Collection: Retief 1987 Series

Jame Retief is the main character. The series details the travails of Jame Retief in the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne (CDT). The stories have a base in Keith Laumer's experiences in the United States Foreign Service, notably his time as vice consul in Burma in the 1950s. Reorganisations in the Foreign Service both before and after World War II were a source of considerable conflict at the time, as the diplomatic "old guard" were confronted with a new world situation and a new generation of diplomats, men like Laumer, who took a more pragmatic approach to the service. This conflict undoubtedly informs the Retief stories, in which stubborn and often ignorant superiors mired in bureaucracy cause him endless difficulties in the carrying out of his duties.