Nomads of Gor

Gor #4

by John Norman

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 it, Tarl must unravel the mysteries of this strange, private band of nomads called the Wagon People at risk of his life. 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?

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Erotica, Science Fiction Fantasy, Sword and Planet

344 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

John Norman, real name John Lange, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931. His best known works, the Gor series, currently span 36 books written 1966 (Tarnsman of Gor) to 2021 (Avengers of Gor). Three installments of the Telnarian Histories, plus three other fiction works and a non-fiction paperback. Mr. Norman is married and has three children.

Reviews

[Garden Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cuarta novela de la saga Gor y un libro bastante irregular, con algunas ideas que funcionan y otras que son tan repetitivas que hacen de la lectura un tormento.

Para empezar, lo peor son las habilidades literarias de Norman, a mi opinion bastante limitadas, que ha ratos logran captar por completo tu interés y al siguiente te hace querer tirar el libro por la ventana y no volver a saber nunca mas de él en tu vida.

Nomades de Gor sufre del mismo problema que sus antecesores, da la impresion de ser un borrador a medio acabar. Y digo esto porque el libro comienza bien, captando tu interes con un pueblo barbaro similar, a ratos, a los antiguos mongoles que resulta interesante y bien escrito para luego comenzar una trama "pedorra" y forzada acerca de un mercader y una chica princesa que no quiere ser esclava, pero si quiere, pero no, pero si, pero.... etc. El asunto resulta tan cancino y esta tan mal desarrollado que estuve a punto de abandonar la lectura... supuestamente nuestro heroe se había infiltrado en los pueblos del carro en busca de un huevo de los reyes sacerdote. ¿Por qué insistir en un asunto que no está ni remotamente relacionado con dicho objetivo?

En fin, ya casi para la mitad del libro nuestro protagonista parece recordar cual era su mision y finalmente entra en acción, lo que genera que desde este punto el libro mejore bastante, regalandonos una de las mejores secuencias de la novela, que es la del "estanque amarillo" donde conoceremos una criatura tremendamente original, que al menos en mi caso no habia visto, o leido, en ningun otro libro, serie o pelicula, lo que a mi opinión es una de las cosas que salvan de la quema a esta novela.

En el tramo final, la escritura vuelve a decaer presentándonos algunas batallas qué no logran emocionar pero tampoco aburren ya que todo está narrado de manera expedita. Luego está el cierre de la novela donde se nos presentan situaciones tan justo, justo, justo... y otras del tipo; yo hice ésto porque sabía que tú ibas a hacer ésto otro y a la misma vez sabía que si tú hacías esto otro, está otra persona también iba hacer esta otra cosa y etc... etc... situaciones que son todo lo contrario a la vida real y que para resolver una novela resultan contraproducentes. Por lo demás, todo lo que ocurre en esta novela al final resulta al "pedo" porque aquello que nuestro personaje andaba buscando en realidad estuvo todo el tiempo frente a sus narices.

En conclusión, un libro qué se salva solo por el excelente worldbuilding de los Tushuks (pueblos del carro) y el capítulo del "Estanque amarillo", del resto no hay mucho que decir.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Nomads of Gor is the fourth installment in John Norman’s series about Tarl Cabot, the professor from Earth who is now a warrior on the planet Gor (the Counter-Earth). In the last book, Priest-Kings of Gor, Tarl was instructed by the Priest-Kings to find their egg — the last hope of the insectoid Priest-King race. The egg is in the keeping of the wagon people, a fierce group of nomadic tribes. Tarl needs to find these people, infiltrate their society, get the egg, and escape.

Gor is an impressive world full of diverse and fascinating geographies, races, languages, cultures, and economic systems which John Norman describes in loving detail. This world-building is the best part of the Gorean Saga. But amongst all this diversity, one thing (surprisingly) remains the same wherever Tarl Cabot goes: every society he encounters captures pretty girls and uses them (branded, chained, and collared) as pleasure slaves.

John Norman’s favorite trick is to turn a beautiful, independent, and feisty woman into a slave. At first she’ll resist and scream “Never!”, “I hate you!”, etc. Then she is subdued by her master and made to learn her place. Soon she is happier than she’s ever been in her life because she’s learned to give in to her natural desire to be dominated by a man. (Yet, if she’s so content, I’m not sure why she still has to wear a leash.)

This is my fourth (and last) Gor book and I’ve had an epiphany. All this time I’ve been wondering why these “spirited” women don’t get together, rise up, and revolt. They walk around doing chores together, so it’d be easy to plan a night where every fiery female slave stabs or poisons her master. Now, I’ve finally realized what their problem is… they’re all idiots.

This is how it goes:

Man: You are beautiful and feisty so I want you to be my slave, wench! I will have you!

Stupid Wench #1: No way! I am a free woman and my birthday is in a few days. Then I will get my inheritance and become the richest woman in the country. I will never be your slave! NEVER! NEVER! I hate you! NEVER!

Man: Stop kicking me and punching me with your tiny fists, feisty wench! You will be my slave!

Stupid Wench #1: No! Never! And just to show you how much I hate you, I will now ask this other warrior to challenge you in a duel and I will make myself the prize. You will never have me! NEVER!

Man: Actually, I changed my mind. You are not worth fighting for.

Stupid Wench #1: What? Am I not beautiful? Don’t you want me?

Man: No, not really. I’ve got Stupid Wench #2 over there and she’s way better than you.

Stupid Wench #1: What? She has fat ankles!

Man: Her ankles are sturdy. See how well she runs next to me when I’m riding on my horse.

Stupid Wench #1: I am better than her! Fight for me!

Stupid Wench #2: I am first girl, you stupid wench! We don’t need any other stupid wenches around here. I can do all the washing, cooking, cleaning, animal grooming, poop scooping, kneeling, groveling, and man-pleasing all by myself. You will not outrank me! NEVER!

Stupid Wench #1: I am prettier than Stupid Wench #2! My ankles are not fat. Don’t you think I’m pretty?

Man: You are not worth much.

Stupid Wench #1: Fight for me! Fight for me! Put your collar on me, Master!

So Man wins Stupid Wench #1 (who loses her inheritance since she’s no longer free), outfits her in shiny new handcuffs, ankle rings, and collar, drags her by her hair, throws her across his saddle, and rides off. Stupid Wench #2 is trotting along at his side, sweating and resting her head on his thigh occasionally. Once Stupid Wench #1 is branded and settled in, she and Stupid Wench #2 jealously jostle for position — taunting each other, sneering, calling names, and sometimes even kicking, biting, and pulling hair... And yet, according to the Gorean philosophy, they’re now complete women because they have submitted to a man and are in their proper place…

This is just insulting. Not the part about women being willing to submit to men, but the fact that these women are valued only for their beauty and “spirit,” are so easily beguiled by these men’s transparent manipulations, and then are encouraged to jealously compete with each other for the man’s affections. Norman wants us to believe his women are wonderful because they're fiery and spirited. But no, they’re not. They’re all just a bunch of idiots. I say they got what they deserve.

[Maki ⌒☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I originally set out to read the entire Gor series. Here I am, at the end of the fourth book...and I'm seriously rethinking that commitment.

Cabot just keeps getting more unlikeable as the series progresses. At this point, he's only heroic in comparison to uncivilized men around him. And it's not like Cabot's an anti-hero, where walking the line between "good" and "horrible" is the point of the character - Cabot is supposed to be all-around good guy.

Remember Talena? Because Cabot sure doesn't!

Much like the biggest issue I had with the third book in the series, Priest-Kings of Gor, Cabot has stopped looking on Gorean society through the lens of somebody from Earth, and started lumping himself in with the Goreans. Cabot's impartiality is thrown out the window, so his occasional rants about women on Earth vs women on Gor come across as less cultural comparisons, and more Cabot complaining about Earth women not being like Gorean women.

The Gorean master, commonly, likes a spirited girl, who fights the whip and collar, resisting until at last, perhaps months later, she is overwhelmed and must acknowledge herself his, utterly and without reservation, then fearing only that he might tire of her and sell her to another.

So, basically, until the women develop Stockholm Syndrome.

Wikipedia: "One commonly used hypothesis to explain the effect of Stockholm syndrome is based on Freudian theory. It suggests that the bonding is the individual's response to trauma in becoming a victim. Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be perceived as a threat."

Nomads started off decently enough, all things considered, with the introduction of a new Gorean culture. Things were going pretty well. And then, Elizabeth Cardwell showed up.

Poor, poor Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth's first introduced, she's terrified out of her mind, and has no idea what's going on. She can only speak English, and is worried that she's going crazy.

So what does our hero, Cabot, do when he finds out that she's from Earth?

Nothing.

He just stands and watches her freak out, until Kamchak finds out that Cabot can understand the girl, and gets Cabot to be a translator.

Things just go downhill from there.

The middle chunk of the book turns the focus away from Elizabeth, but it's just full of inconsistencies and obliviousness on Cabot's part. He repeats information that he just found out as though he'd known it for a while.

I remembered that two years before, as I had learned, he had brought Aphris of Turia a five-string diamond necklace, which she had scorned, and had, according to her report at least, given to a slave.

Aphris and Kamchak discussed that event not five pages before, which was the first time Cabot had heard that story.

He doesn't pick up on the fact that Saphar the Merchant is clearly involved with the whole Elizabeth plot - the guy knows Cabot's name, the collar on Elizabeth was Turian, and Saphar's first order of business with Kamchak is to discuss potentially buying the freaking Priest King egg. When Kamchak refuses every offer, Saphar declares that he will have the egg, even if he has to start a war with the Tuchuk to do so.

And yet -

In Turia I had learned nothing, unfortunately, of the answers to the mystery of the message collar or to the appearance of Miss Elizabeth Cardwell on the southern plains of Gor.

Cabot buys some wine because Kamchak paid for admission tickets to see a slave girl dance, even though Cabot was the one who lost the bet for who had to pay for the admissions, and there was a scene of him grudgingly giving the payment to Kamchak while looking at all of Kamchak's wealth.

He gets stalked around by a person whose job it is to torture and assassinate people, and all Cabot thinks is, "Oh, that guy must be curious about me!"

I noted, following me, as I had more than once, a masked figure, one wearing the hood of the Clan of Torturers. I supposed he was curious about me, not a Tuchuk, not a merchant or singer, yet among the wagons.

But none of that drove me to the breaking point. Frustration, yes - but I was still willingly reading.

No, no, no. The breaking point came after a nice series of action scenes that had me actually enjoying the story.

Kamchak ends up giving Elizabeth to Cabot as a slave. Cabot, as he often does, frees Elizabeth. Elizabeth, by now thoroughly immersed in Gorean culture, takes the gesture as Cabot not thinking that she's worth anything, and haughtily acts like an offended slave girl.

And then the point of no return is reached.

She seemed to me very beautiful. Again I considered raping her, but now that she was free, no longer a simple slave, I supposed that it would be improper.

YOU SUPPOSE???

I was sure that I had read the sentence wrong the first time Cabot casually thought about raping Elizabeth. And then that second rape comment happened.

It would be one thing for Cabot to admire her beauty, and think about how he wanted to have sex with Elizabeth. That, I could accept. But the way Cabot phrased it? Oh HELLS no.

And it still managed to get worse.

The institution of freedom for women, I decided as many Goreans believed, was a mistake.

What follows after that is a very uncomfortable implied sex scene between Elizabeth and Cabot, where Elizabeth challenges Cabot's theory that all women long to be slaves to men - or rather, to a certain man. Elizabeth bets that she'd never truly wish to be a slave, and that if Cabot can make her wish otherwise, then HE has to be HER slave for a while.

Naturally, such an arrangement is offensive to Cabot.

Anyway, Cabot does finally agree to her terms, and sets about sexing Elizabeth up, which leads to Elizabeth admitting that she's in love with Cabot (of course) and that she wants to be owned by him. She also develops a split personality, and starts referring to herself with the plural "we" - Elizabeth, the girl from Earth, and Vella, the Gorean slave. Both of whom intend on competing against each other for Cabot's affection.

"We love you," said they, "Master."

After that creepy as hell scene, the action picks back up, and the ending only further proves what an idiot Cabot is.

"Pa-Kur," I said, "defeated in personal combat on the high roof of the Cylinder of Justice in Ar, turned and to avoid capture threw himself over the ledge. I do not think he could fly."

"Was the body recovered?" Kamchak asked again.

"No," I said. "But what does it matter?"

"It would matter to a Tuchuk," said Kamchak.

Please, please let Assassin of Gor be about Parkur getting revenge on Cabot.

I know Parkur won't stay alive, but if he manages to at least make Cabot miserable for a while, I'll be happy.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm in the middle of reading as many of the "Gor" S&M erotic fantasy novels as I can stand, as a sort of guilty holiday gift to myself; see my review of the first book, Tarnsman of Gor, for more on why these books came to my attention in the first place. This is now the fourth book of the series I've gotten through, and the first that made me really start glancing impatiently at the clock every ten pages or so, wondering just how long it was going to take me to finally get through this slog, so far both the longest and the least interesting volume of the entire series.

Taking place immediately after the events of book three, Priest-Kings of Gor, regular readers will remember that it's in that book that we learn that the "gods" that rule over this "counter-earth" are in fact a bunch of space aliens that look like giant praying mantises, unable to leave their elaborate cave fortress because of their sensitivity to the sun; and that's why they've recruited the ongoing hero of our story, contemporary British inter-planet transplant Tarl Cabot, to travel out into the wilderness of their planet and retrieve the one and only female egg that their hive's queen secreted before she died, which was...stolen? I think? By...someone? For some reason? Even though these space aliens are nearly omnipotent when compared to the human tribes of caveman warriors they've stolen from Earth at various points over the millennia, and who they keep in a perpetual Conan-the-Barbarian state of technology so that they won't overwhelm the aliens?

To be honest, I didn't pay a lot of attention to the details of this particular book, mostly because there's little of it to pay attention to in the first place; after this briefest of setups, the entire rest of the 400 page novel takes place with Tarl traveling and carousing among a tribe of perpetually roving warriors, which you can think of as author John Norman's version of the Mongolians (or if you're a Game of Thrones fan, Norman's version of the Dothraki). It's on the first page that Cabot sets off to find this egg, and not until the last page that he takes possession of it; and that leaves 400 pages for Norman to masturbatorily wallow in way, way, way more of the mundane details of these nomad warriors' day-to-day lives than most people will ever be interested in, ultimately presenting us with a hangout novel that happens to have some fighting and sex thrown in at random moments, but that mostly exists to instruct us on the proper colors and materials for making the various clans' outfits to tell each other apart, the official start of the "Gor" series' transition from fairly respected Edgar Rice Burroughs action-adventure fantasy ripoffs to self-indulgent messes that exist mostly to let Norman obsessively write out his fetishes in exhaustive, Tolkien-like minute detail.

And speaking of sex and Norman's fetishistic obsessions, the creepy factor of Gor's misogynistic slave society is once again ratcheted up another notch here; it still hasn't completely taken over the storyline, like supposedly happens around book 6 or 7 or so, the main thing that the "Gor" series is now notoriously known for decades later, but certainly here you can see Norman sort of stretching himself into writing about the subject more and more, sort of testing the waters to see how much of this stuff his audience will stand. This is the first time in four books that we start reading paragraphs that clearly show that Norman truly hates women -- that his whole shtick about how women are only fit to be the bought-and-sold property of men, good only for relieving these men's sexual urges, is not some goofy BDSM nonsense added for titillation, but rather comes from a deep disgust he has over anyone who owns a vagina, and a furious anger over their tendency to give him an erection whether he wants one or not. I'll explore this in much more detail in later books (and will make sure to jot down examples of what I'm talking about next time, in that I can't find the relevant quotes again now that I've finished this particular book); but for those keeping track, this fourth book is officially where this transition starts occurring, from fairly innocent "Save me, burly Conan!" fantasy-novel sex-slave territory into a much more disquieting attitude of, "Let's punish all women because I asked out the secretary of my office building and she turned me down." It hasn't been enough yet to drive me away from the series altogether, so expect my review of book 5, Assassins of Gor, sometime next week.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever want to know what John Norman's 'Chronicles of Gor' are like, all you need do is read 'Chapter 25 - I Am Served Wine' and be done with it. I am of course exagerating. Just not much.

This installment of Tarl Cabot's adventures in the strange world of Gor has him distracted yet again from finding his beloved Talena to spend years on end with the fierce Wagon peoples who it is said were given the last egg of the Priest Kings which he has now promised himself he would find and return to them. He gets distracted a lot in fact, to the extent that he now hooks-up with another girl, Elizabeth Cardwell, who was unceremoniously snatched from Earth and dumped on the dusty plains of Gor to live out her life as a slave girl. She doesn't take to it quite as well as her gorean masters would have hoped though, and for some strange reason acts up a bit whence she becomes affectionately known as the pretty little barbarian. In the end, Tarl Cabot, who can always be relied upon to teach a girl her place, manages to bring her round to his point of view and convince our pretty little barbarian that she would of course be infinitely happier by submitting, and becoming his slave girl. Of course, which girl wouldn't? So, she bets him he can't in fact convince her of this, only to promptly lose, thereby ending a wonderful chapter(25, mentioned above) literally begging him to make her his slave, and even handing him the slave collar.

What a wonderful place Gor is. I wonder how I get there...?

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appalling, but colourful and fun

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I liked it. There, I admitted it. Now apparently that makes me a bad person or something because the Gor novels are supposed to be ABOUT the misogynistic domination of women and gratuitous male-centered erotic tripe. Except that it isn't - at least, not yet. I know the books are supposed to devolve into rubbish as the series progresses but as of this one (#4) it's still a decent escapist read with some provoking questions about male-female relationships, will-to-power, and cultural relativism. Granted it's not thought-provoking or as thorough in its intellectual probing as it could be but IT'S FANTASY FICTION.

So far in the first 4 books of this series there has been almost no graphic description of sex or any sexual act. Nothing that isn't surpassed in modern teen-whatever-romance books.

Yes, women on Gor are beaten and enslaved, but so far it is not described in a manner that glorifies the act of violence or even slavery. And just because Tarl doesn't haul off and start decapitating anyone who mistreats a woman doesn't mean he's a jerk. I don't care if you are Rambo, if you suddenly appear in say Saudi Arabia, you don't make waves about womens rights and try to overthrow the whole burka thing. That being said, yes, obviously Tarl is biased and doesn't restrict himself from all the 'privileges' his new home planet provides him.

The repression of women is not justified in its description. Tarl, as Gor-ified as he becomes, still retains and struggles with drawing a line somewhere between Gor's brutality and Earth's naivete, while still trying to keep a place in between to fit his own ego (he is the big hero of the planet after all). While it is implied that women are best in a passive/submissive role, what I get so far is that the violence and extremes of Gor are supposed to be simple, heavy-handed/over-kill examples to illustrate the psychological/biological tendency for women to be passive/submissive to men. THIS DOES NOT MEAN NORMAN THINKS WOMEN WANT/NEED TO BE SEX SLAVES. It's a flawed method as well: most people, men or women, put through such treatment would also become surprisingly servile.

Now there are some problems to be sure. The women are simplified, undeveloped psychologically (most characters in the series are lacking a bit in proper motivation and "personality" - even here in "Nomads", which has the most characterization in the series yet. I was a bit disappointed that Elizabeth didn't turn out to be a really different sort of woman, one who didn't quite fall into the simple profile that Norman has been casually theorizing on. Or at least offer more resistance to what Gor wants her to be. With all this talk about the domination of women and what a woman's roll is, I think the most interesting perspective that could emerge from Gor would be that of a woman-warrior, a Red Sonja type. But such a character would have to be a true outsider from Gor, like Tarl himself is. Elizabeth could have been that (maybe not, I know she's just a dainty office secretary-type, but I feel that would have been a more interesting opportunity to explore.

I worry that Tarl's perspective might start to bore me in future tales, since he seems to be steadily apologetic of Gor's extremeness while each encounter only reinforces the Gorean outlook on life. As each woman in the series is conquered similarly I worry the series will get repetitive rather quickly - that in all likelihood is probably the biggest flaw of the Gor series. Because in all honesty people, fantasy as a fiction genre is a pretty male-centric field. Convention gives us the heroics of the dashing hero who rescues damsels from new dangers. What Norman does is talk a bit more about the psychology of such male 'heroes': such a world where women are left so helpless to monsters and villains would also impose the right of the man to take all that he will. So complaining about the treatment and depiction of women in the series is like complaining the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park kill people.

Nomads of Gor is the funnest one in the series so far and I loved the new characters who liven things up. The Tuchuks are funny, wily, annoying, lovable, interesting and barbaric all at once. I hope the series continues in this fashion, or at least continues to build on itself and its world.

[Petergiaquinta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book long ago, long before the publisher started putting photos of real women in bondage on the covers, long before I knew anything of the freaky-deaky subculture this series has spawned.

So please don't all de-friend me when you see this...I just thought of Tarl Cabot on Gor as I was doing some broad reading on sci-fi this evening. Honest, I didn't even read it this century!

Somehow Tarl Cabot is transported to Counter-Earth, otherwise known as Gor. Don't ask me how; I don't remember. Although a professor on Earth, Cabot becomes a barbarian warrior on the planet of Gor. Beasts are vanquished; heads roll, and alien women succumb to his manly ways as if he were Captain Kirk himself. In Nomads of Gor, Tarl Cabot meets the Wagon People of the plains. That's pretty much all anyone needs to know.

If swords and sorcery are your thing...well, I don't really know how to finish that sentence. But just imagine if Conan (the Cimmerian, not O'Brien!) had a love child with John Carter of Mars. It just might have grown up to be Tarl Cabot of Gor. And if you throw in way more obsessive attention to flora and fauna than you would ever expect in a barbarian pulp novel, well then you might begin to get an idea of what this book is like. So maybe it would be sort of what you'd get if Carl Linnaeus ate himself a fistful of peyote and had a love child with the High Evolutionary...

You're right; it doesn't deserve three stars.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I keep reading these. The storytelling is not that good. At times it's too much detail that one is clearly not interested in. This book finally races past kinky and steps firmly into the realm of sadomasochism. Not really necessary. Tarl Cabot is a confusing character with shifty morals; most of the times I dislike him. The constant use of the deus ex machina device to tie the story together (common with Edgar Rice Burroughs as well, I might add) does not help. However, towards the end, the storytelling gets tighter, I started becoming more interested in the characters and by then it's done. It makes me wonder if I'll bother with another volume. I enjoyed the end, so instead of giving it 1 star, I'll give it two.

[Aves · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished. I really, truly finished. I'm not sure you understand how happy I am to be done reading this trainwreck of a novel.

It took me three months, but I finished. Three months of shoddy writing and horrible characterization. Three months of reading about men constantly pounding their chests and grunting about how manly and dominating they are. Three months reading about simpering women who love being helpless slaves to Big Strong Men.

Honestly, though, it's a shame that Norman jumps the shark here, because if you strip the books of their stupid "slavery is good" undertones, and actually introduce decent writing, the main plot could be very, very good.

But it isn't, so I'm going to walk away from this series now before it has a chance to get worse.

[Ian]

this one gets real smutty and misogynistic in a domination scene that suggests that a women isn't a woman until she has experienced slavery.

at the end makes a big deal of freeing slaves being the highest romantic gesture, but even when freed they continue to serve the master to whom they have submitted and thus love.

it's really gross in concept but when shoehorned into otherwise competent and typical s&s/sf it mostly comes across as goofy and cringeworthy.

this series is one of many examples of why inserting your personal fetishes into your art is almost always awkward, embarrassing, and unnecessary (Tarantino, the Soskas, et al)

[Squire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earthman Cabot has decided to help the Priest-Kings preserve their society by finding the last egg birthed by the now-deceased PK mother that was entrusted to the safekeeping of the Wagon Peoples of the southern deserts of Gor. What he discovers is a vibrant society of 4 warring tribes of nomadic wagon people and the city of Turia that is vital to their survival.

This is by far my favorite of the first 6 Gor novels. It represents Norman's best writing, story plotting and use of humor. While the slavery/domination theme, which has always been in the background, is brought to the forefront in this book, I never found it gratuitous and always in service of the story. Final plot twists and reveals were predictable, but satisfying in their own right. I've always found stories of desert nomadic societies in fantasy literature fascinating and this one did not disappoint me in the least. This is the only one of the first six I would read again.

If you've made it through the first 3 books, you owe it to yourself to read this one.

[Dwight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted at the Scorpion Bow Network on the Furiously Eclectic People site.

---

Note: This is the revised edition and an e-book (read from a Kobo Mini). I normally prefer the original editions of books but unlike the first three in the series, I could not find an affordable copy of this one.

Immediately the prose feels different from previous volumes; smoother, less arcane and far less fun. The heavy descriptions start coming at you and much information is given to the reader with statements like "I learned later that..."

With so much information and so little action, this book moves slowly. The prose starts to right itself just 10% in but the weighty tacked-on knowledge-transfer breaks any flow of the story. There is some effective imagery 20% in but not much else except more and more explanations and descriptions. This is also the poorest editing of the series so far with many grammatical errors.

Norman makes an astute observation that unlike on Gor, slavery on Earth is more subtle and invisible where people often disbelieve it.

Things start to become more interesting around 30% in but Norman guides you by the hand through each step. Each twist is well explained before it happens so as to offer no surprises. It also becomes quite repetitive. At 30% in, I feel like all of this could have been well done in a handful of pages. At halfway through it feels like things may start moving but there really just isn't much going on. Being led so delicately through all the foreshadowing so nothing can be a surprise is disheartening. 

Two thirds of the way through and it becomes work to read.

At about 80% the story starts. We learn about the Gorean freedom through slavery and how it compares to Earth. True freedom is found in submitting to the right master. This is much the same in Earth philosophy. We all submit to a master, be it Yahweh, money, a person, or many other idols. A fair amount of time is spent on this and while it's very interesting, it's also not essential to the actual story. It is something some may roll their eyes and skip while others will find this part most intriguing.

We finally get to see some action and the climax of the story. The main thrust is complete and we're left with a question to be answered by reading another book.

Conclusion? Nomads was often dreary, long, painstaking, and predictable. Once the story picked up, it was educational and entertaining. I'm glad I read it however with near 80% of the book easily skipped I am hesitant to take on another book in the series.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers Ahead, you have been warned!!!
What a struggle! Buried in this book is a potentially excellent high-fantasy adventure. But it is well buried!
The bones of the story:
Our "hero" Tarl Cabot finds himself sent to the Wagon peoples to rescue the last egg, and last hope, of the Priest-Kings. Finding his way to the Wagon peoples he befriends one, lives among them, learns their ways and culture. In the mean time the golden egg he is hunting for is stolen and the Ubar is killed. Tarl breaks into the city of the merchant who had the egg stolen and is captured. He is forced to fight a mysterious and deadly beast and escapes. His companion captures a slave and earns a place of honour among his people in the process. Eggless, Tarl disguises himself but is soon found out and whilst on the run discovers he has a friend in the city. He happens to be in hiding still when the Tuchuks attack and take the city. But the wagons are under attack and Tarl must take a tarn and find help from the other clans. He then heads to defend the wagons and when it looks like he must die in this fight he is rescued by the arrival of the other clans. Clans united, plans are made for the rescue of the egg. They break into the fortress of the merchant, scuffles ensue, plots are concluded. Tarl leaves the Wagon people with the egg and a free woman in toe.
You see, one paragraph to explain the basic plot but it is wrapped in waffle! Tarl explaining, repeating himself, reiterating, enslaving women, freeing women, enslaving them again and then freeing them as well as constant justifications for the Gorean slave tradition.
I think if the author just embraced the whole slave concept and went, this is the world he's in like it or lump it, and then just wrote pure fantasy without all the justifications it would make the indecisive, hot and cold Tarl a lot more likeable.
Anyway, I started this series thinking I'd read my way through them all but if the next book doesn't improve (and, in fairness, that's giving him five books to improve with) I'll be giving up on it.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I am glad I managed to finish the 4th book in the series and I'm on my way to finish them all one at the time.

I am no expert, nor claim to be one, but this is a very good read in my humble opinion, despite the controversy surrounded by the overall idea of male domination over the female, about the slavery institution - that is more or less present in today's modern society even many don't want to admit it in open - and much more.

The reader, especially the one knowing how to read between the lines will find much more than just the typical fantasy plot, with the good guy fighting the bad guys, the hero versus villains conflict, the good versus evil confrontation whit the well expected final when the hero wins, gets the beautiful girl and moves on with his life.

The more profound reader will enjoy to find an elaborate debate and dissertation about courage and the need not to worship material things or Gods, but to live free, enjoy simple things while doing the best to protect your lifestyle and you own kind.

Also a very elaborate concept description and approach can be found about the liberty versus slavery and what it means in the end, for all of us, even now in the modern industrialized world worshiping the all mighty dollar and trying to please our mid and upper level managers, selling ourselves to them in a material world, being trapped in preconceived norms and rules of our civilization and forgetting the simple origins of life and basic survival.

Even though I passed well my college years, I am very tempted to go back to Queens, NY and to enroll maybe to the philosophy PhD program, just to learn more directly from John Norman himself, that I understand is still teaching there under his real name.

Anyway, aside my humble opinions about this one, if you have the guts to face some deep philosophical themes, you will enjoy this book as well as all the others from the Gorean series.

Have fun

[J.L. Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the entire series, there simply isn't anything else like it; they are decadent and addictive, completely and wholly something everyone should have on their MUST READ list.

Edgar Rice Burroughs BARSOOM series would be a faint comparison, I suppose; but Norman carries his characters to a depth of depravity that is reminiscent of a D/s or BDSM fetish fanatics dream. At the same time, they are not written in a way as to be entirely sexual, he merely casts about components and subtle subtext that one familiar with the lifestyle would of course pick up on, while a "vanilla" person could read right over without ever noticing or being offended.

The worst part of this series is it's highly addictive quality. Not long after I read my first book, I found myself at a Second Hand BookStore in Dallas purchasing a paperbag FULL of the entire series. 20 years later and I still have them! And, I always WILL!

[Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deel vier, en ik vroeg mij af hoe het verder zou gaan na zo’n totale paradigm shift als in Priest-Kings of Gor, waar iets dat 100% min of meer standaardfantasy leek te zijn, plots met aliens en alles is.

Wel: er was een probleem met het nest van de priesterkoningen, en de koningin is dood, en dus moest Tarl Cabot op zoek naar een ei, dat bij die nomaden zou zijn.

En dat is dus wat hij doet in dit boek: op zoek gaan naar een ei bij de nomaden. Die helemaal anders van maatschappij zijn als de andere mensen op Gor. Natuurlijk nog altijd vrouwonvriendelijk en zo, maar toch ook helemaa een eigen manier van de dingen organiseren.

Uiteraard is Tarl ongelooflijk goed en slaagt hij er meteen in om het vertrouwen te winnen van één van de belangrijkste mannen van de enorme groep nomaden, en integreert hij zich meteen ook goed en alles. Er komt ook zowaar een nieuwe persoon van de Aarde in de buurt: Elizabeth Cardwell, een secretaresse uit New York die naar een jobinterview op weg was, en wakker werd op Gor.

Uiteraard dat ze een slavin wordt, uiteraard dat ze verliefd wordt op Tarl en beseft dat het veel veel beter is voor haar in het algemeen om een slavin te zijn met een degelijke meester.

Maar hey, gegeven het genre en de reeks en de verwachtingen: geen slecht boek. Ik heb me geen moment verveeld.

Misschien is dat ook wel omdat ik kan genieten van worldbuilding for the sake of worldbuilding. Heeft hij het over de Wagon Peoples en hun tijdsberekening, dan wordt dat meteen een hele uitleg:

The Wagon Peoples war among themselves, but once in every two hands of years, there is a time of gathering of the peoples, and this, I had learned, was that time. In the thinking of the Wagon Peoples it is called the Omen Year, though the Omen Year is actually a season, rather than a year, which occupies a part of two of their regular years, for the Wagon Peoples calculate the year from the Season of Snows to the Season of Snows; Turians, incidentally, figure the year from summer solstice to summer solstice; Goreans generally, on the other hand, figure the year from vernal equinox to vernal equinox, their new year beginning, like nature’s, with the spring; the Omen Year, or season, lasts several months, and consists of three phases, called the Passing of Turia, which takes place in the fall; the Wintering, which takes place north of Turia and commonly south of the Cartius, the equator of course lying to the north in this hemisphere; and the Return to Turia, in the spring, or, as the Wagon Peoples say, in the Season of Little Grass. It is near Turia, in the spring, that the Omen Year is completed, when the omens are taken usually over several days by hundreds of haruspexes, mostly readers of bosk blood and verr livers, to determine if they are favourable for a choosing of a Ubar San, a One Ubar, a Ubar who would be High Ubar, a Ubar of all the Wagons, a Ubar of all the Peoples, one who could lead them as one people.*

Oh, en dat sterretje op het einde is inderdaad een voetnoot, waar dan nog eens uitgebreid wordt:

A consequence of the chronological conventions of the Wagon Peoples, of course, is that their years tend to vary in length, but this fact, which might bother us, does not bother them, any more than the fact that some men and some animals live longer than others; the women of the Wagon Peoples, incidentally, keep a calendar based on the phases of Gor’s largest moon, but this is a calendar of fifteen moons, named for the fifteen varieties of bosk, and functions independently of the tallying of years by snows; for example, the Moon of the Brown Bosk may at one time occur in the winter, at another time, years later, in the summer; this calendar is kept by a set of coloured pegs set in the sides of some wagons, on one of which, depending on the moon, a round, wooden plate bearing the image of a bosk is fixed. The years, incidentally, are not numbered by the Wagon Peoples, but given names, toward their end, based on something or other which has occurred to distinguish the year. The year names are kept in living memory by the Year Keepers, some of whom can recall the names of several thousand consecutive years. The Wagon Peoples do not trust important matters, such as year names, to paper or parchment, subject to theft, insect and rodent damage, deterioration, etc. Most of those of the Wagon Peoples have excellent memories, trained from birth. Few can read, though some can, perhaps having acquired the skill far from the wagons, perhaps from merchants or tradesmen. The Wagon Peoples, as might be expected, have a large and complex oral literature. This is kept by and occasionally, in parts, recited by the Camp Singers. They do not have castes, as Goreans tend to think of them. For example, every male of the Wagon Peoples is expected to be a warrior, to be able to ride, to be able to hunt, to care for the bosk, and so on. When I speak of Year Keepers and Singers it must be understood that these are not, for the Wagon Peoples, castes, but more like roles, subsidiary to their main functions, which are those of the war, herding and the hunt. They do have, however, certain clans, not castes, which specialize in certain matters, for example, the clan of healers, leather workers, salt hunters, and so on. I have already mentioned the clan of torturers. The members of these clans, however, like the Year Keepers and Singers, are all expected, first and foremost, to be, as it is said, of the wagons namely to follow, tend and protect the bosk, to be superb in the saddle, and to be skilled with the weapons of both the hunt and war.

Het vrouwonvriendelijke aspect dan: Tarl Cabot wordt meer en meer een echt Goreaan. Dit is een typische interactie met Elizabeth — die, ter herinnering, iemand is van zijn eigen planeet:

“You are free,” I said firmly.

“I shall try to keep it in mind,” she said.

“Do so,” I said.

“Do I make you nervous?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

She had now picked up the yellow sheet and, with a pin or two, booty from Turia probably, fastened it gracefully about her. I considered raping her. It would not do, of course.

“Have you eaten?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“There is some roast bosk left,” she said. “It is cold. It would be a bother to warm it up, so I will not do so. I am not a slave girl, you know.”

I began to regret my decision in freeing her.

Her eyes were looking at me over the rim of her bowl as she drank. “It is said,” she remarked, her eyes mischievous, “that any man who frees a slave girl is a fool.”

“It is probably true,” I said.

“You are nice, Tarl Cabot,” she said.

She seemed to me very beautiful. Again I considered raping her, but now that she was free, no longer a simple slave, I supposed that it would be improper. I did, however, measure the distance between us, an experiment in speculation, and decided I could reach her in one bound and in one motion, with luck, land her on the rug.

Ahem ja.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely my favorite of the series so far. I think my friend explained it best, this is basically like cowboys, but with cooler mounts! Considering I definitely have a thing for cowboys, it's no wonder this appealed to me. I'm reading the e-book, so I'm not sure if there are just a lot of spelling errors in this version, or if it's an overall thing for this book, but that was really the only thing I did not like about it. It became really distracting, and sometimes I wasn't sure if the spelling errors were intentional or not. But if you can look past them, I found this book much more exciting than the last one. It really makes me want to read the next one.

[David Teachout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each book builds on the last in an every-increasing description of the slave/master mentality and while it is certainly based on a grossly simplified characterization of men and women, there are nuances that at very least serve as interesting bits to ponder and discuss. The story itself is largely simple though the writing keeps getting better with each book, but it is fun and that sometimes is all that's needed.

[William Norris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as resplendent with painting the picture as the first three books in the series. I read the series when I was 19 and now I am rereading it a 55. It's been a trip through time for me so far. It took me a little work to find the entire series as they have been out of print for some time. I had accompanied my wife to her used bookstore to carry the book in and out and I stumbled onto the first 3 books. I devoured them in a few days.

[AmbushPredator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tarl Cabot comes to the land of the Mongol Hordes ... Errr, that is, the Land of the Wagon People. His quest: to find and return the lost egg of Priest Kings.

This is one of the most cinematic of all the novels, and also the one with the most engaging supporting characters, and the most humour, too. It introduces Elisabeth Cardwell, and seques neatly into the one novel I love above all of them - 'Assassin'. What I'd give to see that one on screen.

[Christopher Walls · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this whole series in a marathon session, while stationed in England. The depth and volume of the stories is humbling for any writer and I consider this series very influential in my own approach to writing and world building in general; generic post for all the books in this series as I am finally getting around to recording my reading list in Goodreads.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

With every long-running series, there's a point where you begin to question your commitment as a reader. This is especially true within pulpy varieties of escapist literature, where you know you're not going to experience anything "deep" and, at best, are likely to get variations on what you've already read. John Norman's Gor novels most certainly qualify as pulp, with the added handicap that Norman likes to cram in tons of his retrograde opinions about gender relations. As such, I've given the series even less leeway than your usual guilty pleasure. And that brings us to Nomads of Gor- the earliest Gor novel that I struggled to enjoy as a breezy, Sword and Planet adventure. It's a disappointing lurch toward mediocrity where the most frustrating tendencies of the first three Gor books suddenly become far more prominent. Not without its entertaining moments, and possibly worth reading if you enjoyed its predecessors, but definitely not a book that I can recommend to the average Sword and Planet fan.

I read Nomads of Gor shortly after completing Priest-Kings of Gor, which I genuinely loved and still consider to be the highpoint of the series. Knowing that Nomads picked up right where Priest-Kings left off, I had higher than average expectations for the novel. I was particularly eager to see whether the novel would continue focusing on the sci fi side of Norman's Sword and Planet formula. Sadly, Nomads reverts to the more Conan-esque, Sword and Sorcery aspects of the first two Gor books, with only passing reference to the technological wonders encountered in Priest-Kings. In fact, the entirety of the book is set amongst the Wagon Peoples of Gor's southern reaches, whose Mongol/Hun-inspired society is even more primitive and barbaric than that of Gor's northerly cities. There's also a distinct shift away from episodic action sequences, in favor of a plot that focuses upon Tarl Cabot's various experiences as an outsider among the Wagon Peoples. Nomads of Gor still qualifies as an adventure novel, but Norman appears far more interested in worldbuilding than ever before.

All of these shifts result in a much slower-moving experience than any of the first three Gor novels. This is exacerbated by the fact that Nomads of Gor is also somewhat longer than any of its predecessors. It isn't an exaggeration to say that, after the opening sequence, the novel lacks an honest-to-goodness action sequence until nearly two-hundred pages in. "Self-indulgent" is a phrase that quickly springs to mind. The plot does pick up over its second half, with a handful of memorable set-pieces ("The Yellow Pool of Turia", "The Battle at the Wagons"). Yet just as you're about to become fully invested in the story, Norman tosses in a lengthy chapter that functions only to expound upon his regressive sexual philosophy ("I Am Served Wine"). I've been told that these digressions become more jarring as the series progresses, which is quite the claim, seeing as I was already pretty upset with this insertion. Not disgusted enough to leave the novel unfinished, but exasperated to such a degree that it took me two sittings to get through approximately twenty pages.

So why does a novel with such obvious flaws still squeak by with a respectable, 3-star rating? As alluded to above, the action is quite good when Norman finally gets around to it. As engrossing as the best action sequences from Tarnsman or Priest-Kings. The more conventional aspects of Norman's worldbuilding also remain extremely interesting, meaning that all those detailed descriptions of nomadic society should have value for readers who have already invested themselves in the series. I'd even say that Nomads feels more "real" than any of Norman's earlier works, with few of the plot conveniences or over-the-top feats that marred Tarnsman and Outlaw. Lastly, it's worth noting that Nomads features a particularly strong cast of supporting characters, with special shoutouts to Kamchak and Harold the Tuchuk. I suppose this compensates for the fact that Tarl Cabot himself has become progressively less interesting as his story has progressed... Plot-wise, I can understand what Norman was going for here, but barbarian buddy drama and immersive societal critique simply isn't what I'm looking for in my adventure novels.

Given that I still really enjoy some aspects of Norman's world, I think I'll give Counter-Earth one more shot with Assassin of Gor, although this will be with a full-recognition that I no longer expect to read deep into the series. I've heard that Norman's more objectionable tendencies become more and more prominent as the series progresses, and if that's true I'll have little patience for increasingly unspectacular pulp.

[James Starvoice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is one of the few books the readers are able to realize the author's point better than the author is able to convey it, himself.

I like the Gor series so far and, for this particular book, there is much i liked, and some things and inconsistencies that i didn't like.

Things i liked:
The book is very enjoyable. The quality of this work and vivid imagination is consistent with the previous ones. There were many surprises, twists that are hard to anticipate, and scenes that get stuck in ones mind. I also noticed more focus on events and dialogue than "wordy descriptions" which plagued the previous books. Something i really appreciate.

Things i didn't like:
There is a big change about Tral.
The man who set free the first slave given to him, declared that he only accepts women as equals (despite many of them begging or daring him to enslave them) and led several rebellions to free slaves and humans, is a pro-slavery all of a sudden!
He displays a grave "I really don't care" attitude. Takes delight in humiliating females, use them for sport, personally take part degrading them in a moment of anger, think they deserve punishment for reasons that would otherwise seem irrational to his own background. And he explains to them how "they had it coming" and that they should feel "lucky and grateful" it wasn't any worse! Even the branding of women (which he paid a lot to save a woman he hates from such fate) is now something he enjoys seeing on a woman.
This could easily be a totally different character named Tarl.

Also, we already know the author's argument "there is something in a woman's psychs that desires being dominated by a man". But in this book the author focused on that point way too much, as if he was afraid the readers are still unable to grasp his message.

To make things worse, the female characters turn COMICAL whenever they play the "I want to be dominated" role. It gets so ridicules it's hard to imagine them as real characters anymore: "oh, please enslave me, I love it!"
I think this part of the story was very poorly executed. the author could've done much better by keeping the characters behavior realistic.

and finally... Chapter 26 is a disaster!
While I read most of the book in just 2 days, chapter 26 hindered my reading for OVER A MONTH! I kept going back to finish the book, on-and-off, (you know, you gotta start from the chapter's beginning) only to be turned off pretty quickly and put the book down for days, then do it again, until I finally (somehow) forced myself to just get that damn chapter done with! >(

I hope the next book will maintain the quality and exciting twists. And I hope to see future characters behave more realistically :)

[DKC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going through the Gor series for the first time, I find myself wondering if Norman occasionally got tired of his hero. But then, I think how Norman doesn't seem afraid of juxtaposing his hero against other characters that are more intelligent, or exciting, and I find it a bit refreshing.

But that's why I struggled with this book at first. There were so many times I wanted to smack Tarl's noggin in this installment of the series! Even with that, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the aspects of this book.

Small list of high points below; I've hidden major spoilers, or at least, tried to.

Harold - Call me nuts, but it's somehow endearing to have a lowly social outcast named "Harold." Loved seeing this side character become a major component of the plot.

Kamchak, Kamchak, Kamchak! Whooohooo!!! (apologies for the cheerleader section) I have to admit, this is one of my favorite characters in the series thus far, second only to Minsk. Wily Tuchuk!

Elizabeth/Vella - I can see this is where a lot of modern feminist ire would burst into flame-mode. I imagined the conversations between she and Tarl as Norman's fantasy arguments with some of the feminists of the day. I will say, I was quite shocked when Tarl internally considers rape as a means of ending the debate. So far in the series, I hadn't come across that word in all its blatant brutality. But I found it reassuring that he chose not to; it kept him from becoming something lesser, to my mind.

The Yellow Pool of Turia - This one gave me the shudders. The whole concept and the descriptions made this terribly creepy and horrific, nay, almost Lovecraftian. Gah!

Plot twists - Even though I thought I had it all figured out, Norman surprised me nonetheless.

In the end, I still felt smarter than Tarl, and I think that's what accounted for my frustrations with the book. Overall, though, one of my favs in the series.

[Starving zombie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been told over and over again that the first 7 or 8 of these Gor books are supposed to be really good, that they're supposed to be legitimate works of erotica seamlessly mixed with fantasy. Could have fooled me, though. So far they have been anything but erotic and I would call them anything but seamlessly mixed. Four books in now and it's still just...weird.

I want to give it the benefit of the doubt and at least pretend that the parts that are supposed to be erotica are erotica and not just thinly veiled sexism. I really do. The problem is that they aren't really all that erotic. They sort of just hint at eroticism. They are kind of like old movies, where there is a lot of build up to a passionate kiss, then the camera pans up and all the good stuff happens off screen. But YIKES is the build up in these books not erotic at all.

The chapters come in two distinct styles: The first kind are 20+ page long chapters about s3x sl@ves that have ridiculously long, un-titillating descriptions of women's clothing (or lack there of). I guess a lot of people found these scenes to be good descriptions of certain BDSM dynamics, but I found them to be nothing but cringe after cringe. I don't even want to describe what happens in them, it's all just so un-erotic.

The second kind are 5-10 pages of sword and sandal fantasy. Pretty hammy and fun. That's about it. The whole book should have been these chapters.

Whatever this book (and the rest of the Gor series) is trying to be, it fails. If it's supposed to be more of an erotica, it fails because it's just not erotic enough. If it's supposed to be more of a fantasy, it fails because you have to slog through a ton of BAD erotica to get to the fantasy.

[Kessiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for $2 at a used bookstore. And I read it purely to see just how bad it was. Overall, I liked it better than I expected! The sword and sandal genre is fun, and I genuinely thought there was an interesting story and some well thought out world-building (too well thought out...I don't need the compass directions of an alien planet explained to me in a foot note that takes up 3/4s of the page...). As stilted as the writing could be sometimes, by the end of the book I found some of the characters unexpectedly likable and three dimensional. Tarl Cabot, the main character, was noble and heroic but otherwise uninteresting. He was stupid and bumbling and really felt like just a tool to tell the story of the Tuchuk warriors.

The really hard part for me in this book was the deep seated misogyny. I would not like to meet John Norman or have any kind of conversation with him. The way women were treated in this book was basically as sex slaves, either literally or psychologically, and it was made clear many times that they were either there to provide pleasure or sport, and that they only craved subjugation. But, to be fair, it's a sci-fi pulp novel from the 60s, so I shouldn't have expected much better.

[Farseer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sword-and-sandal story in the pulp tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Good worldbuilding. Barely adequate writing. This series is of course (in)famous for the weird BDSM-like slavery, and in this fourth book it starts playing more of a role, although it's still not the whole focus.

In this fourth book we go back to pulp fantasy adventures after the science-fiction detour of the previous book. It's fine, but Norman is gradually spending more time with philosophical disquisitions and conversations about how women are only truly free and happy when they submit to a strong male master and all that. Extremely non-politically correct, of course, but my main problem with it is that those passages are so dull and long-winded. With this worldbuilding, there is a quite enjoyable story to be told here, with or without the BDSM themes, but Norman doesn't quite get there. He is just not that good of a writer and would seriously need to submit to a strong editor, male or otherwise, who would streamline his storytelling.

[Katrina Courtright · Rating 3 out of 5]

There May Be A Spoiler

This book was a slow burn in the beginning. Once it got going it became a pretty good story up until Tarl Cabot fubared it up. Tarl came to the wagons looking for a particular egg. He spends most of the book as sidekick to the chief of the wagon people only occasionally focusing himself on the egg. Before the climatic battle for the city, Tarl frees a slave and then ponders whether to rape her or not. This really bothers me and keeps me from giving more stars to this book. John Norman has a skewed view of women. I just hope this changes as the stories progress. Tarl reaches his goal and takes the girl and the egg and flies off to Sardar.

[Deckmaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one of the series so far for me. Tarl Cabot´s search of the last egg of the Priest-Kings leads him to the wagon people. A nomads which resemble the Mongols of our Earth, their warriors being organized in groups of tens, hundreds and thousands. I liked the Tuchuk (one of the tribes) characters and I love the overall setting, obviously. Norman has excellent world building. He transports you to another world, where the... ''bosk bellow, you smell the trampled earth and hear the sounds of moving wagons in the prairie winds''. The world of Gor where men are still men and women are still women. I can't wait to visit it again.