Title: Der Overhead 
Author: Mahr, Kurt
First Published: Germany: Moewig, 1962-02-23
Length: 66 pages
Keywords: basement, monterny, osaka, sacramento, slc, tahoe, yellowstone 
Review by: Don Kuenz

A Perry Rhodan Spin Tale on the Double

Intro

A heavy-set hairless man walks down the small-town streets of Gradiner, north of the Wyoming border in an area above Yellowstone National Park. Monterny's massive head brims with grey matter. His eyes lock on to the target, teleporter Ted McMurray. Monterny makes McMurray an offer he can not refuse.

Five years later, twin explosions in block G shake up Col Freyt, Terrania's top administrator. A dosimeter crew confirms Freyt's hunch of radioactive residue in an area with non-radioactive material. Shortly afterward a trio of newly constructed, triple seat space ships, Z class destroyers, disappear into the sky, stolen in plain sight. Subsequently someone steals small engine components while scientists vanish.

On a park bench near Wall Street, eidetic hunchback Homer G Adams, head of General Cosmic Company, eats lunch. The Third Power's financial genius mulls prospects between bites. A strange young man approaches with a simple-minded swindle and the formerly financially foxy Adams becomes a bigger bagholder than the Federal Reserve.

One commonality unites this trio of disparate events - the menace of the mutant master.

Titles, teasers, covers, characters, & blurbs

Besides the story itself, this is a tale of two publishers: Moewig and Ace. German publisher Moewig released its first Perry Rhodan pulp magazine on March 26, 1961. Having sold more than two billion copies as of 2019, it is the most successful science fiction ever written. Eight years after Moewig’s debut, American publisher Ace Books released its first English translation in 1969. Ace Books ceased publication in 1979, even though the translations remained profitable at the time.

Wendayne and Forrest J Ackerman respectively acted as translator and editor for Ace. Although at first Forrest mostly copied Moewig’s cover and content verbatim, along the way he made the Ace translations his own with unique covers, additional content, and out of order story telling. The left column below contains original content while the right holds Ackerman’s derivative work.

Der Overhead Menace of the Mutant Master


Seine Macht ist unbegrenzt – er zwingt jedes Gehirn in seinen Bann ... His power is unlimited - he puts every brain under his spell ...




Die aufregenden Wochen auf Venus sind überstanden, und Perry Rhodan ist wieder nach Terrania, der irdischen Zentrale der Dritten Macht, zurückgekehrt.

Auf der Erde erwartet ihn jedoch eine unangenehme Überraschung!

Die Dritte Macht sieht sich einem starken und gefährlichen Gegner gegenüber – einem Gegner, der ebenfalls über ein gut ausgebildetes Mutantenkorps verfügt.

Dieser Gegner ist DER OVERHEAD!

PERRY IN PERIL

The Venus Adventure, fraught with prehistoric dangers on a Dawn World still trembling to the tread of the dinosaur–the Venus Adventure has been successfully concluded.

Once again, on Terra, the Peacelord of the Universe can turn his attention to the problems of the New Power

But now, on Earth, a new crisis arises: from out of nowhere materializes and evil mastermind.

Monterny!

To Perry Rhodan as Moriarity to Sherlock Holmes, as Duquesne to Richard Seaton. A villainous figure, intent on undermining the progress of the New Power! A super-hypnotist who enslaves the minds & bodies of his own band of mutants and sets them against Perry and his futuremen in a war of wills that produces new thrills & chills for Rhodan and his readers in–

MENACE OF

THE MUTANT MASTER



Die Hauptpersonen des Romans: THE ACTION & ADVENTURE HAPPENS WITH
Perry Rhodan – Der Herr der Dritten Macht.
Oberst Freyt – Perry Rhodans Stellvertreter in Terrania.
Reginald Bull – Der Sicherheitsminister der Dritten Macht.
Clifford Monterny – Seine Leute nennen ihn Overhead.
Elmer Bradley – Ein „sympathischer“ junger Mann.
Homer G. Adams – Auch ein Finanzgenie macht Fehler.
Mr. Raleigh – Er weiß von nichts.
Tako Kakuta – Er gerät unter einen fremden Zwang.
Captain Farina – Ein Retter in höchster Not.
Perry Rhodan–Protector of Peace throughout Space
Clifford Monterny–Power Mad Mutant, a Menace to the New Power
Col. Michael Freyt–Rhodan's Second-in-Command in Terrania
Reginold Bell–He'd go thru Hell for Perry
Thora–She gives Perry hell most of the time. Beauteous Exile from Arkon
Khrest–The Only Arkonide Mastermind on Earth
Homer G. Adams–His Genius lies in the Realm of High Finance
Betty Toufry–Young Girl who's a Top Telepathist & Telekineticist
Ted McMurray–Monterny's Main Mutant Assistant
Majs. Deringhouse & Nyssen–Officers of Rhodan's Space Force
Tako Kakuta–Member of Perry's Mutant Corps
Elmer Bradley–A pleasant young fellow
Allan D. Mercant–Director of the Terranian Defense Federation
Capt. Barina–Italian member of the TDF (above)
Lt. Richman–Poor man: becomes a corpse
Raleigh–Automated machine manufacturer–or is he?
Michikai–Japanese Spy (good guy)
Dr. Eric Manoli–Perry's medical aide

Synopsis

Perry Rhodan returns to a Third Power under assault from an unknown assailant. A shadowy telepath named Clifford Monterny masterminds the attacks. He's also able to impose hypnotic control on others. Monterny's recruited a cadre of malleably minded mutant middlemen to assist him with his quest to destroy the Third Power.

The mutant mastermind's first foray entails a nuclear attack on Terrania followed by the theft of three ships and small engine parts. Monterny's next incursion involves insertion of instability into Third Power finances.

Allan D. Mercant traces Terrania's stolen small engine components to Farming Tools and Machines, a newly formed Sacramento company headed by Raleigh. He dispatches two TDF agents, Captain Barina and Lieutenant Richman, to investigate. The agents determine Raleigh's Sacramento inventory originated in Salt Lake City. So Richman continues his pursuit in the City.

Rhodan meets Raleigh at the latter's Sacarmento farm house. Where Rhodan discovers the true extent of the hypno-master's power after Raleigh remains impervious to Rhodan's pocket-sized hypnotic raybeamer. It's one thing after another until everything converges on a small print shop in Osaka.

Review

PCB closeup

A dosimeter crew measures radioactivity in front of a triplet of destroyers.

This is the first installment of a three story cycle about Monterny. Its Northern Rocky Mountain setting, near my home state of Wyoming, makes it irresistible. Secret underground bunkers add allure.

One of my favorite story sketch's shown at the right. It depicts fallout from an attack on Terriania. Shortly afterward thieves take the trio of ships shown in the background.

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Audio Book Tracks

Tracks   Chapter
2-6 1
7-13 2
17-24 3
25-33 4
24-41 5

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