Keith Laumer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Keith Laumer
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Laumer c. 1966
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| Born | June 9, 1925 Syracuse, New York, United States |
| Died | January 23, 1993 (aged 67) |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story author |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Notable works | Bolo, Retief |
John Keith Laumer (born June 9, 1925 – died January 23, 1993) was an American science fiction author. Before he became a full-time writer, he served as an officer in the United States Air Force. He also worked as a diplomat for the United States Foreign Service, which means he represented the U.S. in other countries. His older brother, March Laumer, was also a writer.
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Early Life and Career
Keith Laumer was born in 1925 in Syracuse, New York. He went to Indiana University and then served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II in Europe. After the war, he studied at Stockholm University and earned a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois in 1950.
He served in the US Air Force twice, from 1953 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1965. He reached the rank of captain. Between his military service, Laumer worked for the US Foreign Service in Burma. This experience later inspired some of his stories.
In the late 1950s, Laumer moved back to Florida. He bought a small island on a lake near Weeki Wachee, where he lived for the rest of his life. Around this time, he started focusing on writing, especially science fiction. His very first short story was published in April 1959.
Writing Adventures
Keith Laumer is most famous for two series of stories: the Bolo stories and the Retief stories.
The Bolo Universe
The Bolo stories are about giant, super-strong tanks. These tanks are constantly improved over centuries of fighting against different alien races. Eventually, they become so advanced that they gain self-awareness, meaning they can think and feel on their own.
The Retief Stories
The Retief stories follow the exciting adventures of a clever space diplomat named Jame Retief. He often has to deal with silly rules and mistakes made by other diplomats. Laumer's own time in the US Foreign Service greatly influenced these stories. He once said he had "no shortage of iniquitous memories" from his time there.
Other Exciting Themes
Laumer's other books often explored ideas like time travel and alternate worlds. Some examples include A Trace of Memory and Dinosaur Beach.
Several of his shorter works were nominated for important awards like the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. His novel A Plague of Demons was also nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.
Laumer's Writing Style
From 1959 to 1971, Laumer was a very busy science fiction writer. His novels and stories usually fit into one of these styles:
- Fast-paced adventures: These stories often featured brave heroes who might have secret superpowers. They focused on self-sacrifice and becoming something more.
- Funny comedies: Some of his stories were very funny, sometimes even over-the-top.
- Experimental works: He also wrote stories that tried new and different ways of telling science fiction.
Later Writing Years
In 1971, Laumer had a stroke, which is a serious health event. This made it difficult for him to write for a few years. Even though he couldn't write new stories, many of his books that were already finished were still published during this time.
In the mid-1970s, Laumer slowly recovered and started writing again. However, the quality of his new work was sometimes not as strong as his earlier books. In his later years, he sometimes used old ideas and characters to create new books.
His Bolo creations were so popular that other authors have even written their own science fiction stories about them.
Model Airplane Designer
Besides writing, Laumer was also very passionate about model airplanes. He designed many models and published about two dozen of his designs between 1956 and 1962. These designs appeared in magazines like Air Trails and Model Airplane News.
He also wrote a book about his hobby called How to Design and Build Flying Models in 1960. His later designs were often gas-powered, free-flight planes. They had fun names like the "Twin Lizzie" and the "Lulla-Bi." Even today, people still build and reinvent his model airplane designs.
Images for kids
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Laumer's novel Worlds of the Imperium was serialized in Fantastic in 1961.
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Laumer's "The Yillian Way", a "Retief" story, took the cover of the January 1962 issue of If
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Laumer's novel A Trace of Memory was serialized in Amazing Stories in 1962.
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Laumer's "Cocoon" was the cover story for the December 1962 issue of Fantastic
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Laumer's novelette "End as a Hero" took the cover of the June 1963 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction
