[Fedora]

Trust me, I don't walk unseen, I've won no rings, and never guested with eagles. The others may or may not be applicable.

Next you're gonna tell me you're not a burahobbit :)

I haven't read any Laumer, but I like dystopias, at least certain ones (I should say, I like pre-cyberpunk dystopias). What's his stuff like?

[Ramius]

Hey howdy all! [sip]

I'm mostly here... mostly.

[JenB]

Some of his stuff is funny, some is darker. He specializes in "Planet/girl/humanity is in trouble. Hero saves the day by dint of his refusal to give up in face of insurmountable odds". The "Retief" stories are hilarious little pieces about a galactic diplomat who is always resorting to, um, more stringent negotations, to the horror of his superiors (it has some of the best beaurocrats I've ever met).

Baen has been reprinting a few of Laumer's books. In fact, you can read a couple of them online, free, at Baen's free library - the site seems to be down but go to www.baen.com and look for the link that says "free library" - it's not hard after that.