[…. The following was discovered by investigators at the scene of the Tarnsman Incident in late April, 2011. The narrative report is reproduced in its entirety and a transcription of the audio recording made by Officer Honcho is reproduced to the extent possible...]GOODREADS LITERARY POLICE REPORTCASE No. TBDOFFICER: Mike HonchoDATE: April 29, 2011NARRATIVE REPORT (Draft only....not for official release)At approximately 06:15 am, I was shaking down hookers on routine patrol on Robert E. Howard Blvd. when I noticed what appeared to be a white male lying in front of Giganta's Bookstore. After cursing at the prospect of having to waste my night doing paperwork because some Fucktard got jacked, I proceeded on Segway after finishing my beer to the victim’s location and found a white male, age 35-45, lying face down and immobile in pool of his own sick. After donning a hazard suit because there is just no way I was touching him, I proceeded to roll the victim over and determined that he was alive. However he was non-responsive to both visual and audible stimuli and appeared to be in a state of severe shock (see artist sketch of victim below) I performed a casual inspection of his person looking for money signs of injury and found $175 $75 none. The only item found on the victim besides a flask of Huckleberry Vodka was what appeared to be old copy of paperback novel. I picked up the book and began to inspect it. As I touched it and stared at the cover, I began to feel very strange. It is difficult to describe.I felt ....sort of...dirty and...soiled... like I needed a shower to wash some unseen filth away… I realize this does not make sense, but it is the most accurate description of the feeling that I can report. Title on the cover was Tarnsman of Gor and as a read the words a second wave of emotion, more intense than the first, washed over me. Extreme and powerful feelings of intense...stupidity...as if my brain was shrinking...Also, even stronger feelings of dirtiness returned as well as sharp pangs of severe shame and an almost uncontrollable urge to call my parents and apologize for letting them down...though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. After taking a moment to compose myself, I continued to inspect the cover of the paperback and noticed the cover art…..severe wave of...of…sliminess invaded body and I staggered back. The picture on the cover showed a greased up hunky man in a loincloth holding a large sword out from his waist like a big penis, while a half-naked woman was bound with head down on her knees…(See Photo below) I staggered.......Next thing I knew I had lost consciousness and dropped the book. As I recovered, I noticed that my self-respect was noticeably less than it had been mere moments before. I felt smaller...emptier.... I felt like I wanted to disappear inside myself and run away from the world. I knew I needed to inspect the inside of the book and thought about waiting for back-up. However, I think the book was already affecting me as I decided to proceed alone... I just did not want anyone else to see me feeling like I did.[……at this point, the written narrative report stopped and Officer Honcho proceeded to dictate...][Partial Transcript of Dictated Report]I’m picking up the book again trying my best to avoid looking at the demented bondage/fellatio porn cover...oh God, I saw it again...shit.I am closing my eyes...funny, with my eyes closed the book feels warm and, uh, cheesy, almost, um, like soft Velveeta. I’m beginning to suspect what has happened to the victim and I know I should wait for back-up, but the book has affected me enough that I feel like such a cheap, stupid piece of shit. I just no longer care about life...I just want it to be over…I will open the book and attempt to read passages from it….Page 93***…it says: ‘Then, to my astonishment, the daughter of the Ubar Marlenus, daughter of the Ubar of Ar, knelt before me, a simple warrior of Ko-ro-ba, and lowered her head, lifting and extending her arms, wrists crossed. It was the submission of the captive female.’ ...Oh God…..THE HORROR….THE HORROR. I must continue...***Note that at this point, Officer Honcho became extremely agitated while reading but the transcript has been altered to attempt to quote the words without the gasps, vomiting and screams of pain uttered during Officer Honcho's reading....also it should be noted that the accuracy of the quotes has not yet been ascertained as no one is willing to examine the inside of the book to verify. Page 109… `I can force you to take me,' she said. `How?' I asked. `Like this,' she responded, kneeling before me, lowering her head and lifting her arms, the wrists crossed. She laughed ...HOLY FUCK…ALMOST THE SAME…ONLY WORSE….HOW CAN.....WORLD.... TOLERATE SUCH EVIL AS THIS...Have to go on...it must end here…Page 191… A golden tarn disk was a small fortune. It would buy one of the great birds themselves, or as many as five slave girls...Reading these words I have now lost all desire to live among my fellow man and feel my grip on reality slipping....what is that...am seeing...HUMAN CENTIPEDE..coming towards me....Page 216… That night, that glorious night, was a night of flowers, torches, and Ka-la-na wine, and late, after sweet hours of love, we fell asleep in each other's arms….[From here, Officer Honcho appears to have lost control and the rest of the transcript was gibberish...the following is a sample]…..PETER PETER, PUMPKIN EATER, HAD A WIFE AND COULDN’T KEEP HER, PUT HE IN A SHOTGUN SHELL, AND SHOT HER STRAIGHT TO...THERE ONCE WAS A MAN FROM NANTUCKET, WHOSE.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT...I’M POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN...SHAKE AND BAKE...TALK TO ME GOOSE....ICEMAN, I AM DANGEROUS...I WILL GLADLY PAY YOU TUESDAY FOR A HAMBURGER TODAY...BADGES, BADGES, WE DON’T NEED NO STINKING BADGES...I’LL BE BACK...THEY TOOK THE BAR, THE WHOLE FUCKING BAR...YIPPY KI AYE MOTHER FUCKER...I’M OUT OF ORDER…YOUR OUT OF ORDER…THIS WHOLE GODDAM COURTROOM IS OUT OF ORDER...NEVER ASK ME ABOUT MY BUSINESS....YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH...YOU HAD ME AT HELLO...KEVIN!!!...IT'S A SHARK...ET PHONE HOME...THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE...NEVER RAT ON YOUR FRIENDS AND ALWAYS KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT....SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND...ROSEBUD, ROSEBUD....[Transcript continued on for another 30 minutes like that and then ends abruptly...]...Officer Honcho was found lying next to the victim, later identified as George McFly, in a state of intense shock and non-responsive to external stimuli. Both victims have since been hospitalized and are in stable condition. Hospital personnel are reading to them works by Tolstoy, Austen and Mieville in the hopes that they can be reached and given a reason to come back to the world. If you, or anyone you love, has a copy of this book in your possession…DO NOT APPROACH IT….do not open it...do not look at it…leave the area immediately and call the Goodreads Literary Police.
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.While walking in a New Hampshire forest, college professor Tarl Cabot unexpectedly receives a strange communication from his long-lost father. Suddenly he is whisked away by spaceship to Gor, the Counter-Earth, a planet which we never see because it lives on the other side of the sun. Its powerful priest-kings have been able to shield it from even our theoretical view and, though the society seems primitive, its aloof rulers seem to be hoarding and selectively doling out secret knowledge and technological advances (such as spaceships and advanced medical and communication techniques).After Tarl Cabot meets his father, he is thoroughly educated in the Gorean language, history, and customs, and trained as a Tarnsman (a warrior who rides the huge carnivorous flying Tarns). Gor’s caste system doesn’t sit well with Professor Cabot’s 20th century Earth ideas and, at least at first, he’s especially appalled that Goreans keep slaves and even have them branded, collared, and leashed. Though not prevalent in this first book, there is a caste of pleasure slaves whose prominence in future books have given the Gorean Saga its reputation and made it a cult classic. But when Tarl is given a dangerous mission, he finds out that not all women on Gor are weak and submissive!Tarnsman of Gor (originally published in 1967) is quintessential male-oriented sword & sorcery fantasy: intelligent but modest Earth man goes to another planet where he’s suddenly courageous, powerful, and important and he whoops up on all male challengers. He meets women who are a lot more exotic and exciting than any Earth women he knows and they may be wearing collars and leashes and it’s acceptable to drag them around by their hair. I couldn’t help but chuckle when one feisty woman who was wearing a veil and heavy voluminous robes gets muddy and ends up stripped to her silk slip which has to have a couple of inches removed at the bottom when a bandage is needed. Oh, yeah, and against his original ethics, Tarl occasionally has to tie her up (but she definitely deserves it, and maybe she even likes it).So far (I have not read further in this series), I find John Norman’s treatment of the male-master/female-slave theme much more palatable than that which I recently encountered in Christine Feehan’s Dark Prince. Norman’s women (so far) are not only beautiful, but intelligent, strong, and brave. Some of them are forced to be slaves because of their circumstances and their society. That is, they wouldn’t actually choose to be submissive unless it were temporary and on their terms which, of course, doesn’t really make sense (that we can choose when to be slaves), but is how we want it nonetheless.I listened to Tarnsman of Gor on audio, narrated by the very pleasant Ralph Lister who has a lively energetic tone appropriate for this action-packed novel. The story is told in first person by Tarl Cabot as if he’s relating his adventure to his friends at the dinner table. So we only know he’s astounded, afraid, enraged, in love, etc. because he tells us he’s astounded, afraid, enraged, in love, etc. We don’t really feel it. Thus, there’s not much emotional depth (or any other kind of depth) to Tarnsman of Gor, but it’s fast and fun and most likely appealing to young men and to women who find it amusing to discover what entertains (or what we assume entertains) young men.www.fantasyliterature.com
What do You think about Tarnsman Of Gor (2006)?
I have to be honest here, I was very skeptical about this book/series. My only knowledge of its content came from a delightfully terrible Jack Palance movie Gor II (AKA Outlaw), which was featured on an episode of MST3K, and an article on Cracked by Robert Brockway titled "Gor: The Most Ridiculous Nerd Fantasy Ever Filmed".I had very, very low expectations.I was astounded by how quickly I was drawn into the story of Tarl Cabot and his Gorean life. It was nothing like I was expecting. Were there slave girls? Of course. It's a barbaric world, Gor. Men don't wear armor, they tame wild beasts, and have a code of life based on the caste to which they're born. There are plenty of slave men, too.It is a very easy read. I wouldn't call this "lofty" literature, but it is certainly worth the time to sit down and enjoy. It is what it is: fantasy. I dare say it's even exciting in places and there were times when I didn't want to put it down until I finished a chapter to see what would happen.Now, it isn't without its problems. It does read very much like an immature writer's first book. A lot of what happens to Tarl and the obstacles he overcomes is based on absolute pure luck and the first couple of chapters do tend to ramble a bit in exposition, but you'll be glad for that exposition. It's clear, concise, and leaves you knowing everything you need to know about Gor and its culture.I'm actually looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
—Raven Cain
I may have read more than one book in this series, but even as a somewhat naive twenty-year-old, it didn't take me long to grasp that this wasn't the adventure fantasy I was expecting. What I got instead was male-centric D&S soft-core porn, with no agency at all for the female characters (if one can call them that) who were portrayed as whole heartedly enjoying their status as "slaves".Now I like a good porn story as much as the next person, and I don't hold high literary expectations for the genre. BDSM stories, if well written, can be a good entertainment for those of us of the more vanilla persuasion. But this? Dreck! And of course it's a series, so it goes on and on in the same vein.Strangely enough, when I said as much to my then-husband, he denied that it was porn at all, to him if was heroic fantasy. Since then of course, I've discovered that there are soft-core sub-genres in most male-oriented fiction, be it western, detective, or thrillers. I just wish they were flagged for those of us who are reading with another purpose - like plot, action, or the intellectual challenge of solving a mystery before the final page.
—Katie
10-19-14Tarnsman of Gor wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be, going in.I was expecting the story to be more in the vein of Nanok and The Tower of Sorrows - hyper masculine, and almost ridiculous in its feats of male prowess. Basically, I was expecting the story to be male fantasy schlock.The story is pretty subdued, comparatively. Tarl Cabot, while very much a Gary Stu, was otherwise just a normal guy. He fought when he had to, but the story didn't wallow in the glorification of death and killing. More of the story was dedicated to building the world and culture of Gor than the male wish-fulfillment that I had expected the story to be filled to the brim with.And there were slave men. I was under the impression that there were only slave women in the series. While the story only focuses on a couple of slave women (who don't remain slaves for very long, after meeting Cabot), the slave men were heavily implied. Huh. You learn something new every day.It's also one of the driest stories I've ever read - and I've read every single story H.P. Lovecraft ever wrote.All of that isn't to say that the story wasn't ridiculous, though. There's a scene, very early on in the book, where Cabot finds a metal envelope addressed to him in the middle of the woods.At first, he thinks his friend left it there for him, and laughs about the effort the friend must have gone through to set the entire thing up. He calls for his friend to come out, but can't find anyone nearby.After fifteen minutes of trying to figure out who could have put the envelope there, Cabot starts flipping out, beating foliage with a stick, screaming in rage.When he calms down, he looks the envelope over, trying to figure out how it opens. He can't find any seams or creases in the metal, so he tries to open it up using his can opener. The attempt completely destroys the can opener, and only then does Cabot notice a thumb imprint on the back of the envelope. Which you would think he'd have noticed when going over it for a seam.That one scene sums up the essence of this book for me - fairly matter of fact, with the occasional random outburst of nonsensical behavior from Cabot.UPDATE: And, just five hours later, I'm being given the entire original series to read. That's what I get for sharing my reviews with family.09-27-14If I ever read this series, I know that I absolutely wouldn't be able to take it seriously. Partially because of this MST3K skit based on the movie adaptation of Outlaw of Gor, but also because of my mom.A few years back, she found a bunch of Gor books at a thrift store, and decided she was going to buy them to venture back into the cheesiness of the series. She'd summarize each book for me as she finished, and because of a mix-up with the first letters in various names, we ended up imagining that Tarl of Ko-Ro-Ba's nemesis was a slick, greasy guy named Karl of To-Ro-Ba. Much time was devoted to imagining the adventures of Karl.Because of that, I'm gracefully bowing out on this one. No matter how tempting the schlock may be.
—Maki
