Customer Reviews

PRIEST-KINGS OF GOR

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first Gor book that I have read. I have known about them for decades but had dismissed them as trash without ever having read one because of their reputation for misogyny and the promotion of bondage. During a recent trip to a used book I came across a copy of Priest-Kings of Gor with a cover by Boris Vallejo that intrigued me. It showed a barbarian standing over a slave girl with what I took to be a golden idol of a gigantic insectoid creature in the background. (As it turned out, the "idol" was a living Priest-King!) I was in the mood for "guilty pleasure" so I bought it. I expected to get slam-bang action, lurid writing, a no-brainer story, and lots of politically incorrect pornography. Boy, was I wrong! The story has its share of action but it also has a fair amount of exposition and character development. The writing is far from lurid. It actually has a somewhat stilted feeling to it that I associate more with Victorian prose than with modern writing. The story was reasonably complex and the cultural background was surprisingly detailed. What impresses me most about this book, however, is the convincing presentation of an alien with a truly ALIEN perspective, the Priest-King of Gor, an intelligent creature whose sensorium is based on olfaction rather than vision. I've been reading science fiction for more than 40 years and I can't think of a book that has done it better. Oh, yeah, the bondage stuff. It's there but not as prominent as in the other Gor books, I'm told. And there is no pornography...whatever sex there is in this book (I don't remember any!) occurs offstage. Nevertheless, anyone with feminist views is advised to stay as far away from this book as possible. For everyone else it's a hell of a good read!

In this, the 3rd episode of the Counter-Earth saga, Tarl Cabot has determined to enter the forbidding Sardar mountains where the Priest-Kings, legendary rulers of Gor are believe to reside, and demand an accounting from them for the destruction of his beloved city Ko-Ro-Ba.

Cabot learns the true nature of Priest-Kings, and becomes enmeshed in their machinations as a not-unwilling paladin in a power struggle between factions of the Priest-Kings. He eventually learns of the reason for the destruction of Ko-Ro-Ba, and how his own choices may doom or save the Counter-Earth.

As of this writing, I just recently re-read this novel, and enjoyed just as much as the first time. Some may pooh-pooh Norman's writing as appealing only to adolescents, and deride his themes and pseudo-psychological theorizations as perverted or denigrating, but Norman's work is pure, unadulterated escapist fiction, where evil receives its just desserts, and you can lose yourself for a time.

I'm not sure why I'm still reading the Gor books. I guess it's partly because Brilliance Audio does such nice productions, but it's also largely because these books have been maligned for years as poorly written sexist-BDSM-erotica, so I can't help but want to see for myself before dismissing them as such. After finishing book 3, Priest-Kings of Gor, here's my take so far:

They are not poorly written. The quality of the writing is quite good except for the overuse of phrases such as "to my amazement," "to my surprise," "I found it strange that," "I marveled," "I was astonished," "I looked at him dumb-founded," "I was thunder-struck," etc. This may be more noticeable with the audio version, because the narrator, Ralph Lister, reads vivaciously, so these expressions of enthusiasm seem a little overdone. (But generally I appreciate Lister's spirit and recommend the audio version if you want to read the Gor books.)

The best aspect of the books, "to my surprise," is the world building. John Norman has created a fully detailed alternate world which is fun to explore. In Priest-Kings of Gor, we finally meet the Priest-Kings who rule the planet, and they are not at all what we were expecting. In fact, they're a different species altogether and Norman gives a lot of attention to their language, culture, sensory systems, and lifestyle. Personally, I found the Priest-Kings to be somewhat disturbing (I won't go into details so as not to spoil things), so I didn't enjoy spending so much time with them, but other readers are likely to feel differently.

The Gor books are not, so far, erotic. Yeah, there are beautiful scantily-clad pouty women in chains who are kneeling at Tarl Cabot's feet and claiming to be his pleasure slaves, but so far that's all they do. It's pretty silly, really. Which leads me to my next point:

Sexist? Yes -- but trying so hard not to be. And, unfortunately, this is where Gor goes wrong. It's too hard to take it seriously because mostly it just feels like a teenage boy's wet dream. That's because Tarl Cabot keeps talking like he's a feminist and denying that any woman is his slave, yet he keeps getting himself in these situations where he accidentally procures a female slave. These ladies are invariably beautiful and proud and are at first contemptuous, insolent, arrogant, and headstrong. Cabot admires their spirit and refuses to consider these wonderful humans to be slaves, but then two things happen:

1. He suspects them of treachery (while I'm wondering how they can be faithless if they're not his slaves) and uses this as an excuse to degrade them ("Be silent, slave!", "Wake up, wench!"), grab them by their hair and throw them around.
2. His refusal to use them as pleasure slaves insults them and makes them pout and demand to know if they're not pretty enough for him (my goodness, aren't they silly?).

The end result is that each slave girl becomes submissive and is soon begging to please him ("please, master!") and insisting that she loves him and wanted to wear his collar all along. Tarl, meanwhile, innocently insists that he doesn't understand.

After thinking about it for a while Tarl realizes that "every woman in her heart wants to wear the chains of a man" and that Gor is a man's world and that women rejoice in this. In Priest-Kings of Gor, he uses natural selection to explain that men have evolved to be courageous and aggressive and that women have evolved to be submissive because they need food and shelter and to be forced to reproduce. If they're too independent, they'll die before breeding. Thus, natural selection favors submissive women who want to belong to a man.

Those ideas are intriguing and I won't completely dismiss them out of hand, but then Cabot goes on to suggest that if a woman is grabbed by her hair, thrown down, and raped, she considers this "proof of her mate's regard" and the "expected culmination of her innate desire to be dominated." Cabot's evidence for this is our practice of giving a bride a wedding ring and carrying her over the threshold, which he suggests are analogous to bondage and rape, respectively.

I don't know a lot of women who are going to find these ideas acceptable or stimulating, but some do, and that's fine with me. The problem with the Gor books, though, is that they try to propound this idea while trying to make Tarl Cabot out to be a humanist (and specifically a feminist) at the same time, and that doesn't work. It just makes him sound like an idiot.

In one scene, a slave girl assigned to take care of him while he's in a particular room says she's hungry and Tarl (who has just met her and didn't know she hadn't eaten) curses himself for not thinking about the feelings "of a girl who must be protected and cared for." One minute later, she says something slightly snippy and he disciplines her by not letting her eat dinner. In fact, he's constantly flipping between spouting humanistic sentiments and announcing that a slave girl (who he says isn't his slave girl) needs discipline so she'll learn her place. Um... what place? It's no wonder he doesn't understand these women -- he can't even keep his own philosophies straight in his own head.

The whole thing would work better if Tarl Cabot found himself on this misogynist planet and, while being shocked at first, admitted and embraced the fact that all his puerile fantasies had come true and just went with it. Stop making excuses, Tarl. Stop accusing women of secretly wanting to be yelled at, bullied, thrown around, and raped. Gor is a man's world, so just shut up, get out your collars and chains, and have some fun, okay?

A wonderful look at the disconnect between worship and the actualities of a god or gods that we can not know.

Tarl Cabot enters the Sardar Mountains, the legendary home of the Priest Kings of Gor, seeking answers to his questions and eventually revenge. But the reality he faces is much different than he expects as he finds that there may be a larger part for him to play in this world of gods.

This book is the stand out of the first three books in the Gorean Saga, and it sends Tarl Cabot on an unexpected quest with twists and turns to excite the fantasy reader seeking not only something different from dragons and fairies, but a compelling look at how we are ourselves trapped by our own preconceptions concerning religion and its purpose, and the regard a god might have for us.

In this, the third book of the Tarl Cabot Saga, Tarl is still searching for his lost love, Talena. But before he has any chance of finding her, he must first follow through with his threats to find the Priest Kings and make them atone for what they did to his city of Koroba, and all those he loves. He follows his heart to the Sardar Mountains, the home of the Priest Kings, only to find that they are not the monsters he thought them to be. At least those he befriends are not monsters. He leads a revolt against those who want to destroy human life on Gor. This book has everything one could want in any fantasy/sci-fi storyline, adventure after adventure, action upon action, and yes, even a bit of romance thrown in. This book is a must read on any fantasy lovers list.

Tarl Cabot, enraged at the Priest-Kings for destroying his city Ko-Ro-Ba (In Outlaw of Gor), finaly reaches the Sardar mountains. There he is introduced first hand to those powerful and terrible rulers of Gor. But while meeting them he finds himself in the middle of a brewing civil war between the Priest-Kings themselves. He befriends Misk, and along with other Priest-Kings and slaves is able to defeat the enemy Priest-Kings while restoring the honor of his city at the same time.

While not the best of Norman's early books, Priest-Kings of Gor is still head and shoulders above any book written after (Book #18) Blood Brothers of Gor. I liked the storyline and the haughty and tenacious Vika got my blood boiling! I both loved and hated her. Norman created great characters in this book.

I reccomend this book to new readers of the series. However, I suggest readers start from the beginning of the series so as to better understand what has occured to that point. Indeed, Outlaw of Gor (Book #2) is a direct prequel to Priest Kings.

If you like Sword & Planet styled Science-Fantasy you will not be disappointed in these early Gor books.

A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

Other than one chapter, this book was great. Very hard to put down. It's got everything a good sci-fi should have. The creation of the Priest-kings is Norman's best work. Incredible detail makes them believeable. The only chapter that went on too long was Tarl putting Vika in safe keeping (I think Chap 26) in the plastic cage. other than that chapter, the book was darn near perfect.

His writing is MUCH better than the first book. There's a lot going on in this book so you find yourself reading as fast as possible to see what happens. Take your time, read it slowly, and enjoy some of the best science fiction I've ever read.

I thought the book was good as it provided additional information on Tarl Cabot's background and history, and about the Priest-Kings, but at times it went into a bit too much technical detail.

I enjoyed reading it as I want to follow the continuing adventures of Tarl on Gor. I liked the end as it sets up the story for then next novel, "The Nomads of Gor."

Tal and welcome to the third book of the Gorean Counter-Earth series. Or Counter-Urth as some might say. Again we find ourselves with our hero Tarl, he has headed out from Tharna and is in the Sardar Mountains looking for the dreaded, feared, and mystical beings called the Priest Kings. The reason he has done this is because he wants to know why his city is in ruins, why his loved ones are gone...and he finds this out, and he finds out much more than he bargains for. Here in the lair of the Priest Kings he finds friends and enemies, he finds the meaning of honor, of friendship, and an almost cosmic realization of how wide the universe truly is. The Priest Kings, he finds out, are a dying race...yes they hold unbelievable powers (something one might akin to the Time Lords of the Doctor Who series, if one is familiar with that series) but they are definitely not gods as the usual Initiative or Gorean Free for that matter believes. They are an ancient race that has knowledge of manipulating time and space and distance and gravity. What I love about this is how well it develops the concept of the Priest Kings and how they are similar (in some small respect) and different than the known Goreans... which is Tarl, as an example in the novel. By the end of the book, as noted in another review, one sees how Tarl's relationship with the Priest Kings will develop His own relationship with Himself and Gor through Nomads of Gor, Assassin of Gor, and Raiders of Gor...

What is interesting about this novel is how well developed the concept of social darwinism is by comparing the society of the Priest Kings to that of humans, in this case, Tarl, and the other Goreans. The meaning of caste, of order, and of respect and honor, is spliced and dissected and integrated in how the heroes (PKs and human heroes) bind together to fight against the villain and those whom...social darwin speaking...follow him because of his standing in what is called the Birth Order from the Mother (mother of the Priest Kings). While social darwinism has always had a problem, most notably when you see how it is worked out in Russia and in Hitler's Germany, the SD of Gor is quite different. And in some respects, is above that of our politically correct, postmodern society. The idea is that a Man is meant to truly be a Man, one of Honor and Dignity. This isn't one race above others, such racism is meaningless and pointless and wicked, instead you are divided by castes...a caste system that is strict, yes, but a Free can be moved up and down depending upon His or Her skills and abilities and willingness to work hard for His/Her future. There is no room for haughtiness, for such people are taken down quickly by their own falseness. There is no room for laziness, for such people are showed to be the fools they are. Both ways, rightly so, end with these such peoples tripping over themselves and falling victim to their own poor judgement. You and I must do what is right, we must fight and believe what we believe, and stand up against anything and everything that dares to come in our path...whether it is in the form of terrorism, diseases such as AIDS and cancer, crime in our streets, or whatnot. Even if you and I disagree on something, say such as my religious beliefs and yours, as long as we remain respectful, tolerant but willing to agree to disagree openly instead of pandering to one another, then there is strength being built in society.

So what future does Tarl have on Gor? We shall see!

Winds!

This is the best writing Norman has done so far in the Gorean series.

I find the dwelling on female slavery tiring. Every female is to die for, everyone of them learns to just love being his slave.

This book had enough action to keep me interested. Hopefully he is growing as a writer as the series progresses.