Hanoi

Killmaster #15

by Nick Carter

Officers of the US Special Forces discover a secret camp in North Vietnam near Hanoi. The camp is guarded by Chinese soldiers and houses a group of German scientists, led by Ulric Krutch, who are working on a top secret rocket programme.

A new rocket has been perfected that can deliver a payload into earth orbit. The team of scientists is waiting for Dr Erich Burgdorf to arrive from Buenos Aires with plans for a triggering device that will release a secondary component carrying a secret payload after the rocket has reached orbit.

When it is discovered that none of the scientists has ever met Burgdorf, secret agent Nick Carter is sent to impersonate Burgdorf, infiltrate the camp and neutralize the rocket programme.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

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

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is 1966 in the middle of the Vietnam conflict and an oddly multinational group of bad actors are plotting something exceedingly sinister with regard to a new secret missile technology. Chinese soldiers, German scientists, French accomplices; a strange assortment of non-Vietcong working in this location outside Hanoi. US counterintelligence agent Nick Carter, aka Killmaster, aka N-3 is assigned to go undercover as a Czech communist in Hanoi to shadow the airport and find the lead scientist so AXE can learn what they are up to and fight it.

This is the 15th installment of the Nick Carter Killmaster series and it was ghost-written by Valerie Moolman. Nick Carter - the author - is a pseudonym used by several authors writing for the series for Award Books, with Nick Carter also being the name of the protagonist character, a superhero American James Bond-style agent.

Verdict: A few of the early Nick Carter adventures I've read, namely "Dragon Flame" and "Cambodia," take place in Southeast Asia with the Vietnam War as a backdrop and are pretty good. This "Hanoi" (1966) uses the setting only in the first half before it runs its course in a secret lab with lots of laughable love scenes and the plot is quite lame.

Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Michael P.]

I only reached the midpoint of this book because I was stuck with it on an airplane. I would have quite much sooner if I had another book. Any other book.

[Theophilus (Theo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading Ian Fleming's James Bond thrillers, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger when I was younger. Nick Carter, Killmaster is comparable to those stories. In this adventure, Nick Carter goes to North Vietnam (this was written in 1966) to investigate a report that the communists are building a super-weapon to take over the world. He works with U.S Special Forces, encounters beautiful women who test his powers of endurance, and discovers that the plot is really the brainchild of some diehard Nazis determined to fulfill Hitler's dream of world domination. A fast-paced, easy read that is great for bedtime relaxation after a stressful day. Hard to find (checkout some used book vendors of antique dealers), but worth the look.

[Beauregard Shagnasty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another breezy and fun Nick Carter espionage thriller. He gets a lot of boudoir action in this one and I've noticed that as the series has progressed (at least for the first few yrs) the sex scenes are becoming more graphic. Not really a selling point for me, as I tend to skip the erotic passages. I prefer my spies to be more business-like but I understand the fantasy appeal of the virile lover-spy as perpetuated by James Bond and his ilk.

[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.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was funny in a wannabe James Bond sort of way. The difference is that the main character is part of U.S. military and the setting is North Vietnam.