Order of Book Series
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Retief Books in Order

Retief contains 31 books, published between 1963 and 2020. The first book is Envoy to New Worlds (1963) and the newest is The Star-Sent Knaves (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
31
Published
1963–2020
Pages on record
1,741 in 6 of 31 books
See all 31 books in order Printable Retief checklist
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Retief runs to 31 books published between 1963 and 2020, opening with Envoy to New Worlds (1963). Keith Laumer is credited on 30 of them and William H. Keith on one. Retief is recorded in the subject headings as a fictitious character, and the same headings place the run in science fiction across space opera, military and hard science fiction. Titles in the series include Retief's War (1965), Retief and the Warlords (1968), Retief's Ransom (1971), Retief At Large (1978) and The Star-Sent Knaves (2020).

Source: composed

How many Retief books are there?

Retief has 31 books, released between 1963 and 2020.

Retief Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 31 Retief 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 November 2026.

  1. Cover of Retief At Large by Keith Laumer, book 9 of the Retief series (1978)
  2. Cover of Diplomat at Arms by Keith Laumer, book 11 of the Retief series (1982)
  3. Cover of Retief to the Rescue by Keith Laumer, book 12 of the Retief series (1983)
  4. Cover of Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude by Keith Laumer, book 14 of the Retief series (1986)
  5. Cover of Retief! by Keith Laumer, book 18 of the Retief series (2001)
  6. Cover of Retief's Peace by William H. Keith, book 19 of the Retief series (2005)
  1. 1
    Envoy to New Worlds1963 · confirmed 2/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Galactic Diplomat1965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Retief's War1965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Retief and the Warlords1968 · confirmed 2/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Ambassador to Space1969 · confirmed 2/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Retief of the CDT1971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Retief's Ransom1971 · confirmed 2/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Emissary To The Stars1975 · confirmed 2/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Retief At Large1978 · 172 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1978172
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Retief Unbound1979 · confirmed 2/4
    1979–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Diplomat at Arms1982 · 172 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982172
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Retief to the Rescue1983 · 237 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1983237
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Return of Retief1984 · confirmed 2/4
    1984–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Retief and the Pangalactic Pageant of Pulchritude1986 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Retief in the Ruins1986 · confirmed 2/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Reward for Retief1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Retief and the Rascals1993 · confirmed 2/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Retief!2001 · 608 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2001608
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Retief's Peace2005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Yillian Way2009 · confirmed 2/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Frozen Planet2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Retief of the Red-Tape Mountain2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Retief: the Dirty Dozen2020 · 274 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2020274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Madman from Earth2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The Desert and the Stars2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Cultural Exchange2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Mightiest Qorn2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Governor of Glave2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Aide Memoire2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Saline Solution2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 31
    The Star-Sent Knaves2020 · confirmed 2/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read Retief books in order?

You should read the Retief books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Retief book also stands alone.

Where to start with Retief

Start with Envoy to New Worlds (1963), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Retief book?

The Star-Sent Knaves (2020) is the newest Retief book released so far.

Is there a new Retief book coming?

No next Retief 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 Retief

Wikidata records 1 nomination for Retief. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given. Award data is sourced from Wikidata.

Retief at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Retief title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Retief books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
1,741 pages across the 6 of 31 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Retief books, 11 of 31, were published in the 2020s.
Attribution
Of the 31 titles, 30 are credited to Keith Laumer and 1 to William H. Keith.

When Retief books were published

Publication distribution by decade, showing when Retief titles appeared. 2020s was the most productive decade with 11 titles.

1960s
5
1970s
5
1980s
6
1990s
1
2000s
3
2020s
11

31 books total across 6 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.

What the Retief books are about

7 of the 31 Retief 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 3 of 7. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

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