Marauders of Gor [Paperback]

John Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1975 | Series: Gor

Former earthman Tarl Cabot has been struggling to free himself from the cruel control of the Priest-Kings of Gor to no avail. As he pits his strength against such a formidable enemy, a terrible beast appears from the mysterious northern lands, bearing a token of the demise of Tarl's once-beloved woman Talena. The missive is a sign of defiance and disrespect from his enemies, meant to humiliate him and force him to challenge them in response. To gird his weapons and set out on a mission of vengeance against those who sent the beasts means Tarl must jeopardize his fortune and position as a wealthy slave merchant. But he is no longer practical and calm as he was on earth. He must conform to the social codes of Gor, where the only way one can avenge wounded manhood is to respond with all one's might! 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 an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: DAW (March 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879974656
• ISBN-13: 978-0879974657
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,764,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early books are the best in Gor Series, July 17, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Marauders of Gor (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 hes 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 didnt 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 Im listing the series, in order, along with some brief info. Some of these books I havent 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 - in my copy, a 1975 reprint, the 1966 copyright is held by John Lange. Makes me wonder if Norman isnt a pen name.

2.) Outlaw - 1967. Tarl Cabot returns to Gor, to find hes 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 cant 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, which sort of 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 Normans 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 John Marshall is enslaved and forced to fight in a pit on Gor.

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

16.) Guardsman - 1981. John 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. Im 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 - unread. Savages and Blood Brothers are a two-part set. I read Savages and was bored when it just petered out at the end with no dramatic climax. So I didnt buy Blood Brothers. Now I hear that this book has all that and more, oh well.

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

20.) Players - 1984. Tarl Cabot joins the Carnival.

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

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 (or possibly Tarl?) with amnesia, told by a slave girl.

26.) Prize - unread. It seems that this is not yet published, but forthcoming.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a terrific book, January 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Marauders of Gor (Paperback)

If you are a Tarl Cabot(Carl Tabot-see Tarnsman) fan (even if you are not a John Norman fan because he later sinks into strange social and gender commentary) this is your book. If you read the preceding novels, starting with Tarnsman, it is a better read. They are all good summer reading. Skip Kajira, though. After Assassin, the focus is on Kurii and men. They are similar. The series is fascinating and Marauders displays Norman's insight into the basic nature of man (but not Woman). Read it

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best gor books, January 27, 2003

By 

Jonas Harrow (Adelaide) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marauders of Gor (Paperback)

I have read all the Gor books. But this was the first I ever did read so prehaps I view it through rose tinted glasses.
It really is one of the best.
Tarl travels north to a Viking type country and we finally see open battle with the ferocious Kurii.
If you have not read Norman before you will be suprised. His descriptive style of writing is like no other author I have ever seen. Meticulous descriptions of weapons, objects, places, set pieces, give Gor a flavour unlike any other land.
And now onto the controversy. It is all about the ultimate in co-dependant roles with males being the domintator and females the submissive partner.
Now I can understand the viewpoint but we dont need to hear it over and over again. Just do what I do, and skip over these pages. Thankfully you will not have to do it that much in this book, unlike say the last few in the series where over half of the text is taken up with it.
Despite that quibble get this book now.