The 35th Golden Age of Science Fiction: Keith Laumer Read online

  Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK® Ebook Series

  GREYLORN

  THE FROZEN PLANET

  GAMBLER’S WORLD

  THE YILLIAN WAY

  IT COULD BE ANYTHING

  END AS A HERO

  A BAD DAY FOR VERMIN

  A TRACE OF MEMORY

  DOORSTEP

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The 35th Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK®: Keith Laumer is copyright © 2016 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK® ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “Gambler’s World” was originally published in Worlds of If, November 1961.

  “The Frozen Planet” was originally published in 1961.

  “The Yillian Way” was originally published in Worlds of If, January 1962.

  “It Could Be Anything” was originally published in Amazing Stories, January 1963.

  “End As a Hero” was originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1963.

  “A Bad Day for Vermin” was originally published in Galaxy Magazine, February 1964 (copyright © 1963).

  “Greylorn” was originally published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, April 1959.

  “A Trace of Memory” is copyright © 1963 by Keith Laumer.

  “Doorstep” was originally published in Galaxy Magazine, February 1961.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  John Keith Laumer (1925–1993) was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a diplomat in the United States Foreign Service.

  Laumer is known for the Bolo and Retief series of books and short stories. The former chronicles the evolution of super tanks that eventually become self-aware through the constant improvement resulting from centuries of intermittent warfare against various alien races. The latter deals with the adventures of a cynical spacefaring diplomat who constantly has to overcome the red-tape-infused failures of people with names like Ambassador Grossblunder. The Retief stories were greatly influenced by Laumer’s earlier career in the US Foreign Service. In an interview with Paul Walker of Luna Monthly, Laumer states “I had no shortage of iniquitous memories of the Foreign Service.”

  In addition to his Bolo and Retief stories, Laumer’s more serious adventures included the subjects of time travel and alternate-world adventures such as found in his The Other Side Of Time, A Trace Of Memory, and Dinosaur Beach.

  Four of his shorter works received Hugo or Nebula Award nominations (“In the Queue” was nominated for both) and his novel A Plague of Demons (1965) received a nomination for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.

  Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

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  The MEGAPACK® Ebook Series

  If you enjoyed this ebook, check out Wildside Press’s MEGAPACK® series…

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey (vol. 1)

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe (vol. 1)

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  9. Dave Dryfoos

  10. Carl Jacobi

  11. F.L. Wallace

  12. David H. Keller, M.D.

  13. Lester del Rey (vol. 2)

  14. Charles De Vet

  15. H.B. Fyfe (vol. 2)

  16. William C. Gault

  17. Alan E. Nourse

  18. Jerome Bixby

  19. Charles De Vet (Vo. 2)

  20. Evelyn E. Smith

  21. Edward Wellen

  22. Robert Moore Williams

  23. Richard Wilson

  24. H.B. Fyfe (vol. 3)

  25. Raymond Z. Gallun

  26. Homer Eon Flint

  27. Stanley G. Weinbaum

  28. Edward Wellen

  29. Katherine MacLean

  30. Roger Dee

  31. Sam Merwin

  32. Frederik Pohl

  33. Kris Neville

  34. C.M. Kornbluth

  35. Keith Laumer

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF WEIRD FICTION

  1. Henry S. Whitehead

  2. George T. Wetzel

  3. Emil Petaja

  4. Nictzin Dyalhis

  5. David H. Keller

  6. Clark Ashton Smith

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