Retief's Ransom

Keith Laumer (1925-1993)
John Keith Laumer was an American science fiction author born in Syracuse, New York. Prior to his career as a writer, Laumer was an officer in the United States Air Force. After war service, he spent a year at the University of Stockholm, and then took two bachelor's degrees in science and architecture at the University of Illinois. His first story, Greylorn, was published in 1959, but he returned to the Air Force the following year, only becoming a full-time writer in 1965. Laumer was extremely prolific and produced three major series and two minor ones, along with a number of independent novels. After 1973, however, illness meant that he published more sparingly. He died in 1993.