Captive of Gor : (#7)

Rating:
Summary: John Norman replaces Tarl Cabot with a slave girl
Review: "Captive of Gor," the 7th volume in John Norman's Chronicles of Counter-Earth, was the first book in the series that I did not really enjoy. The reason was not because this is the first volume to be devoted primarily to Norman's Gorean philosophy of slavery/submission as the natural condition of women, but simply because Tarl Cabot (or Bosk of Port Kar as he is currently known in the series) is not the main character in this novel. In "Captive of Gor" we are introduced to Elinor Brinton, who was a wealthy and powerful woman on Earth, but who is brought to Gor and made a pleasure slave in the service of the slave merchant Targo. In other words, we have a modern "liberated" woman put into a condition of slavery where she is forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who purchases her for the night for a few tarn disks. The conflict between the Priest-Kings and the Others which is the major backstory of the Counter-Earth series is behind Elinor's abduction, but that is ultimately a minor point in this 1972 novel where the focus is on the nature of human sexuality. Norman tells essentially the same story in "Slave Girl of Gor" (1977) and "Kajira of Gor" (1983), but then for that matter the story of Elinor Brinton is not that much different from what happened to Elizabeth Caldwell, transformed into Vella of Gor in the fourth Gor book, "The Nomads of Gor." Consequently, there is really no surprise to what happens in this novel and the style is not enough this time around to overcome the lack of substance (i.e., Norman does not create any compelling supporting characters as he did in previous novels). Gorean philosophy aside, "Captive of Gor" is a major break in the developing narrative. There is nothing wrong with that, but Norman continues to abandon the epic story arc he created in the first six volumes in the ones that followed this volume as well. Consequently, "Captive of Gor" becomes a pivotal novel in the series, representing the end of the great adventures and the beginning of the sociological textbooks.

Rating:
Summary: John Norman replaces Tarl Cabot with a slave girl from Earth
Review: "Captive of Gor," the 7th volume in John Norman's Chronicles of Counter-Earth, was the first book in the series that I did not really enjoy. The reason was not because this is the first volume to be devoted primarily to Norman's Gorean philosophy of slavery as the natural condition of women, but simply because Tarl Cabot (or Bosk of Port Kar as he is currently known in the series) is not the main character in this novel. In "Captive of Gor" we are introduced to Elinor Brinton, who was a wealthy and powerful woman on Earth, but who is brought to Gor and made a plesure slave in the service of the slave merchant Targo. In other words, we have a modern "liberated" woman put into a condition of slavery where she is forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who purchases her for the night. The conflict between the Priest-Kings and the Others is behind Elinor's abduction, but that is ultimately a minor point in this 1972 novel. Norman tells essentially the same story in "Slave Girl of Gor" (1977) and "Kajira of Gor" (1983); for that matter, the story of Elinor Brinton is not that much different from what happened to Elizabeth Caldwell, transformed into Vella of Gor in the fourth Gor book, "The Nomads of Gor." Consequently, there is really no surprise to what happens in this novel and the style is not enough this time around to overcome the lack of substance. Gorean philosophy aside, "Captive of Gor" is a break in the developing narrative. There is nothing wrong with that, but Norman continues to abandon the epic story arc he created in the first six volumes in the ones that followed "Captive" as well.

Rating:
Summary: Suddenly John Norman replaces Tarl Cabot with a slave girl
Review: "Captive of Gor," the 7th volume in John Norman's Chronicles of Counter-Earth, was the first book in the series that I did not really enjoy. The reason was not because this is the first volume to be devoted primarily to Norman's Gorean philosophy of slavery as the natural condition of women, but simply because Tarl Cabot (or Bosk of Port Kar as he is currently known in the series) is not the main character in this novel. In "Captive of Gor" we are introduced to Elinor Brinton, who was a wealthy and powerful woman on Earth, but who is brought to Gor and made a pleasure slave in the service of the slave merchant Targo. In other words, we have a modern "liberated" woman put into a condition of slavery where she is forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who purchases her for the night. The conflict between the Priest-Kings and the Others is behind Elinor's abduction, but that is ultimately a minor point in this 1972 novel. Norman tells essentially the same story in "Slave Girl of Gor" (1977) and "Kajira of Gor" (1983); for that matter, the story of Elinor Brinton is not that much different from what happened to Elizabeth Caldwell, transformed into Vella of Gor in the fourth Gor book, "The Nomads of Gor." Consequently, there is really no surprise to what happens in this novel and the style is not enough this time around to overcome the lack of substance. Gorean philosophy aside, "Captive of Gor" is a break in the developing narrative. There is nothing wrong with that, but Norman continues to abandon the epic story arc he created in the first six volumes in the ones that followed "Captive" as well.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Gor Book
Review: ...First the short version. This book constitutes nothing less than
an all-out assault on humanity. Not, I repeat, NOT just women. Now
for the longer version. While the book's misogynistic slant is
obvious from literally the third or fourth line on the first page, it
is my view that this book is not only misogynistic but misanthropic as
well. John Norman presents a reductionist view of human relations
(not just sexual realtions!) that reduces our great race of six
billion plus down to four personalities, two of which are considered
aberrant. Male dominant, female submissive, male submissive, and
female dominant. I leave it to the reader to determine which two of
these four personalities are supposedly aberrant. Aside from being
misanthropic, the book is horrendously simplistic in its message. I
must confess, I did not (or should that be can not?) read the entire
book. But I figure that anyone who can ceaselessly chant about the
glory of male domination and female submission for two hundred thirty
some-odd pages can do the same for three hundred. Or six hundred. Or
a thousand. Or for a series of twenty books. Or even ad infinitum.
I only hope the writer of this book, with a PhD in philosophy, no
less, only wrote this book to supplement his income, and does not
truly believe that which he writes within these accursed pages. In
short, I would never burn a book, for I believe that the printed word
is sacred, (not in the religious sense!) but if a madman were to point
a gun at my head and order me to burn a single book, _Captive of Gor_
would be my choice.

End note: While I do not mean to imply that the
assault of this book is aimed with equal ferocity at men as at women,
the close reader cannot help but to notice the assault targeted at
humanity in general, and hence at men.

Rating:
Summary: Early books are the best in Gor Series
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: John Norman does NOT live down to his principals,
Review: which is about the best thing I can say about this story. Gorean masters are supposed to be able to do anything they damn well please to their slaves. In fact, when Rask punishes Elinor too severely, he is punished pretty severely in turn. It seems that natural law does include retribution, even for Gorean masters.

It's also worth noting that Norman seems to identify with the slave women. They are, he said, often chained to their desks to write fantasies--and that's the story of his life. Unlike his other images, this has nothing to do with any form of slavery that has ever been described. And he has obviously done extensive research into them all: in Rome, Denmark, Arabia and, of course, the good old US of A.

So can't he come up with some other stories, in addition to the everlasting Torture of the Shrew? What about a slave girl whose master wins her true devotion by torturing the slave trader who captured and abused her? This really happened to a slave trader named John Newton, who responded by writing "Amazing Grace" and starting an anti-slavery society. ("Grace on Gor"?)

For that matter, what about a Free Woman who gets enslaved for starting an anti-slavery society but realizes that she can enjoy her slavery if she's allowed to say it is morally wrong? ("Traitors of Gor"?)

And what about a powerful televangelist from Earth who is forced to live her faith, by comforting the oppressed yet forgiving their oppressors on Gor? She could wind up being crucified, even though her love master would have to pull the nails out at the last moment. You KNOW that John Norman really wants to crucify a woman, if given half a chance. ("Passion of Gor"?)

And what if the slave traders capture Harriet Tubman's great-great-great granddaughter, who has heard more ways for slaves to escape than their masters can even dream of? ("Legacy of Gor"?) Sure, slavery is sexy because power is sexy, but it can be interesting, too.

But at any event, IMHO, these books should NOT be read by teen-agers. No matter what variations we come up with, this is still pro-slavery S/M bondage stuff. It is incredible that teens could freely find it on the sci-fi shelf 30 years ago, while adults debated whether they should be allowed to read the great anti-slavery masterpiece, Huckleberry Finn.