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Retief #5
Retief, ambasciatore spaziale
RETIEF, AMBASCIATORE SPAZIALE - GALASSIA N. 200 DI AGOSTO 1974
Retief, un deus ex machina che interviene a rimediare i guai combinati da un ambasciatore capo propenso ad ignorare i buoni consigli, restituendo credibilità e prestigio alla vecchia Terra, in un momento di crisi con certi nativi. Laumer ha scritto questa serie di racconti con consumata abilità, restituendo Ia fantascienza in tempo di “contaminazioni” socialpolitiche a se stessa. Gli appassionati del “classico” troveranno qui pane per i propri denti. Non che Laumer si limiti ad una letteratura di disimpegno e di pura evasione. Certi racconti, come ad esempio “Noie con la diga”, fanno trasparire situazioni tipo Vietnam, sia pure in una cornice fantascientifica. Anche i lettori dal palato più difficile avranno quindi soddisfazione. Del resto, non è questo uno dei maggiori pregi della sciente-fiction (e di Laumer)?
Retief, ambasciatore spaziale // Keith LAUMER
5 INDICE
5 Presentazione // Sandro SANDRELLI
9 Il gigante assassino // Keith LAUMER
28 La città proibita // Keith LAUMER
58 Fastidi con la diga // Keith LAUMER
82 Trappole e trattati // Keith LAUMER
110 La foresta nel cielo // Keith LAUMER
135 Tregua o guai // Keith LAUMER
Retief, un deus ex machina che interviene a rimediare i guai combinati da un ambasciatore capo propenso ad ignorare i buoni consigli, restituendo credibilità e prestigio alla vecchia Terra, in un momento di crisi con certi nativi. Laumer ha scritto questa serie di racconti con consumata abilità, restituendo Ia fantascienza in tempo di “contaminazioni” socialpolitiche a se stessa. Gli appassionati del “classico” troveranno qui pane per i propri denti. Non che Laumer si limiti ad una letteratura di disimpegno e di pura evasione. Certi racconti, come ad esempio “Noie con la diga”, fanno trasparire situazioni tipo Vietnam, sia pure in una cornice fantascientifica. Anche i lettori dal palato più difficile avranno quindi soddisfazione. Del resto, non è questo uno dei maggiori pregi della sciente-fiction (e di Laumer)?
Retief, ambasciatore spaziale // Keith LAUMER
5 INDICE
5 Presentazione // Sandro SANDRELLI
9 Il gigante assassino // Keith LAUMER
28 La città proibita // Keith LAUMER
58 Fastidi con la diga // Keith LAUMER
82 Trappole e trattati // Keith LAUMER
110 La foresta nel cielo // Keith LAUMER
135 Tregua o guai // Keith LAUMER
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
1 person is currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Keith Laumer
498 books225 followersJohn 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 11, 2022
Acceptabla korta sagor.
October 31, 2016
Short stories of Jaime Retief, a member of several ambassadorial delegations to various planets. It's made up of the usual tongue-in-cheek tales of pompous incompetent Ambassadors who only manage to do the right thing because of the adventures of Retief and sometimes his immediate boss, Magnan who is partially competent.
It sounds dryer than it is. The stories are fun to read -- especially if you love to see pomposity shown for what it is.
The bad guys, usually the Groaci, are moderately competent, but far from nice (grasping for power and territory).
It's all for fun, and Laumer delivers.
I've read this before. In fact, my paperback copy is so old that it's starting to fall apart (binding) and the pages are starting to yellow.
It sounds dryer than it is. The stories are fun to read -- especially if you love to see pomposity shown for what it is.
The bad guys, usually the Groaci, are moderately competent, but far from nice (grasping for power and territory).
It's all for fun, and Laumer delivers.
I've read this before. In fact, my paperback copy is so old that it's starting to fall apart (binding) and the pages are starting to yellow.
August 21, 2014
Couldn't get into it. However I liked the concept.
December 15, 2014
2010 grade B+
short stories
Retief!
series book R2a (1964)
short stories
Retief!
series book R2a (1964)
June 23, 2016
Very quick read short stories... it's very funny in spots, more irreverent humor from someone who truly appreciates how ridiculous bureaucracy and pompous authority figures can be.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews