Project Gutenberg 2020-01-11 Public domain in the USA. 135 Laumer, Keith 1925 1993 Laumer, John Keith Laumer, Kit Gaughan, Jack 1930 1985 Gaughan, John Brian Francis Gaughan Retief of the Red-Tape Mountain Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Retief of the Red-Tape Mountain" by Keith Laumer is a science fiction novella penned in the early 1960s. This book centers around the themes of diplomacy, conflict resolution, and the absurdities of bureaucratic procedures as the protagonist navigates interspecies tensions and misunderstandings on a distant planet. The story follows Vice-Consul Retief, who is dispatched to the troubled world of Adobe to mediate a crisis between human settlers and the indigenous alien species known as the Flap-jacks. As he arrives, Retief finds himself amidst ongoing conflict, including a war initiated by misunderstandings and unprovoked violence. Utilizing his diplomatic skills, Retief cleverly restructures the situation, leading to a comical yet effective resolution involving food, drink, and a rather unconventional sporting contest, ultimately securing peace and a new agreement that honors both the settlers and the Flap-jacks. Through humor and wit, Laumer explores how effective communication can triumph over red tape, showcasing the often ridiculous nature of bureaucratic protocols in a fantastical setting. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Life on other planets -- Fiction Space colonies -- Fiction Retief (Fictitious character) -- Fiction Diplomats -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 60481 2025-06-24T09:32:22.708303 text/html 36608 2024-10-17T15:41:09 text/html 334099 2025-06-24T09:32:24.807297 application/epub+zip 332907 2025-06-24T09:32:23.138319 application/epub+zip 83134 2025-06-24T09:32:22.893322 application/epub+zip 372160 2025-06-24T09:32:26.213336 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 364942 2025-06-24T09:32:24.567344 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 115400 2022-09-27T15:52:50.441226 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 53157 2023-09-26T07:58:54.371775 text/plain 33190 2024-10-17T15:41:09 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18031 2025-06-24T09:32:26.382300 application/rdf+xml 25704 2025-06-24T09:32:22.983327 image/jpeg 3999 2025-06-24T09:32:22.938351 image/jpeg 443039 2025-06-24T09:32:22.723322 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia