Nick Carter-Killmaster

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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 have been published so far. The title character is Agent N3 of AXE, a fictional spy agency for the United States government. The novels are similar to the literary James Bond novels - low on gadgets, high on action. Sexual encounters in particular are described in detail.

1 The Character
2 Weapons and paraphanalia
3 AXE
4 Novels

[edit] The Character

Nicholas J. Huntington Carter is described as being in his forties. tough and lean. His body is covered with scars, and his eyes change colour with his mood. Many novels state he has a small tattoo of an axe on the inside of his elbow - the ultimate ID for an AXE agent. At least one novel states that the tattoo glows in the dark.

[edit] Weapons and paraphanalia

Nick Carter uses three main weapons during the course of the series, all of which are named, and have histories. The gun, Wilhelmina, is a stripped down German Luger. In the earliest stories, Carter got the gun off a German officer during a harrowing mission during WW2. Later stories state that he has had a series of Lugers, all named Wilhelmina. The knife, Hugo, is a pearl handled stiletto. The blade retracts into the handle, and the whole thing is worn on a special sheath on the wrist, designed to release the knife into the user's hand with a simple muscle contraction. The third member of the triad did not appear until a few stories into the series. Pierre, the poison gas bomb, is a small egg sized device containing an odorless, colourless substance capable of killing anything capable of breathing.

[edit] AXE

The agency Carter works for is described as being smaller and far more secret than the CIA, mostly concerned with assassinations. Agents are given code designations; Carter's N3, which has at least once been stated as standing for Number three, identifies him has one of the elite Killmasters. The meaning of the code N3 is described differently in different novels - sometimes it is Carter's personal designation, other times it is considered a rank, with N1 being the highest. David Hawk, described in early novels as looking a lot like Uncle Sam, is the head of AXE and Carter's personal boss. Della Strokes, Hawk's personal secretary, is a character similar to Bond's Miss Moneypenny - flirtatious but serious. Pointdexter, AXE's equivalent to Q, runs the Special Effects and Editing department, in charge of weapons, gadgets, disguises, and papers.