Retief is possibly Science Fiction's most humorous, and also invariably triumphant, recurring character; embodying the intelligence and machismo of James Bond (Retief's portrayal on the cover art of some of the books is rather remininiscent of James Coburn as Derek Flint from the Our Man Flint mo...
I'm not really sure what makes this book stand out to me so much - just the number of times I've read it. It's like a familiar friend. Retief is the intelligent member of the diplomatic group; somehow he always manages to keep his bosses happy while figuring out and solving the real problems an...