Order of Book Series
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Keith Laumer Books in Order

98 books are credited to Keith Laumer, published between 1951 and 2021; 26 of them appeared after Keith Laumer's death in 1993. The first book is Greylorn (1951) and the newest is The Best of Keith Laumer: Volume 1 (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
98
Published
1951–2021
Confirmed
6 of 98 titles
Pages on record
7,238 in 25 of 98 books
See all 98 books in order Printable Keith Laumer checklist

Keith Laumer, born John Keith Laumer, was an American science fiction author who lived from June 9, 1925, to January 23, 1993. Before writing full time, Laumer served as a United States Air Force officer and as a diplomat in the United States Foreign Service. March Laumer, an older brother, wrote adult reinterpretations of the Land of Oz, and Frank Laumer, the youngest brother, is a historian and writer. The catalogue lists 98 books, among them Worlds of the Imperium (1961) and Plague of Demons (1964), with the Retief, Bolo and Lafayette O'Leary series. Subjects include human-alien encounters, space opera and short stories.

How many Keith Laumer books are there?

Keith Laumer has 98 books, released between 1951 and 2021. 26 of them were published after Keith Laumer's death in 1993. They include 4 series and 47 titles listed outside any series.

Keith Laumer Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 98 Keith Laumer books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of A Plague of Demons & Other Stories by Keith Laumer (1965)
  2. Cover of Earthblood by Keith Laumer (1966)
  3. Cover of Once There Was A Giant by Keith Laumer (1968)
  4. Cover of Knight of Delusions by Keith Laumer (1972)
  5. Cover of The Undefeated by Keith Laumer (1974)
  6. Cover of Night of Decisions by Keith Laumer (1977)
  7. Cover of Retief At Large by Keith Laumer, book 9 of the Retief series (1978)
  8. Cover of Diplomat at Arms by Keith Laumer, book 11 of the Retief series (1982)
  9. Cover of Retief to the Rescue by Keith Laumer, book 12 of the Retief series (1983)
  10. Cover of Chrestomathy by Keith Laumer (1984)
  11. Cover of Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude by Keith Laumer, book 14 of the Retief series (1986)
  12. Cover of Alien Minds by Keith Laumer (1991)
  13. Cover of Bolo Brigade by Keith Laumer, book 5 of the Bolo series (1997)
  14. Cover of Retief! by Keith Laumer, book 18 of the Retief series (2001)
  15. Cover of Future Imperfect by Keith Laumer (2003)
  16. Cover of Legions of Space by Keith Laumer (2004)
  17. Cover of Earthblood and Other Stories by Keith Laumer (2008)
  18. Cover of The Long Twilight and Other Stories by Keith Laumer (2008)
  1. 1
    Greylorn1951 · confirmed 1/4
    1951–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Worlds of the ImperiumImperium #11961 · confirmed 1/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    A Trace of Memory1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Cocoon1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Envoy to New WorldsRetief #11963 · confirmed 2/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    It Could Be Anything1963 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196330
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Plague of Demons1964 · confirmed 1/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Great Time Machine Hoax / A Hoax in Time1964 · confirmed 1/4
    1964–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 10
    Galactic DiplomatRetief #21965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 11
    The Other Side of TimeImperium #21965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 12
    Retief's WarRetief #31965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 13
    The Time BenderLafayette O'Leary #11966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 14
    The Monitors1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    Catastrophe Planet1966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    Earthblood1966 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    The InvadersInvaders #11967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Enemies From BeyondInvaders #21967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    Doorstep1967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    Nine By Laumer1967 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1967192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    The Walls1967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    Galactic Odyssey1967 · confirmed 1/4
    1967–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 23
    Assignment in NowhereImperium #31968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    Retief and the WarlordsRetief #41968 · confirmed 2/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 25
    Once There Was A Giant1968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    The Gold BombAvengers #51968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 27
    It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Galaxy1968 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1968160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 28
    The Afrit AffairAvengers #61968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 29
    The Drowned QueenAvengers #71968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 30
    Ambassador to SpaceRetief #51969 · confirmed 2/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Keith Laumer series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Keith Laumer books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Bolo in order

6 books
  1. 1. Bolo
  2. 2. Rogue Bolo
  3. 3. The Stars Must Wait
  4. 4. The Unconquerable
  5. 5. Bolo Brigade
  6. 10. Their Finest Hour

Imperium in order

4 books
  1. 1. Worlds of the Imperium
  2. 2. The Other Side of Time
  3. 3. Assignment in Nowhere
  4. 4. Zone Yellow

Lafayette O'Leary in order

4 books
  1. 1. The Time Bender
  2. 2. The World Shuffler
  3. 3. The Shape Changer
  4. 4. The Galaxy Builder

Avengers in order

3 books
  1. 5. The Gold Bomb
  2. 6. The Afrit Affair
  3. 7. The Drowned Queen

Invaders in order

2 books
  1. 1. The Invaders
  2. 2. Enemies From Beyond

Time Trap in order

2 books
  1. 1. Time Trap
  2. 2. Back to the Time Trap

Standalone books

47 books

47 Keith Laumer titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Keith Laumer books in order?

You only need to read Keith Laumer books in order within each series: the books listed here span 4 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Keith Laumer

Start with Envoy to New Worlds (1963), the first Retief book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Greylorn (1951).

What is the newest Keith Laumer book?

The Best of Keith Laumer: Volume 1 (2021) is the newest Keith Laumer book released so far.

Is there a new Keith Laumer book coming?

No next Keith Laumer book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Award nominations for Keith Laumer

Wikidata records 9 nominations for Keith Laumer. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Locus Award for Best Collection1987Shortlistedfor Retief in the Ruins
  • Hugo Award for Best Novella1978Shortlistedfor The Wonderful Secret
  • Locus Award for Best Novella1978Shortlistedfor The Wonderful Secret
  • Hugo Award for Best Short Story1971Shortlistedfor In the Queue
  • Nebula Award for Best Short Story1971Shortlistedfor In the Queue
  • Locus Award for Best Short Fiction1971Shortlistedfor In the Queue
  • Nebula Award for Best Novella1969Shortlistedfor The Day Before Forever
  • Nebula Award for Best Novelette1969Shortlistedfor Once There Was a Giant
  • Nebula Award for Best Novel1966Shortlistedfor A Plague of Demons

Keith Laumer at a glance

Died
Keith Laumer died in 1993, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Keith Laumer are still being published after Keith Laumer's death in 1993; the newest appeared in 2021.
Release pace
Keith Laumer books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
7,238 pages across the 25 of 98 books with a recorded length, a median of 275 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Keith Laumer books, 31 of 98, were published in the 1960s.

What the Keith Laumer books are about

25 of the 98 Keith Laumer books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 11 of 25. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.