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Imperium #1
Mundos de imperio
Usted va andando por la calle, recibe un golpe en la cabeza, es introducido en una furgoneta celular y despierta… en una realidad diferente, en un mundo semejante al que conoce, pero cuyos datos han sido sutilmente modificados.
Seguidamente sus raptores le ordenan que asesine a un tirano repugnante y encabece una revoluvión. Con un pequeño detalle: el odiado dictador es el sosias, el doble perfecto de usted mismo, y no sale jamás de su palacio por temor al "cariño" de sus subditos.
La evasión a una vida diferente de la rutina cotidiana, donde poder amar y odiar y jugar un papel importante, es la esencia misma del tema de los "mundos paralelos". KEITH LAUMER, escritor con mucho oficio, asiduo de las páginas de IF y GALAXY, combina en estas páginas la especulación científica con el suspense de la novela de espionaje y acción. Recomendable para los amantes de las emociones fuertes.
Seguidamente sus raptores le ordenan que asesine a un tirano repugnante y encabece una revoluvión. Con un pequeño detalle: el odiado dictador es el sosias, el doble perfecto de usted mismo, y no sale jamás de su palacio por temor al "cariño" de sus subditos.
La evasión a una vida diferente de la rutina cotidiana, donde poder amar y odiar y jugar un papel importante, es la esencia misma del tema de los "mundos paralelos". KEITH LAUMER, escritor con mucho oficio, asiduo de las páginas de IF y GALAXY, combina en estas páginas la especulación científica con el suspense de la novela de espionaje y acción. Recomendable para los amantes de las emociones fuertes.
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1961
29 people are currently reading
382 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 - 30 of 57 reviews
September 9, 2022
Three and a half stars.
It is a rereading but I am enjoying it as if it was the first time, or if it was an alternate universe in which I have not read the book yet ;-) No wonder, I remember it vaguely because I read it in the early eighties when I was a young space cadet.
The approach is fascinating, even though a network of parallel earths in itself hardly seems an original plot today (you know, the multiverse...) but we must bear in mind that the novel was published in 1961. Another striking and very suggestive feature is the participation of some historical figures (for example, a Manfred von Richthofen quite different from the historical figure we know); even though these characters are out of date, they are not contemporary to the protagonist... I understand that the author justifies it by the setting he wants to give to the novel, the alternate Earth is a sort of Victorian society. The explanation of that is plausible enough: in this universe they have not suffered two devastating world wars and in consequence some technologies (including weapons, means of transport, etc.) are less advanced; except, of course, the ability to navigate in the Blight, so it is how the interdimensional medium is called in the novel.
The novel had four sequels, one of which I read at the time but I don't remember which one, it was just the one that introduced me to this universe and that I remember that liked it. Maybe I will read these sequels... in the future.
It is a rereading but I am enjoying it as if it was the first time, or if it was an alternate universe in which I have not read the book yet ;-) No wonder, I remember it vaguely because I read it in the early eighties when I was a young space cadet.
The approach is fascinating, even though a network of parallel earths in itself hardly seems an original plot today (you know, the multiverse...) but we must bear in mind that the novel was published in 1961. Another striking and very suggestive feature is the participation of some historical figures (for example, a Manfred von Richthofen quite different from the historical figure we know); even though these characters are out of date, they are not contemporary to the protagonist... I understand that the author justifies it by the setting he wants to give to the novel, the alternate Earth is a sort of Victorian society. The explanation of that is plausible enough: in this universe they have not suffered two devastating world wars and in consequence some technologies (including weapons, means of transport, etc.) are less advanced; except, of course, the ability to navigate in the Blight, so it is how the interdimensional medium is called in the novel.
The novel had four sequels, one of which I read at the time but I don't remember which one, it was just the one that introduced me to this universe and that I remember that liked it. Maybe I will read these sequels... in the future.
April 27, 2021
Veamos, la historia va de mundos paralelos, siendo secuestrado de uno de ellos Bayard para que sustituya a su igual, un dictador, en su mundo. La historia es muy trepidante, todo el rato están pasando cosas. Pero eso, sí hay que saber que lo que se está leyendo, una novela de sabor a ciencia ficción clásica, un tanto pulp. Entretenida.
March 14, 2009
For some reason, there aren't very many novels where Sweden rules the entire Universe. But this is one of them.
March 20, 2020
The 1982 Tor reprint takes the original 1962 short novel Worlds of the Imperium and adds novelettes The War Against the Yukks and Worldmaster from 1965 under one cover.
I don't recall reading the two added stories in 2014, so I suspect I had an older version of the novel at that time. Worlds of the Imperium is the only one of these three set in the Imperium multiverse, and the best of the three.
To be continued...
I don't recall reading the two added stories in 2014, so I suspect I had an older version of the novel at that time. Worlds of the Imperium is the only one of these three set in the Imperium multiverse, and the best of the three.
To be continued...
November 22, 2024
Worlds of the Imperium was serialized in three installments in Fantastic magazine, which was edited by the under-appreciated Cele Goldsmith, in the February-April issues in 1961. Ace brought it out as half of one of their double volumes (bound with a Marion Zimmer Bradley novel) the following year with a nice Ed Valigursky cover, and then they re-issued it in one of their cute undersized (4 1/8" x 6 1/4") editions in 1967. It's a typical action-adventure-espionage story set on an early parallel-universe framework. He introduces alternate versions of Goering and von Richthofen that are pretty interesting, though the action overshadows any characterization. As the indomitable P. Schuyler Miller said in his Analog review, used as the back cover copy: "Well-done..."
April 25, 2020
Realized I had only bought the second and third books in the series at the massive McKay's Used Books in Manassas, but thought I should start with this one first - so thanks, eBay.
This is classic Laumer, which is to say a combo of pretty good and excruciatingly bad. The titular novella, Imperium is a typical Laumer mashup of genres - part scifi, part Count of Monte Cristo, and part British "find the ticking bomb before it goes off" procedural. Kinda works, so 3-4 stars here.
But then the second (blessedly short) story is just awful - a childish, breathtakingly tone-deaf "comic" story about two Earthmen stuck on a planet full of women who don't know what men or sex are, which is even worse than whatever you're thinking. Laumer is just terrible at humor, as can be seen in his "Avengers" tie-in novels (60's TV show, not the Marvel movies), and his short story "No Ship Boots in Fairyland," a "bonus" feature in his otherwise not-bad Once There Was a Giant.
The final story is considerably better, as Keith falls into his patented first-person "Raymond Chandler in space" persona, which always results in some fun writing:
A fat citizen in a gray bathrobe with a torn sleeve thumbed uncombed gray hair back from a red eye set in gray fat. The fingernail was gray too. So was the neck. Maybe he liked gray.
So overall, a borderline 3-stars, and I'll probably go on to at least the next Imperium books, just out of curiosity.
This is classic Laumer, which is to say a combo of pretty good and excruciatingly bad. The titular novella, Imperium is a typical Laumer mashup of genres - part scifi, part Count of Monte Cristo, and part British "find the ticking bomb before it goes off" procedural. Kinda works, so 3-4 stars here.
But then the second (blessedly short) story is just awful - a childish, breathtakingly tone-deaf "comic" story about two Earthmen stuck on a planet full of women who don't know what men or sex are, which is even worse than whatever you're thinking. Laumer is just terrible at humor, as can be seen in his "Avengers" tie-in novels (60's TV show, not the Marvel movies), and his short story "No Ship Boots in Fairyland," a "bonus" feature in his otherwise not-bad Once There Was a Giant.
The final story is considerably better, as Keith falls into his patented first-person "Raymond Chandler in space" persona, which always results in some fun writing:
A fat citizen in a gray bathrobe with a torn sleeve thumbed uncombed gray hair back from a red eye set in gray fat. The fingernail was gray too. So was the neck. Maybe he liked gray.
So overall, a borderline 3-stars, and I'll probably go on to at least the next Imperium books, just out of curiosity.
December 28, 2012
Brion Bayard, American diplomat, is kidnapped by the denizens of an alternate dimension (the Imperium). They want to use him to take down a third alternate dimension (the evil dimension) by impersonating its dictator (his alternate universe counterpart).
This novel was written in the early 1960s and it feels like it. The style is dry and matter-of-fact with little characterization, no back story, and not much emotion. Everything is lean, mean and to the point. There is no angst, which is good. The background ideas, the possibility of alternate universes and doppelgangers may have been mind-blowing at the time. I was not particularly interested. Then there is the plot, which is driven by a LOT of fistfights, which also does not interest me.
Okay, but not to my taste.
This novel was written in the early 1960s and it feels like it. The style is dry and matter-of-fact with little characterization, no back story, and not much emotion. Everything is lean, mean and to the point. There is no angst, which is good. The background ideas, the possibility of alternate universes and doppelgangers may have been mind-blowing at the time. I was not particularly interested. Then there is the plot, which is driven by a LOT of fistfights, which also does not interest me.
Okay, but not to my taste.
April 17, 2015
review of
Keith Laumer's Worlds of the Imperium
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - June 21, 2013
Having just recently read my 1st bk by Keith Laumer, Time Trap, & having enjoyed it in an escaping-from-my-miserable-life-w/-an-entertaining-distraction kind of way, I picked up another 18 bks by him from a local bkstore where they were mostly selling for less than $2 apiece. SO, here goes, a Laumer spree.
Worlds of the Imperium was entertaining enuf, it did the trick, I read it in less than a day, I was engrossed, it was fun. The basic plot being that there're parallel universes & that in many of them a way to navigate these universes was discovered but that in most cases this discovery led to the destruction of life on the planet where the discovery was made or even the destruction of the entire planet. 3 of these parallel worlds survived & inhabitants of one of them kidnapped an inhabitant of another to save them from the dictator of the 3rd - or so most of them thought.
Slippage between worlds explained mundane mysteries: "Perhaps you yourself have noticed some tiny discrepancy at one time or another; some article apparently moved or lost; some sudden change in the character of someone you know; false recollections of past events. The universe isn't all as rigid as one might like to believe." - p 23
I suppose part of the joy of writing parallel universe novels is rewriting our own history alternatively:
""Back where I came from, everyone knows your name," I said. "Reichmarshall Goering . . ."
""Reichmarshall!" Goering repeated. "What an intriguing title!" he looked around at the others. "Is this not a most interesting and magnificent information?" he beamed. "I, poor fat Hermann, a Reichmarshall, and known to all." He was delighted." - p 34
Part of the reason, & what might seem to be a 'bad' one, for my enjoying reading these entertaining SF novels so much is that I don't feel compelled to take detailed notes on them b/c I'm not that interested in discussing their plots - wch is mainly what they're all about. When I'm reading an Alan Davies or a Louis Zukofsky poetry bk or an Iannis Xenakis music theory bk I feel like it's my intellectual 'duty' to have something intelligent to say about them. When I read Keith Laumer, I feel content w/ just having a good time. Ha ha!
There is a touch of formal thinking in the writing when Laumer substitutes "right and bright" (p 80) for "loud and clear" in a parallel universe. Laumer's far from being a writer who's not thinking about his craft. That's a large part about what keeps me interested.
Keith Laumer's Worlds of the Imperium
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - June 21, 2013
Having just recently read my 1st bk by Keith Laumer, Time Trap, & having enjoyed it in an escaping-from-my-miserable-life-w/-an-entertaining-distraction kind of way, I picked up another 18 bks by him from a local bkstore where they were mostly selling for less than $2 apiece. SO, here goes, a Laumer spree.
Worlds of the Imperium was entertaining enuf, it did the trick, I read it in less than a day, I was engrossed, it was fun. The basic plot being that there're parallel universes & that in many of them a way to navigate these universes was discovered but that in most cases this discovery led to the destruction of life on the planet where the discovery was made or even the destruction of the entire planet. 3 of these parallel worlds survived & inhabitants of one of them kidnapped an inhabitant of another to save them from the dictator of the 3rd - or so most of them thought.
Slippage between worlds explained mundane mysteries: "Perhaps you yourself have noticed some tiny discrepancy at one time or another; some article apparently moved or lost; some sudden change in the character of someone you know; false recollections of past events. The universe isn't all as rigid as one might like to believe." - p 23
I suppose part of the joy of writing parallel universe novels is rewriting our own history alternatively:
""Back where I came from, everyone knows your name," I said. "Reichmarshall Goering . . ."
""Reichmarshall!" Goering repeated. "What an intriguing title!" he looked around at the others. "Is this not a most interesting and magnificent information?" he beamed. "I, poor fat Hermann, a Reichmarshall, and known to all." He was delighted." - p 34
Part of the reason, & what might seem to be a 'bad' one, for my enjoying reading these entertaining SF novels so much is that I don't feel compelled to take detailed notes on them b/c I'm not that interested in discussing their plots - wch is mainly what they're all about. When I'm reading an Alan Davies or a Louis Zukofsky poetry bk or an Iannis Xenakis music theory bk I feel like it's my intellectual 'duty' to have something intelligent to say about them. When I read Keith Laumer, I feel content w/ just having a good time. Ha ha!
There is a touch of formal thinking in the writing when Laumer substitutes "right and bright" (p 80) for "loud and clear" in a parallel universe. Laumer's far from being a writer who's not thinking about his craft. That's a large part about what keeps me interested.
August 3, 2015
Absolutely loved it. From a different time, about a different world (Sweden and Algeria, capitals of imperiums). Gallant hero, evil genius, a distinct lack of cynicism, lots of action and adventure (and in the mix a somewhat courageous, active and intelligent female sidekick). In short, a good romp.
October 29, 2020
2,5 quizás. Romance ruritanio en la estela de "El prisionero de Zenda", con la novedad de utilizar un escenario de mundos paralelos para permitir la existencia de los dobles. Tras una introducción sugerente, por desgracia, la novela pronto cae en clichés, con un protagonista ultracapacitado (por ningún motivo en especial) y una trama apenas suficiente para permitir que se vayan intercalando escenas genéricas de acción. Cualquier tímido intento por construir algo un poco más complejo acaba malográndose por el imperativo de terminar lo antes posible, y así todo el potencial acaba desperdiciado en una aventurilla pulp que cumple con lo justo para entretener mientras la lees, pero está condenada al olvido en unas pocas semanas.
August 14, 2012
This is a parallel universe story, in which one world has discovered a way to enter other universes. It is a prequel to a book I read a loooong time ago, "Beyond the Imperium." In this story, an American, Bayard, is kidnapped by the mysterious Imperium who want him to carry out a mission for them.It turns out that the dictator on another world is his double on that world and the Imperials want him to replace the "bad" Bayard. But nothing is as simple as it seems.. A short, fast-paced story, I found it very enjoyable!
August 28, 2010
I've stumbled upon this book by chance while looking for Laumer's Ultimax Man. The cover arrested my attention as it had fascinated me back in junior high when I read it. This was back in the day when I still believed in the New Frontier, supported our wars against communist dictatorships and wanted to grow up to do my part in the global struggle. The novel may be terrible--tho its description makes it sound rather interesting--but I loved it then, so five stars for memory's sake!
April 16, 2019
No he podido con él. He leído las últimas páginas casi en diagonal. Personajes planos y sin emociones. Solo una mujer, y ya sabemos cómo funcionan estas cosas (y cómo debemos contextualizarlas). La ciencia ficción que aquí aparece, aparte de mal explicada, es una mera excusa para escribir una historia de acción y aventuras repleta de puñetazos e intrigas. ¿Lo mejor? Sin duda, la portada (de la colección Super Ficción de Martínez Roca).
August 3, 2009
a parallel world book. Very good.
December 20, 2018
3/10. Solo he leído este del autor.
February 6, 2022
This was a great short sci-fi read that is heavily action-adventure oriented. I loved it and thought that Laumer did a great job in succinctly explaining different concepts such as alternate worlds and and traveling between them that I found intriguing. The main character is a WWII veteran who can handle himself in tough physical situations and that shows throughout the novel. It kind of felt like what a Tom Clancy novel would be like if he wrote sci-fi. It is apparent from reading it that it feels dated to its time period compared to a masterpiece like say Dune but as long as that doesn't bother the reader, it is okay. It's definitely a '60s science fiction novel through and through but that being said there is no sexism or racism in the book which is good. I read this book because it had influenced more contemporary sci-fi authors that I respect so I read it on their recommendation and was not disappointed. Will I read the rest of the series? Perhaps, I might.
September 5, 2020
Keith Laumer was a solid writer during his 30+ years writing science fiction. As a retired diplomat, he enjoyed writing scifi spy stories. His ability to tell a story and his plain style make him an appealing reader. I also liked his depictions of the environments and backgrounds of his stories.
As a parallel-worlds story, Worlds of Imperium is quite good. Unfortunately, the plot is so skewed toward the male adventure mode that there is now room to develop his intriguing parallel earths idea. Or any real examination of the political implications of his depictions of familiar history figures.
Still, as an adventure story, Laumer delivers. If you are looking for a novel with engaging adventure writing, but no real depth (and stereotyped female characters) you will enjoy this novel. It's like a good B-movie: a guilty pleasure.
As a parallel-worlds story, Worlds of Imperium is quite good. Unfortunately, the plot is so skewed toward the male adventure mode that there is now room to develop his intriguing parallel earths idea. Or any real examination of the political implications of his depictions of familiar history figures.
Still, as an adventure story, Laumer delivers. If you are looking for a novel with engaging adventure writing, but no real depth (and stereotyped female characters) you will enjoy this novel. It's like a good B-movie: a guilty pleasure.
May 5, 2024
There is a certain genre of SF books that resonate with me. It’s not genre in the mode of alternate history ,hard science or fantasy. It’s a style of writing that has faded away. The writing is tight and fast paced. The protagonists are resourceful and decisive. The plot marches along and comes to a satisfactory conclusion. It’s not exactly ‘pulp’ SF, more an outgrowth of the spirit of post WWII where there seemed to be new opportunities and horizons for the future. The writing itself seems to have a certain energy to it.
It is getting harder to find these sort of stories anymore. I have read most of the SF from the Fifties and Sixties, and this style went out of fashion as the New Wave writers came into vogue. I was therefore very pleased to find this novel. Short, pithy, and interesting. It kept my mind engaged without descending into authorial navel-gazing.
It is getting harder to find these sort of stories anymore. I have read most of the SF from the Fifties and Sixties, and this style went out of fashion as the New Wave writers came into vogue. I was therefore very pleased to find this novel. Short, pithy, and interesting. It kept my mind engaged without descending into authorial navel-gazing.
February 16, 2022
I've read two good books by Laumer--Plague of Demons and Dinosaur Beach. This book was a big let down. It starts well with the setting of alternate realities with one Earth ruled by the benevolent Imperium. A man from one of the alternate Earths is kidnapped by the Imperium to help with a rogue reality. This promising setup is totally let down by what follows--a prosaic game of cat and mouse on a war-torn Earth that has no science fictional ideas at all. A simple potboiler by Laumer. I won't bother with the sequels. I'll just re-read one fo the novels above (or tackle the Retief series)
March 23, 2024
Like Biron Bayard, the hero of Worlds of the Imperium, author Keith Laumer was an ex-soldier and diplomat. He lived quietly, writing stories and designing model airplanes on an island in a Florida lake. Biron was not so lucky. While walking in Stockholm, he is kidnapped by agents from an alternate universe who want him to impersonate a local dictator. Biron is just the kind of suave swashbuckler we would d expect from the man who created Retief of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne.
Laumer wrote two sequels in the 1960s and one more in 1990. They are on my list of books to read.
Laumer wrote two sequels in the 1960s and one more in 1990. They are on my list of books to read.
May 3, 2018
The book starts out a bit slow. Yes, there's action on page one, but it drags through the first half. The second half is almost non-stop action of the type I've learned to expect from Laumer. If the entire book had been along that line, I'd have given it at least 4 stars (if not 5), but the first half, though interesting, dragged it down to 3 stars (okay, I'm being tough today, you may like all of it).
October 27, 2021
There are times of action and times when the story drags a bit. There are many different realities and our hero is sent to one of them that is threatening to destroy the Imperium with nuclear weapons, something not known in their time line.
A pen pusher, the hero has to toughen up and kill people as circumstances are often against him and loyal friends die. Can he beat the traitor who plans to kill the leaders of the Imperium and rule himself as time begins to run out?
A pen pusher, the hero has to toughen up and kill people as circumstances are often against him and loyal friends die. Can he beat the traitor who plans to kill the leaders of the Imperium and rule himself as time begins to run out?
September 4, 2024
Interesting setup, but unfortunately didn’t do much with the ideas introduced. In particular, the premise raises interesting questions about how it might affect you psychologically to see that you yourself might have committed horrible crimes if the circumstances of your life had been different, but this idea isn’t explored at all. The plot we get after the setup feels pretty generic. I still want to try others from Laumer, though.
August 14, 2025
I'm pretty sure I read this book long, long ago. Very likely, this Ace mmpb ed. from 1961. Memorable cover art! I recall almost nothing beyond that, save what another reader here commented: "This is classic Laumer, which is to say a combo of pretty good and excruciatingly bad." Which is a pretty accurate description of the Laumer stuff I've read. Absolutely no desire to read this again! Date read is just a guess. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
September 5, 2025
A fun read on the beach. Found this book in my hotel room in Nice, France. Wasn’t expecting to find King Gustav Bernadotte in this vintage sci-fi novel!
This was written in the early 1960s and it really feels like it. The sci-fi concept with alternate worlds and doppelgangers is pretty cool and I had a blast with all the references to Sweden. However, the story and characters are quite boring and none of the cool sci-fi concept are never really expanded upon.
This was written in the early 1960s and it really feels like it. The sci-fi concept with alternate worlds and doppelgangers is pretty cool and I had a blast with all the references to Sweden. However, the story and characters are quite boring and none of the cool sci-fi concept are never really expanded upon.
January 8, 2019
Fabulous Espionage Time Travel between dimensions by using scientific papers that were otherwise ignored. Reporter is sent back to another dimension to kill himself as the dictator of North Africa which in the post nuclear world is what is left of humanity. Then he finds that all has not been as he was told...a cliff hanger
July 8, 2022
It had the premise of a good book, but it got bogged down into not one, but two super-heroic dude survives multiple improbably situations, while he continually wins over enemies that end of dying for him.
Ultimately, I’m not going to be happy that the side with Hermann Goering won, no matter what alternate reality he’s from.
Ultimately, I’m not going to be happy that the side with Hermann Goering won, no matter what alternate reality he’s from.
August 7, 2025
This is a very odd alternate history novel. It starts out with appropriate explanations of the three worlds involved but devolves into a standard secret agent story. It does have a twist ending and held up well despite its age. For some reason it passed into public domain. This edition is a POD with little information other than the novel. The copyright is actually 1961.
January 18, 2018
Good story, lots of action, fun to read. The first bonus short story at the end is quote appropriate given the current gender wars. The second short story is full of some of the strangest similes I have ever read, but it's still fun if you are looking for some lighthearted reading entertainment.
September 20, 2021
I remembered other books in this series fondly. When I found this available, I wanted to know how the series started. It was a short book, but I probably would not have read the others if I had started with it.
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