review of
Keith Laumer's The Undefeated
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - July 9, 2013

In my last review of a Laumer bk, Nine by Laumer ( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6346319-nine-by-laumer ), also a short story bk, I quoted Harlan Ellison's introduction in wch he outlines Laumer's extensive military background. The stories in that collection reflect some military experience but not exclusively - the subject matter is more varied. In The Undefeated the 4 stories, wch are really more novellas broken into short chapters, are exclusively militaristic. & one of these stories, "End As A Hero", is shared w/ Nine by Laumer.

This SF military stories are almost a genre that I'd forgotten about - since I tend to read the more socio-political-psychological end of the spectrum - not that that's completely excluded from these war stories (or vice-versa). I've never really read a 'Men's Adventure Stories' magazine & I doubt that they exist anymore in the way I'm imagistically conjuring them up in my mind right now, but it's tempting to exaggerate & say these Laumer stories belong there. But, no, these were originally published in Galaxy & Worlds of Tomorrow & are, yes, much more smack-dab in the SF world thanks to the settings being futuristic & the enemies being post-apocalyptic warlords or 'monster-from-outer-space'.

But, of course, Laumer is too good to just have the bug-like enemies be 'pure evil'. In "Thunderhead" we even get a taste of their culture & some telepathic sympathy. All in all, tho, this really wasn't 'my thing' & I'm not even sure it wd've been when I was 13 or so & feeling those 1st masculine stirrings. Nonetheless, Laumer was clearly of an era when the military that he belonged to still had people who believed in their purpose w/o that purpose just being the theft of natural resources & the suppression of the 'other'. Is that too 'old school' now?!

The main characters are all male & all have the same robust drive as the hero in "Placement Test" in Nine by Laumer. In other words, they adhere to their ethics & sense of honor & purpose thru thick & thin - even if they break the rules (or don't). But has that EVER reflected the realities of the military? Today we have the torturers at Bagram, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay - all, most likely, 'decent ordinary people' under 'decent ordinary circumstances' - in other words, ROBOPATHS. &, gee, now there're women in the military &, surprise, surprise, they're moronic sadists too! The real heros, IMO, are people like Bradley Manning - the whistleblowers who have the courage to expose the reality behind the PR of the politicians & the high ranking officers. The basic flaw of the military is that it functions thru strict enforcement of hierarchy - & the very people who want to be in hierarchies are the ones eager to commit the worst atrocities to keep it all going. ( )

Good adventure SF. Maybe not a 4, but 'Thunderhead' brings a tear to my eye every time I read it, so a 4 it is.
Classic Laumer, when he was at the height of his skill. ( )

Early-ish writings, of general pulp quality. Schmalzy relationship hooks. Only the final story, "End as a Hero", has a non-stock plot idea. However, all Laumer's heroes are heroic, and the action is entertaining. ( )