The Retief series is tongue-in-cheek science fiction, with an adventurous, reluctant diplomat as the main character. Retief is a man of action hamstrung by his bumbling, bureaucratic superiors. The "evil" aliens Retief contests with are analogs for the Soviets, and the early series was written as a sci-fi parody of US/USSR gamesmanship, so it's rather dated now, but still entertaining.