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Laumer, Keith (Keith Laumer)
Keith Laumer, a name you'd certainly know if you've ever dabbled in the realms of sentient super-tanks and delightfully cynical spacefaring diplomats. For the uninitiated, however, let's take a stroll down the spacelanes of Laumer's imaginative cosmos.
First, some housekeeping: when one conjures an image of an author, especially of sci-fi, you may imagine them secluded in a dim study, surrounded by stacks of pulp magazines, scribbling away at alien encounters. Keith Laumer, on the other hand, breaks all stereotypes. Before the cosmos beckoned him, he was an officer in the US Air Force, served in World War II, and was a diplomat in the US Foreign Service. Not your typical pre-author resumé, but then again, Keith Laumer was anything but typical.
Now, onto the good stuff. Within the illustrious pages of SFcrowsnest (oh, you've heard of it, haven't you?), you'll often find mention of Laumer's Bolo and Retief tales. The former is an ode to the inexorable march of technology: imagine tanks evolving to the point of self-awareness after centuries of combat against extraterrestrial foes. War, in Laumer's world, seems to be the ultimate tech incubator.
Then we have Retief. Imagine James Bond, but in space, and instead of battling megalomaniacs obsessed with global domination, he's wading through bureaucratic quagmires, dealing with characters named - I kid you not - Ambassador Grossblunder. Drawing from his own bureaucratic experiences (remember the diplomat part?), Laumer paints a universe where it's not always ray guns and ship chases; sometimes, the pen truly is mightier. Or at least more annoying.
The realms of time travel and alternate realities also found their muse in Laumer, with titles like The Other Side of Time and Dinosaur Beach. His works during 1959-1971 followed fascinating patterns, from breakneck space and time adventures, to outright comedies, and then the occasional experimental piece that even verged on New Wave sci-fi.
It wasn't always smooth sailing, or should I say, star cruising, for Laumer. A stroke in 1971 temporarily hindered his writing, but when you've written about alternate dimensions and time loops, a real-world setback, however severe, isn't going to keep you down for long. Laumer fought back, albeit with a shift in the quality of his writings.
One curious and delightful side-note: Laumer wasn’t just a master of tales. If you ever catch a vintage model airplane, intricately designed and bearing whimsical names like "Twin Lizzie" or "Lulla-Bi," tip your hat to Mr. Laumer. Model airplane designing was another feather in this multi-talented man's cap. You can search the Nest for articles on Laumer, Keith (Keith Laumer) over at https://www.SFcrowsnest.info/tag/Keith-Laumer