Keith Laumer: The Lighter Side

by Keith Laumer

Book Overview

Lighter Side This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743435370
• ISBN13: 9780743435376
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Free SF Reader

A collection devoted in the main to humour, of different flavors, from the darker opening tale to the more madcap hijinks found in Time Trap. So there is probably something that most people will find amusing. Laumer is pretty consistent, almost all his stories or books are ok or better by me, with only the very infrequent letdown, so while not much of the outstanding on display, he is worth the time. Lighter Side Keith Laumer : In the Queue - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Planet Wreckers - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Body Builders - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Time Trap - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Devil You Don't - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Exterminator - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Big Show - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Goobereality - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : Prototaph - Keith Laumer Lighter Side Keith Laumer : The Great Time Machine Hoax - Keith Laumer Bureaucracy disappointment. 3.5 out of 5 "The day of the Galacular is over!" Izlik stated in positive tones. "What is a mere fractured continent, when compared with a lone hero, fighting for his life? When I release my epic of the struggle of one beleaguered being, beset by a bewildering bestiary of bellicose berserkers, our fortunes will be made!" 3.5 out of 5 Servo pounding. 3 out of 5 When a man's car breaks down and a girl appears out of nowhere, just after a goofy looking alien on a motorbike, Roger Tyson finds himself in the middle of a Time Agent story: "Our studies," S'lunt said, strolling slowly as Roger progressed on all fours at his side, "have not been entirely fruitless. We have made certain determinations regarding the nature of the spatio-temporal distortion. Using a special tracer beam to follow our explorers through the point of tangency through which it is possible to pass from one display to another, we have determined that a progressive degeneration of temporal binding forces is at work, allowing artifacts and fauna of each era to wander into anachronistic settings, thus engendering massive energy imbalances which must end in disaster! On the basis of those findings, we designed and constructed the Reinforcer. With the aid of this device, the selected agent would, we hoped, be enabled to pass not only transversely across the Museum, but longitudinally along the Axial Channel as well, thus tracing the phenomenon to its source, and, hopefully, discovering the identity of the power behind it." However, this one is pretty much pure farce, as this dialogue sample from a confrontation with a nefarious type suggests: "Go ahead, just try it!" Roger challenged. "You escapee from a root cellar! We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you in the cities! We'll slice you up into French fries!" Bad gender switching alien jokes, and much temporal cavorting silliness abound. 3 out of 5 Alien demon invasion is the Devil without some quant

Enjoyable classic SF romps

KEITH LAUMER: THE LIGHTER SIDE combines two novels along with a number of short stories written by the SF classic author Keith Laumer. In the Queue tells of a planet-wide waiting list. People wait their entire lives to move up, holding their places not only for themselves, but also for their children. A nice twist at the end makes this one memorable. The Planet Wreckers confronts an every-man with a galactic movie crew intent on staging the world's largest disaster film. The Body Builders explores a future where people (except a few fanatics) have abandoned their bodies for robots. The Devil You Don't is a romp with a demon. The Exterminator explores America's fascination with violence as a unversal solution. The Big Show blurs reality with entertainment. Gooberreality mixes an every-man with a government/business society where independence is impossible. Protothap confronts an every-man with the impossible--he can't buy life insurance (the twist is in why). Reflecting an earlier era in SF where the short story was a key part of the genre, these stories demonstrate Laumer's skill, provide insights into the America of the 1960s (most of which apply today), and generate some nice chuckles. TIME TRAP, the first novel in the collection, puts Roger Tyson on the spot. When he tries to flag down a beautiful woman on a motorcycle, she crashes. Dying, she insists that he take her "hearing aid" which turns out to be a futuristic computer device. Roger discovers that the world has been segmented and that, unless he can do something, Earth's entire existance will come to an end. He faces an apparently immortal giant rutabaga, and is both aided and opposed by futuristic scientists--including the dead woman. THE GREAT TIME MACHINE HOAX is the gem in this collection. Chester W. Chester IV has a tax bill due and nothing but a moth-eaten circus and an estate with an expensive computer to pay it with. Checking out the computer with his friend Case, they realize the potential to make some money in entertainment--by faking a time machine. What they don't realize is that the computer takes them very literally. The strength of this story comes when Chester is forced to confront his own weaknesses. In an accelerated learning program, which Laumer suggests might have benefit to all of us, Chester learns confidence and overcomes fear and pain. Keith Laumer is one of the great writers of the 1960s and this is a fine introduction to his non-series work. Laumer definitely lacks a progressive attitude toward women, generally treating them as prizes rather than as intelligent players, but if you're willing to overlook this outdated perspective, you'll find a lot to enjoy in THE LIGHTER SIDE.

Humorous Scince Fiction Adventures

This book contains adventure tales that are a fast read, light yet satirically wild. There are two novels about hapless heros caught in a world with changing time streams out of their control. We follow the heros as they travel through these differrent times and deal with the obstacles they encounter, as they try to get back to where they started from. This collection of Mr. Laumer's works even contains three short stories which are worth reading on their own merit. One has Satan asking a professor to aid him save Hell. Another is a movie production studio using Earth as a set, and they plan to blow the set up at the end of the movie. and the final short story is about a time where you can purchase any body you can afford. If you do not have this book, buy it. If you have it, read it. You will be glad you did.

Laughs and fun..whit a black arriere-gout

These stories are a gas, but they often verge on the dark...think only of the poor guy in Time-Trap, maybe the best story in the book. This guy may be the predecessor of Paul Jonas, the Otherland character who was hurled from a strange environment to another, and who was also pursued by ghastly creatures. Thanks to Eric Flint for having made us rediscover these classic stories!