Laumer, Keith

Entry updated 2 October 2023. Tagged: Author.

(1925-1993) US author, brother of March Laumer, who used his experiences in the US armed forces and Diplomatic Corps to considerable advantage in his sf work. He served in the army 1943-1945, studied architecture and graduated with a BScArch from the University of Illinois in 1952, served in the USAF 1953-1956, and then joined the US Foreign Service. He rejoined the USAF as a captain in 1960. He began publishing sf in April 1959 with "Greylorn" for Amazing, and for more than a decade remained extremely prolific, producing three major series and two minor ones along with a number of independent novels; after 1973, affected by illness, he published more sparingly.

The most interesting of Laumer's series is the Imperium sequence, comprising his first novel, Worlds of the Imperium (February-April 1961 Fantastic; 1962 dos; exp as coll Worlds of the Imperium: Special Bonus Stories "The War Against the Yukks" and "Worldmaster" 1982), The Other Side of Time (April-June 1965 Fantastic; 1965) and Assignment in Nowhere (1968) – the last two assembled as Beyond the Imperium (omni 1981) and all three as Imperium (omni 2005) – and Zone Yellow: An Imperium Novel (1990). The Imperium dominates a temporally-complex nest of Parallel-Worlds universes, and strives in Time Police fashion to maintain the stability of its chosen time-stream. As opposed to the grimmer and perhaps more plausible versions of the same task expressed in novels like Barrington Bayley's The Fall of Chronopolis (1974), Laumer takes an essentially optimistic view of this kind of situation, treating it in a no-nonsense, problem-solving manner. Also related, if only thematically, to the Imperium series is Dinosaur Beach (1971), a tale of Time Paradoxes and Changewar in which a role similar to that of the Imperium is played by Nexx Central and various other competing Time Police organizations. A second series, the Parallel-Worlds comic novels featuring Lafayette O'Leary – The Time Bender (November 1965-January 1966 Fantastic as "Axe and Dragon"; exp 1966), The World Shuffler (1970), The Shape Changer (December 1970-January 1971 Fantastic; 1972) and The Galaxy Builder (1984) – attempts to replay a similar scenario in terms of slapstick, with only moderate success.

Laumer's other major series depicts the adventures of interstellar diplomatic troubleshooter Jaime Retief on a variety of Alien worlds: Envoy to New Worlds (coll 1963; exp vt Retief: Envoy to New Worlds 1987), Galactic Diplomat: Nine Incidents of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne (coll 1965) and Retief's War (October-December 1965 If; 1966), all assembled as Retief! (omni 1993); Retief and the Warlords (1968), Retief: Ambassador to Space: Seven Incidents of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne (coll 1969), Retief of the CDT (coll 1971), Retief's Ransom (1971; with new title story added to make coll, rev vt Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude 1986), Retief: Emissary to the Stars (1975; exp 1979), Retief: Diplomat at Arms (coll 1982), Retief to the Rescue (1983), The Return of Retief (1984), Retief in the Ruins (coll 1986), Reward for Retief (1989) and Retief and the Rascals (1993). Retief's unchanging role is to mediate between the residents of Alien worlds, some of them nefarious, and his bumbling superiors in the Terran Diplomatic Corps, and to solve various sticky problems, almost all couched in comic terms, sometimes amusingly. The decline of Laumer's creative powers can be detected in later volumes of this series. Here as elsewhere, his bibliography is tangled; putting aside titles which partially replicate earlier titles, Retief collections assembled entirely from earlier volumes include Retief at Large (coll 1978) and Retief Unbound (omni 1979) [see Checklist for further details]. Retief! (coll 2002), not to be confused with the omni listed above, usefully presents Retief's career in chronological order. A Comics adaptation of six of the stories is Keith Laumer's Retief (December 1989-October 1990 Adventure Comics), written by Bruce Balfour.

Thematically associated with singletons like A Plague of Demons (1965) (see below) are the Bolo books, which are Military SF – Bolo: The Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade (coll of linked stories with new linking material 1976) and Rogue Bolo (coll of linked stories 1986), both assembled as The Compleat Bolo (omni 1990), plus the weak The Stars Must Wait (1990) – which recount the long history of a military unit of constantly upgraded sentient tanks (see Weapons); so extended is their history of loyalty to a long-vanished imperium that a sense of Time Abyss can occasionally be felt (see Sense of Wonder).

Laumer's singletons are varied, ranging from broad Humour like The Monitors (1966), filmed as The Monitors in 1969, to taut, efficient sf thrillers whose structures amalgamate Space Opera and the favourite sf theme of the coming to awareness of the Superman. The best of them is probably A Plague of Demons (November-December 1964 If; 1965), in which a tough human is biologically engineered into an indomitable fighting machine so that he can deal with a threat to Earth, and finds – after a long, remarkably sustained chase sequence ending in his capture by some singularly efficient Aliens – that for centuries Earth has been being despoiled of its best fighting men, who, like himself, have been taken off-planet and surgically transformed into command centres for gigantic, armed fighting machines embroiled in an aeons-long interstellar war. In this Mecha or Cyborg form, he regains autonomy, organizes a revolt of his fellow cyborg-supertanks and prepares to carry – fabulously armed – his message of freedom to the stars.

In A Plague of Demons, and in other novels such as A Trace of Memory (July-September 1962 Amazing as "The Hounds of Hell"; 1963), Catastrophe Planet (1966) [for revs see Checklist], which is a Dystopia, The Long Twilight (1969), The House in November (October-December 1969 If as "The Seeds of Gonyl"; 1970) [for rev see Checklist], Dinosaur Beach and The Infinite Cage (1972), the essential Laumer Superman takes shape: often an orphan, usually a loner, sometimes a victim of Amnesia, he discovers the world to be a persecuting snare and delusion, and gradually comes to realize that his Paranoia is justified, for his frustrated human competence is no more than a cloak disguising his true – at times godlike – superiority. In A Trace of Memory, he proves to be a rationalized King Arthur [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below]. Once he has become a superman he is able to transcend the world of normals, and often takes that world over, though behind the scenes. It is for novels in which this wish-fulfilment version of the superman is expressed that Laumer will be best remembered, though his tendency to repeat earlier inspirations in slackened form damaged his later efforts even in this favourite mode; books such as The Ultimax Man (September-October 1977 Analog as "The Wonderful Secret"; exp 1978) or End as a Hero (1985) are significantly weak by comparison with early work. But at his best Laumer wrote polished and succinct daydreams of sf transcendence that served as models of their kind. [JC]

John Keith Laumer

born Syracuse, New York: 9 June 1925

died Brooksville, Florida: 23 January 1993

works

series

Imperium

Worlds of the Imperium (New York: Ace Books, 1962) [dos: first appeared February-April 1961 Fantastic: Imperium: pb/Ed Valigursky]
- Worlds of the Imperium: Special Bonus Stories "The War Against the Yukks" and "Worldmaster" (New York: Tor, 1982) [exp of the above as coll: Imperium: pb/Howard Chaykin]
The Other Side of Time (New York: Berkley Books, 1965) [first appeared April-June 1965 Fantastic: Imperium: pb/Jerome Podwil]
Assignment in Nowhere (New York: Berkley Books, 1968) [Imperium: pb/Richard Powers]
- Beyond the Imperium (New York: Tor, 1981) [omni of the above two: Imperium: pb/Eric Ladd]
- Imperium (New York: Baen Books, 2005) [omni of the above three: Imperium: pb/David Mattingly]
Zone Yellow: An Imperium Novel (New York: Baen Books, 1990) [Imperium: pb/Tom Kidd]

Retief

Envoy to New Worlds (New York: Ace Books, 1963) [dos: Retief: pb/Jack Gaughan]
- Retief: Envoy to New Worlds (New York: Baen Books, 1987) [exp of the above: Retief: pb/Wayne Barlowe]
Galactic Diplomat: Nine Incidents of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1965) [coll: Retief: hb/Ellen Baskin]
Retief's War (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1966) [first appeared October-December 1965 If: Retief: hb/Jack Gaughan]
- Retief! (New York: Baen Books, 1993) [omni of the above three, not all stories being included: Retief: pb/Richard Martin]
Retief and the Warlords (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1968) [Retief: hb/Emanuel Schongut]
Retief: Ambassador to Space: Seven Incidents of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1969) [coll: Retief: hb/Emanuel Schongut]
Retief of the CDT (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1969) [coll: Retief: hb/Robin Hall]
Retief's Ransom (New York: G P Putnam;s Son, 1971) [Retief: hb/Richard Powers]
- Retief Unbound (New York: Ace Books, 1979) [omni of the above plus five stories from Envoy to New Worlds: Retief: pb/Bob Adragna]
- Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude (New York: Baen Books, 1986) [exp vt as coll: Retief: pb/Wayne Barlowe]
Retief: Emissary to the Stars (New York: Dell Books, 1975) [coll: Retief: pb/Bob Foster]
- Retief: Emissary to the Stars (New York: Pocket Books, 1979) [coll: exp of the above: Retief: pb/Carlos Ochagavia]
Retief at Large (New York: Ace Books, 1978) [coll: Retief: pb/Bob Adragna]
Retief: Diplomat at Arms (New York: Pocket Books/Timescape, 1982) [coll: Retief: pb/Rowena Morrill]
Retief to the Rescue (New York: Pocket Books/Timescape, 1983) [Retief: pb/Rowena Morrill]
The Return of Retief (New York: Baen Books, 1984) [Retief: pb/Wayne Barlowe]
Retief in the Ruins (New York: Baen Books, 1986) [coll: Retief: pb/Wayne Barlowe]
Reward for Retief (New York: Baen Books, 1989) [coll: Retief: pb/Gary Ruddell]
Retief and the Rascals (New York: Baen Books, 1993) [Retief: pb/Gary Ruddell]
Retief! (New York: Baen Books, 2002) [coll: edited by Eric Flint: pb/Richard Martin]
Diplomat-at-Arms (Medford, Oregon: Armchair Fiction, 2014) [dos: first appeared January 1960 Fantastic: Retief: pb/Ed Emshwiller]
Keith Laumer's Retief (Ottawa, Ontario: Library and Archives Canada, 2020) [coll: Retief: pb/]

Lafayette O'Leary

The Time Bender (New York: Berkley Books, 1966) [short version first appeared November 1965-January 1966 Fantastic as "Axe and Dragon": Lafayette O'Leary: pb/Richard Powers]
The World Shuffler (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1970) [Lafayette O'Leary: hb/Richard Powers]
The Shape Changer (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1972) [first appeared December 1970-January 1971 Fantastic: Lafayette O'Leary: hb/Richard Powers]
- The Universe Twister (New York: Baen Books, 2008) [omni of the above three: Lafayette O'Leary: hb/Bob Eggleton]
The Galaxy Builder (New York: Ace Books, 1984) [Lafayette O'Leary: pb/John Ennis]

Bolo

Bolo: The Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade (New York: Berkley Publishing Corporation, 1976) [coll: Bolo: hb/Richard Powers]
Rogue Bolo (New York: Baen Books, 1986) [coll of linked stories: Bolo: pb/Vincent Di Fate]
- The Compleat Bolo (New York: Baen Books, 1990) [omni of the above two, omitting the second iteration of the article "A Short History of the Bolo Fighting Machines" which appeared in both: Bolo: pb/Stephen Hickman]
The Stars Must Wait (New York: Baen Books, 1990) [Suspended Animation: Bolo: pb/Larry Schwinger]
Night of the Trolls (Medford, Oregon: Armchair Fiction, 2016) [dos: first appeared October 1963 Worlds of Tomorrow: Bolo: pb/]

Time Trap

Time Trap (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1970) [Time Trap: hb/Richard Powers]
Back to the Time Trap (New York: Baen Books, 1992) [Time Trap: pb/Dean Morrissey]

individual titles

Later expansions of single novels into collections are listed here.

A Trace of Memory (New York: Berkley Books, 1963) [first appeared July-September 1962 Amazing: pb/Richard Powers]
The Great Time Machine Hoax (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964) [first appeared June-August 1963 Fantastic as "A Hoax in Time": hb/Isadore Seltzer]
- Keith Laumer: The Lighter Side (New York: Baen Books, 2002) [exp vt of the above as coll: pb/Richard Martin]
- A Hoax in Time (Medford, Oregon: Armchair Fiction, 2011) [dos: vt of the above: pb/W E Terry]
Embassy (New York: Pyramid Books, 1965) [pb/Darrell Greene]
A Plague of Demons (New York: Berkley Books, 1965) [first appeared November-December 1964 If as "The Hounds of Hell": pb/Richard Powers]
- A Plague of Demons & Other Stories (New York: Baen Books, 2003) [exp vt as coll: pb/Richard Martin]
The Monitors (New York: Berkley Books, 1966) [pb/Richard Powers]
Catastrophe Planet (New York: Berkley Books, 1966) [pb/Richard Powers]
- The Breaking Earth (New York: Tor/Pinnacle, 1981) [exp vt of the above with added essays by Frederik Pohl and G Harry Stine: in the publisher's Jim Baen Presents series: pb/Rick Sternbach]
- Future Imperfect (New York: Baen Books, 2003) [exp vt as coll: Dystopia: pb/Richard Martin]
Earthblood (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1966) with Rosel George Brown [first appeared April-July 1966 If: hb/Wendy Worth]
- Earthblood and Other Stories (New York: Baen Books, 2008) with Rosel George Brown [exp vt of above as coll: pb/Bob Eggleton]
Galactic Odyssey (New York: Berkley Books, 1967) [first appeared May-July 1967 If as "Spaceman!": pb/Richard Powers]
Planet Run (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1967) with Gordon R Dickson [hb/Emanuel Schongut]
- Planet Run, Plus Two Bonus Stories: "Once There Was a Giant," by Keith Laumer; "Call Him Lord," by Gordon R Dickson (New York: Tor, 1982) with Gordon R Dickson [exp vt as anth: pb/Thomas Kidd]
- Legions of Space (New York: Baen Books, 1991) [omni of the above plus A Trace of Memory plus other material: pb/Jeff Easley]
The Long Twilight (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1969) [hb/Jack Gaughan]
The House in November (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1970) [shorter version October-December 1969 If as "The Seeds of Gonyl": hb/Richard Powers]
The House in November (New York: Tor, 1981) [exp as coll: pb/Tom Kidd]
Deadfall (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1971) [hb/Allen Weinberg]
- Fat Chance (London: New English Library, 1975) [vt of the above: pb/]
Dinosaur Beach (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971) [hb/uncredited]
- Odyssey (New York: Baen Books, 2002) [omni of the above plus Galactic Odyssey plus other material: pb/Richard Martin]
The Star Treasure (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1971) [hb/Richard Powers]
- The Star Treasure (New York: Baen Books, 1986) [exp as coll: pb/Vincent Di Fate]
The Infinite Cage (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1972) [hb/Richard Powers]
Night of Delusions (New York: G P Putnam's Sons, 1972) [hb/Richard Powers]
- Knight of Delusions (New York: Tor, 1982) [rev vt as coll: pb/Tom Kidd]
- The Long Twilight and Other Stories (New York: Baen Books, 2007) [omni of the above plus The Long Twilight plus other material: pb/David Mattingly]
The Glory Game (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1973) [hb/Roger Zimmerman]
The Ultimax Man (New York: St Martin's Press, 1978) [first half published September-October 1977 Analog as "The Wonderful Secret": hb/Marjorie Dressler]
Star Colony (New York: St Martin's Press, 1982) [fixup: hb/Irv Freeman]
End as a Hero (New York: Ace Books, 1985) [pb/Les Edwards]
Judson's Eden (New York: Baen Books, 1991) [pb/Keith Parkinson]
Three By Laumer (London: Gollancz, 2017) [omni of Worlds of the Imperium; Retief: Envoy to New Worlds and Bolo: pb/]

collections

Nine by Laumer (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1967) [coll: hb/Bernard Wolff]
The Day Before Forever and Thunderhead (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1968) [coll: hb/Angel Arnet]
Greylorn (New York: Berkley Books, 1968) [coll: pb/Richard Powers]
- The Other Sky (London: Dennis Dobson, 1968) [coll: vt of the above: hb/Richard Weaver]
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Galaxy (New York: Berkley Books, 1968) [coll: pb/Richard Powers]
Once There Was a Giant (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1971) [coll: hb/Anita Siegel]
Timetracks (New York: Ballantine Books, 1972) [coll: pb/Vincent Di Fate]
The Big Show (New York: Ace Books, 1972) [coll: pb/]
The Undefeated (New York: Dell Books, 1974) [coll: pb/John Berkey]
The Best of Keith Laumer (New York: Pocket Books, 1976) [coll: pb/Charles Moll]
Once There Was a Giant (New York: Tor, 1984) [coll: except for title story, contents differ entirely from the 1971 coll of the same name: pb/David Mattingly]
Chrestomathy (New York: Baen Books, 1984) [coll: pb/Wayne Barlowe]
Alien Minds (New York: Baen Books, 1991) [coll: pb/Doug Anderson]
The Keith Laumer SciFi Collection (Somerville, Tennessee: Bottom of the Hill Publishing, 2011) [coll: pb/]
The Best of Keith Laumer: Volume 1 (no place given: World of Pulp Fiction, 2021) [coll: pb/]

ties

Invaders

The Invaders (New York: Pyramid Books, 1967) [tie to The Invaders: Invaders: pb/Lembit Rauk]
- The Meteor Men (London: Corgi Books, 1968) as by Anthony LeBaron [tie to The Invaders: vt of the above: Invaders: pb/]
Enemies from Beyond: An Invaders Adventure (New York: Pyramid Books, 1967) [tie to The Invaders: Invaders: pb/Lembit Rauk]

Avengers

The Avengers #5: The Afrit Affair (New York: Berkley Books, 1968) [tie to The Avengers: Avengers: pb/tv stills]
The Avengers #6: "The Drowned Queen" (New York: Berkley Books, 1968) [tie to The Avengers: Avengers: pb/tv stills]
The Gold Bomb (New York: Berkley Books, 1968) [coll: tie to The Avengers: Avengers: pb/]

works as editor

Five Fates (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1972) [anth: hb/Anita Siegel]
Dangerous Vegetables (New York: Baen Books, 1998) with Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh [anth: pb/Bob Eggleton]

about the author

Gordon Benson Jr and Phil Stephensen-Payne. Keith Laumer: Ambassador to Space: A Working Bibliography (Leeds, West Yorkshire: Galactic Central Publications, 1990) [bibliography: chap: in the publisher's Bibliographies for the Avid Reader series: pb/nonpictorial]

links

previous versions of this entry

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