Explorers of Gor

Gorean Saga, Book 13

By: John Norman

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

This enchanting escapade is the most important quest of Tarl Cabot's career. He must retrieve a potent shield ring from a strange explorer. It is imperative that the omnipotent Priest Kings obtain this ring so that the Goreans do not challenge their enormous power. Throughout his expedition, Cabot learns of uncharted territories on Earth's cosmic counterpart. In the dense forests he discovers, Cabot must use his skills to endure the perils that await his arrival. Cabot will encounter Gor's barbarism in full force through enchantingly dangerous beasts, bloodthirsty men, and exotic kingdoms.

©1979 John Norman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Love it

Such a great story teller. Makes me wish I was there. the flow sent my heart pouring with joy.

The problem is you!!

Everyone seems to have a problem with this book in the series. Its my opinion that some need to read and understand that it is a book of many in a series. No, I am not pleased with some aspects of this and a few other books in the series. But looking at it as one gigantic book in all it follows suite. I'm downloading the next one.

Imaginative foray into the jungles of Gor

This imaginative foray into the jungles of Gor does not disappoint as high adventure meets politics and interplanetary intrigue.

Boredom on the Amazon - um...Ua River.

This book has so much promise, I was actually excited to read it. An uncharted river through through the dark deep continent (re: the Amazon), a quest to get a ring, the exotic island of Schendi where the Black Slavers live, amazon women, pygymies - this book as it all, and provides a nice break from the dumb Kurii/beast vs Priest King/bugs who do nothing plot line.

Boy was I surprised it was the most boring book yet.

Norman uses a pretty consistent formula for these books. Hero (Tarl) goes to exotic area of Gor for (reason), meets a native of the area (Forkbeard/Hasan/Imnauk/etc) and become friends, meets haughty free women or freaked out earth women and enslaves them, finishes quest in swashbuckler fashion, returns home with new slaves.

The problem with Explorers is - the reason is dumb (retrieve a ring that makes you invisible, that is worn around the neck of a cartographer instead of making him invisible), and worse - the "sidekick" who plays off Tarl is Kisu - a flat, boring, native of the jungle who says little and whose only goal is to enslave the woman he was supposed to marry but she ended up being given to a bad guy. Kisu's dialogue is really boiled down to "Yes. River is wide this way. I want to save my people."

Never has a book offering lost cities, unusual animals (even by Gor standards), and cannibalism been so word by word dull. I think even Norman got bored because the action is grinding (lots of jungle battles here) and out of nowhere, the quest solved with one sentence then Kisu says "Yes she's my slave" and the boat from Schendi takes him back to Port Kar.

The saddest thing isn't that this book is glacially paced and ridiculously mundane, but that it didn't have to be that way. Instead of Tarl going into the "Heart of Darkness" we ge Tarl on his raft, stopping by Jungle Bell for a taco and coming back home still hungry.

Waster time, wasted plot.

Too wordy

way way too much time wastep on repetition of female slaves. we get it. move on.