Spy Ghost

Man From A.P.E. #3

by Norman Daniels, Frank Kalan (Illustrator)

It seemed many of the leaders of the Soviet Union and its key scientists had become fixated on the occult and John Keith is sent to find out what is behind this strange change of belief.

Genres: Espionage

126 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1965

Reviews

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The current Russian aggression had me seeking out a vintage Cold War espionage book and found this one from 1965. John Keith is The Man from APE (nothing to do with evolution) a secret USA spy agency who is tasked with keeping the KGB from persuading a Soviet scientist to design a rocket, ostensibly to rescue a cosmonaut who is lost in space, in a really bonkers plot to use ESP to convince him that the spaceman is still alive. More lunacy ensues with Keith trying to disprove a clairvoyant and a telepath that the KGB has tricked into duping the scientist to work on the rocket. Not surprisingly Keith beds the attractive females and gets beat up. Super silly plot, bordering on self-parody, but entertaining as hell. A fun and nostalgic read for those who lived through the Cold War and the spy/secret agent media rage of the 1960s. Four stars.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent attempt to cash in on the spy craze.
John Kieth is competent, fairly likable, but with an underlining sadness about him, as he is aware of the lonely life he leads, but he isn't wallowing in angst.

The plot: are the Russians using fake mediums to get a scientist to work for them, or do they have actual, real psychics on the payroll?

Yeah, you will figure out the mystery about twenty pages before our hero, but the story moves at a nice pace, the cast is decent and the writer makes good use of the Paris setting.

Fun bit of fluff.