Tarnsman of Gor

Gorean Saga, Book 1

By: John Norman

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Tarl Cabot has always believed himself to be a citizen of Earth. He has no inkling that his destiny is far greater than the small planet he has inhabited for the first 20-odd years of his life. One frosty winter night in the New England woods, he finds himself transported to the planet of Gor, also known as Counter-Earth, where everything is dramatically different from anything he has ever experienced. It emerges that Tarl is to be trained as a Tarnsman, one of the most honored positions in the rigid, caste-bound Gorean society. He is disciplined by the best teachers and warriors that Gor has to offer...but to what end?

This is the first book of John Norman's popular and controversial Gorean Saga, a series of novels the author began in 1967 with Tarnsman of Gor and are now considered cult classics. This audiobook is based on the definitive edition recently published by E-Books.

©2007 John Norman (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

The BDSM adventures of Tarl Cabot of Mars -uh, Gor.

While hiking in New Hampshire, a British college teacher is transported to a barbaric world and must learn it’s ways to survive and will ultimately become a hero. Strange new deadly flora and fauna, magic mixed with technology, a harsh social order, clashing armies, and a beautiful princess! John Carter must quickly adapt or…uh, I mean Tarl Cabot must quickly adapt or perish. This first book really takes a lot from Burroughs’ Mars series, though the hero is a little more human and it has more sex.

The first of what would quickly become an infamous Sword & Planet series, mostly for it’s BDSM element and sexism. Slavery, always female and usually sexual, is often referenced and though the hero is repelled by it, it feels like Norman just placating his critics.

The first quarter of the book is slow and clunky, heavy on exposition, but picks up and becomes more entertaining though never really very good.

Wonderful classic

I loved this book so much. It's a classic I always recommend. - - -

Masculine Heroism on Counter-Earth

Genuinely heart-pumping action combined with light erotica drives this book forward at a speedy pace, with occasional interludes of worldbuilding that are quite satisfying. No matter what you think of later books in the series Tarnsman of Gor is worth a read to anyone who likes Conan the Barbarian, John Carter of Mars, and other similar adventures of masculine heroism.

Simply the best series

Read this series back in the day with you know what trilogy but to me this series is simply amazing. One of the best adventure tales I have ever read. I can't wait for the next book to get done. There are 25 books in the series, this could be a good long term series. I have been planning on collecting the books again but have only read up to about book 9. They are all great skipping the slave girl of gor.

Hemingway of Fantasy

The detail in which the story was written immerses you into the world of Gor. Powerful character development and underlying social themes we struggle with even today will keep the reader coming back for more.

Great reading.

I love this series. And I have to say Ralph Lister, his reading of the books are so smooth, I find myself lost in the story, for he reads as if he is recalling from his memory. As if he was there and lived it. It will not disappoint.

Not what I expected, but semi-good.

I am coming from a kink biases. You hear that these books created the Gorean kink lifestyle, and if you think this book is anything like that, you probably need to go find some erotica. it mentions a bit, but overall, has very little in the way of the Gorean slave lifestyle we all find so fascinating. So when listening, about 3 hours in, I realized this fact and it made the rest of the book draaaaaggg... I was disappined.
On the other hand, it's original plotline made it a good listen. I do feel the author gets very name-y about ancestors and starts waxing poetic about the history, which made my mind wander for a bit. This definitely sets the series up for the next THIRTY- THREE freaking books though. Now that I have adjusted my thinking in how the rest of the books will go, I look forward to a good, lengthy, long-winded series.

Women in Gor: Problematic or Quintessential?

John Norman historically embodies two identies: a weaver of mysoginistic fiction, or the progenitor of a subcultural genesis. Both may be true. But outside the context of cultural sentiment, Tarnsman of Gor, if anything, proves that erotic fantasy, contrived by men or women, tends toward trite plots and titilation. Bearing this in mind, whether or not one takes issue with Norman’s framing of Gorean society, I would discourage readers from politicizing the novel. It is, by the eternal standard of erotica, simplistic in plot: What lore is eluded to quickly tapers off into reductive questing as Tarl Cabot confronts a series of well worn objectives. Ever the white knight, he balks at the state of Gor’s norms while simultaneously inculcating himself into its unabashedly “masculine” code of sword, honor, and chivalry. Norman is blunt but conservative (by erotica standards) with his insinuations of those less savory aspects of this Counter Earth. But tact cannot conceal the relish he takes in holding his protagonist up as an icon of (and for) female emancipation. Scholars of early science fiction and fantasy have ample room to examine these peculiar protrayals of feminine servitude in a fictional world which worships a warriors’ code. But it would be a mistake to single out Norman’s work as especially rife with “problematic” power dynamics often found (and savored) in many erotic works across time, composed by men and women alike. In the end there is little to distinguish between the slave of Gor, subjugated to her master’s whim, and the ravished concubine of Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty. While men and women may envision such scenarios differently, they (and their audiences) nevertheless adhere to the same recurrent fascination: the tantailization of power dynamics, subjugation vs. mastery, domination and submission. Norman, like many who came before and after, exploits this obsession in his own unique style. Take it for what you will.

great read

loved every second of it. glad I picked it up with the credit I got.

Great books, bad narration

love the series, but the narrator gives all of the characters a "cartoonish" sound..dtracting from how good the books really are. Scott Brick would have been a much more suitable choice.