Saigon (Killmaster novel)
Encyclopedia
Saigon is the sixth novel
in the in the long-running Nick Carter-Killmaster
series of spy novels. Carter is a US secret agent, code-named N-3, with the rank of Killmaster. He works for AXE – a secret arm of the US intelligence services.
Inc. The novel was written by Michael Avallone
and Valerie Moolman. Copyright was registered in the US.
. One night she receives a coded message in the form of a knotted belt (quipu
) 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 husband who can decode the message. Raoul Dupre, a former French intelligence officer and businessman in Saigon, reads the ad and makes contact. Agent Nick Carter, in Saigon posing as a WHO
medical observer, answers the ad on a hunch and learns of Dupre's involvement. Dupre's daughter, Antoinette (Toni), has become a heroin addict under the influence of Lin Tong – a Chinese communist spy interested in finding out the truth about her father.
Hawk orders Carter to help Raoul Dupre contact Claire La Farge to retrieve the coded message. Antoinette tells Carter that Lin Tong is pressing her to spy on her father and that she has revealed to Lin Tong what she has overheard of the coded message and the American agent who would be coming to help. Lin Tong follows Antoinette and Carter to a secluded rendezvous where he accidentally shoots and kills her. Carter and Lin Tong race each other to North Vietnam. Carter heads for the La Farge plantation accompanied by Saito while Lin Tong contacts his communist guerilla allies to be on the lookout for a western agent.
Lin Tong arrives at the La Farge plantation first with a small group of North Vietnamese soldiers. He starts to interrogate and torture Claire La Farge concerning the location of the coded message. Carter and Saito arrive shortly afterwards. They assemble the plantation workers still loyal to Claire La Farge and overpower the North Vietnamese soldiers. Lin Tong is captured and Claire La Farge is released. Raoul Dupre arrives by helicopter to take Carter and Lin Tong back to Saigon. The quipu belt is decoded as a list of Chinese communist spies living and working in South Vietnam
. Raoul Dupre takes charge of eliminating the spies, while Carter returns home.
in August 1964. The last edition of the newspaper was published on 1 November 1963.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in the in the long-running Nick Carter-Killmaster
Nick Carter-Killmaster
Nick Carter-Killmaster is a series of spy adventures published from 1964 until the late 1990s, first by Award Books, then by Ace Books, and finally by Jove Books. At least 261 novels were published....
series of spy novels. Carter is a US secret agent, code-named N-3, with the rank of Killmaster. He works for AXE – a secret arm of the US intelligence services.
Publishing history
The book was first published in December 1964 (Number A122F) by Award Books part of the Beacon-Signal division of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation (New York, USA), part of the Conde Nast PublicationsCondé Nast Publications
Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...
Inc. The novel was written by Michael Avallone
Michael Avallone
Michael Avallone was a prolific American author of mystery and secret agent fiction, as well as many novels based upon various television series and films...
and Valerie Moolman. Copyright was registered in the US.
Plot summary
The story is set in August-September 1964. Claire La Farge, widow of a French intelligence officer, lives in a large rice and tea plantation in North VietnamNorth Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
. One night she receives a coded message in the form of a knotted belt (quipu
Quipu
Quipus or khipus were recording devices used in the Inca Empire and its predecessor societies in the Andean region. A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair. It could also be made of cotton cords...
) 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
Times of Vietnam
The Times of Vietnam is a defunct English language newspaper that existed in South Vietnam under the rule of President Ngô Đình Diệm. It was regarded as the official mouthpiece of his regime. It was disbanded following his deposal and assassination in November 1963. The November 1 morning edition...
hoping to contact former colleagues of her husband who can decode the message. Raoul Dupre, a former French intelligence officer and businessman in Saigon, reads the ad and makes contact. Agent Nick Carter, in Saigon posing as a WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
medical observer, answers the ad on a hunch and learns of Dupre's involvement. Dupre's daughter, Antoinette (Toni), has become a heroin addict under the influence of Lin Tong – a Chinese communist spy interested in finding out the truth about her father.
Hawk orders Carter to help Raoul Dupre contact Claire La Farge to retrieve the coded message. Antoinette tells Carter that Lin Tong is pressing her to spy on her father and that she has revealed to Lin Tong what she has overheard of the coded message and the American agent who would be coming to help. Lin Tong follows Antoinette and Carter to a secluded rendezvous where he accidentally shoots and kills her. Carter and Lin Tong race each other to North Vietnam. Carter heads for the La Farge plantation accompanied by Saito while Lin Tong contacts his communist guerilla allies to be on the lookout for a western agent.
Lin Tong arrives at the La Farge plantation first with a small group of North Vietnamese soldiers. He starts to interrogate and torture Claire La Farge concerning the location of the coded message. Carter and Saito arrive shortly afterwards. They assemble the plantation workers still loyal to Claire La Farge and overpower the North Vietnamese soldiers. Lin Tong is captured and Claire La Farge is released. Raoul Dupre arrives by helicopter to take Carter and Lin Tong back to Saigon. The quipu belt is decoded as a list of Chinese communist spies living and working in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. Raoul Dupre takes charge of eliminating the spies, while Carter returns home.
Main characters
- Nick Carter (agent N-3, AXE; posing as WHO medical observer)
- Mr Hawk (Carter’s boss, head of AXE)
- Claire La Farge (widowed French rice / tea plantation owner)
- Saito (Japanese servant of Claire La Farge)
- Raoul Dupre (businessman and former French intelligence officer, father of Antoinette)
- Antoinette (Toni) Dupre (daughter of Raoul)
- Lin Tong (Chinese communist spy, lover of Antoinette)
- Ho Van Minh (N. Vietnamese general)
Plot errors
Claire La Farge places a personal ad in the Times of VietnamTimes of Vietnam
The Times of Vietnam is a defunct English language newspaper that existed in South Vietnam under the rule of President Ngô Đình Diệm. It was regarded as the official mouthpiece of his regime. It was disbanded following his deposal and assassination in November 1963. The November 1 morning edition...
in August 1964. The last edition of the newspaper was published on 1 November 1963.
Trivia
- Hawk sends Carter a tape-recorded message that self-destructs after being played once. This may have inspired this device's more familiar usage in the TV series Mission Impossible, which premiered in September 1966.
- Carter uses a new named weapon – Fang – a retractable poison-tipped needle concealed in fake index finger extension.
- Carter saves Saito from a spear-filled pit and recalls the death of Mirella in Safari for SpiesSafari for Spies (Killmaster novel)Safari for Spies is the fourth novel in the long-running Nick Carter-Killmaster series.-Publishing history:The book was first published in August 1964 by Award Books part of the Beacon-Signal division of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation , part of the Conde Nast Publications Inc....
. - Carter has apparently improved his abilities in spoken French since he professed only basic skills in this language in Safari for SpiesSafari for Spies (Killmaster novel)Safari for Spies is the fourth novel in the long-running Nick Carter-Killmaster series.-Publishing history:The book was first published in August 1964 by Award Books part of the Beacon-Signal division of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation , part of the Conde Nast Publications Inc....
. He also speaks basic Vietnamese. - At the end of the novel, Hawk orders Carter to Cuba – setting the scene for the next novel in the series A Bullet for Fidel (Killmaster novel).