Gambler's World

On the alien world of Petreac, diplomat Retief spends more time defusing bureaucratic nonsense than dealing with aliens—at least at first. While his superior, Ambassador Crodfoller, frets over protocol and the embassy obsesses about class, etiquette, and "fitting in" with the mysterious Nenni caste, Retief senses that the real action is happening behind the palace walls. His instincts prove right. Away from the ballroom, he and Magnan stumble into a brewing servant uprising, only to learn that the rebellion is less about justice than greed and power. Captured, then turned loose again, Retief is pulled deeper into a web of corruption that leads to a decadent casino, a shadowy political machine, and the dangerous strongman Zorn. There, amid rigged games and high-stakes wagers, Retief uses nerve, wit, and sheer toughness to expose a larger conspiracy: a fake trade agreement masking a covert weapons pipeline that could trigger slaughter. With a gambler's timing and a diplomat's cool, Retief talks down the would-be coup and prevents disaster—while the officials around him congratulate themselves on a victory they barely understand. Keith Laumer's Gambler's World is sharp, fast-moving space-opera satire, mixing alien intrigue, political double-dealing, and mordant comedy into a thoroughly irreverent adventure. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.