Search Worlds Without End

Omnibus Contains:

• Protocol (ss)
• Sealed Orders (ss)
• Aide Memoire (ss)
• Policy (novelette)
• Palace Revolution (novelette)
• Retief's Ransom (Novel, #6)

Table of Contents:

• Protocol - (1962)
• Sealed Orders - (1962)
• Cultural Exchange - (1962)
• Aide Memoire - (1962)
• Policy - (1962)
• Palace Revolution - (1961)

Table of Contents:

• Ultimatum - (1963)
• Saline Solution - (1963)
• The Brass God - (1965)
• The Castle of Light - (1964)
• Wicker Wonderland - (1964)
• Native Intelligence - (1963)
• The Prince and the Pirate - (1964)
• Courier - (1961)
• Protest Note - (1962)

James Retief, assigned to unite hostile Quoppian tribes for the sake of Earth's security, must first foil the destructive plans of the evil Groaci and encounters the beautiful princess, Fifi.

Life is just a bowl of Terries (and the phrase Terran Dip has taken on a whole new meaning)

Terran diplomats are the epitome of good taste--but do they taste good? That is the question on every alien mandible as the Haterakans invade the human-occupied Goober Cluster in search of new feeding grounds.

The Cluster is in deadly danger-- but "provocation" of the Haterakans might jeopardize the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne's new foreign aid program and so is forbidden, no matter what the aliens' choice of hors d'oeuvres. Alas for the chitinous aliens; just when they think they have discovered a wonderful new food supply they run smack up against a diplomat who refuses to act like one. Leave it to Retief to spoil everything.

How are thing on Rockamorra? Bad, very. Earth Ambassador Pinchbottle has contracted to fight a dinorsaur, and it's up to troubleshooter Jame Retief to keep him from being stomped, mangled, or eaten.

Table of Content

• Grime and Punishment - (1969)
• Giant Killer - (1965)
• The Forbidden City - (1967)
• Dam Nuisance - (1966)
• Trick or Treaty - (1965)
• The Forest in the Sky - (1967)
• Truce or Consequences - (1966)

Retief, the Galaxy's least conventional diplomat

Lumbaga is a planet without known virtues--but with some decidely odd natives. Fro every Lumbagan is simply an arbitrary assortment of semi-independent organs inspired by a lust for mayhem.

BUt even the most undesirable chunk of galactic real estate attracts its quote of rival overlords, and the fiendish Groaci had a scheme for absorbing Lumbaga into their sphere of influence. It was working well, too, until it involved Retief, Terran diplomat extraordinary. To his powerful intellect, the machinations of teh Groaci were child's play....

Against a raging backdrop of interplanetary intrigue.

This time the resourceful officer of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne must deal with horrors unknown as he hunts the universe for a stolen ballet theatre.

The courageous Terran must fight the five-eyed Groaci, outwit the ferocious Tsuggs, and reason with the talking flowers he finds in the midst of his dangerous mission.

But in spite of all this, in the face of the vagaries of alien plots and the wild ambitions of his superiors, Retief remains strong and unshakable - and in peaceful and just control of the galaxy!

Follow the further adventures of Retief - already an underground hero.

Contents:

• Ballots and Bandits - (1970)
• Mechanical Advantage - (1971)
• Pime Doesn't Cray - (1971)
• Internal Affair - (1971)
• The Piecemakers - (1970)

The Groaci peril: They're nasty little five-eyed sticky fingers who want the galaxy and will stoop to anything to get it. But when they try to sabotage one planet and use another for their garbage, it's time for Retief, that cunning and courageous emissary from Corps Diplomatique Tewrrestrienne to samsh in.

And smash in Retief does, in an extraordinary series of adventures that take him from gambling to gunplay, from the blue lagoons of the most coveted planet in the solar systems to the aid of one of the loveliest women in the galaxy - and ultimately up against the fiercest and most destructive beings in the Universe!

Contents:

• The Hoob Melon Crisis - (1975)
• The Garbage Invasion - (1972)
• An Excerpt from Retief & the Warlords (Excerpt) - (1968)
• The Troubleshooter - (1975)
• The Negotiators - (1975)

Cosmic diplomacy and Machiavellian intrigue.

The official accounts of Terra's efforts in the field of interstellar diplomacy during the 29th century are available for the dialing to anyone willing to pore through the records of the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne.

For those of sufficient discernment, however, it will be evident that the Corps records, incredibly voluminous though they be, fail to tell the whole truth - indeed to some degree must obscure it. Surely if it had been guarded solely by the efforts of such persons as Ambassadors Magnan, Thunderstroke and Grossblunder, Terra's Sphere of Influence would have crumpled instantly before the diplomatic assaults of the Groaci. That it did not demonstrates that other factors were at work.
One such factor was a career diplomat named James Retief. Contained here are several accounts of his achievements, illustrating how a few able men were able to save the galaxy for Man.

Contents:

• Cultural Exchange - (1962)
• Saline Solution - (1963)
• The Castle of Light - (1964)
• Wicker Wonderland - (1965)
• The Brass God - (1965)
• Mechanical Advantage - (1971)
• Dam Nuisance - (1966)
• Grime and Punishment - (1969)
• The Forbidden City - (1969)
• The Piecemakers - (1970)
• Ballots and Bandits - (1970)
• Pime Doesn't Cray - (1971)

Table of Contents:

• Ultimatum - (1963)
• Native Intelligence - (1963)
• The Prince and the Pirate - (1964)
• Courier - (1961)
• Protest Note - (1962)
• Truce or Consequences - (1966)
• The Secret

Retief returns--to make the galaxy safe for diplomacy!

The diplomat extraordinaire faces his ultimate challenge n the embattles planer Furtheron--to keep the peace and keep himself in one piece!

Voracious Crawlie cannibals want him for dinner--while the wily Creepies are besieging Earth's embassy. Then greedy Groacians add fuel to the fire, igniting civil war for their own secret ends.

Only a rare diplomat can pull his Corps out of this stew, save his boss's hide, and preserve the future of the Galaxy!

A vast and powerful race, the Ree needed breeding room for an ever increasing population--and their expansion plans took no account of human territory. Retief, already on probation for undiplomatic behavior, earned himself the assignment of parleying with the Ree when he urged force against them. A suicide mission? Perhaps. But Retief is Retief.

It's a rare day when Terrans meet eye-to-eyestalk with the slimy little sticky-fingers - er, that is to say, the noble alien Groaci. This time the races clash on the planet Popu-Ri, once the home of a mighty interstellar power. Popu-Ri has sunk into decline... but its ancient treasures remain. Though not for long, if the Groaci have their way.

Groaci also finds Popu-Ri just the place to build a galactic warfleet. Still, for the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne to respond would threaten the delicate balance of human/Groaci forces on the cocktail circuit. Therefore the ambassador must keep the lid on by doing nothing. But how to do nothing without seeming an inneffectual pantywaist? Send an observer!

Yep, the Ambassador has it all figured out. But he made one little mistake; he sent Retief...

Table of Contents:

• Retief in the Ruins
• There is a Tide - (1986)
• The Woomy

"In Zany-Doo did Jame Retief a stately pleasure dome decree..."

Retief's latest assignment is on Zany-Doo, a wild undeveloped planet whose residents have a marked dislike for Terrans. The caterpilleroid natives seem to have something to hide, but neither Ambassador Spoilsport nor Retief's ineffable boss, Ben Magnan, can figure out what it might be. The Retief and Magnan stumble into an idyllis enclave unlike anthing else tehy've seen--and realise just how special Zany-Doo is. The planet is at the center of a trans-temporal flux where the very nature of reality can be transformed by a thought.

But even in a world where reality is subject to shim, honor, courage and determination will carrey the day. After all, Retief is just a state of mind...

Terran diplomat and interplanetary troubleshooter Jame Retief must stop the belligerent, five-eyed Groaci from invading the beleaguered planet of Bloor, which is already plagued by violence between rival gangs.