Customer Reviews

Tribesman of Gor

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

 

 

One of the best of the series. Moves the battle between the Kurii and the Priest-Kings, via their earthly agents to the next level. Once more Tarl Cabot goes native, this time as Hakim of Tor into the swirling Tahari Desert to fight for the survival of Gor. With some help from an unexpected quarter Tarl once more saves the day...learns new and interesting weapons, befriends world leaders with his stunning blend of martial skills, thickheaded stubbornness, and winning personality.

Beyond the excellent story line, we get another glimpse into the workings of Gor and what it means to be Gorean. After coming to grips with his newfound Goreaness Tarl Cabot goes on with his expounding of where it's at.

Warning: Not everyone's cup of tea. If you are under the impression that gender is a societal thing...my suggestion...don't pick this book up...you'll be in for a shock.

I wish you well

In the previous volume (Marauders of Gor) Tarl Cabot romped with pseudo-Vikings. In this one it's pseudo-Bedouins. Samos of Port Kar, agent of Priest-Kings, receives three messages under mysterious circumstances...beware of the steel tower; beware of Abdul; and surrender Gor...and off goes T.C. to the burning sands of the Tahari Desert to investigate. Along the way he encounters assassins, slave girls, treachery, slave girls, an invisible monster, slave girls, a desert bandit, slave girls, an old friend/enemy who IS a slave girl...you get the idea. As in Hunters of Gor, the author takes time out to spend 2-3 pages expounding on his sexual theories. It's hard to take them seriously, especially since they are not consistent. For example, Norman says that true slave girls revel in their domination by men and would not have it any other way. But a girl who asks to be freed reveals herself to be a true slave. Hunh? The Gorean ethic didn't seem to bother me as much in this book as it did in previous volumes, probably because domination of women, slavery, and harsh punishment are an integral part of the culture this story is based upon. (Alternatively, the previous books may have inured me to it but I don't think so.) Some of the previous books (most notably Assassins of Gor and Hunters of Gor) have had scenes so outrageously over the top as to cause the reader to guffaw. There were none in this book that compare although Cabot's inhuman stamina, good luck, and fighting ability do stretch credulity a bit. There are a few other minor flaws (such as asking the reader to believe that a massive 20 foot monster could survive in an environment that is described as chronically food-poor) and one gaping hole in the plot: early in the book Tarl is framed for a crime and sentenced to a life of hard labor in the salt pits of Klima. However, there is tribal warfare brewing between the Kavars and the Aretai so the villain that framed him becomes afraid that the march to Klima will be attacked during the fighting allowing Cabot to escape. He decides to bust him out of prison then kill him as an escaping criminal. Needless to say, Tarl makes good his escape despite the bad guys. (Why the villain didn't just kill him while he was helplessly chained to the cell wall isn't clear.) Later on the same villain captures him and the same war is still brewing but this time he DOES send Cabot on the march to Klima. Hunh? Well, I didn't read this book to be edified and I didn't read it for a dose of reality. I read it to be entertained. Ultimately, what counts in a book like this is how much fun it is to read and on that score it was quite good. It makes me wish that their were more gradations in Amazon's rating scale. I reserves 1 star for a book that is either unreadable or that made me mad that I wasted my time reading it. 5 stars I reserve for books that are near perfect for their genre. (Nomads of Gor got 5 stars.) This book is better than Hunters of Gor (3 stars) but not quite as good as Raiders of Gor or Priest-Kings of Gor (4 stars). I'd like to give it three-and-a-half stars but can't. It's closer to 4 than to 3 stars, so I gave it 4.

To me this is where this series really started to go off the rails and divert into self-parody.
I read most of these books as a teenager and enjoyed the action scenes and the female slave aspect at the time but now they just seem horrible. Norman never says anything once he can say three or four times; does he think being so repetitous makes the utterances more profound or does he just not have anything else to say and needs to take up space? I do not agree with the sexual philosophy but even if I did once a book is enough starting with this book you seem to get it once a chapter.
When the bandit Hassan enters the palace dining romm on the back of his kaila end scatters gaurdsman with one sweep of his mighty sword and grabs the girl with one crack of the whip i just laugh.
Books four, five and six are still good reads as far as I am concerned. The yellow pool of Turia is a truly unique adversary I did not figure out immediately and Harold and Kamchak of the Tuchuks are very funny. Book five is good for the action sequences, yes they are a little farfetched, and the plot twist where the hero realizes he is not fooling anyone but that they are fooling him. Book six I just liked the battles at sea, everything else was very pedestrian. Books eight and nine had overtones of Beowulf which i liked also.

Without a doubt this book is a thrilling masterpiece. One of the best of John Norman's series. I've read the book thrice and all I can say is--Wow! I can't stress enough how imaginative John Norman was in extending the scope and size of his world. Tor had been alluded to in books past, but the scope and size of the Tahari itself was never guessed at. Norman could have based several more adventures there if he had so chosen.

Cabot's willpower to survive the march to Klima is astounding! I can only be in awe of the character's manhood. The determination he had to live is mindboggling. Even when offered the chance for a quick death by Ibn Saran, Tarl declines, determined to have his revenge on the perfidious Vella! He is indomitable!

A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

Though this is one of the later books, where Tarl has become a true Gorean male, with all the unfortunate philosophy associated with it, I found this book brought the desert region to life with keen detail and clever protagonists.

The desert men, based on perhaps 6th century Saudi Arabia were clever and subtle. The desert and it's dangers were brought especially to life. I don't think Tarl has gone through so much as in this book with the march to Klima and the trek across the desert with the Kur later. Simply amazing survival.

The Kur's were brought to life well, and Tarl impresses his admiration of the intelligent brave beasts on us. It was interesting to see the Kur have various factions much like the Priest kings did in the third book.

I even enjoyed the small haggling bit, where both Tarl and Suleiman haggle well, then Tarl gives up his advantage to give a lower price in thanks for the hospitality and then Suleiman offers an even higher price to demonstrate his generosity.

As for side characters, Hassan (and Samos) were admirable as well as Ibn Saran and the unnamed good Kur. The females were less fortunate. The one free woman turned out to be nothing more than a puppet, and when she was allowed to demonstrate her skill with the scimitar it was of course against Tarl himself, perhaps the best swordsman on the entire planet. The rest were slaves that loved it as usual.

John Norman did again! I first read this one around 1977 and found it great reading then, and have reread more than a few times since. It is right up there with his best Tarnsman of Gor which I hope is oneday reprinted. It is a different way viewing life where men are more manly, open, and honest and women are more... well you have to read it to understand and J N's GOREAN stories have inspired its own underground movement in real life. With more than a few internet sites

Maybe I have not been keeping a close eye on what is happening in the world of J.N. and T.C. but I reread this book for the thirtieth time and still got a buzz from the writing. I imagined T.C. as a Lawrence of Arabia figure and imangined the sand swept march to the salt mines of Klima. The other books in the series are also as good and follow a very narrow path, predictable sure but what is the point of reading fiction if it follows real life and ends unpredictably. I read as a form of escapism, in this I don't drink or take mind altering drugs I use that part of my brain designed for stress relief MY IMAGINATION J.N. merely provides the geography.

john norman needs help. he has obviously long-sheltered a fondness for the use of 'binding fibre' on helpelss women. the climax of the sex scenes , basically , was tying them up. i wait his next publication with baited breath.. and a forlorn hope of no rope.