. Keeping the temporal context & sensibilities in mind, it was a very entertaining read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2017
I'm a fan of the old pulp tales, but for some reason I had a tough time getting into this one. I've gotten used to reading a set number of pages per night, and I read this on my Kindle. Did not having a set page count have anything to do with it? I'd like to try another Operator #5 book, though.
September 6, 2014
Continuing my survey of pulp fiction with the first of the Operator #5 novels. The hero works in a precursor to the CIA, albeit one chartered to operate domestically. The plot was audacious and the action nonstop, typical for a pulp adventure. A fun read!
August 3, 2024
A lot of fun and a non-stop pulp ride of undercover two-fisted action, pseudo-science, cheesy dialogue and master villainy. A perfect complement to The Spider and G-8 Battle Aces of the same era
Will be reading more!
Will be reading more!
May 3, 2016
read some time in 1995
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews