lessons learned from Nick Carter
Richard--W
USAPosts: 200MI6 Agent
Lately I've been reading the Nick Carter, Killmaster spy novels. The authorship is attributed to the character. Actually there was no Nick Carter. Nick Carter was a publisher's house name used by several professional writers and editors to keep the series going. 261 Nick Carter spy novels were published between 1964 and 1990. I have the entire series. I glanced through all the books, but I'm trying to read them in chronological order of publication. I'm still working my way through the 62 titles published during the heydey of espionage fiction:
1. Run Spy Run (1964) -- written by Michael Avallone and Valerie Moolman
2. The China Doll (1964) -- written by Michael Avallone and Valerie Moolman
3. Checkmate in Rio (1964) -- written by Valerie Moolman
4. Safari for Spies (1964) -- Valerie Moolman
5. Fraulein Spy (1964) -- Valerie Moolman
6. Saigon (1964) -- Michael Avallone and Valerie Moolman
7. A Bullet for Fidel (1965) -- Valerie Moolman
8. The Thirteenth Spy (1965) -- Valerie Moolman
9. Eyes of the Tiger (1965) -- Manning Lee Stokes
10. Istanbul (1965) -- Manning Lee Stokes
11. Web of Spies (1966) -- Manning Lee Stokes
12. Spy Castle (1966) -- Manning Lee Stokes
13. The Terrible Ones (1966) -- Valerie Moolman
14. Dragon Flame (1966) -- Manning Lee Stokes
15. Hanoi (1966) -- Valerie Moolman
16. The Danger Key (1966) -- Lew Louderback
17. Operation Starvation (1966) -- Nicholas Browne
18. The Mind Poisoners (1966) -- Lionel White and Valerie Moolman
19. The Weapon of Night (1967) -- Valerie Moolman
20. The Golden Serpent (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
21. Mission to Venice (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
22. Double Identity (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
23. The Devil's Cockpit (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
24. The Chinese Paymaster (1967) -- Nicholas Browne
25. Seven Against Greece (1967) -- Nicholas Browne
26. A Korean Tiger (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
27. Assignment Israel (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
28. The Red Guard (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
29. The Filthy Five (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
30. The Bright Blue Death (1967) -- Nicholas Browne
31. Macao (1968) -- Manning Lee Stokes
32. Operation Moon Rocket (1968) -- Lew Louderback
33. The Judas Spy (1968) -- William L. Rhodes
34. Hood of Death (1968) -- William L Rhodes
35. Amsterdam (1968) -- William L Rhodes
36. Temple of Fear (1968) -- Manning Lee Stokes
37. Fourteen Seconds to Hell (1968) -- Jon Messmann
38. The Defector (1969) -- George Snyder
39. Carnival for Killing (1969) -- Jon Messmann
40. Rhodesia (1969) -- William L. Rhodes
41. The Red Rays (1969) -- Manning Lee Stokes
42. Peking-Tulip Affair (1969) -- Arnold Marmor
43. The Amazon (1969) -- Jon Messmann
44. Sea Trap (1969) -- Jon Messmann
45. Berlin (1969) -- Jon Messmann
46. The Human Time Bomb (1969) -- William L Rhodes
47. The Cobra Kill (1969) -- Manning Lee Stokes
48. The Living Death (1969) -- Jon Messmann
49. Operation Che Guevara (1969) -- Jon Messmann
50. The Doomsday Formula (1969) -- Jon Messmann
51. Operation Snake (1969) -- Jon Messmann
52. The Casbah Killers (1969) -- Jon Messmann
53. The Arab Plague (1970) aka Slavemaster -- Jon Messman
54. The Red Rebellion (1970) -- Jon Messmann
55. The Executioners (1970) -- John Messmann
56. Black Death (1970) -- Manning Lee Stokes
57. The Mind Killers (1970) -- Jon Messmann
58. Time Clock of Death (1970) -- George Snyder
59. Cambodia (1970) -- George Snyder
60. The Death Strain (1970) -- Jon Messmann
61. Jewel of Doom (1970) -- George Snyder
62. Moscow (1970) -- George Snyder
The publisher, Award paperbacks, maintained a high standard over 27 years. They only hired the best writers they could find, writers who understood espionage. The nature of the stories evolve with the times, but the writers stay in touch with the basic concept and maintain the same approach the series began with. Those I've read so far are each sturdy, imaginative, absorbing spy tales more or less in the Ian Fleming tradition. It's not hard to see why the series lasted so long. There are no sequels. Each novel is an unrelated adventure consistent with the previous novel but not dependent on it. Nick Carter is a smart detective, a skilled spy, and a ruthless killer. But, like Bond, he is never unlikable. He has the social graces, the good will, the moral center. The various writers emphasize different things to some degree but they never lose sight of the character's decency and strengths. They always "play the scene." Some of the books are better than others, longer than others, some plots are more complex than others, but each is a legitimate spy adventure, and they are all cinematic.
With a few strokes of the pen to change the names and places any one of the old Nick Carter novels would make a better Bond film than The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Octupussy, A View to a Kill, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace or Skyfall. The writing is infinitely better than anything done by Purvis & Wade & Wilson. The Nick Carter writers make Purvis & Wade & Wilson look like the no-talent hacks they are. Indeed the recent Bond films contain some of the dumbest, most inept writing I've ever seen.
If you like Ian Fleming, you'll probably enjoy Nick Carter. The writers were NOT Ian Fleming, but they spin an espionage tale that easily surpasses tie-in books by John Gardner and some of the other Bond writers.
1. Run Spy Run (1964) -- written by Michael Avallone and Valerie Moolman
2. The China Doll (1964) -- written by Michael Avallone and Valerie Moolman
3. Checkmate in Rio (1964) -- written by Valerie Moolman
4. Safari for Spies (1964) -- Valerie Moolman
5. Fraulein Spy (1964) -- Valerie Moolman
6. Saigon (1964) -- Michael Avallone and Valerie Moolman
7. A Bullet for Fidel (1965) -- Valerie Moolman
8. The Thirteenth Spy (1965) -- Valerie Moolman
9. Eyes of the Tiger (1965) -- Manning Lee Stokes
10. Istanbul (1965) -- Manning Lee Stokes
11. Web of Spies (1966) -- Manning Lee Stokes
12. Spy Castle (1966) -- Manning Lee Stokes
13. The Terrible Ones (1966) -- Valerie Moolman
14. Dragon Flame (1966) -- Manning Lee Stokes
15. Hanoi (1966) -- Valerie Moolman
16. The Danger Key (1966) -- Lew Louderback
17. Operation Starvation (1966) -- Nicholas Browne
18. The Mind Poisoners (1966) -- Lionel White and Valerie Moolman
19. The Weapon of Night (1967) -- Valerie Moolman
20. The Golden Serpent (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
21. Mission to Venice (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
22. Double Identity (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
23. The Devil's Cockpit (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
24. The Chinese Paymaster (1967) -- Nicholas Browne
25. Seven Against Greece (1967) -- Nicholas Browne
26. A Korean Tiger (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
27. Assignment Israel (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
28. The Red Guard (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
29. The Filthy Five (1967) -- Manning Lee Stokes
30. The Bright Blue Death (1967) -- Nicholas Browne
31. Macao (1968) -- Manning Lee Stokes
32. Operation Moon Rocket (1968) -- Lew Louderback
33. The Judas Spy (1968) -- William L. Rhodes
34. Hood of Death (1968) -- William L Rhodes
35. Amsterdam (1968) -- William L Rhodes
36. Temple of Fear (1968) -- Manning Lee Stokes
37. Fourteen Seconds to Hell (1968) -- Jon Messmann
38. The Defector (1969) -- George Snyder
39. Carnival for Killing (1969) -- Jon Messmann
40. Rhodesia (1969) -- William L. Rhodes
41. The Red Rays (1969) -- Manning Lee Stokes
42. Peking-Tulip Affair (1969) -- Arnold Marmor
43. The Amazon (1969) -- Jon Messmann
44. Sea Trap (1969) -- Jon Messmann
45. Berlin (1969) -- Jon Messmann
46. The Human Time Bomb (1969) -- William L Rhodes
47. The Cobra Kill (1969) -- Manning Lee Stokes
48. The Living Death (1969) -- Jon Messmann
49. Operation Che Guevara (1969) -- Jon Messmann
50. The Doomsday Formula (1969) -- Jon Messmann
51. Operation Snake (1969) -- Jon Messmann
52. The Casbah Killers (1969) -- Jon Messmann
53. The Arab Plague (1970) aka Slavemaster -- Jon Messman
54. The Red Rebellion (1970) -- Jon Messmann
55. The Executioners (1970) -- John Messmann
56. Black Death (1970) -- Manning Lee Stokes
57. The Mind Killers (1970) -- Jon Messmann
58. Time Clock of Death (1970) -- George Snyder
59. Cambodia (1970) -- George Snyder
60. The Death Strain (1970) -- Jon Messmann
61. Jewel of Doom (1970) -- George Snyder
62. Moscow (1970) -- George Snyder
The publisher, Award paperbacks, maintained a high standard over 27 years. They only hired the best writers they could find, writers who understood espionage. The nature of the stories evolve with the times, but the writers stay in touch with the basic concept and maintain the same approach the series began with. Those I've read so far are each sturdy, imaginative, absorbing spy tales more or less in the Ian Fleming tradition. It's not hard to see why the series lasted so long. There are no sequels. Each novel is an unrelated adventure consistent with the previous novel but not dependent on it. Nick Carter is a smart detective, a skilled spy, and a ruthless killer. But, like Bond, he is never unlikable. He has the social graces, the good will, the moral center. The various writers emphasize different things to some degree but they never lose sight of the character's decency and strengths. They always "play the scene." Some of the books are better than others, longer than others, some plots are more complex than others, but each is a legitimate spy adventure, and they are all cinematic.
With a few strokes of the pen to change the names and places any one of the old Nick Carter novels would make a better Bond film than The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Octupussy, A View to a Kill, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace or Skyfall. The writing is infinitely better than anything done by Purvis & Wade & Wilson. The Nick Carter writers make Purvis & Wade & Wilson look like the no-talent hacks they are. Indeed the recent Bond films contain some of the dumbest, most inept writing I've ever seen.
If you like Ian Fleming, you'll probably enjoy Nick Carter. The writers were NOT Ian Fleming, but they spin an espionage tale that easily surpasses tie-in books by John Gardner and some of the other Bond writers.
The top 7 Bond films: 1) Dr No. 2) From Russia With Love. 3) Thunderball. 4) On Her Majesty's Secret Service. 5) For Your Eyes Only. 6) The Living Daylights. 7) Licence to Kill.
Comments
Some great story.ideas.
Always thought they were trying to make Carter the American James Bond as the books seemed to be very influenced by the Bond movies much more than the novels.
Because there were a number of authors there were continuity slips during the series. The quality of writing was nowhere near Fleming. Looking back they were a bit like the John Gardiner continuation novels, enjoyable enough when you were reading them but instantly forgettable afterwards.
Never thought they were as good quality as the Matt Helm novels who was much more the ruthless government assassin. Indeed much more than Bond.
Also enjoyed the Sam Durrell novels by Edward S. Aarons. As you can tell I was a bit of a spy fiend in my literary tastes in those days.