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Retief
Series · 13
books · 1963-2010

Books in series

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#1

Retief

Envoy to New Worlds

1963

Vice Counsul Retief an ambassodor from the CDT, negotiates control of the Sirenian system, settles a conflict between settlers and natives, and solves a labor shortage on the planet Lovenbroy
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#1.1

Gambler's World and Other Science Fiction Stories

2010

This Halcyon Classics ebook contains four science fiction stories by Keith Laumer, a popular 1960s and 1970s scifi writer. During his peak years, Laumer was noted for fast-paced, straight adventures in time and space, with an emphasis on lone-wolf, latent superhuman protagonists, self-sacrifice, and transcendence. Four of his shorter works received Hugo or Nebula Award nominations and his novel A PLAGUE OF DEMONS was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966. This ebook is DRM free and includes an active table of contents. Contents Gambler’s World Greylorn It Could be Anything The Yillian Way This unexpurgated edition contains the complete text, with minor errors and omissions corrected.
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#2

Galactic Diplomat

1965

Retief is an officer of the distinguished Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne, a supra-national organization devoted to keeping the peace - or more accurately, to maintaining a state of tension short of armed conflict. Retief is not exactly in the mainstream of current Galactic diplomacy, as expounded by such giants of the C.D.T. as Crodfoller, Hidebinder, Straphanger, and his own immediate superior, Magnan. Deviously sincere, uncompromisingly venal, fearlessly cowardly, these great, dedicated public servants will seem curiously familiar as they strive to keep the peace seven hundred years in the future. But when Retief's on the scene things have a way of coming right in the end... Contents: Ultimatum Saline Solution The Brass God The Castle of Light Wicker Wonderland Native Intelligence The Prince and the Pirate Courier Protest Note
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#3

Retief's War

1965

James Retief, assigned to unite hostile Quoppian tribes for the sake of Earth's security, must first foil the destructive plans of the evil Groaci and encounters the beautiful princess, Fifi
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#4

Retief and the Warlords

1968

PAUPER, an earth protection agency, extends aid to the Haterakans, lobsterlike aliens, through James Retief, a 27th century diplomat
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#5

Retief

Ambassador to Space

1969

How are thing on Rockamorra? Bad, very. Earth Ambassador Pinchbottle has contracted to fight a dinorsaur, and it's up to troubleshooter Jame Retief to keep him from being stomped, mangled, or eaten.
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#6

Retief's Ransom

1971

Berkley Medallion, 1972. Mass market paperback, 1st printing. Cover art by Richard M. Powers. This is a novel in the Retief series, first published in 1971.
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#8

Retief

Emissary to the Stars

1975

Retief, top agent of the CDT, is sent to Froom 93, Delicia, and other planets to stop the advances of the aggressive Groaci
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#12

The Return of Retief

1984

PLANET AFTER PLANE FELL TO THE REE A vast and powerful race, the Ree needed breeding room for an ever-increasing population - and their expansion plans took no account of human territory. The farmers and miners of Tip Space were helpless against the Ree invasion. Still the Terran diplomats dithered, holding back the Navy, hoping for a truce. Retief, already on probation for undiplomatic behaviour, earned himself the assignment parleying with the Ree when he urged force against them. A suicide mission? Perhaps...but Retief is Retief.
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#13

Retief in the Ruins

1986

Retief is sent as an observer for the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne to Popu-Ri to keep an eye on the Groaci's progress in building a galactic warfleet
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#14

Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude

1986

Contains the novella (unavailable elsewhere) "Retief and the Pan-Galactic Pageant of Pulchitrude" (1986) Also contains the novel Retief's Ransom, 1971 (Retief, #6).
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#15

Reward for Retief

1989

Intergalactic diplomat Jame Retief investigates the planet Sardon whose inhabitants have a marked dislike for Terrans and who also appear to be hiding something from outsiders
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#16

Retief and the Rascals

1993

Terran diplomat and interplanetary troubleshooter Jame Retief must stop the belligerent, five-eyed Groaci from invading the beleaguered planet of Bloor, which is already plagued by violence between rival gangs.

Author

Keith Laumer
Keith Laumer
Author · 78 books

John Keith Laumer was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the U.S. Air Force and a U.S. diplomat. His brother March Laumer was also a writer, known for his adult reinterpretations of the Land of Oz (also mentioned in Keith's The Other Side of Time). Keith Laumer (aka J.K Laumer, J. Keith Laumer) is best known for his Bolo stories and his satirical Retief series. The former chronicles the evolution of juggernaut-sized tanks that eventually become self-aware through the constant improvement resulting from centuries of intermittent warfare against various alien races. The latter deals with the adventures of a cynical spacefaring diplomat who constantly has to overcome the red-tape-infused failures of people with names like Ambassador Grossblunder. The Retief stories were greatly influenced by Laumer's earlier career in the United States Foreign Service. In an interview with Paul Walker of Luna Monthly, Laumer states "I had no shortage of iniquitous memories of the Foreign Service." Four of his shorter works received Hugo or Nebula Award nominations (one of them, "In the Queue", received nominations for both) and his novel A Plague of Demons was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966. During the peak years of 1959–1971, Laumer was a prolific science fiction writer, with his novels tending to follow one of two patterns: fast-paced, straight adventures in time and space, with an emphasis on lone-wolf, latent superman protagonists, self-sacrifice and transcendence or, broad comedies, sometimes of the over-the-top variety. In 1971, Laumer suffered a stroke while working on the novel The Ultimax Man. As a result, he was unable to write for a few years. As he explained in an interview with Charles Platt published in The Dream Makers (1987), he refused to accept the doctors' diagnosis. He came up with an alternative explanation and developed an alternative (and very painful) treatment program. Although he was unable to write in the early 1970s, he had a number of books which were in the pipeline at the time of the stroke published during that time. In the mid-1970s, Laumer partially recovered from the stroke and resumed writing. However, the quality of his work suffered and his career declined (Piers Anthony, How Precious Was That While, 2002). In later years Laumer also reused scenarios and characters from his earlier works to create "new" books, which some critics felt was to their detriment: Alas, Retief to the Rescue doesn't seem so much like a new Retief novel, but a kind of Cuisnart mélange of past books. — Somtow Sucharitkul (Washington Post, Mar 27, 1983. p. BW11) His Bolo creations were popular enough that other authors have written standalone science-fiction novels about them. Laumer was also a model airplane enthusiast, and published two dozen designs between 1956 and 1962 in the U.S. magazines Air Trails, Model Airplane News and Flying Models, as well as the British magazine Aero Modeler. He published one book on the subject, How to Design and Build Flying Models in 1960. His later designs were mostly gas-powered free flight planes, and had a whimsical charm with names to match, like the "Twin Lizzie" and the "Lulla-Bi". His designs are still being revisited, reinvented and built today.

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