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Gor #11
Slave Girl of Gor
Tarl Cabot must prove his final loyalty to the harsh and caste-bound planet known as Counter Earth. “Surrender Gor,” reads a message sent from the Others, a mysterious people from the worlds of steel. Either the proud rulers of Gor must submit or be destroyed.
Now Tarl is leaving the decadent city of Port Kar to wander in the wilds of Gor, taking up the sword to defend his rulers and enemies, the Priest-Kings, for he knows that the fate of his home planet, Earth, is inextricably tied to the fate of Gor.
Rediscover this brilliantly imagined world where men are masters and women live to serve their every desire.
Slave Girl of Gor is the 11th book in the Gorean Saga, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Now Tarl is leaving the decadent city of Port Kar to wander in the wilds of Gor, taking up the sword to defend his rulers and enemies, the Priest-Kings, for he knows that the fate of his home planet, Earth, is inextricably tied to the fate of Gor.
Rediscover this brilliantly imagined world where men are masters and women live to serve their every desire.
Slave Girl of Gor is the 11th book in the Gorean Saga, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
564 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
103 people are currently reading
919 people want to read
About the author
John Norman
99 books326 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John Norman, real name John Lange, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931. His best known works, the Gor series, currently span 36 books written 1966 (Tarnsman of Gor) to 2021 (Avengers of Gor). Three installments of the Telnarian Histories, plus three other fiction works and a non-fiction paperback. Mr. Norman is married and has three children.
John Norman, real name John Lange, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931. His best known works, the Gor series, currently span 36 books written 1966 (Tarnsman of Gor) to 2021 (Avengers of Gor). Three installments of the Telnarian Histories, plus three other fiction works and a non-fiction paperback. Mr. Norman is married and has three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
July 22, 2020
repressed hot chick magically transported to a faraway world learns the joys of sexual slavery. rape, rape, and some more rape. plus some really weird and disturbing games for the younger lads featuring their new slave as both the object of the game and the reward - after a long, hard day they deserve it!
it's all very straight-faced and sincere. slavery eventually turns out to be a very freeing concept for the "decadent" earthwoman - she learns to love it, naturally. as long as it is in service to the right guy. Norman is not down with sexual slavery to the wrong guy, no way. only decent guys deserve a repressed hot chick to enslave and let his bros play weird games with.
the surprisingly elaborate conception of how a person can become a sex slave in a conan-esque world, combined with lots of standard yet often complex science fantasy world-building, make this one fascinating at times. at least when it's not completely eye-rolling and creepily offensive. Norman sure gave a lot of thought to how he'd like to see the gender war be resolved.
it is mindboggling to consider that this series of novels actually started a genuine sexual movement of sorts. or at least so i've heard. but when i tried to google it, i got basically nothing. maybe the Gorian Movement has gone out of style. or maybe "Gorian" just isn't the best name for a sexual movement.
it's all very straight-faced and sincere. slavery eventually turns out to be a very freeing concept for the "decadent" earthwoman - she learns to love it, naturally. as long as it is in service to the right guy. Norman is not down with sexual slavery to the wrong guy, no way. only decent guys deserve a repressed hot chick to enslave and let his bros play weird games with.
the surprisingly elaborate conception of how a person can become a sex slave in a conan-esque world, combined with lots of standard yet often complex science fantasy world-building, make this one fascinating at times. at least when it's not completely eye-rolling and creepily offensive. Norman sure gave a lot of thought to how he'd like to see the gender war be resolved.
it is mindboggling to consider that this series of novels actually started a genuine sexual movement of sorts. or at least so i've heard. but when i tried to google it, i got basically nothing. maybe the Gorian Movement has gone out of style. or maybe "Gorian" just isn't the best name for a sexual movement.
November 7, 2012
Is the 11th in John Norman's (real name John Frederick Lange) series of science-fiction-cum-BDSM novels known as The Chronicles of Gor.
Now. I should explain that, for reasons best known to myself, I have actually read the first 14 Gorean novels in their entirety. To be fair, the early ones aren't all that dreadful. The first one, Tarnsman of Gor, published 1967, is engagingly stony. How else can you describe a novel where the protagonist, an English Literature lecturer turned bare-chested Boris Vallejo painting come to life flies on a giant eagle to an enemy city to kidnap the emperor's daughter and the city's sacred pebble, sorry, Home Stone, is shot down, and crashlands in a swamp where he discusses philosophy with a talking spider. Numbers two to about six or so are similarly weird and the villains include the queen of a city where everyone wears a mask, a million-year-old hyperintelligent eight-brained praying mantis, a corrupt merchant with poison teeth, and the man who fancies himself as Ubar of Ar. They fall into a nice rhythm of "Tarl Cabot goes to (subject land of Gor here) where he meets the (subject fantasy counterpart culture here) and kills the big bad and swives several quintillion chained naked slave girls." To be fair, they're not all bad as long as you're prepared to overlook the predictability and pandering. and are expecting them to be suitably and entertainingly awful.
Then this one came along. Oh Gods. This one, Slave Girl of Gor, is not only horrible but it's the exact moment where Mr Norman realised his core audience was no longer yearning virgins playing Dungeons & Dragons but fetishists and BDSM enthusiasts. And it shows.
Executive Summary
Straw feminist shown, at increasingly tedious length, the error of her ways.
A bit more detail, if you wouldn't mind?
Judy Thornton is an English major and poetess (which she repeats many times over to ensure we've got the message) who is otherwise an ordinary college student and she reckons she's the most attractive lass on campus. Apart from possibly that bitch Alicia Nevins. Until one day, she wakes up naked under an alien three-mooned sky chained to a big rock and with large barbarians talking incomprehensibilities to her and kicking or slapping her when she fails to understand. Upon where another large barbarian, this one clad in a sort of Roman legionary outfit, fights the other large barbarians to the death for her.
(Hmmm, reminds me of a party I had when I was at the Sorbonne...)
She's not rescued though. Oh no. Ooooohhhhh no. Within minutes, before this other large barbarian even knows who she is or before she's even learnt a few words of Gorean, she's, erm, how do I put this delicately? Made to show her gratitude. Yes. In the way that she describes it - "I was well used."
It just gets worse from here on in.
Needless to say, in short order she's put in with all the other chained naked slave girls in this barbarian's, whose name is Clitus Vitellius, retinue, given a fresh name, Dina, and every so often taken out and mildly raped. Which, naturally, she comes to enjoy. I believe the term "betrayed by my body" is used.
Okay. Here's a challenge for you. Go to your local university and find an English major and poetess that makes your motor hum. Kidnap her, strip her, chain her to a rock and brand her, then keep her in your back garden and every so often have your sick way with her. Then keep track of how long until she starts thinking you're the greatest thing since sliced bread and she starts to cream herself just at your shadow being cast over her oubliette. If it's before you get arrested, charged, sent down, and suffer a stairwell noncebashing in the slammer that leaves you quadraspazzed and on a lifeglug, I will pay you up to thirty pounds.
There's also scenes where Judy, or Dina, or whatever she's called, finds herself with other chained naked slave girls including one "long legged, sensuous, hot-eyed slut." This animosity allows the author to then insert gratuitous catfight scenes between tasty nude slave girls in cages. Ain't life grand.
This then goes on for four hundred or so pages. There is actually a plot, alarmingly, but it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I should explain that the Gorean novels actually, against all odds have their own mytharc which involves the Priest Kings (interplanetary logic-bound giant hyperintelligent praying mantises) battling in secret the Kurii (big bloodthirsty interplanetary yetis) for control of the Solar System, with Gor, and Earth, as the prize. It transpires that Judy Thornton, when taken to Gor, was implanted with a secret message in her brain and her enslavement is some overly complicated scheme by one agent of the Kurii to get her into the house of another agent of the Kurii and, by being told to string a bead necklace together, she will trancefully relay this message. The message? "Half Ear Arrives."
Fhat the wuck.
Some bloke therefore went to the time, effort, and expense of a return interplanetary voyage of around 186 million miles to kidnap Judy Thornton from Earth and key her brain with a secret message of little import that tells someone on the SAME PLANET HE ORIGINATED FROM that a Kurii general has landed on that planet. Is it just me, or does this make absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I mean, what was wrong with just getting a trenchcoat and a briefcase full of secret documents, meeting in a dark alley, and murmuring "The sparrow flies at midnight" to passers by until someone replies "Ten of clubs on ace of spades" and a brown paper bag is handed over in a really conspicuous manner.
And before someone says, well, they can flog off Judy Thornton for the party coffers, no, they can't. It probably cost them more to arrange her interplanetary abduction than they would ever get for selling her. Startlingly beautiful English majors and poetesses are ten a penny on Gor, we're told.
Then there's the prose. It's stumpy and involves lots of digs at feminism every so often. I am glad to see that the War on Straw was alive and well even in the 1970s.
As I said above, this novel was the turning point where the core audience of the Gorean novels became, for better or worse, BDSM enthusiasts. As such, the plot and mytharc went right out the window and the novels basically became endless scenes were series protagonist and all round Gary Stu Tarl Cabot went to another far off land and shagged all the women systematically. Who were all so won over by his irrepressibly manliness that they couldn't get enough of him. (Funnily enough, when the 13th volume, Explorers of Gor, arrived off Amazon where I bought it for £0.01 plus £2.75 p&p, it just happened to fall open at the page where he swives three chained naked slave girls in excruciating detail all at once.)
You may then be wondering why I'm singling out this particular Gorean novel for criticism when there are 29 others (yes, he's still writing them - volume 31, "Conspirators of Gor" is approaching next year, allegedly followed by volume 32, "Pension Fund of Gor") to snark at. Well, the answer is this. Most of the others are shite, but compelling shite, and you can flip over the increasingly tedious shagging. Also, I quite like the occasional read which is just non-stop action and sex. They also fail to take themselves seriously. In volume 4, the Big Bad has a man-eating jelly in his cellar that he throws his enemies to. In volume 5, Tarl manages to save the city from Cernus of the House of Cernus by winning the chess match against an expy of Bobby Fischer, the chariot tarn race, AND the gladiatorial combats, AND then escapes to expose Cernus and rescue his obligatory lust interest who is suitably grateful. In volume 8, he manages to, erm, tame, the chieftess of a tribe of nude lesbian amazons. In volume 12, there is an exchange where Tarl explains to a woman of Earth who has fallen into his hands that she's on Gor, and she knows what that means, and when she begs, "take me, Master," his response is, "I don't take orders from slaves!!". In volume 14 there is the immortal line, "Were you, Jason, given permission by some free person to engage in slut sport with that lascivious wench?". Amongst other things. The novels stumble, in the most part, from compelling shite to self parody and back again, and it is rather easy to not take them seriously. But this one... this one isn't. It's just constant, wall-to-wall unpleasantness for its own sake. If you take a shot every time Judy Thornton is well used, you will probably die of alcohol poisoning. You can't even skip over the increasingly tedious scenes in which she is well used and describes in detail her training for the 63,454th time because that is the entirety of the novel.
In short, this book is horrific even by Gorean standards. It says something when even 4chan will consider you too big a creephat if you refer to it.
Finally, chapter 19 is called "I Bead A Necklace, And Am Used For Wench Sport." This sums up the entire book, pretty much.
(originally written for Everything2.com)
Now. I should explain that, for reasons best known to myself, I have actually read the first 14 Gorean novels in their entirety. To be fair, the early ones aren't all that dreadful. The first one, Tarnsman of Gor, published 1967, is engagingly stony. How else can you describe a novel where the protagonist, an English Literature lecturer turned bare-chested Boris Vallejo painting come to life flies on a giant eagle to an enemy city to kidnap the emperor's daughter and the city's sacred pebble, sorry, Home Stone, is shot down, and crashlands in a swamp where he discusses philosophy with a talking spider. Numbers two to about six or so are similarly weird and the villains include the queen of a city where everyone wears a mask, a million-year-old hyperintelligent eight-brained praying mantis, a corrupt merchant with poison teeth, and the man who fancies himself as Ubar of Ar. They fall into a nice rhythm of "Tarl Cabot goes to (subject land of Gor here) where he meets the (subject fantasy counterpart culture here) and kills the big bad and swives several quintillion chained naked slave girls." To be fair, they're not all bad as long as you're prepared to overlook the predictability and pandering. and are expecting them to be suitably and entertainingly awful.
Then this one came along. Oh Gods. This one, Slave Girl of Gor, is not only horrible but it's the exact moment where Mr Norman realised his core audience was no longer yearning virgins playing Dungeons & Dragons but fetishists and BDSM enthusiasts. And it shows.
Executive Summary
Straw feminist shown, at increasingly tedious length, the error of her ways.
A bit more detail, if you wouldn't mind?
Judy Thornton is an English major and poetess (which she repeats many times over to ensure we've got the message) who is otherwise an ordinary college student and she reckons she's the most attractive lass on campus. Apart from possibly that bitch Alicia Nevins. Until one day, she wakes up naked under an alien three-mooned sky chained to a big rock and with large barbarians talking incomprehensibilities to her and kicking or slapping her when she fails to understand. Upon where another large barbarian, this one clad in a sort of Roman legionary outfit, fights the other large barbarians to the death for her.
(Hmmm, reminds me of a party I had when I was at the Sorbonne...)
She's not rescued though. Oh no. Ooooohhhhh no. Within minutes, before this other large barbarian even knows who she is or before she's even learnt a few words of Gorean, she's, erm, how do I put this delicately? Made to show her gratitude. Yes. In the way that she describes it - "I was well used."
It just gets worse from here on in.
Needless to say, in short order she's put in with all the other chained naked slave girls in this barbarian's, whose name is Clitus Vitellius, retinue, given a fresh name, Dina, and every so often taken out and mildly raped. Which, naturally, she comes to enjoy. I believe the term "betrayed by my body" is used.
Okay. Here's a challenge for you. Go to your local university and find an English major and poetess that makes your motor hum. Kidnap her, strip her, chain her to a rock and brand her, then keep her in your back garden and every so often have your sick way with her. Then keep track of how long until she starts thinking you're the greatest thing since sliced bread and she starts to cream herself just at your shadow being cast over her oubliette. If it's before you get arrested, charged, sent down, and suffer a stairwell noncebashing in the slammer that leaves you quadraspazzed and on a lifeglug, I will pay you up to thirty pounds.
There's also scenes where Judy, or Dina, or whatever she's called, finds herself with other chained naked slave girls including one "long legged, sensuous, hot-eyed slut." This animosity allows the author to then insert gratuitous catfight scenes between tasty nude slave girls in cages. Ain't life grand.
This then goes on for four hundred or so pages. There is actually a plot, alarmingly, but it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I should explain that the Gorean novels actually, against all odds have their own mytharc which involves the Priest Kings (interplanetary logic-bound giant hyperintelligent praying mantises) battling in secret the Kurii (big bloodthirsty interplanetary yetis) for control of the Solar System, with Gor, and Earth, as the prize. It transpires that Judy Thornton, when taken to Gor, was implanted with a secret message in her brain and her enslavement is some overly complicated scheme by one agent of the Kurii to get her into the house of another agent of the Kurii and, by being told to string a bead necklace together, she will trancefully relay this message. The message? "Half Ear Arrives."
Fhat the wuck.
Some bloke therefore went to the time, effort, and expense of a return interplanetary voyage of around 186 million miles to kidnap Judy Thornton from Earth and key her brain with a secret message of little import that tells someone on the SAME PLANET HE ORIGINATED FROM that a Kurii general has landed on that planet. Is it just me, or does this make absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I mean, what was wrong with just getting a trenchcoat and a briefcase full of secret documents, meeting in a dark alley, and murmuring "The sparrow flies at midnight" to passers by until someone replies "Ten of clubs on ace of spades" and a brown paper bag is handed over in a really conspicuous manner.
And before someone says, well, they can flog off Judy Thornton for the party coffers, no, they can't. It probably cost them more to arrange her interplanetary abduction than they would ever get for selling her. Startlingly beautiful English majors and poetesses are ten a penny on Gor, we're told.
Then there's the prose. It's stumpy and involves lots of digs at feminism every so often. I am glad to see that the War on Straw was alive and well even in the 1970s.
As I said above, this novel was the turning point where the core audience of the Gorean novels became, for better or worse, BDSM enthusiasts. As such, the plot and mytharc went right out the window and the novels basically became endless scenes were series protagonist and all round Gary Stu Tarl Cabot went to another far off land and shagged all the women systematically. Who were all so won over by his irrepressibly manliness that they couldn't get enough of him. (Funnily enough, when the 13th volume, Explorers of Gor, arrived off Amazon where I bought it for £0.01 plus £2.75 p&p, it just happened to fall open at the page where he swives three chained naked slave girls in excruciating detail all at once.)
You may then be wondering why I'm singling out this particular Gorean novel for criticism when there are 29 others (yes, he's still writing them - volume 31, "Conspirators of Gor" is approaching next year, allegedly followed by volume 32, "Pension Fund of Gor") to snark at. Well, the answer is this. Most of the others are shite, but compelling shite, and you can flip over the increasingly tedious shagging. Also, I quite like the occasional read which is just non-stop action and sex. They also fail to take themselves seriously. In volume 4, the Big Bad has a man-eating jelly in his cellar that he throws his enemies to. In volume 5, Tarl manages to save the city from Cernus of the House of Cernus by winning the chess match against an expy of Bobby Fischer, the chariot tarn race, AND the gladiatorial combats, AND then escapes to expose Cernus and rescue his obligatory lust interest who is suitably grateful. In volume 8, he manages to, erm, tame, the chieftess of a tribe of nude lesbian amazons. In volume 12, there is an exchange where Tarl explains to a woman of Earth who has fallen into his hands that she's on Gor, and she knows what that means, and when she begs, "take me, Master," his response is, "I don't take orders from slaves!!". In volume 14 there is the immortal line, "Were you, Jason, given permission by some free person to engage in slut sport with that lascivious wench?". Amongst other things. The novels stumble, in the most part, from compelling shite to self parody and back again, and it is rather easy to not take them seriously. But this one... this one isn't. It's just constant, wall-to-wall unpleasantness for its own sake. If you take a shot every time Judy Thornton is well used, you will probably die of alcohol poisoning. You can't even skip over the increasingly tedious scenes in which she is well used and describes in detail her training for the 63,454th time because that is the entirety of the novel.
In short, this book is horrific even by Gorean standards. It says something when even 4chan will consider you too big a creephat if you refer to it.
Finally, chapter 19 is called "I Bead A Necklace, And Am Used For Wench Sport." This sums up the entire book, pretty much.
(originally written for Everything2.com)
September 25, 2007
when i first read it, i thought this book was kinda stupid.
but i judged too soon.
this book, for the lack of a better word to describe pieces of over-repeated one-dimentional philosophical view of existence based on the primal joy of sex... is actually just 1 book of about 26...or is it 28, i lost count, not that i give a damn... 20-something book series called Counter Earth. i think sometimes they spell it Counter Urth... that is so unimaginative, it's almost sad.
i think, of course, it might be nice to live in a world where women are naked and you can have sex everyday but what am i supposed to do for the rest 23 hours and 45 minutes? pumping steroids until i look like i just escaped from one of flopped episodes of Body By Jake Video Workout, as i walk around in tights with a sword in my hand, claiming females as properties and put them in my wagon?
in my wagon?
DMV just called, they wanted to inform you of this thing we came up a few thousands of years after we discovered fire and invented wheels:
MOTORIZED VEHICLES. it's a box with wheels that goes zoom zoom, you know?
and what is up with the sword, man? here's a concept that might be as new and bizarre to you as equality and the notion that women are mothers of life:
FIREARMS.
besides, why would anyone wanna carry a sword when nations buy and sell nuclear warheads on black market?
however, at some point, i have to admit, with the risk of being stoned to death by my fellow feminists, that this book is kinda appealing.
what can i say, i'm a man, and the idea of having women running around naked at my mercy to use and abuse -as stupid, unreal, improbable and unpractical as it may be- does cross my mind every once so often :d
but i judged too soon.
this book, for the lack of a better word to describe pieces of over-repeated one-dimentional philosophical view of existence based on the primal joy of sex... is actually just 1 book of about 26...or is it 28, i lost count, not that i give a damn... 20-something book series called Counter Earth. i think sometimes they spell it Counter Urth... that is so unimaginative, it's almost sad.
i think, of course, it might be nice to live in a world where women are naked and you can have sex everyday but what am i supposed to do for the rest 23 hours and 45 minutes? pumping steroids until i look like i just escaped from one of flopped episodes of Body By Jake Video Workout, as i walk around in tights with a sword in my hand, claiming females as properties and put them in my wagon?
in my wagon?
DMV just called, they wanted to inform you of this thing we came up a few thousands of years after we discovered fire and invented wheels:
MOTORIZED VEHICLES. it's a box with wheels that goes zoom zoom, you know?
and what is up with the sword, man? here's a concept that might be as new and bizarre to you as equality and the notion that women are mothers of life:
FIREARMS.
besides, why would anyone wanna carry a sword when nations buy and sell nuclear warheads on black market?
however, at some point, i have to admit, with the risk of being stoned to death by my fellow feminists, that this book is kinda appealing.
what can i say, i'm a man, and the idea of having women running around naked at my mercy to use and abuse -as stupid, unreal, improbable and unpractical as it may be- does cross my mind every once so often :d
May 7, 2022
I keep picking up a new volume of this series every year or so hoping that Norman eventually gets back to the style of the early Gor novels: sword and planet adventure with monsters, swordfights, and riding around on giant birds. I think I'm about done holding out hope, though.
It's not just that Norman throws all plot out the window in order to write hundreds of pages of weird smut. The main problem is that these books are so padded out I could use them for pillows and they are more pointless than a megaphone in space. This one in particular keeps rehashing the same points, the same scenes, and even the same lines over and over and over and over again. This book could honestly have been a (very) short story and lost nothing in the way of plot (what very little there was).
It's not just that Norman throws all plot out the window in order to write hundreds of pages of weird smut. The main problem is that these books are so padded out I could use them for pillows and they are more pointless than a megaphone in space. This one in particular keeps rehashing the same points, the same scenes, and even the same lines over and over and over and over again. This book could honestly have been a (very) short story and lost nothing in the way of plot (what very little there was).
February 3, 2021
5 stars primarily to piss people off. Why cuz it's fun. I think everyone should try it and give all my books five stars and see how mad I get.;)
Really only two types of people should like this book as much as I do: teenage boys and everyone who like Fifty Shades.
There is an interesting concept to this. The slave women are the actual free ones--in a sexual sense. The free women of Gor have to cover themselves in burka-like outfits. Nor are they allowed to express their sexuality in any way, not even to enjoy sex( I wonder where Norman got that idea? Can you say Taliban?)
Only the women who are slaves(truly they are just sex slaves)can love both physically as well as spiritually.
If you enjoyed this review you'll probably like my Youtube reviews--be warned, I enjoy some good snark! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6D...
Really only two types of people should like this book as much as I do: teenage boys and everyone who like Fifty Shades.
There is an interesting concept to this. The slave women are the actual free ones--in a sexual sense. The free women of Gor have to cover themselves in burka-like outfits. Nor are they allowed to express their sexuality in any way, not even to enjoy sex( I wonder where Norman got that idea? Can you say Taliban?)
Only the women who are slaves(truly they are just sex slaves)can love both physically as well as spiritually.
If you enjoyed this review you'll probably like my Youtube reviews--be warned, I enjoy some good snark! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6D...
December 4, 2012
If you are of the feminist ilk and/or looking for misogyny you will definitely find it here, Gor is a world where the men are manly warrior types providing for the weaker, incredibly feminine females of the world. It is a primitive world full of dangers, dangerous creatures, and only the strong (or those protected by the strong) can survive.
A bit of background from the series. Gor is counter-earth, a world which the primary narrative character of the series believes was originally populated by people from earth as many customs and traits are shared, as well as the people being human of course :) The world is ruled by alien beings (which the people think of as their gods) who use advanced technology to keep the world in a psychologically primitive and technologically archaic state. Men fight with sword and spear, till the fields with drawn carts and harvest with a scythe. Guns do not exist, and the gods have a laser beam that can kill you where you stand if you break their rules.
Having evolved under these limitations, the world is best compared to a feudal state with individually ruled towns and cities, each with its own governance. The world has a highly developed caste system, and the members of the castes (from peasant to Priest) take pride in doing their part for the greater good. Of course it is the Warriors who are most important, as they are the guardians and protectors of the people. If you are not martially skilled (most men are, of course) your only hope of survival is to depend on the Warrior to keep you safe from other men and the various animal predators who have nothing better to do than hunt for fresh, weak meat.
In a world having naturally evolved so that the strongest are the most important people, it is also natural (within context of how the world works) for the weaker females to rely on the strength and protection of the men. The novels are set up in such a way as to explain that Gor is a world where the men are naturally Dominant and the women are naturally submissive... In several of the books the point is belabored that Earth is different, a world where technological advances have allowed the people to take a different path where physical strength is less relevant to survival, and thus its people evolved with different needs.
Having said all of that.
Yes, the author's style is repetitive and the series being written over such a great stretch of decades he seems to have meandered a bit, and occasionally contradicted himself. It happens. I find myself constantly irritated and wanting to skim through pages that go over statements and thoughts that have already been described multiple times. It gets ridiculous at times.
Yet I still thoroughly enjoy the books. A lot depends on how you go into reading it. If you are more feminist minded, and prone to taking offense at the idea that any woman might consent to being subject to the will and whim of a man, you will not enjoy it. If, however, you are of the mindset that a woman is free to choose what to do with herself and that this freedom includes the choice to submit to a man who she trusts and respects, then you may be more capable of enjoying the series.
Specifically, Slave Girl explores the world of Gor through the mind of a girl transported from Earth where all people are free except from the restrictions and limitations they place upon themselves in their own minds... to a world where many (if not most) slaves consider themselves to be truly free within their own heart and spirit... free to love without restraint, to enjoy the pleasures of their world and their bodies, and to revel in the beauty of every new experience.
The main character in this novel, once an earth girl named Judy Thornton, talks about her experiences as if they were more an adventure in self discovery. Yes, initially she rails against her slavery, but slowly she comes to accept that she is no longer on Earth and unlikely to be returned to it. She learns of the ways of Gor, notes the difference between the ways that "Free Women" are restricted in having to always appear demure, come into public veiled and robed so that their flesh will not incite the lust of any man who might whisk her away, forbidden the joys of sexual pleasure and release... and the slaves who are constrained only by the will of their Masters. So long as they obey, they are free to do anything they please.
I choose to view it as a tale of self exploration and a journey into sexual freedom. Yes, of course as the character gains more confidence (and comes to terms with the fact that she not only likes the way that this world has made her, but loves it and the Man who "conquered" her), she becomes even more beautiful and desirable to those around her. Just as in real life, the more comfortable and confident a person is with themselves the more appealing they are :P
Granted, the reasons that brought Judy to this world are secondary to the tale of her internal conflict as she moves toward acceptance of her slavery and the way that it makes her feel... the underlying plot is just a device to tie this novel into the series by promoting an ongoing storyline that continues through the novels. However the focus is so much on Judy's experience (as well as the author's style being somewhat repetitive) that it is possible to read this novel as a stand-alone without getting too lost because of not having read the previous 10.
Of course, if you aren't following the series, you'll miss the significance of cameo appearances of Rask of Treeve, and Bosk of Port Kar... which is a pity. I literally squealed with delight when I realized that the mysterious man Judy taunted was Rask!
A bit of background from the series. Gor is counter-earth, a world which the primary narrative character of the series believes was originally populated by people from earth as many customs and traits are shared, as well as the people being human of course :) The world is ruled by alien beings (which the people think of as their gods) who use advanced technology to keep the world in a psychologically primitive and technologically archaic state. Men fight with sword and spear, till the fields with drawn carts and harvest with a scythe. Guns do not exist, and the gods have a laser beam that can kill you where you stand if you break their rules.
Having evolved under these limitations, the world is best compared to a feudal state with individually ruled towns and cities, each with its own governance. The world has a highly developed caste system, and the members of the castes (from peasant to Priest) take pride in doing their part for the greater good. Of course it is the Warriors who are most important, as they are the guardians and protectors of the people. If you are not martially skilled (most men are, of course) your only hope of survival is to depend on the Warrior to keep you safe from other men and the various animal predators who have nothing better to do than hunt for fresh, weak meat.
In a world having naturally evolved so that the strongest are the most important people, it is also natural (within context of how the world works) for the weaker females to rely on the strength and protection of the men. The novels are set up in such a way as to explain that Gor is a world where the men are naturally Dominant and the women are naturally submissive... In several of the books the point is belabored that Earth is different, a world where technological advances have allowed the people to take a different path where physical strength is less relevant to survival, and thus its people evolved with different needs.
Having said all of that.
Yes, the author's style is repetitive and the series being written over such a great stretch of decades he seems to have meandered a bit, and occasionally contradicted himself. It happens. I find myself constantly irritated and wanting to skim through pages that go over statements and thoughts that have already been described multiple times. It gets ridiculous at times.
Yet I still thoroughly enjoy the books. A lot depends on how you go into reading it. If you are more feminist minded, and prone to taking offense at the idea that any woman might consent to being subject to the will and whim of a man, you will not enjoy it. If, however, you are of the mindset that a woman is free to choose what to do with herself and that this freedom includes the choice to submit to a man who she trusts and respects, then you may be more capable of enjoying the series.
Specifically, Slave Girl explores the world of Gor through the mind of a girl transported from Earth where all people are free except from the restrictions and limitations they place upon themselves in their own minds... to a world where many (if not most) slaves consider themselves to be truly free within their own heart and spirit... free to love without restraint, to enjoy the pleasures of their world and their bodies, and to revel in the beauty of every new experience.
The main character in this novel, once an earth girl named Judy Thornton, talks about her experiences as if they were more an adventure in self discovery. Yes, initially she rails against her slavery, but slowly she comes to accept that she is no longer on Earth and unlikely to be returned to it. She learns of the ways of Gor, notes the difference between the ways that "Free Women" are restricted in having to always appear demure, come into public veiled and robed so that their flesh will not incite the lust of any man who might whisk her away, forbidden the joys of sexual pleasure and release... and the slaves who are constrained only by the will of their Masters. So long as they obey, they are free to do anything they please.
I choose to view it as a tale of self exploration and a journey into sexual freedom. Yes, of course as the character gains more confidence (and comes to terms with the fact that she not only likes the way that this world has made her, but loves it and the Man who "conquered" her), she becomes even more beautiful and desirable to those around her. Just as in real life, the more comfortable and confident a person is with themselves the more appealing they are :P
Granted, the reasons that brought Judy to this world are secondary to the tale of her internal conflict as she moves toward acceptance of her slavery and the way that it makes her feel... the underlying plot is just a device to tie this novel into the series by promoting an ongoing storyline that continues through the novels. However the focus is so much on Judy's experience (as well as the author's style being somewhat repetitive) that it is possible to read this novel as a stand-alone without getting too lost because of not having read the previous 10.
Of course, if you aren't following the series, you'll miss the significance of cameo appearances of Rask of Treeve, and Bosk of Port Kar... which is a pity. I literally squealed with delight when I realized that the mysterious man Judy taunted was Rask!
October 24, 2014
Judy Thornton, English major and poetess, is kidnapped and taken to Gor, a hidden planet on the opposite side of the sun from Earth. Once there she is made a slave and raped over and over and over. After about page four, Judy (the English major and poetess) realises that all women should be subservient to men because that is their place. Then some more rape. Then some concerns about how she is enjoying herself. More rape. Then a random story about beading a necklace coded with a useless secret message. Some more rape. Then she falls in love with her captor. Rape. Becomes a bitch to any women around her. Gets raped. Realises she is an English major and poetess. Rapity rape rape. Then the book ends.
Some concerns about the story.
1. If I have just woken on a strange planet and men are forcing me to do things, my first thoughts won't be "all women are weak and all men are so strong and commanding". Maybe I'm just the wrong type of person to be kidnapped.
2. Judy mentions that she is an English major and a poetess about 3 million times and yet she never tries to do any poetessing in Gorean. She mentions it so often that you think she'd at least give it a go.
3. Is it rape if you are the one who wants to have sex? Maybe I missed something, but I thought rape was non-consensual. I understand that she is a slave and so the sex is never totally consensual, but she is very happy to say "rape me" ad nauseum to the love of her life.
4. This book is repetitive. All of the other books were repetitive too, but it's honestly like the author only had a limited number of sentences he was allowed to use so he just cut and pasted the one he liked into random spots to make his book bigger.
Don't bother reading. This book was a waste of my time.
Some concerns about the story.
1. If I have just woken on a strange planet and men are forcing me to do things, my first thoughts won't be "all women are weak and all men are so strong and commanding". Maybe I'm just the wrong type of person to be kidnapped.
2. Judy mentions that she is an English major and a poetess about 3 million times and yet she never tries to do any poetessing in Gorean. She mentions it so often that you think she'd at least give it a go.
3. Is it rape if you are the one who wants to have sex? Maybe I missed something, but I thought rape was non-consensual. I understand that she is a slave and so the sex is never totally consensual, but she is very happy to say "rape me" ad nauseum to the love of her life.
4. This book is repetitive. All of the other books were repetitive too, but it's honestly like the author only had a limited number of sentences he was allowed to use so he just cut and pasted the one he liked into random spots to make his book bigger.
Don't bother reading. This book was a waste of my time.
December 3, 2008
A friend of mine in eighth grade was very much into the Gor series. I read this one on her advice, and I'm fairly certain it's the single-handed cause of my current feminist activism.
I'd completely forgotten about Gor, actually, until I read an article about the series recently. I had no idea it has the following that it does, even though I'm apparently the first person to review the book on GoodReads.
I'd completely forgotten about Gor, actually, until I read an article about the series recently. I had no idea it has the following that it does, even though I'm apparently the first person to review the book on GoodReads.
April 19, 2011
Dont let the 4 star fool you, this book has problems.
I hesitate to guess, no wait, that isnt true, I love speculating about the how and why...
My guess is that EVEN for the time these were published (1966-1976) the author / publusher took heat for the rape and masochistic themes in the preceeding 10 volumes of this series. Though not really graphic, it would go along the lines of, "And they proceeded to rape her." or "She was a well used slave that night" it had been largely male point of view, in the form of Tarl Cabot AKA Bosk of Port Kar as narrator. Though the theme of submission as the woman's choice also had been freely offered time and again, this volume presents the female point of view from start to finish.
It has all the dominant male / submissive females we have come to love and expect in the series.
I dont have a problem with the rape, as presented it really doesnt qualify as rape to my mind, as the woman is always a slave, and the man always incites her to passion, though often against her wishes to be so incited. That doesnt bother me. I have even come to grudgingly accept the detailed descriptions of items and institutions of Gor, given by a newcomer, or in other volumes than this one, someone who logically wouldnt have any reason to know the first thing about whatever it is they just rambled on about for 2 or 3 pages...
My biggest problem with this book was the ENDLESS, CEASELESS & REDUNTANTLY REPETITIVE RESTATING of things already said over and over. And over. And over. Usually it isnt so bad, maybe because the total volume of the book isnt so long. But of the 552 pages of this one, I think it could have EASILY been cut in half, and not only would it not have detracted from the story, it would have ADDED to it in the form of making it more streamlined and easy to read. I found myself often thinking, why the hell did I read this tonight, it didnt get anywhere. I am in the smae place I started, but now I have heard several more times that her name is Judy Thornton, she is of Earth, etc...
The basic story is interesting if somewhat (as usually) unlikely. But it gets so bogged sown in ruminations that it can be easy to just decide to put it down for awhile.
Probly more like 3.5 than 4, but I couldnt make myself go 3, so there ya go.
I hesitate to guess, no wait, that isnt true, I love speculating about the how and why...
My guess is that EVEN for the time these were published (1966-1976) the author / publusher took heat for the rape and masochistic themes in the preceeding 10 volumes of this series. Though not really graphic, it would go along the lines of, "And they proceeded to rape her." or "She was a well used slave that night" it had been largely male point of view, in the form of Tarl Cabot AKA Bosk of Port Kar as narrator. Though the theme of submission as the woman's choice also had been freely offered time and again, this volume presents the female point of view from start to finish.
It has all the dominant male / submissive females we have come to love and expect in the series.
I dont have a problem with the rape, as presented it really doesnt qualify as rape to my mind, as the woman is always a slave, and the man always incites her to passion, though often against her wishes to be so incited. That doesnt bother me. I have even come to grudgingly accept the detailed descriptions of items and institutions of Gor, given by a newcomer, or in other volumes than this one, someone who logically wouldnt have any reason to know the first thing about whatever it is they just rambled on about for 2 or 3 pages...
My biggest problem with this book was the ENDLESS, CEASELESS & REDUNTANTLY REPETITIVE RESTATING of things already said over and over. And over. And over. Usually it isnt so bad, maybe because the total volume of the book isnt so long. But of the 552 pages of this one, I think it could have EASILY been cut in half, and not only would it not have detracted from the story, it would have ADDED to it in the form of making it more streamlined and easy to read. I found myself often thinking, why the hell did I read this tonight, it didnt get anywhere. I am in the smae place I started, but now I have heard several more times that her name is Judy Thornton, she is of Earth, etc...
The basic story is interesting if somewhat (as usually) unlikely. But it gets so bogged sown in ruminations that it can be easy to just decide to put it down for awhile.
Probly more like 3.5 than 4, but I couldnt make myself go 3, so there ya go.
August 18, 2014
Well I enjoyed the story part of the book a little. While at the same time the philosophical parts I learned to just skip. I did not need the read and re-read repeatedly the "women are only happy as slaves" parts of the book. All the while I got the feeling that the author believed that if he kept repeating it he could convince me. Sorry it didn't work. This being the 11th book in the series was the toughest one for me to finish. I hope the basic theme returns to Sci-Fi Fantasy for the 12th book.
January 18, 2014
A novel where Tarl Cabot only takes a minor walk on, walk off (with new slave girl) role, this one follows the adventures of one Judy Thornton, educated woman and Gorean slave girl. It's not bad. It's very formulaic, but then, by now, a lot of these novels are.
But the main storyline picks up again in the next novel, which sees Cabot pack his best fur loincloth for a sojourn in the frozen wastes with the Inuit.
Do they have naked slave girls? Does a sleen shit in the woods?
But the main storyline picks up again in the next novel, which sees Cabot pack his best fur loincloth for a sojourn in the frozen wastes with the Inuit.
Do they have naked slave girls? Does a sleen shit in the woods?
February 8, 2017
Slave Girl of Gor.
Here is the second novel of the series to be centered on a woman of Earth now on Gor, I found Judy to be a lot more likable then Elinor from book 7, so I really enjoyed following her on her journey in this book. A world where the 1920 and the 1940's swashbucklers are alive and well with some BDSM.
The BDSM is there yes, yet in a day when 50 Shades of Grey is so widely accepted by women I see no reason to deny men their side of the coin.
(Yes the beating & feeding of bad slaves to local animals is out there but it's a BOOK.)
John Norman's Gor the sister to our own Earth it self sounds stunning, and I love learning something new of it in every book. This book starts with Judy in a grassland that reminded me of the ocean of grass in Southern Montana personally.
Here is the second novel of the series to be centered on a woman of Earth now on Gor, I found Judy to be a lot more likable then Elinor from book 7, so I really enjoyed following her on her journey in this book. A world where the 1920 and the 1940's swashbucklers are alive and well with some BDSM.
The BDSM is there yes, yet in a day when 50 Shades of Grey is so widely accepted by women I see no reason to deny men their side of the coin.
(Yes the beating & feeding of bad slaves to local animals is out there but it's a BOOK.)
John Norman's Gor the sister to our own Earth it self sounds stunning, and I love learning something new of it in every book. This book starts with Judy in a grassland that reminded me of the ocean of grass in Southern Montana personally.
November 8, 2012
I have this book on my PC and to be honest, it's not much of a read. BUT it's a great file to e-mail to my feminist friends when I want to tease them :-)) I gave the book an extra star for that :-))
I don't think that whole BDSM thing would be a problem today, since "50 Shades of Gray" made it practically mainstream, but the idea of general male superiority over females might be a bit controversial :-)))
And yes, the book is badly written. But you don't really expect much from a soft-porn, right?
I don't think that whole BDSM thing would be a problem today, since "50 Shades of Gray" made it practically mainstream, but the idea of general male superiority over females might be a bit controversial :-)))
And yes, the book is badly written. But you don't really expect much from a soft-porn, right?
May 5, 2011
Whilst atrociously written and centered on the abuse and slavery of the female main character, I found this to be (oddly enough) the loveliest romance story I've ever laid eyes on.
I probably wouldn't read it again simply because of the writing style, but I love the story.
I probably wouldn't read it again simply because of the writing style, but I love the story.
October 7, 2018
Oh boy. Not sure why I committed myself to trying to read all the Gor books. Whereas the preceding book, Tribesmen of Gor, was a decent adventure (if you filter out the weird slave stuff), this present volume wallows in the submissive-women-are-happy-women doctrine of the author. Captive of Gor was similar and equally unreadable. It's a shame. The world of Gor is very well realized, as I have mentioned in earlier reviews. The slavery is something akin to the slavery of the ancient world, as opposed to American slavery. Portraying a science fiction world where the economics of slavery is well realized wouldn't necessarily doom a series. However in the later Gor books, and this book in particular, it's clear the author fetishizes the exaggerated dominant/submissive hyper-sexist themes of the book. The heroine predictably (it's only predictable because the same thing happens in earlier books) struggles with the idea of being a slave ("I can't be a slave, I am of Earth"!), gets totally abused physically and sexually, and finally ends up realizing that she was born to be a slave and kind of likes it. Ugh. Reading this kind of stuff in the #MeToo era is especially jarring. My impression is the author realized that the books were becoming popular more for their fetishism than their science fiction/fantasy, and so moved off in former direction. So should I keep reading? If the next books don't add anything to the interesting underpinnings of the series (the underlying battle between the Priest-King and Kur), perhaps not.
October 4, 2017
A girl is kidnapped and forced in sexual slavery. "Haven't we read this before?" ensues.
I have to confess I only read about half this book, although I did read it start-to-finish. I just ended up skipping lots places. In previous installments, Norman would frequently go on his socio/political tangents, such as:
* Women's innate inferiority to men
* Women's instinctual and evolutionary need to be dominated by men
* Rape is love, love is rape
* Etc
However, he was in rare form in this book and was prone to go on a rant on just every chapter, but multiple times a chapter. These were tropes that he'd repeat ad-nasuem, and it got really tiresome to read over-and-over, so I began skipping over them.
So I really only read half this book. Yeah, that's how much he really "beat" this subject to death. (In one chapter, there was one endless, 3-page long paragraph. Skipping it all really sped this book along.)
Plot-wise, this book was really thin gruel. She's kidnapped, she "embraces" her slavery, and then she's passed to a series of different owners. Not much to tell. Within this narrative is an even thinner subplot about WHY this particular girl was chosen for slavery and how it plays into the greater Gorean plot. But really, that amounts to maybe 10 pages of reading.
Even the BDSM sexy parts are dull. Titillation is NOT the intent of those passages. I think it is just the natural progression of Norman's male-dominated social agenda.
This book sucked.
I have to confess I only read about half this book, although I did read it start-to-finish. I just ended up skipping lots places. In previous installments, Norman would frequently go on his socio/political tangents, such as:
* Women's innate inferiority to men
* Women's instinctual and evolutionary need to be dominated by men
* Rape is love, love is rape
* Etc
However, he was in rare form in this book and was prone to go on a rant on just every chapter, but multiple times a chapter. These were tropes that he'd repeat ad-nasuem, and it got really tiresome to read over-and-over, so I began skipping over them.
So I really only read half this book. Yeah, that's how much he really "beat" this subject to death. (In one chapter, there was one endless, 3-page long paragraph. Skipping it all really sped this book along.)
Plot-wise, this book was really thin gruel. She's kidnapped, she "embraces" her slavery, and then she's passed to a series of different owners. Not much to tell. Within this narrative is an even thinner subplot about WHY this particular girl was chosen for slavery and how it plays into the greater Gorean plot. But really, that amounts to maybe 10 pages of reading.
Even the BDSM sexy parts are dull. Titillation is NOT the intent of those passages. I think it is just the natural progression of Norman's male-dominated social agenda.
This book sucked.
April 24, 2024
I said in my review of Tribesmen of Gor that Norman was not a bad writer. But Slave Girl proves to me that he is a lazy one.
This is the second Gor novel to feature a female slave protagonist. The first one, Captive of Gor, was the first Gor novel after Betty Ballantine had cancelled his contract with Ballantine Books; so, I cut him some slack because he seemed to having fun trolling feminists while pleasing his long-time fans. Read it was a bit of a chore, though never quite boring.
In Slave Girl, Norman is up to his old tricks again of repeating thoughts and phrases in his dry prose that makes it even more lifeless. Passages go on longer than is necessary and it becomes quite tedious. He seems to be doing this simply to extend his scenes of BDSM, especially in the first half of the book.
At 550 pages, it seems about 300 pages to long. That's right, the actual story elements of the book, even allowing for 100 pages of BDSM, runs about 250 pages. If something new had been added to the mythology of life on Gor in those 300 pages, I'd be more welcoming of this tome. But it's just the same thing. Still, I never felt like quitting and it was oddly compelling.
The tale of Bosk of Port Kar (formerly Tarl Cabot of Bristol) has 2 more instalments (#12 and #13) before Norman introduces a new male character, so I'll read those before I think about taking another lengthy respite from Gor.
This is the second Gor novel to feature a female slave protagonist. The first one, Captive of Gor, was the first Gor novel after Betty Ballantine had cancelled his contract with Ballantine Books; so, I cut him some slack because he seemed to having fun trolling feminists while pleasing his long-time fans. Read it was a bit of a chore, though never quite boring.
In Slave Girl, Norman is up to his old tricks again of repeating thoughts and phrases in his dry prose that makes it even more lifeless. Passages go on longer than is necessary and it becomes quite tedious. He seems to be doing this simply to extend his scenes of BDSM, especially in the first half of the book.
At 550 pages, it seems about 300 pages to long. That's right, the actual story elements of the book, even allowing for 100 pages of BDSM, runs about 250 pages. If something new had been added to the mythology of life on Gor in those 300 pages, I'd be more welcoming of this tome. But it's just the same thing. Still, I never felt like quitting and it was oddly compelling.
The tale of Bosk of Port Kar (formerly Tarl Cabot of Bristol) has 2 more instalments (#12 and #13) before Norman introduces a new male character, so I'll read those before I think about taking another lengthy respite from Gor.
May 26, 2023
Tarnsman of Gor - John Frederick Lange Jr. as John Norman - Two Star ☆☆
Priest-Kings of Gor - Two Star ☆☆
Slave Girl of Gor - Two Star ☆☆
Kajira of Gor - Two Star ☆☆
Two Stars - I read them but I don't think I will ever reread them.
There are 37 titles in John Norman's Gor Series. I've listed these four together as I feel they all work at the same level. And I figure all thirty-seven titles would fit in this category. There's a thin overarching interplanetary plot in each title. Then an individual protagonist plot provides the grist of the title. There are large areas of Gorian factoids (How the boats are designed. Where the metal in the slave's collar was obtained. What letters in the Gorian language mean. And on and on and on.) And then there are the female slaves and how they find their freedom in their slavery.
I found the interplanetary plot interesting. Mostly the individual protagonist was fun and action-oriented. My eyes glazed over while reading the Gorian factoids until I just started skimming them. What should I say about the female slaves? (Have you seen the Megan Fox SI swimsuit photographs? All her poses look like they were lifted from the pleasure slaves of Gor.) Sex sells. That's why there are 37 titles in the series.
George W. Parker
Priest-Kings of Gor - Two Star ☆☆
Slave Girl of Gor - Two Star ☆☆
Kajira of Gor - Two Star ☆☆
Two Stars - I read them but I don't think I will ever reread them.
There are 37 titles in John Norman's Gor Series. I've listed these four together as I feel they all work at the same level. And I figure all thirty-seven titles would fit in this category. There's a thin overarching interplanetary plot in each title. Then an individual protagonist plot provides the grist of the title. There are large areas of Gorian factoids (How the boats are designed. Where the metal in the slave's collar was obtained. What letters in the Gorian language mean. And on and on and on.) And then there are the female slaves and how they find their freedom in their slavery.
I found the interplanetary plot interesting. Mostly the individual protagonist was fun and action-oriented. My eyes glazed over while reading the Gorian factoids until I just started skimming them. What should I say about the female slaves? (Have you seen the Megan Fox SI swimsuit photographs? All her poses look like they were lifted from the pleasure slaves of Gor.) Sex sells. That's why there are 37 titles in the series.
George W. Parker
December 17, 2020
In this remake of CAPTIVE we get D&D type storytelling on a quest for S&M. This is by far (to me) the worst book in the Saga so far because SLAVE GIRL has little to nothing to do with the 10 previous books. This is virtually a stand-alone release (for a different crowd than what I mingle in) that happens to use Gor as a backdrop. The "plot" (if you can call it that) in SG is so thin & foolish that the author would've done well to leave it out & commit to make this fully & simply an erotica of unseemly tastes.
John Norman is too talented a writer & Gor is too rich a creation to throw away, so I can only hope that a return to the style of books 1-6 & 8-10 is in order.
John Norman is too talented a writer & Gor is too rich a creation to throw away, so I can only hope that a return to the style of books 1-6 & 8-10 is in order.
December 9, 2021
My first Gor read and I have mixed feelings about it. The writing style is incredibly detailed but also annoyingly repetitive. I didn't finish the novel and only got about 200 pages in but I was reminded probably 50 times that the lead protagonist is a slave girl. I get it!
This novel also felt like it was the first one in the series as it explains the lore and language of Gor. That's good for a first time reader like myself but it must be pretty redundant for someone that's already read the previous 10 novels.
I can't say I didn't like the book but it didn't keep my interest enough to want to read the other 35 in the series that's for sure.
This novel also felt like it was the first one in the series as it explains the lore and language of Gor. That's good for a first time reader like myself but it must be pretty redundant for someone that's already read the previous 10 novels.
I can't say I didn't like the book but it didn't keep my interest enough to want to read the other 35 in the series that's for sure.
May 12, 2019
Best to read this as a satire. While the Gor series has some fascinating world-building and social commentary the author’s views about the role of women in society are quite medieval, and he went all-in with this entry in the series. On the other hand, if you are into bondage and discipline you might enjoy this.
August 3, 2021
Full of excitement
A beautiful woman naked, continually ravished, is a frightening thought. Her enjoyment of these sufferings is delightful. The descriptions of her tortures are erotically arousing. The imagination of the author is amazing and even sounds realistic. A great book.
A beautiful woman naked, continually ravished, is a frightening thought. Her enjoyment of these sufferings is delightful. The descriptions of her tortures are erotically arousing. The imagination of the author is amazing and even sounds realistic. A great book.
March 22, 2021
My absolute favorite of the GOR Series!!
Read
March 22, 2023i believe this to be the first book in the saga that does not make gratuitous use of the word "diaphanous"
November 5, 2021
How does one write a review of ANY Gor book? A rip-off of Burroughs' Barsoom series (and maybe the Conan books) these books were written in the 1970's as a response to rising feminism. Gor is a world where men are warriors (with big "hands") and women are . . . sex slaves. And, of course, they love it. It is geared towards teenage boys and their masturbatory fantasies. Generally poorly written and repetitive. (How many times can you read about the joys of being used by your master?) Reading these books as an adult is a guilty pleasure.
This particular entry in the series(#11) is basically a re-write of #7 and boils the story down to its Gorean basics. Minimal politics, conflicts, and economics of Gor. Here we have an Earth-girl, rich and spoiled, learning the pleasures of being a sex-slave. Kidnapped from Earth, she wakes up abandoned on Gor. Plenty of BDSM and soft-core action. "Take me master!" "I have been well used!" That's about it plot-wise. Towards the end some minimal story about delivering a message gets tossed in, but that's not the reason to read this entry in the series.
For straight guys only. Definitely a guilty pleasure. Don't let anyone see the cover, perfect as an e-book.
This particular entry in the series(#11) is basically a re-write of #7 and boils the story down to its Gorean basics. Minimal politics, conflicts, and economics of Gor. Here we have an Earth-girl, rich and spoiled, learning the pleasures of being a sex-slave. Kidnapped from Earth, she wakes up abandoned on Gor. Plenty of BDSM and soft-core action. "Take me master!" "I have been well used!" That's about it plot-wise. Towards the end some minimal story about delivering a message gets tossed in, but that's not the reason to read this entry in the series.
For straight guys only. Definitely a guilty pleasure. Don't let anyone see the cover, perfect as an e-book.
November 2, 2014
Taken as a possession, Judy Thornton, an Earth resident, is found meandering in the wilderness of the Earthlike planet of Gor. In keeping with the uncivilized culture of the Goreans, she is trained and used as a slave. What her masters don't know is that Judy is more than just a beautiful chattel. She has the power to obliterate Gor and all that is related to it. Determined to seize control of her, Priest Kings and Kur-Monster enter combat, neglecting the fact that the fate of Gor rests in the hands of the ethereal Judy.
Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the first book of the Gorean Saga, TARNSMAN OF GOR, E-Reads is proud to release the very first complete publication of all Gor books by John Norman, in both print and ebook editions, including the long-awaited 26th novel in the saga, WITNESS OF GOR. Many of the original Gor books have been out of print for years, but their popularity has endured. Each book of this release has been specially edited by the author and is a definitive text.
April 12, 2015
I have read the entire series, there simply isn't anything else like it; they are decadent and addictive, completely and wholly something everyone should have on their MUST READ list.
Edgar Rice Burroughs BARSOOM series would be a faint comparison, I suppose; but Norman carries his characters to a depth of depravity that is reminiscent of a D/s or BDSM fetish fanatics dream. At the same time, they are not written in a way as to be entirely sexual, he merely casts about components and subtle subtext that one familiar with the lifestyle would of course pick up on, while a "vanilla" person could read right over without ever noticing or being offended.
The worst part of this series is it's highly addictive quality. Not long after I read my first book, I found myself at a Second Hand BookStore in Dallas purchasing a paperbag FULL of the entire series. 20 years later and I still have them! And, I always WILL!
Edgar Rice Burroughs BARSOOM series would be a faint comparison, I suppose; but Norman carries his characters to a depth of depravity that is reminiscent of a D/s or BDSM fetish fanatics dream. At the same time, they are not written in a way as to be entirely sexual, he merely casts about components and subtle subtext that one familiar with the lifestyle would of course pick up on, while a "vanilla" person could read right over without ever noticing or being offended.
The worst part of this series is it's highly addictive quality. Not long after I read my first book, I found myself at a Second Hand BookStore in Dallas purchasing a paperbag FULL of the entire series. 20 years later and I still have them! And, I always WILL!
September 22, 2013
I love all of the Gor books. Slave Girl of Gor is one of my favourite by John Norman. Its graphic depiction of the realities of being taken out of your normal life on Earth, and being dumped, a beautiful, vulnerable woman, on an alien planet where everything you ever knew about your sexual needs and wants, and your entire attitude towards men, is challenged and changed forever, is actually a wake-up call to the majority of women on Earth today, and how their sexual mores can be adapted and modified to make their lives actually more fulfilling than they are today.
And, as far as the recent explosion in the interest in BDSM goes - this novel is a must-read for all who profess any kind of interest in that lifestyle.
And, as far as the recent explosion in the interest in BDSM goes - this novel is a must-read for all who profess any kind of interest in that lifestyle.
October 30, 2014
Couldn't finish the book. When the main character constantly repeats "I, Judy Thornton, a poetess..." over and over, I lost interest. I get it. It's satire towards the first or second wave of feminism during the 1970's. The joke got lost after Judy Thornton repeated the college poetess part for the 1000th time. Alright, you wrote poetry Judy. We heard you. We all heard you. Now please shut the frack up! Thus, the repetition offended me more than the plot itself.
Haven't been reading all the Gor books in order. I'll come back to the eleventh installment in this series when there's more time.
Haven't been reading all the Gor books in order. I'll come back to the eleventh installment in this series when there's more time.
July 18, 2008
To say I was dissapointed is an understatment. It's the exact same story he told in Captive of Gor, with a different Earth woman. I was really pissed off to see the series return to this.
There was ostensibly some reason why the focus was on the woman, but it seemed window dressing to me.
Sexist.
There was ostensibly some reason why the focus was on the woman, but it seemed window dressing to me.
Sexist.
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