A Plague of Demons: & Other Stories

By Keith Laumer and Hafeez Malik

Book Overview

Invisible aliens ruled the Earth, and only one man could see them-and they were hunting him down.

A complete novel of science fiction adventure and a host of short novels in one large volume. A Plague of Demons: One man found out the secret behind the aliens who controlled the world, harvesting "dead" soldiers to fight wars on distant worlds-and only he could stop them, if he could keep from getting harvested himself. Thunderhead: An officer has manned an outpost on a lonely planet for years, watching for the alien enemy that may never come, forgotten by the bureaucracy which sent him there-and then the enemy came Test to Destruction: Aliens are testing a human prisoner to determine how serious a foe the human race might be-and they have chosen the wrong man to Test to Destruction. And much more.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743499069
• ISBN13: 9780743499064
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.3" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

"For Those Of You Confronting Laumer for The First Time... I envy You..." Harlan Ellison

John Keith Laumer (June 9, 1925 - January 23, 1993 (aged 67)) was an American science fiction writer. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the U.S. Air Force and a U. S. diplomat. This collection includes eight of his shorts, including probably his most famous: A Plague of Demons (1964) - More people are dying than are being buried. Your mission ... The first Bolo story. Thunderhead (1967) - They just called a Category One Emergency for all the Outer Beacon Line Stations and you have to respond. Unfortunately, your flitter is broken, now you have to climb old Thunderhead by foot, and it's snowing outside and it's been years since you last climbed it. Also, the Djang are coming. End As A Hero (1963) - They've sent you out to investigate the Gool, a race that can manipulate the minds of humans, but you're a trained psychodynamist so you are prepared, but will Earth believe you? Doorstep (1961) - Brigadier General W. F. Straut saw this as his opportunity to get his second star. Boy, was he wrong. "Please take..." Test To Destruction(1967)- "Aboard the interstellar dreadnought cruising half a parsec from Earth, the compound Rhee mind surveyed the distant Solar system" The Star-Sent Knaves(1963)-Valuable painting are disappearing from in penetrable vaults. Greylorn(1959)-The Red Tide is advancing all over earth and can't seem to be stopped. Earth's last chance is to hunt out the colonial missions that were searching for a new world, the Omega Mission. The author borrows some from a real incident that happened circa 1840's with the initials the DP party, but never fear, Greylorn is here to save the day and earth. Of Death what Dreams(1970)-Bailey went in to lie on a slab and never thought that he'd ever wake up again. Afterword by Eric Flint (2003)- When I saw this in the Table of Contents I assumed it would be some recollections about Keith Laumer and the editor, maybe how the editor choose these particular stories, but no. It's just balant promotion of the next Laumer book by Baen. Flint has his nose stuck so far up Baen's rear end I'm surprised he can breathe, I'd suggest you skip this. highly recommended for fans of Keith Laumer, especially for fans of his BOLO stories. Gunner 2008

The short story that made me love SF

A plague of demons" is a great story. I recommend it to anyone who likes a fast pace storyline and an ending you didn't know was coming! The other stories in this book is good too, but "A plague..." is truly great fiction!

Classic Stuff, if you're up for it.

This collection of Keith Laumer's works is part of the Baen Books republication of Laumer's writings. It seems that Laumer is one of those authors that people either love, or can't finish the first paragraph without screaming. If you are one of those who loves his work, get the whole series. You won't regret it.Many of these stories have been out of print for a while and have been hard to find. I have fond memories of reading Laumer while serving in the Air Force on missions in the Middle East (ironically, detached to the State Department much as Laumer himself was), thinking "aside from the advanced hardware, this isn't fiction". Many of the stories in this volume are inspirational in a dark way, as they share a common thread of many of his works, that of the lone man doing what is right, against hopeless odds, even to self destruction, because of principle. It's a timeless lesson, but one many need to learn.Skip Eric Flint's rather pointless comments, and just read the stories and David Drake's memories of Laumer.