Identity Seven

Identity Seven by Robert LoryIdentity Seven front
DAW Books, 1974
Price I paid: 75¢

Hunters Associated was the simple name of the organization. Who was behind it, what its ultimate purpose was, was never told its agents. All they needed to know was that they covered the galaxy, that their real identities had been buried, that once in Hunters they could be anybody.

He was Seven. That was all. Identity Seven. He had a new assignment. Identity Six had just been slain—lasered down on a far world by enemies unknown. But the death had been kept secret long enough for Seven to be sent to take his place.

To take his place, to take his features, to take his task—and to be a target to slay once again. If he failed, there would be an Identity Eight to step into his burned-out shoes…and a Nine and a Ten.

But Seven was determined to see that the progression stopped with him—even if he had to go down to the bottom of an alien sea and hobnob with horror.

Continue reading “Identity Seven”

The Ion War

The Ion War by Colin KappThe Ion War front
Ace Books, 1978
Price I paid: 90¢

When Major Dam Stormdragon was chosen to serve as part of Castalia’s military tithe to the Mother World he had no choice but do go—much as he loathed Terra and everything she stood for. He knew that given the combination of arrogance and paranoia that Terrans displayed towards all Colonials he was at best in for a miserable year—at that at worst he would find himself taking part in a military action against his fellow Colonials. He also knew that the increasing ferocity with which the Terrans responded to the slightest balking of the Imperial Will meant that one day soon the Hub Worlds would have to fight, or that Terra’s madness would destroy them all.

What Stormdragon could not know was that the Mother World was already set on obliterating her children, and that he himself would be Terra’s secret weapon in the most dreadful conflict in the History of Man.

Continue reading “The Ion War”

Sniper!: Viet Rampage

Sniper!: Viet Rampage by Mark AcresViet Rampage front
TSR, Inc., 1987
Price I paid: $1.50

YOU are John Strong, an elite “on call” agent working with the CIA, sent to find a U.S. spy satellite that crashed in Vietnam. The satellite’s memory banks contain information on Soviet Space technology, and the Russians and their Vietnamese friends will do everything they can to stop you…

To be successful in this adventure, you will have to make snap decisions under pressure, using your abilities of stealth, gun-firing, hand-to-hand combat, and bomb-throwing to reach your objectives. Prepare yourself for adventure and combat with VIET RAMPAGE.

Continue reading “Sniper!: Viet Rampage”

Links

Links by Charles PanatiGrasshoppa
Berkley Books, 1979
Price I paid: 30¢

They were the first to visit the afterLife and then return, their souls hypnotically “linked” in a dramatic new experiment in temporary death. Then something went wrong. Hideously wrong. And psychologist Ben West was faced with the most awesome terror that had ever been experienced by a living being, as he went after the woman he loved. All the way to the Other Side.

Continue reading “Links”

Cycle of Fire

Cycle of Fire by Hal ClementTurn left at Jim Wilson's gas station and then keep going 'til you see a big field with a tree in it
Ballantine Books, 1957
Price I paid: 50¢

Nils Kruger was the Earthman. A castaway with a smashed spaceship on the parched surface of the inhospitable planet Abyorman.

Dar was his non-human castaway companion. But Nils, a latter-day Robinson Crusoe, quickly learned that his intended Man Friday was a superior creature.

They would both die.

Typically, Nils the Human opted to do something about it. Typically, Dar, who knew the day, date, and hour of his death in advance, opted to do nothing.

Which of them was right?

Or, perhaps both of them were!

Continue reading “Cycle of Fire”

The Penetrator #8: Northwest Contract

The Penetrator #8: Northwest Contract by Lionel DerrickThe Penetrator 8 front
Pinnacle Books, 1975
Price I paid: 75¢

Business…

…is what a gang of crooked cops has been taking care of—big and dirty business. Seattle, that northwestern stronghold of law, order, and the American way, is the scene. Mark steps in when he finds that a former Vietnam war buddy—now a cop—has been shot to death in a robbery. But who was robbing whom? Mark doesn’t know for sure, and he has to find out…

Just which boys in blue have sold their souls to profit outside the law while pretending to uphold it? The enemy is everywhere, and they will stop at nothing. It’s a stinking whirlpool of corruption that includes grand larceny, prostitution—and murder for hire! It’s up to Mark to slice out the cancer. It’s a walk through hell, but the Penetrator has been there before…and he does what he has to do!

Continue reading “The Penetrator #8: Northwest Contract”

The House of Zeor

The House of Zeor by Jacqueline LichtenbergHouse of Zeor front
Pocket Books, 1977
Price I paid: 75¢

Earth is divided between Sime and Gen, both offspring of the ancient race of men—and mortal enemies. The Sime cannot control their thirst for the kill; terrified Gen cannot escape the sinuous tentacles whose grip means death.

Hugh Valleroy, crossing into Sime territory in a desperate search for the woman he loves, comes on a brave new experiment—one that could mean the survival of his world!

Continue reading “The House of Zeor”

Assassins from Tomorrow

Assassins from Tomorrow, by Peter HeathAssassins from Tomorrow front
Prestige Books, 1967
Price I paid: 90¢

The mystery of the Kennedy assassination has attracted many amateur investigators—but none quite like young Mark Brown, the brilliant but footloose young son of America’s leading theoretical physicist. Like others, Mark Brown had only a theory to work on. Unlike others, his theory led him straight into trouble—and into even deeper mystery…

Mark Brown needed help—and that help could only come from Jason Starr and Adam Cyber, the Mind Brothers. The three made up a team of scientific brains unmatched in human history—but the problem they faced was enormous. The complexities included a mysterious artificial satellite and a weird organization called “Sutra”…and the only thing certain was that at least one of the three would die. The biggest question was whether the Earth would die, too….

Continue reading “Assassins from Tomorrow”

City Wars

City Wars by Dennis PalumboCity Wars front
Bantam Books, 1979
Price I paid: 75¢

Chicago vs. New York

For decades after the great wars, Chicago re-armed to defend what was left. Never knowing when an enemy city would strike.

In a world obsessed with fear and violence, Cassandra and Jake were programmed to kill. Neither had ever experienced love.

Now they were drawn together on a combat mission against New York…a city where no human was left alive.

Continue reading “City Wars”