Nomads of Gor [Mass Market Paperback]

John Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1978

Join celebrated tarnsman Tarl Cabot in his latest adventure on the parallel planet of Gor and its exotic lifestyle and social norms. Tarl has dedicated his life to ensuring that the Priest-Kings survive the harsh lands of Gor, but a savage tribe that closely guards its secrets has halted his quest. To continue his quest, Tarl must unravel the mysteries of this strange, private band of nomads called the Wagon People or die trying. He is the only man alive who has not trembled in the presence of this mysterious tribe. Now he is embarking on the most perilous adventure of his time on the counter-world of Gor. Will he be accepted by the tribe and learn the secrets they guard with their lives or will he die trying? 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

..Replete with considerable action, sword play, descriptions of exotic lands, strange peoples, unusual customs and weird flora and fauna. And it is here that Norman really excels. he limns a rich tapestry, enveloping the reader in the strangeness of Gor, yet doing it so well, in such generally careful detial, that it seems less a novel than an actual recounting of one man's adventures. It is clearly apparent that he has sent much time in "building" his world... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Edgar Rice Burroughs were alive today, creating new worlds and characters, and maybe continuing the adventures of John Carter of Barsoom? I would even settle for the next best thing: another writer who uses the style and brilliance of Burroughs. Well, friends, I believe we have the second best thing right under our noses! The young author John Norman has written a series which bears an amazing resemblance to the Barsoom chronicles; Tarl Cabot on the counter-earth planet of Gor.... If you long to live the glories of another Barsoom, come with me to Gor and enjoy more topnotch fantasy. -- Michael Bell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Del Rey (June 12, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345277953
• ISBN-13: 978-0345277954
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 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: Nomads of Gor (Mass Market 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 - in my copy, a 1975 reprint, the 1966 copyright is held by John Lange. Makes me wonder if Norman isn't a pen 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, 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 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 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. 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... - 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 didn't 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.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far and away the most popular of John Norman's Gor novels, December 3, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nomads of Gor (Mass Market Paperback)

I have always considered "Assassins of Gor" to be John Norman's magnum opus in his Counter-Earth series, but there is no more enjoyable novel than the novel that comes before it "Nomads of Gor." After bonding with the Priest-King Misk, Tarl Cabot is sent from the Sardar Mountains to find the last egg of the Priest-Kings, which has been hidden among the Wagon People. Unfortunately, the Wagon People are probably the most xenophobic on Gor and will not take kindly to Cabot just walking up and joining them.

"Nomads of Gor" has two great strengths, both of which are rather unique to the series. First, Norman does a masterful job of creating the civilization of the Wagon People, which consists of four tribes. I suppose he might be basing his research on some nomadic tribes of Earth, but I did not sense any strong parallels as I did, for example, with the "Viking" like "Marauders of Gor." We get a sense of the culture of the Tuchuks, one of the four tribes that Cabot stays with as he searches for the egg, which goes well beyond what we have seen up to this point in the series. The customs, especially the competitive games the Wagon Peoples play, are much more detailed than what we had seen in the towered cities of Ar and Ko-ro-ba.

Second, this is the funniest of the Gor books, with the humor coming mostly from conversations that involve the character of Harold the Tuchuk, although Kamchak, also of the Tuchucks, has his moments as well. It is not far fetched to say that these are two best-developed supporting characters in the Gor series, and I would contend that this is due in large measure to their sense of humor. But the humor is clearly Norman's, who has this style of using short sentences to develop his droll wit. This is character driven humor, where who says what in which situation makes all the difference; none of the lines that tickle your funny bone would ever evoke a laugh by themselves, because context is everything in Norman's humor.

I always wondered why Norman did not return to the Tuchuks later in the series, but maybe he did not think he could pull off a return visit that equaled the success of this effort. This is also the novel that introduces Vella, the former Elizabeth Caldwell of Earth, who becomes one of the key continuing characters in the Tarl Cabot novels. Of course, this opens up the giant can of worm regarding Norman's Gorean philosophy that "slavery" is the natural state of women, who can only be truly "free" when they totally submit to a master. I have to admit that I never took this idea beyond the fictional level and that as the series progressed I flipped through the long philosophical discussions between masters and slaves in later novels (Norman is the pseudonym of philosopher Professor John Lange). I also know that there are people who take the Gorean lifestyle very seriously. I could quote Abraham Lincoln in response to this topic, but I would probably be closer to the mark if I just said different strokes for different folks and went my own merry way.

The bottom line for me is that I enjoyed Norman's early Gor novels in the seventies the same way I had enjoyed reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars novels in the sixties (when I discovered them). The first six novels of the Gor series standup well against the Burroughs novels that obviously inspired Norman in part (there are strong parallels between the first work in each series). If you find the philosophical aspects of these books offensive, then do not read them.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love those Tuchuks!, November 27, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: Nomads of Gor (Mass Market Paperback)

I feel this book was the best book of the series, the plot line was wonderful, a small mixture of mystery involved in the task Tarl had to complete.

However- yet again we see how very Weak our Hero is when faced with women. He strives so very hard to be a good "Gorean" male- and always seems to fail in some small respect.

This book spurred the creation of a LARP group- the TUCHUX's which sometimes come out to SCA events. a very good read, and ties in nicely with books much loater in the series.

If you read only One Gor Book- this sould be it!