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Retief #1.1.4
Retief: The Yillian Way
Once again it is up to Jamie Retief to save another diplomatic mission. Terra has recently signed a treaty with the planet Petreac. But revolution threatens and the Terrans must save the Nenni cast or their mission will end in abject failure.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
8 people are currently reading
67 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 26, 2022
When at Rome
I had never heard of Keith Laumer before when I started reading the short story Retief: The Yillian Way but the Internet taught me quite soon that he was not only an author of science fiction but also used to be a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service for some time.
Retief is a recurring character in a series of novels and short stories in which Laumer apparently used his own sobering experiences in the Foreign Service, and judging by the number of these writings, he must have had a lot of suchlike experiences. In The Yillian Way, Earth sends a Chief Diplomat to a meeting with an extraterrestrial race named the Yill in order to settle a dispute over some stretch of territory. While the Chief Diplomat, a pompous old ass, regards this meeting as a routine job and therefore falls back on his usual repertory of reactions, Retief, a member of his staff, has taken the trouble to pick up some of the Yillian language and consequently notices that the Yill have the Earthlings run the gamut of some calculated humiliations to see how Terrans are going to deal with them and if they have any backbone. Unlike his superior, Retief is not going to have any of it and stands up when he and his fellow-Terrans are seated at the menials’ table and served swill, thereby superseding the Chief Diplomat in the Yills’ esteem and bringing the negotiations to a felicitous ending.
The story is probably primarily meant as a joke, but nevertheless it shows the intricacies and the potential for misunderstandings when representatives of different cultures interact. The Yills’ civilization seems to be built on notions of honour, on bravery, on belligerence and therefore someone who puts up with a slight invariably commits a faux-pas in their protocol. On the other hand, the Earthlings are more preoccupied with avoiding confrontation, seeking to ensure their interests by indirect means and showing understanding and obligingness where, by Yillian standards, they ought to have put their foot down firmly, thereby gaining the other side’s respect.
I consider coming across this short story as a lucky find because it once more made me aware of how we see the world through the eyes of the culture we were brought up in.
I had never heard of Keith Laumer before when I started reading the short story Retief: The Yillian Way but the Internet taught me quite soon that he was not only an author of science fiction but also used to be a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service for some time.
Retief is a recurring character in a series of novels and short stories in which Laumer apparently used his own sobering experiences in the Foreign Service, and judging by the number of these writings, he must have had a lot of suchlike experiences. In The Yillian Way, Earth sends a Chief Diplomat to a meeting with an extraterrestrial race named the Yill in order to settle a dispute over some stretch of territory. While the Chief Diplomat, a pompous old ass, regards this meeting as a routine job and therefore falls back on his usual repertory of reactions, Retief, a member of his staff, has taken the trouble to pick up some of the Yillian language and consequently notices that the Yill have the Earthlings run the gamut of some calculated humiliations to see how Terrans are going to deal with them and if they have any backbone. Unlike his superior, Retief is not going to have any of it and stands up when he and his fellow-Terrans are seated at the menials’ table and served swill, thereby superseding the Chief Diplomat in the Yills’ esteem and bringing the negotiations to a felicitous ending.
The story is probably primarily meant as a joke, but nevertheless it shows the intricacies and the potential for misunderstandings when representatives of different cultures interact. The Yills’ civilization seems to be built on notions of honour, on bravery, on belligerence and therefore someone who puts up with a slight invariably commits a faux-pas in their protocol. On the other hand, the Earthlings are more preoccupied with avoiding confrontation, seeking to ensure their interests by indirect means and showing understanding and obligingness where, by Yillian standards, they ought to have put their foot down firmly, thereby gaining the other side’s respect.
I consider coming across this short story as a lucky find because it once more made me aware of how we see the world through the eyes of the culture we were brought up in.
July 11, 2021
Another internet freebie about Retief. Once again, Retief proves that he is smarter than his bureaucratic bosses by solving the diplomatic dilemma when they can't. Once again, he does this by understanding and working within (manipulating?) an alien culture. It's a slice of light, humorous fun.
Not every short story needs to be "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman, and not every short story needs to be.
Not every short story needs to be "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman, and not every short story needs to be.
May 15, 2018
As usual with the Retief reads, this one is fun - it also takes some serious shots at diplomats and those who don't bother to learn anything about the cultures they are going to deal with.
May 16, 2019
A fun story, but ultimately lacking much of a punch.
July 27, 2025
nice science fiction story
April 12, 2018
20/20 37 mins. Part of LibriVox Audiobook “Short SF Collection Vol. 005 and 058”. Well narrated by Dale Grothmann. Not really sure that this has survived the passage of time without becoming hopelessly dated. The protagonist, as mentioned by another reviewer, is rather overbearing in his advocacy of his superior intelligence which enables him to save the day by solving problems that are utterly transparent to no-one else but himself. There’s a smidgeon of humour, but sadly I found it rather formulaic and trite. Perhaps it was aimed at kids, but if so, they deserve better...
November 2, 2013
One episode from Retief of many, when the junior diplomat Vice-Consul for Earth in space makes incompetent superiors like Ambassador Magnan look good. Yillians typically insult, so the correct attitude is to snap back, or first. At a banquet, Retief acts rude to get approval from the aliens. On the flight in, he read the language manual, so translates the signs on the garbage van transport correctly and responds appropriately. He continues to act rude, their standard of appropriate, and again wins a war before it starts.
June 19, 2011
A Retif story. The pompous Senior Ambassador is shown the errors of his ways.
Audio Book MP3 downloaded from
http://librivox.org/short-science-fic...
Public Domain stories from Project Gutenberg, that are read by volunteers.
I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.
Play Duration: 00:37:18
Read By: John Larmour
Audio Book MP3 downloaded from
http://librivox.org/short-science-fic...
Public Domain stories from Project Gutenberg, that are read by volunteers.
I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.
Play Duration: 00:37:18
Read By: John Larmour
July 15, 2014
This short story was ok. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad. I wish it had succeeded in being half as clever as it thought it was.
The narrator was borderline atrocious. If the story had been any longer I would have turned it off.
This isn't to say I wouldn't enjoy hearing more tales/antics about the main character, but a different narrator is a must.
The narrator was borderline atrocious. If the story had been any longer I would have turned it off.
This isn't to say I wouldn't enjoy hearing more tales/antics about the main character, but a different narrator is a must.
October 29, 2014
Short story regarding Retief the multitalented low ranking diplomat in Earth's intergalactic diplomatic corps. As usual in this series, Retief bails out the higher ranking ambassadors who are thoroughly bumbling up everything and saves the day. A lot of humor and easy reading.
September 3, 2012
The Yillian Way, a science fiction short story by John Keith Laumer...
December 21, 2021
Great yarn
There are very few slams of stuffed shirt political bureaucracy like the Retief yarns. Bla bla bla bla lol. Does this meet amazon's asinine 20 word requirement?😂
There are very few slams of stuffed shirt political bureaucracy like the Retief yarns. Bla bla bla bla lol. Does this meet amazon's asinine 20 word requirement?😂
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews