Hunters of Gor [Mass Market Paperback]

John Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1974 | Series: Gor (Book 8)

Former Earthman Tarl Cabot is now a powerful Tarnsman of the brutal and caste-bound planet of Gor, also known as Counter-Earth. He embarks on an adventure in the dangerous and mysterious wilderness of Gor, pitting his warrior's skills against treacherous outlaws, bandits and fighters. Three different women are working to bring change to Tarl's far-from-peaceful life on Gor: Talena, his one-time queen and first love; Elizabeth, his brave fighting partner; and the Amazonian Verna, chief of the fierce and wild panther women. As Tarl journeys through the wilderness, the fates of these three remarkable women will finally be decided. 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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: DAW (March 1, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886772052
• ISBN-13: 978-0886772055
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early books are the best in Gor Series, November 24, 2003

By 

silliman89 "silliman89" (Burke, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hunters of Gor (The Gor Series) (Paperback)

I read the Gor series as a boy in the 70's and early 80's. IMHO the series is most appealing to teenage boys. I recently pulled "Assassins of Gor" off the shelf one night while bored, and re-read it. I was shocked that there was no real sex, and only a handful of pages of philosophy and psychology that I had to skip over. The book was really excellent, although in a straight forward, uncomplicated sort of way. These are escapist novels, richly detailed, which immerse you in an exotic world, not real thinkers. My enduring memories were of the later books in the series, which were almost unreadable because whole chapters were devoted to philosophy and psychology.
I am not offended by the idea that it is natural and enjoyable for women to be submissive to men. Although I recognize it as wish fulfillment fantasy, still I consider it harmless, especially in such an obviously fictitious setting. I even found it mildly interesting the first time it was mentioned. It is the umpteenth repetition that I find boring. I just turn those pages, skipping ahead to the next action sequence. Speaking of wish fulfillment, I wish someone would edit the series, and re-publish it without these parts. Maybe Eric Flint could do it? He likes to edit, according to his afterword to "1633" and he's good at it. Of course, if you take the sex out of Gor you get Barsoom, and that story has already been written.

I looked on Amazon to see if there was anything new going on with the series, and there was. It is being reprinted, starting at the beginning, and at least 2 new books seem to be published, or at least in the works. I was disappointed though that Amazon didn't have the whole series listed under one easy to find heading. I guess there are, after all, millions of books and only so many Amazon employees. So I'm listing the series, in order, along with some brief info. Some of these books I haven't read, as noted.

1.) Tarnsman of Gor - 1966. Earthman, Tarl Cabot, goes to another planet, hidden on the opposite side of our sun, and becomes a master swordsman and Warrior. This is the book that is most like "Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which I highly recommend. Note - the 1966 copyright is held by John Lange, the author's real name.

2.) Outlaw... - 1967. Tarl Cabot returns to Gor, to find he's been outlawed.

3.) Priest-Kings... - 1968. Tarl Cabot goes to lair of Priest-Kings to clear his name.

4.) Nomads... - 1969. Tarl Cabot goes to Southern Plains, and meets Mongol type nomads.

5.) Assassin... - 1970. Tarl Cabot returns to Ar, greatest city-state on Gor. Note - this is the first copy I have by Del Rey books, and it has cover art by Boris. I may not like reading about the Gorean philosophy on sexual roles for men and women, but I can't get enough of Boris' artwork depicting it.

6.) Raiders... - 1971. Tarl Cabot goes to Port Kar, pirate capitol of scum and villainy, and learns the meaning of shame. More Boris art on the cover of the Del Rey edition.

7.) Captive... - 1972. A new character, Elinor Brinton, is captured on Earth and becomes a slave girl on Gor. The first time this is done, it may be slightly creative and a little interesting, but it is a radical departure from the earlier books and I consider it to be the beginning of the end. At least Tarl Cabot has a few pages at the end, to tie this book into the rest of the series. This is also the last book published by Ballantine books, which I think is significant in the content and direction of the rest of the series.

8.) Hunters... - 1974. Tarl Cabot goes to the Northern Forest and meets amazon type women. This seems to be the first time there was a break in John Norman's writing, undoubtedly related to his switch to Daw books as a publisher.

9.) Marauders... - 1975. Tarl Cabot goes to the land of the Norsemen and meets Viking type Marauders.

10.) Tribesmen... - 1976. Tarl Cabot goes to the Tahari desert.

11.) Slave Girl... - 1977. Earth girl Judy Thornton enslaved on Gor. Again. No Tarl Cabot at all.

12.) Beasts... - 1978. Tarl Cabot goes to the Arctic ice pack and meets Eskimo type people.

13.) Explorers... - 1979. Tarl Cabot goes to the equatorial rain forests.

14.) Fighting Slave... - 1980. Earthman Jason Marshall is enslaved and forced to fight in a pit on Gor.

15.) Rogue... - 1981. Jason Marshall wanders free on Gor.

16.) Guardsman... - 1981. Jason Marshall earns a homeland.

17.) Savages... - 1982. Tarl Cabot goes to the great plains and meets American Indian type savages. Note - If you like this, John Norman also wrote "Ghost Dance" in 1970, a similar type story about real American Indians. I'm impressed that he kept the writing schedule he did on the Gor novels, and still wrote other books on the side. He also wrote "Time Slave" in 1975.

18.) Blood Brothers... - 1982. Savages and Blood Brothers are a two-part set. Just recently read this conclusion to Savages. Brings closure to Ubar of the Skies.

19.) Kajira... - unread. Another Slave girl story.

20.) Players... - 1984. Tarl Cabot joins the Carnival. Cos goes to war with Ar.

21.) Mercenaries... - 1985. Tarl Cabot returns to Ar again to try to save it.

22.) Dancer... - unread. Another Slave Girl novel? This is where I stopped even looking in the bookstore.

23.) Vagabonds... - unread.

24.) Magicians... - 1988, unread.

25.) Witness... - 2002, unread. I read on amazon that this is a story about Marlenus with amnesia, told by a slave girl.

26.) Prize... - unread. This is not yet published.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most despair of any in the series, December 8, 1998

By 

Marc Rikmenspoel (Fort Collins, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hunters of Gor (The Gor Series) (Paperback)

This was always one of my favorites of the Gor books because of the constant misfortune befalling Tarl Cabot. Usually he is the master of the situations in which he finds himself, but that is not the case here. It makes for a welcome change, and sets up his rediscovery of his true self in the following book.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Inferior Outing, December 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hunters of Gor (The Gor Series) (Paperback)

This is Volume 8 in the Gor series and Volume 7 of the Tarl Cabot saga since the protagonist in the previous volume was someone else. After the disappointment of Captives of Gor I was hoping that Norman would get back on track with this story but, alas, it was not to be. The book is 370 pages long and has a flimsy plot that would normally support a book about half that length. The rest of it is taken up by Norman's obsession with female enslavement. Every time Cabot binds a slave (which is frequently) it is described in excruciating detail with loving description of the devices used and types of knots employed. This may be fine for the bondage crowd but for the rest of us it's just plain booorrriiinnnggg! Also, the level of violence against women and outright sadism seems to have escalated compared to the first 6 volumes. Another flaw in the book is the outrageousness of some of the scenes. I've complained about this with Assassin of Gor but none of them in that book can compare to this one: Cabot knowingly walks into the stockade of his enemy Sarus of Tyros where he is quickly locked in and surrounded by 55 Tyrosians and 22 panther girls all of whom have good reason to kill him on sight. He demands that they give up their prisoners immediately or he will kill everyone there. A melee ensues. Guess who wins. Oh, puh-leeze. One final complaint: In the past Norman's thoughts on bondage had been presented as part of the plot. You could always maintain the fiction that Norman didn't really believe the things he was saying, that they were there for the sake of the story, the Gorean ambiance if you will. In the final chapter of this book, however, for the first time Norman seem to step out of the shadows to lecture the reader on how Gorean philosophy can be justified by Darwinian principles. The arguments are easy enough to refute but this is not the place for it.