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Retief #4
Retief and the Warlords
PAUPER, an earth protection agency, extends aid to the Haterakans, lobsterlike aliens, through James Retief, a 27th century diplomat
266 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
2 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Keith Laumer
498 books227 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 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 8, 2017
Retief is up to his usual adventures. Lots of fun and conflict. But it's not his usual adventure. This time he has to work hard and risk his hide -- not once, but several times.
As usual, he thumbs his nose at the idiots in charge of the CDT and local politicians.
I've always liked these stories and this one is no exception. I'll file it in my library for another reading in the future.
As usual, he thumbs his nose at the idiots in charge of the CDT and local politicians.
I've always liked these stories and this one is no exception. I'll file it in my library for another reading in the future.
April 28, 2021
I agree that the Retief stories seem to work better as shorts than as full novels. This doesn't really meander, as it races along at full gallop most of the time, but it does echo '80s Doctor Who's "Capture and escape, repeat" blueprint almost its total length. Still, fun and cynical as hell.
March 3, 2024
Aus einer Reihe um den Diplomaten Retief. Dieser ist Mitglied des Corps Diplomatique und soll nun die ET-Rasse der Haterakans für ein terranisches Entwicklungsprogramm gewinnen. Sie haben sich allerdings bisher sehr ablehnend bis feindlich verhalten. Und so muss Retief feststellen, dass sie die von Menschen bewohnten Grenzplaneten erobern wollen. Er gerät mitten in einen Krieg und mischt bald kräftig mit.
Der Diplomat ist eher eine Art James Bond. Er wirft sich eiskalt in jede Gefahr, um seiner Überzeugungen willen. Die Handlung überzeugt allerdings nicht mal annährend. Der Protagonist wird x-mal gefangen genommen und entkommt immer wieder. Ständig werden Raumschiffe entführt und abgeschossen, nach einer Weile verschwimmen diese sich x-Mal wiederholenden Storyelemente ineinander.
Völliger Mist ist der Roman aber nicht, denn was die Sache halbwegs rettet, ist der Humor, der sich vor allem in den Dialogen zeigt. Es gibt durchaus satirische Ansätze, manchmal ist es eher Zynismus.
2.5/5
Der Diplomat ist eher eine Art James Bond. Er wirft sich eiskalt in jede Gefahr, um seiner Überzeugungen willen. Die Handlung überzeugt allerdings nicht mal annährend. Der Protagonist wird x-mal gefangen genommen und entkommt immer wieder. Ständig werden Raumschiffe entführt und abgeschossen, nach einer Weile verschwimmen diese sich x-Mal wiederholenden Storyelemente ineinander.
Völliger Mist ist der Roman aber nicht, denn was die Sache halbwegs rettet, ist der Humor, der sich vor allem in den Dialogen zeigt. Es gibt durchaus satirische Ansätze, manchmal ist es eher Zynismus.
2.5/5
July 9, 2025
I love the duplicitous diplomatic intergalactic dialog, but the rest of Laumer's writing style is definitely of an earlier era. If you don't like the statecraft satire, then deduct a star. This brief review will be reused for all my Retief books.
December 10, 2019
It's safe to say that everyone who knows & likes Keith Laumer also knows & probably likes adventures of Jame Retief and I'm no different. Of course short story format suits him better but some novels about this character are also very good.
"Retief's ransom" was the 1st novel I read so that it took special place in my heart if only for nostalgia sake; "Retief's war" & especially "Retief and the warlords" surely take the 2nd & 3rd places on my personal podium.
So basically "Warlords" have all the expected merits of a typical Retief story / novella but last way longer & it's a very good thing! My biggest complaint about "Retief's war" was that there's almost no trademark satire on future human diplomacy but I can't say the same about "Warlords": there're loads of this stuff here and jabs in the cadres' policies are scattered throughout the whole book.
Just one thing I can come up with is that there's a significant slowdown of general pace if not drag in the middle of "Warlords" but that hilarious final fight a-la "Jame vs. a battalion of aliens" redeems it all!
A summary: if you're new to Retief's adventures then checking out some collections of short stories is a must; one can start with 3 novels I mentioned too, they're just as good so take my word for it!
"Retief's ransom" was the 1st novel I read so that it took special place in my heart if only for nostalgia sake; "Retief's war" & especially "Retief and the warlords" surely take the 2nd & 3rd places on my personal podium.
So basically "Warlords" have all the expected merits of a typical Retief story / novella but last way longer & it's a very good thing! My biggest complaint about "Retief's war" was that there's almost no trademark satire on future human diplomacy but I can't say the same about "Warlords": there're loads of this stuff here and jabs in the cadres' policies are scattered throughout the whole book.
Just one thing I can come up with is that there's a significant slowdown of general pace if not drag in the middle of "Warlords" but that hilarious final fight a-la "Jame vs. a battalion of aliens" redeems it all!
A summary: if you're new to Retief's adventures then checking out some collections of short stories is a must; one can start with 3 novels I mentioned too, they're just as good so take my word for it!
November 19, 2024
So after reading The Return of Retief, published by Laumer in 1984 [following a stroke which kept him from writing for a couple of years] I decided to read Retief and the Warlords [published in 1968]. This is a very enjoyable read; I understand that many prefer short stories in the Retief series, this novel held up well. This is ruthless in its mocking of diplomacy, Laumer was both a diplomat and an Air Force pilot. Written during the Vietnam war, it holds up well, given the US approach to Iran over the past few years.
His satire is sharp: "This one '--he indicated another--' represents membership in the Play-Toy Club, an arcane brotherhood devoted to titillating and then frustrating the reproductive urge." [seems like an accurate description of strip clubs]
"It's an old idea called Peace at Any Price. The theory is that by jollying the Haterakans along, in the end we'll turn out to be good, good friends. But it would spoil things if in the meantime we shot at them."
This feels like a sharper read than The Return of Retief.
His satire is sharp: "This one '--he indicated another--' represents membership in the Play-Toy Club, an arcane brotherhood devoted to titillating and then frustrating the reproductive urge." [seems like an accurate description of strip clubs]
"It's an old idea called Peace at Any Price. The theory is that by jollying the Haterakans along, in the end we'll turn out to be good, good friends. But it would spoil things if in the meantime we shot at them."
This feels like a sharper read than The Return of Retief.
October 11, 2025
Full length Retief is perhaps a little too much. Generally fun, but could really have been helped with some pruning. As a writer myself, albeit in my case of non-fiction so far, I know just how hard it can be to cut my deathless prose, I sympathise. It's perhaps also non-typical, in that Retief is usually able to fix a problem without resorting to the frantic running about that this novel has.
October 18, 2023
While dated, this is an escapist series that you can always go back to and reread. Here, Retief returns in a fast moving plot bouncing between rebels and aliens, making friends with the most unlikely types--much to the dismay of the diplomatic corps.
Read
December 6, 2011Unlike most Retief books, this is novel-length. It deals with Retief's efforts to convince the Haterackians not to establish Terran breeding ranches for food.
This involves learning quite a bit about the Hatrackian's vulnerabilities (through being tortured with one), and undertaking roughly the same role as the hero of Eric Frank Russell's The Wasp.
The basic assumption that ets will be unable to distinguish between Terrans, and will assume that the qualities of one are those of all is one that seems to have been prevalent at the time. I'm not sure why it would be believed by so many authors of the time: but it's played for several fairly good jokes in this book.
This book is considerably more violent than the collections of short stories. This is not only tedious (I've never had any interest in
blow-by-blow descriptions of fisticuffs, or strategic discussions of battle plans), it's also disgusting. Dozens of people's lives are created and simply casually discarded, and nobody sheds a single tear over them.
True, there would have been considerably greater carnage if the proposed war had come to fruition. But that doesn't make the casual dismissal of lives less egregious. It's true that a million bodies makes a bigger pile that one. But that still doesn't make ANY life expendable.
This involves learning quite a bit about the Hatrackian's vulnerabilities (through being tortured with one), and undertaking roughly the same role as the hero of Eric Frank Russell's The Wasp.
The basic assumption that ets will be unable to distinguish between Terrans, and will assume that the qualities of one are those of all is one that seems to have been prevalent at the time. I'm not sure why it would be believed by so many authors of the time: but it's played for several fairly good jokes in this book.
This book is considerably more violent than the collections of short stories. This is not only tedious (I've never had any interest in
blow-by-blow descriptions of fisticuffs, or strategic discussions of battle plans), it's also disgusting. Dozens of people's lives are created and simply casually discarded, and nobody sheds a single tear over them.
True, there would have been considerably greater carnage if the proposed war had come to fruition. But that doesn't make the casual dismissal of lives less egregious. It's true that a million bodies makes a bigger pile that one. But that still doesn't make ANY life expendable.
August 25, 2009
This story has perhaps the funniest escape in the entire series, when Retief's metabolism undergoes an extremely exagerated response to an alien injection which a local gambler used to give him a "slightly" improved chance of beating the odds in the alien equivalent of the Arena of Death.
Retief is possibly Science Fiction's most humorous, and also invariably triumphant, recurring character; embodying the intelligence and machismo of Superman (without the superpowers) and the wit and behind-the scenes manipulation of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves.
Pick up any Retief novel or short-story collection and you're in for a rollicking "Good Read"! So uncork a bottle of Bacchus Black or Bacchus Red and toast the skewering of any number of Groacci foes (rhymes with whacky) accompanied by a repast of toasted Gribble Grubbs and sliced Hoob Melons for dessert.
Retief is possibly Science Fiction's most humorous, and also invariably triumphant, recurring character; embodying the intelligence and machismo of Superman (without the superpowers) and the wit and behind-the scenes manipulation of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves.
Pick up any Retief novel or short-story collection and you're in for a rollicking "Good Read"! So uncork a bottle of Bacchus Black or Bacchus Red and toast the skewering of any number of Groacci foes (rhymes with whacky) accompanied by a repast of toasted Gribble Grubbs and sliced Hoob Melons for dessert.
Read
September 28, 2014When 27th Century governmental agency decides to win extra terrestrial allies by bringing them the Pauper Program, Retief is convinced it would help his career (and keep him out of prison) if he would help out. Of course Retief's idea of help never exactly aligns with the bosses.
June 22, 2012
A fun romp that rarely challenges the reader. Laumer does a enjoyable job poking fun at government and its bureaucracy.
December 15, 2014
1979 grade C-
Retief!
series book R4 (1968)
Retief!
series book R4 (1968)
Want to read
June 18, 2024I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12299141
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12299141
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews