Outlaw of Gor

Fun adventure, but Lots of naked women

I like John Norman's books from an adventure standpoint, however, I must admit that knowing that every woman at some point is going to lose her clothes becomes at a point quite tedious. For some the master slave relationships might get on your nerves as well, but happily there is enough adventure to move the story along and keep most readers entertained. This volume tends to lag a bit, but it is important to lead into the next.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Gorean Saga

The Gorean series is basically Conan the barbarian meets a smut novel on another world. There's lots of violent battles and vicious giant man eaters with a dash BDSM. The series gets a little repetitive as the books go on but not to badly for a 20 plus book series. If you liked the John Carter in 'A Princess of Mars' series most likely you'll enjoy these books there very similar. I prefer the Gorean series myself, except the ones narrated by women which I haven't bought so don't know if there good or not I personal dislike women narrates.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Outlaw of Gor

I read these books years ago before they were removed from the stores. Listening to them now just makes the story seem more alive.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

book 2, strong start, cheat ending

If your reading this, then you have probably already read book one Tarnsman of Gor, so I don't need to go on about John Norman's world where women are property and that is the way they like it. In this book our hero ends up in a city where women rule, so of course love his illegal. It turns out women secretly want to be slaves to men, even when the men don' want to be there masters. I like to visit used book stores and through the years I kept seeing this series of Gor books, which seem to be very popular in paperback, but never made it to hardback. Was this an underground movement? It helped that the covers usually had scantly clad women on them, usually tied up. If you are a teenage boy, hoping for some sex scenes, forget it. The book is full of women who are naked and the author will usually say something like she was beautiful, but that is the extent of it.

This story started out strong, I enjoyed the world that JN created and was getting lost in the action. I also found that the author is not a hack, he can write, (I bet he writes more acceptable books under a different name.) Then in chapter fourteen he starts to cheat and that starts to ruin the rest of the story. Our hero is in an arena and is suppose to be devoured by one of the more feared animals on the planet, when low and behold it's just happens to be his Tarn from six years before. The animal not only remembers him, but goes out of it's way to protect and help him escape. Up to this point this was a five star book. The author does redeem himself later in a underground mining captive scene that I liked. Then we get some more really lucky coincidences. Overall I liked this book slightly more then the first and if you haven't read the first, you really don't need to start there. I am hoping the author grows in his abilities in the rest of the series, as I do want to continue with it.

10 of 16 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed this book

I have read two volumes of this story already anxious for more. narrator does it well

better and better

thank you just goes to show there is good stories live on. Never get old.

Pretty good stuff

Good story of how one determined man can change the destiny of a city stuck in its ways by being an example of change.

Tarl Returns to Gor

In the first book of the Gor series, Tarnsman of Gor, we were introduced to the series’ protagonist, Tarl Cabot, and the world of Gor. In my review of that book, I didn’t provide a thorough synopsis of the story because I didn’t want to ruin anything for a first-time reader. That, however, should not be the case here.

In Tarnsman of Gor, Tarl Cabot, upon arriving on Gor, is trained in the city of his father, Ko-ro-ba, to become a member of the Warrior Caste and a tarnsman. After his training, he’s tasked with stealing the home stone of a rival city called Ar, an act which Tarl’s father knows will result in the overthrow of Ar’s Ubar, Marlenus. Tarl completes his mission in quite an unusual fashion, accidently kidnapping Marlenus’ daughter, Talena, in the process. Through an unlikely course of events, including multiple attempts on Tarl’s life by Talena, the two fall madly in love with each other. Talena is kidnapped by Pa-Kur, Master Assassin of Ar, in the hopes that wedding her will add legitimacy to his reign of Ar once the city falls and he declares himself Ubar in the place of Marlenus. Tarl is able to rescue Talena and kill Pa-Kur (we think; his body is never recovered). Ar’s hold on the region is weakened and a new leader is put into place by the citizens of Ar. Tarl and Talena return to Ko-ro-ba together but for only a single day. Tarl wakes up several weeks later on Earth again, having been cast off Gor by the Priest-Kings, Gor’s thought-to-be divine rulers.

In Outlaw of Gor, Tarl Cabot returns to Gor after seven years to find that Ko-ro-ba has been destroyed and its denizens scattered across the planet. Without a city to call home, Tarl dawns the attire of a member of the Outlaw Caste and vows revenge on the Priest-Kings for their destruction of his beloved city. On his trip to the Sardar Mountains, the home of the Priest-Kings, Tarl visits the Gorean city of Tharna, where he hopes to acquire a tarn to shorten his journey.

Tharna, unlike most Gorean cities, has a female-dominant ruler class. These women wear silver masks and treat the men of Tharna like second-class citizens. Once in Tharna, Tarl finds himself wound up in a plot to overthrow the city’s Tatrix, Lara. For his alleged crimes, Tarl is forced into a tarn’s den to be eaten alive. Fortunately enough for him, the tarn assigned to gobble Tarl up actually belongs to him! He’s able to escape with his tarn and capture the city’s Tatrix, who he hopes to use as a bargaining chip to acquire supplies for his journey. Unbeknownst to Tarl, Tharna’s Second, Dorna the Proud, is involved in the plot to overthrow Lara. During his exchange, both Tarl and Lara are captured and enslaved.

Tarl, now a slave in Tharna’s ore mines, organizes his fellow slaves and leads a successful revolt in the mines. The effects of this revolt ripple across Tharna and many of its Lower Caste citizens begin to rise up against their female oppressors. Tarl leaves Tharna and accidently happens onto a slaver camp where he once again encounters Lara, Tatrix of Tharna, but as a slave girl. Tarl discovers that Lara’s time there has humbled her. He shows great compassion, purchasing her from the slaver and returning her to Tharna where he fights to have her reinstated as the city’s Tatrix. Once Dorna the Proud is overthrown, Lara enacts reforms that remove many of the city’s women from power and allow for the men of the city to be treated fairly.

I found this second book of the Gorean Saga as exhilarating as the first and plan to continue reading the other books in the series. John Norman does an excellent job immersing his reader in the fantasy world of Gor, masterfully detailing its society, flora, and fauna. You can easily get lost in the story, which for me is the hallmark of a great book. You’ll never be bored and you may end up reading the whole thing in one sitting like I did. As stated in my review of Tarnsman of Gor, I recommend purchasing the audiobook narrated by Ralph Lister. He does an excellent job narrating the various characters and really makes the story come alive.

one if the best in the series

Tarl returns to Gor and the adventure
begins...taut exciting story that has many twists !

love the series. it just gets better.

I love the series. it just gets better. I read some of the books when I was in high school and I am still enjoying them.