Keith Laumer

About Keith Laumer Keith Laumer was a highly acclaimed American science-fiction writer who gained recognition for his memorable characters and storylines. His writing style was often humorous and entertaining, making his stories a joy to read. Laumer's skill for crafting protagonists was evident in his series such as Bolo and Retief.

The best place to start is the Imperium series, the earliest of Keith Laumer's multi-book series: it opens with Worlds of the Imperium (1961) and runs to 4 books across 1961–1990, ending with Zone Yellow (1990). Keith Laumer's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Keith Laumer has 148 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1951 and 2026. 68 of them belong to 8 named series — the largest being the Retief series with 31 books — and 80 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Keith Laumer's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Imperium (1961–1990, 4 books), Retief (1963–2020, 31 books) and The Avengers (1965–1969, 12 books), plus 5 more.

This guide splits Keith Laumer's 148 books into 8 named series and 80 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Retief (31 books, 1963–2020); The Avengers (12 books, 1965–1969); Bolo (10 books, 1976–2010); Imperium (4 books, 1961–1990); The Invaders (4 books, 1967–1969), plus 3 further series.