Retief & the Warlords – Keith Laumer, Berkley 1969

📖 Retief & the Warlords by Keith Laumer (1968, Berkley Medallion paperback, February 1969) — the fourth novel in Laumer’s beloved Retief series, a satirical space-opera comedy about Jame Retief, a low-ranking diplomat in the interstellar Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne. This first Berkley Medallion paperback (SBN 425-01800-8, catalog X1800, 60¢) pairs Laumer’s bureaucratic farce with a striking psychedelic Richard Powers cover.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Keith Laumer (1925–1993), former U.S. Air Force officer and diplomatic aide who spent years in Southeast Asia
• Publisher: Berkley Medallion Books, New York
• Year: 1969 — First Berkley Medallion Edition, February 1969. Copyright © 1968 by Keith Laumer (originally published by Doubleday, 1968)
• Format: Vintage mass-market paperback, no dust jacket
• Edition points: Catalog number X1800 with 60¢ cover price; SBN 425-01800-8
• Condition: Very Good+ (VG+) — spine uncreased (unread), full report below

THE STORY

First Secretary Retief of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne opens the novel in the office of his superior, Career Minister Magnan, Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Interspecies Affairs — and, as always, lands in the middle of a galactic farce. The back-cover blurb (for the original serial, “Hatracks in the Goober”) sets the scene: lobsterlike aliens nicknamed “Hatracks” are infiltrating planets, and Earth’s response is to offer foreign aid. In Retief & the Warlords, the perpetual holder of the short end of the stick is at his breeziest and most casually lethal, wrapping up in a slambang three-way showdown. Laumer’s satirical take on diplomacy, bureaucracy, and power politics remains one of the funniest and most fondly remembered works of science-fiction humor.

THIS EDITION

This is the first paperback printing of the fourth Retief book, released by Berkley Medallion just months after the 1968 Doubleday hardcover. The copyright page confirms copyright © 1968 by Keith Laumer and identifies it as a Berkley Medallion Edition, February 1969, published by Berkley Publishing Corporation of New York. It is an unread copy — the spine is uncreased — making it an attractive collector’s copy of this collectible series.

COVER ART / DESIGN

The cover is by Richard Powers, the legendary science-fiction illustrator and abstractionist whose surreal, psychedelic imagery defined much of 1960s–70s paperback design. This cover shows a vivid, organic alien entity rendered in reds, oranges, blues, greens, and yellows on a pale cream field, with thin pinkish energy lines radiating from the creature — an exemplary piece of late-1960s speculative-art. Powers’ stylized initials appear in the lower right of the illustration. The back cover carries the “Hatracks” blurb beside a black-and-white author portrait credited to Tom Wright.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Fourth book in Keith Laumer’s canonical Retief series, a cornerstone of science-fiction comedy and satire
• First mass-market paperback edition of the novel, with Richard Powers cover art prized by collectors
• Laumer drew on his real Foreign Service experience in Southeast Asia, giving the satire its insider authenticity

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? It is the first Berkley Medallion paperback edition, February 1969 (SBN 425-01800-8, catalog X1800, 60¢). The novel was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1968.

What condition is it in? Very Good+ (VG+) overall: vibrant cover with minimal edge wear, spine uncreased and unread, tanning to the white covers/spine on all edges, and the publisher’s yellow top-stain. Full report below.

Who illustrated the cover? Richard Powers, one of the most celebrated science-fiction cover artists of the era, whose surreal style is a major draw for collectors.

FOR COLLECTORS

Retief paperbacks with clean, uncreased, unread spines are scarce in nice condition, and the Richard Powers cover makes this First Berkley Medallion edition a striking shelf piece for both Keith Laumer completists and fans of vintage sci-fi cover art.

Book Details

Author: Keith Laumer

Illustrator: Richard Powers

Publisher: Berkley Medallion Books (SBN 425-01800-8)

Binding: PAPERBACK

Edition Points: First Berkley Medallion Edition, February 1969. Catalog number X1800 with 60¢ cover price.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Very Good+ (VG+)

Cover & Spine: Vibrant cover illustration with minimal edge wear. Spine uncreased, indicating an unread copy. Tanning to white covers and spine on all edges, front and back.

Text Block & Pages: Top edge stained yellow by the publisher. Internally, page upper edges show some light tanning.

Binding: Tight, solid, and relatively square. No loose, torn or folded pages, no writing.

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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