Saigon

Killmaster #6

by Nick Carter

"Little Paris" where love-talk is wire-tapped and each caress can lead to sudden mayhem.

Claire La Farge, a widow of a French intelligence officer, who lives in a large rice and tea plantation in North Vietnam receives a coded message from a former associate of her husband. She sends her trusted servant, Saito, to Saigon to place an advert in the personal column of the Times of Vietnam hoping to contact former colleagues of her late husband. Raoul Dupre, a former French intelligence officer and businessman in Saigon, reads the ad and makes contact with AXE. Nick Carter is sent to Saigon with orders to help Raoul Dupre contact Claire La Farge.

Paperback

First published December 1, 1964

About the author

Nick Carter is a house pseudonym used by Award, Ace, and later Jove, publishing for the series Nick Carter who later graduated to a special agent for the Killmaster novels, a series of 261+ spy adventures published from 1964 until late 1990s.

A great number of writers have written under the pen-name over the years, beginning in September 1886 when Nick Carter first appeared in the 'New York Weekly' in a 13-week serial, entitled 'The Old Detective's Pupil; or, The Mysterious Crime of Madison Square'.

The Nick Carter character was originally conceived by Ormond G. Smith, the son of one of the founders of Street & Smith, and realized by John R. Coryell.

Reviews

[Jim Dunlop · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone who expected this book to be a low budget James Bond ripoff I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I’d go as far as saying I enjoyed this book as much or more than the Bond novels, some of which I recently read.

It’s an interesting premise, as the book was written in 1964, it sees Nick Carter and AXE heading to Vietnam to aid a French expatriate living on a plantation in North Vietnam. An escaped French spy has given her a list of double agents in the South, and Carter has to get to it before the NVA and Chinese.

It’s interesting because the US was just starting to enter Vietnam after the French occupation, a set up you don’t read much about when it comes to Vietnam stories.

Overall I enjoyed the novel, it moved at a good pace, some complaints might be the one dimensional-ness of Carters character, and the over long romance/sex stuff which is pretty vanilla by today’s standards but would have more place in a Harlequin romance than here. Also, the action is mostly hand to hand with very little gunplay.

Another interesting note is the main Chinese villain in the novel has the nickname “The Executioner” - a full 5 years before the birth of the real Executioner - Mack Bolan!

[Beauregard Shagnasty · Rating 3 out of 5]

After enjoying Run,Spy,Run, I decided to try and find the other Carter books written by Michael Avallone. I was only able to locate this one but it was rather enjoyable time killer. The dated politics make it funny. The villains are, of course, commies and they're all evil and warped and cartoonishly demonic. America is so busy sucking up and selling out to the Chinese now that it's weird to look back and remember how everyone in the West feared them in the second half of the 20th century.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice rewrite of an old Pulp character. Recast more in the James Bond spy mode. Good quick men's adventure read. If you are looking for some fast paced action and adventure then this is a recommended read.

[Rev Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carter looks at a girl and they are in bed. Tons of action.