John Norman's Gor Novel Series

These summaries of the books were taken from the writings of Marcus of Ar. Make a note to visit his webpages to read his full commentaries on the books. Silk & Steel Tavern

1. Tarnsman of Gor
This is the book which first introduces us to Tarl Cabot, the primary protagonist of the series, and explains the nature of the Counter-Earth Gor. A real good old fashioned action novel, it jumps from situation to situation so fast the reader barely has time to catch his breath before Tarl is plunged into yet another deadly confrontation. Tarl winds up in a duel to the death to save the life of Talena, his love interest and the daughter of his deadliest enemy. Norman’s plot devices plainly reveal shades of Edgar Rice Burroughs. All in all, a great beginning to the series.

2. Outlaw of Gor
This book brings us once again to Gor, this time for good. Tarl returns from Earth at the start of this one, and stays there for the rest of the series. In it we learn what has occurred on Gor during the past seven years, and catch up on what we’ve missed. Upon arriving back on the Counter-Earth, our hero discovers that his home city has run into a bit of trouble, courtesy of the godlike Priest-Kings of Gor. Setting out to confront the Priest-Kings, Tarl wanders into the city of Tharna, which, he discovers, is female-owned and operated. Not only that, but they have the nasty habit of enslaving everyone who visits them and forcing them to toil away in their silver mines. Tarl gamely does this, makes some new friends, busts them all out and begins a revolution in the city. At the end of the book, the men are back in charge (and rightly so! grunt grunt) and Tarl says goodbye to his latest girlfriend, Lara, and sets out toward the foreboding Sardar mountains, home of the fabled Priest-Kings, to kick a little alien butt.

3. Priest-Kings of Gor
Tarl goes after the dreaded Priest-Kings of Gor to get even with them for what they did to his home city, Ko-ro-ba. This one is a bit heavier on the hard science fiction elements, and a bit less action-packed, at least until the end. The love interest, Vika of Treve, is pretty much an unrepentant bitch for much of the book. The Priest-Kings, however, are fascinating creatures, and Tarl befriends one and helps him wage a war against "those who would bring ruin down upon the nest." Gravity gets a bit out of whack on the planet for awhile, but Tarl and his compadres soon fix that.

4. Nomads of Gor
Tarl goes to work in the service of Priest-Kings, becoming a "secret agent," and visits the grasslands of the distant southern hemisphere. Widely regarded as one of the best books of the series, this one introduces us to the nomadic Wagon Peoples of Gor. Lots of action, with a new addition: humor. Norman reveals himself in this one to have a rather wry wit, and he applies it to good effect. You can’t read this one without wanting to be a Tuchuk, or, if you are a female reader, wondering what it would be like to live in the collar of one. Also, this book introduces a new love interest for Tarl: Elizabeth Cardwell, or, as she comes to be called, Vella of Gor.

5. Assassin of Gor
Tarl goes to the big city! This book brings us back to glorious Ar, center of Gorean civilization, for the first time since Tarnsman. We learn quite a bit about the doings of professional slavers, also, and how slave-training houses are run. Lots of action, some gladiatorial combats and tarn races, and the requisite big finish. Plus we learn a lot more about Kaissa, or Gorean chess. This book also introduces the Kurii, an alien race out to swipe Gor from the Priest-Kings.

6. Raiders of Gor
Secret agent Tarl plunges into the marshlands of the Vosk Delta, and winds up with egg on his face. We meet the Rencers, the inhabitants of the great marsh, and so does he, to his dismay. This is the first time that we see Tarl less as a classic, chiseled fantasy hero and more as a human being with faults and foibles. Norman shows us the darker side of Gorean slavery which Tarl experiences, much to his chagrin. He winds up leaving the service of Priest-Kings and running off to become a pirate on Thassa, choosing decadent, squalid Port Kar as his new home. Everything you ever wanted to know about Gorean ships, sailing, and ocean battles is in this one. Plus, Tarl gets a new love interest: out Vella, in Telima. And Tarl acquires some new companions. One of my personal favourite books, it’s Gor at its most savage and unpredictable. Tarl wins, of course.

7. Captive of Gor
The first of the infamous "slave books," which gives us a firsthand view of Gorean slavery through the eyes of its protagonist, the incredibly snotty and bitchy Elinor Brinton. This one introduces us to the Panther Girls, tribes of wild free women who hole up in the unexplored forests and pounce on any unsuspecting males who happen along, and the leader of one tribe, Verna. We also learn what has become of Talena, Tarl’s true love from the first book, who makes a brief cameo appearance. Meanwhile, Elinor is a general pain in the ass to anyone who tries to befriend her, and a cringing, sniveling coward to boot. She learns to be a good slave, however, and winds up as the treasured pet of Rask of Treve, the undisputed Fabio of the Gor books. Go figure.

8. Hunters of Gor
Tarl goes to the woods! The Great Northern Forests, to be exact. Our hero blows off Telima in classic Gorean fashion and traipses off to the unexplored forest lands in search of Talena, his long lost love. Once there, he tangles with some Panther Girls and winds up with the short end of the stick. We run into Talena’s father, Marlenus of Ar (whom we first encountered in Book 1) again, who goes right on being the consummate Gorean A-type personality and winning at everything he tries. This book has a great scene near the end, where Tarl goes against unbeatable odds like the Tarl of old. The ending, however, is a downer. There is also a brief cameo by Vella (remember her?)

9. Marauders of Gor
Tarl goes Viking! This one marks the beginning of the Priest-King vs. Kurii machinations which last for the rest of the series. Our hero winds up in the north, in Torvaldsland, and joins up with a Viking raider to do some marauding (hence the title). Very nasty battle sequences in which men clash with Kurii, which is no fun for anyone. One of the better books of the series. And Tarl runs into Telima again, much to her regret.

10. Tribesmen of Gor
Tarl goes to the desert! This book is similar in most respects to the one which precedes it. Tarl goes to infiltrate the desert tribes to stave off a desperate Kurii plot to destroy all of Gor. And who should he encounter again but...Vella! This time he gets his hooks into her, though, but only after serving a nasty tour of duty slaving away in the salt pits of Klima, fighting against pretty much everyone in the desert, and saving Gor from those huge jerks, the Kurii. We also run into Kamchak, Tarl’s pal from book 4, again, except this time he’s named Hassan. Come to think of it, Ivar Forkbeard, the Viking from book 9, was kinda like Kamchak, also. Norman must have really liked Kamchak.

11. Slave Girl of Gor
Second of the slave books, this one deals with the adventures of Judy Thornton, kidnapped from Earth to serve the savage lusts of Goreans. We suffer with her through her various trials and tribulations, and meet Rask of Treve’s first-runner-up in the Gorean Fabio competition, Clitus Vitellius, he-man of Ar. Between the time when Judy first shows up on Gor as a haughty little brat and her acceptance of the wonders of slavery, we get some very interesting glimpses into the workings of the largest of the Gorean castes, the Caste of Peasants. And the Kur are involved, as usual. This is one of the books which makes reference to "the strange grey man with the glassy robotic eyes," who sounds suspiciously like the Assassin Pa-Kur, dreaded villain from the first book, who was believed slain though his body was never found. Is it mere coincidence that the name Pa-KUR is so similar to the word KURii? I suspect that, since John Norman is writing the series, such a coincidence could simply not exist. Still, if Pa-Kur is scheduled to make a comeback, twenty-five books is a little long to be considered"foreshadowing."

12. Beasts of Gor
Tarl goes Eskimo! The Kurii are back with a vengeance, and Tarl must travel to the frigid ice-fields of the northern polar region to combat them. There is some great info about Inuit culture in this one, though in my opinion it is one of the slower and more wordy books of the series. Kamchak/Ivar is back, this time in the guise of Imnak, one of the Red Hunters (Eskimos) of Gor, whom Tarl meets while performing his usual term of "post-capture slave labour" at the beginning of the book. Also, we get to make the acquaintance of a member of the Caste of Assassins, who has been working for the Kurii, and who turns out not to be such a bad guy after all. And the leader of the Kurii, in this book, is not such a bad guy either. The Kurii, we discover, are sort of like a cross between Klingons and Wookiees, and fall somewhere in the K’zinti range when it comes to acceptable behaviour. This book ends with a bang. Literally.

13. Explorers of Gor
Tarl goes Tarzan! In this one, Tarl travels down to the jungle rainforests of Schendi in search of a stolen bit of Kurii super-technology, and winds up rafting down the Gorean equivalent of the Amazon, the Mighty Cartius river. On the way he gets caught and winds up being forced into a brief period of slave labour, during which he makes some new friends who join forces with him upon his escape (do you see a pattern developing, here?). Pretty much everyone Tarl interacts with in this part of Gor happens to be black, of Earth African descent, and this book points up the utter lack of racism on Gor. But how come the southern version of the panther girls, the "Talunas," are all white chicks? Where did they all come from, and how did they all manage to dress their pale northern asses in cheetah skins and tiger claws (or panther skins and larl claws, rather)? What’s up with that? Despite a rather tedious period of travel down the deadly river, the book ends up with Tarl and his friends winning the day. Not the worst book of the series. Everything you ever wanted to know about the jungles of Gor, but were afraid to ask, basically.

14. Fighting Slave of Gor
Tarl takes a vacation! In this book, the first of the Jason Marshall trilogy, we meet a new protagonist named, you guessed it, Jason Marshall. Jason is a he-man college frat boy from Earth who accidentally gets caught in the middle of a surprise slave abduction here on Earth, and winds up being transported to Gor as a "silk slave," or a Gorean free woman’s "boy toy." Despite the fact that he begins the books as a total wuss, Jason quickly responds to the simple diet, forced exercise, and fresh clean air of his slave pens and miraculously transforms into: a clone of Tarl. He winds up being drafted into the Fighting Pens and trained as a slave gladiator. During the time in which he must endure enforced slave labour, he makes some friends who... well, you can pretty much figure it out from there. By the end of the book he is free and searching for Beverly, the girl he was trying to rescue when he got jumped by Gorean slavers in the first place.

15. Rogue of Gor
In this book, Jason travels to the river town of Victoria and finds work as a dock hand. He also finds Beverly, and upon doing so immediately reverts to his former wimpy Earth-weenie self. The job, and his equal-rights-based relationship with Beverly, both last for about two chapters. Jason gets embroiled in dire doings by river pirates and charges to the defence of his adopted hometown, marshalling (Hey! Marshalling! And his name is...! How ironic) the gathered forces of the river towns to resist the league of pirates. Following in the footsteps of Tarl, he becomes the Gorean version of a secret-agent, does his requisite period of being captured and led around in chains, and becomes a master swordsman between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next. Still, the river warfare is quite interesting and Jason is an okay fellow, though I personally prefer Tarl, one super-hero being quite enough for a single planet. Norman ends this book by doing one of the most heinous things an author can do in a fantasy series: he ends it as a cliffhanger! The trumpets sound, the big battle is about to happen, and suddenly: BE SURE TO READ ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT EXCITING INSTALLMENT...Aaaaagh! Norman! How could you? Shame on you.

16. Guardsman of Gor
A year later, the next exciting installment was published, and the battle was fought. In this book much heroism is performed on the murky Vosk river, much fighting occurs, and Jason proves himself more than a match for a fleet of Gorean river pirates. Still, all’s well that end’s well, and the river cities get saved after much tumult and tons of action. Jason finds Beverly again, who has well-learned the benefits of Gorean slavery and can now appreciate Jason’s newly discovered, finely-honed Gorean nature. He collars her in proper Gorean fashion and they settle down to a quiet life of marathon sex, interspersed with long discussions about how natural slavery is and how fulfilled they both feel.

17. Savages of Gor
Tarl goes native! Jason seems to have run his course, so Tarl’s back with a vengeance, heading off into the frontier wilderness on the far side of the Voltai mountains, where the Indians live. This book is one of Norman’s "culture books," in which he explores a transplanted Earth culture and discusses how it has fared upon the planet of Gor. In this case, he explores Native American culture. My pet name for this book, and the book which follows it, is "Dances with Slaves." Although the Indians work well on Gor, Norman has an odd tendency to try to make the white Gorean settlers whom they battle seem like Goreanised versions of nineteenth century cowboys. The earlier books have Gorean society firmly based upon the Greco-Roman model, even to the names of the major characters: Samos, Marlenus, Clitus, Sullius Maximus, et. all. So when a bunch of rowdy Goreans in kerchiefs and wide-brimmed hats show up, riding lizards and calling themselves "the boys of the Hobart Ranch," then head off toward "Russell’s Tavern," it just kills the mood of the series.

18. Blood Brothers of Gor
Tarl goes on the war-path! More Native American stuff, here. The fights are good, and the explanations of Indian culture are fascinating to read, especially the "Waniyanpi," a freakish spin-off tribe which subscribes to the belief that males and females are identical in every way. This book features the return of Ubar of the Skies, Tarl’s long lost riding bird which he has not seen since the beginning of book six. When the bird still remembers him and instantly falls back into his old habits, even becoming Tarl’s "super bird" when he rides into battle, however, it’s a bit far-fetched. Exhilarating to read, exciting, but kind of hard to swallow. Tarl wins the Indian wars by the end of this book.

19. Kajira of Gor
Yet another "slave book." Here’s the run down: Tiffany Collins, card-carrying snotty rich girl, gets kidnapped and brought to Gor by the Kurii to serve their dark purposes, gets used as a pawn in the game of world conquest, then gets cast away when she has outlived her usefulness, gets enslaved, and spends the rest of the book waiting for her dream-Master to come rescue her. He does. This time he’s named Drusius Rencius. He looks like Rask of Treve and acts like Clitus Vitellius. He slaps his collar around Tiffany’s neck and she swoons with joy, and they settle down for some good old-fashioned Gorean "sex & discussion" sessions. There is some great stuff in this one, however, dealing with Gorean economics and the usage of slave labour in the Gorean textile industry.

20. Players of Gor
Tarl’s back! So is book 5, Assassin of Gor, only now it’s fifteen books later. Still, it brought me great feelings of joy when I read this book and saw Norman returning to the roots of the series, introducing new quasi-alien Gorean races, and once again pitting Tarl against the Kurii in the game of worlds. So, basically, you take the well-worn "Tarl-in-disguise spying in enemy territory" premise, add in some interesting new characters and a new caste description (Caste of Entertainers), sprinkle in a few episodes from book five such as the usurped Ubarate, the secret presence of a "beast" (Kurii) in a hidden room of the palace and the kaissa match to the death, do a few captures and escapes, and tie it all up with Tarl beating the crap out of the bad guys in the end. Still, this is a very humorous book, full of great characters (Boots Tarsk-Bit, Gorean con man, is one of them) and plenty of action, and it ends with a chilling scene where Tarl sees an event which he realises will signal sweeping changes on Gor as he knows it. For the first time, the two greatest city-states on Gor, Ar and Cos, are going to war, and this time it’s serious.

21. Mercenaries of Gor
Tarl goes to war. This book begins the great Ar/Cos conflict, which pretty much takes over the series for the next five books. The Kurii are forgotten. Tarl travels across the war-ravaged countryside, becoming involved in the various intrigues which are occurring behind the scenes. Norman goes into great detail describing how such a widescale conflict effects the Gorean way of life, with suitably cautionary results. We also meet the latest incarnation of Kamchak: Hurtha of the Alar tribe. This book is an excellent read if one is interested in the hows and whys of Gorean warfare, plus it has some good slave stuff, and one heck of a comeuppance for a particularly obnoxious free woman named Boabissia.

22. Dancer of Gor
A slave book. This time it’s book 19, retitled, with new names. Despite the similarities of plot, though, this one really stands out due to its exploration of Gorean slavery, work chains and chain gangs, press gangs, the art of slave-dancing, and the sad fate of a noble tavern owner named Hendow and his faithful pet sleen, Borko. Plus, there is a surprise cameo by Ost, a nasty little fellow who we last saw in book 2. Oh, and this time the Gorean "Fabio-stand-in" is named Teibar of Ar.

23. Renegades of Gor
A great book, full of intrigue, danger, and all the excitement to be found in a Gorean war-zone. In this book we first meet Marcus of Ar’s Station, who seems destined to become the Iolaus to Tarl’s Hercules. The siege and battle for Ar’s Station are particularly fascinating, and Tarl’s defence of the docks is heroic fiction at its finest. Jason Marshall shows up again and makes a brief cameo near the end, and some of Tarl’s escapades at a roadside tavern in the war zone are quite humorous. This is classic Norman.

24. Vagabonds of Gor
Tarl goes back to the swamp. This book has some great stuff in it about courage, and the foolishness of taking duty to an extreme, but it also bogs down (pardon the pun) a bit in the middle. Tarl also again encounters Marcus, and they team up. What happens to the army of Ar in the Vosk Delta seems to be a veiled reference to America’s involvement in Viet Nam, though I wouldn’t put money on it. The most annoying thing about this one, and the one before it, is the patent stupidity of some of the people whom Tarl must attempt to reason with. Then again, perhaps that only annoys me because typically, in books, people are depicted as being much more intelligent and reasonable than they actually are. In books 23 and 24, however, we get a healthy dose of the kind of intractable, irrational and impracticable thinking which most people are capable of. It drives me nuts, and almost gets Tarl killed half a dozen times.

25. Magicians of Gor
Tarl falls under the shadow of an occupying military force. Without a doubt the most comprehensive Gorean work yet written. This book is twice the length of most of the others, and is jam-packed with information for the discerning Goraphile. In this book, the city of mighty Ar finally comes to grips with the invading army of Cos, though nothing turns out as planned due to treachery within the highest levels of Ar’s leadership. No sign of Marlenus, Ubar of Ar, who seems to have vanished while on a punitive expedition into the Voltai mountains around the time of book 19. Tarl and Marcus plot to steal the captured Home Stone of Ar’s Station back from her detractors, with the expert aid of Boots Tarsk-Bit, who returns after an absence of five books. In this book Norman describes to us the effect it has when an invading foreign power systematically strips away all the vestiges of a people’s cultural pride and dignity. Goreans refuse to be subjected to such treatment for long, it would seem. We also encounter Talena, for the first time in seventeen books, and she has become an even bigger bitch than the last time we saw her. Tarl enacts his revenge upon her for the disrespectful behaviour she displayed in book eight, and he and Marcus begin to make their plans to free Ar from the occupying forces of her ancient enemy.

26. Witness of Gor (soon to be released)
With any luck, this one will finally let us in on what happens in the Ar/Cos conflict, and maybe bring back Pa-Kur, or at the very least, give us an update on the Priest-Kings vs. Kurii war.