The Retief series is a, umm, series of brilliant books by Keith Laumer, all of them having as their protagonist the brilliantly non-diplomatic diplomat Jamie Retief. Retief is better at arm wrestling than attending cocktail parties and speaks bluntly (and often with his fists) rather than diplomatically.

But somehow, accompanied by the bumbling Mr. Magnan, he always manages to save the day. Retief is surrounded by aliens of all shapes and descriptions (and some that surpass description), and opposed by the implacable Groaci (whose penchant for imitating the World War Soviets is equally as comic as the Terran’s diplomat’s penchant for imitating Cold War Americans).

Retief moves easily from planet to planet, language to language, culture to culture. He rescues damsels in distress, confounds kidnappers, and ruins invasion plans with equal ease.

And, in case it wasn’t obvious, he does so in extremely humorous ways. These books might not be as funny to those who grew up after the Cold War, so you youngsters, beware. This is a classic book from the golden age of science fiction (meaning when I was growing up) and perhaps will go over the heads of modern youngsters.

Retief’s morals are better than his peers … but still not exactly Godly. But Laumer’s ability to bring forth a common sense answer to ‘complex’ questions is uplifting. If you love science fiction and want a break from the serious and depressing … I can recommend any of the books in this series. Even this one 🙂

Envoy to New Worlds (Retief Book 1)

The authorized history of the frontier worlds of the 29th century is readily available to anyone who cares to pore through the official files of the Terrestrial Diplomatic Corps.

For serious students of history, however, it would be well to read between the lines of what has been set down for posterity. The records, for example, fail to grasp the full significance of the work done by a career diplomat named Jame Retief, in his efforts to alleviate strife on the emerging planets of our galaxy.

Contained here are several accounts of Retief’s contribution to the peace of the universe—written in the hope that the injustice committed by the history books will thus be rectified.