Scan barcode
sarahdelaemery's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Horrible writing
songwind's review against another edition
2.0
Given the reputation this series had, I kind of read it on a whim. It was like The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, nothing that awful should go unseen.
It was actually not as horribly awful as I had been led to believe. More or less typical "man's man" fantasy adventure sci-fi from the 60s. Entertaining in its way, but nothing special.
It was actually not as horribly awful as I had been led to believe. More or less typical "man's man" fantasy adventure sci-fi from the 60s. Entertaining in its way, but nothing special.
authoraugust's review against another edition
3.0
Well that escalated...not at all.
Suffice to say I came to this book with expectations. They were not at all met. I was pretty puzzled when I'd made it most of the way through the book without a single sex scene, and when I hit the 80% mark I resigned myself to it being merely an adventure story with occasional female nudity. As that, it was pretty entertaining. The hero is not at all compelling, but the world has aspects that are startlingly fresh, like the talking spiders who will harm no rational creature. It's clear that Norman had a much grander vision for Gor than he could cover in this one book (I'd be curious to find out the circumstances around which it was written - and perhaps more interestingly, published), and I'm tempted to pick up a few of the later books to see if he delivers on the promise he's set up in Tarnsman.
Suffice to say I came to this book with expectations. They were not at all met. I was pretty puzzled when I'd made it most of the way through the book without a single sex scene, and when I hit the 80% mark I resigned myself to it being merely an adventure story with occasional female nudity. As that, it was pretty entertaining. The hero is not at all compelling, but the world has aspects that are startlingly fresh, like the talking spiders who will harm no rational creature. It's clear that Norman had a much grander vision for Gor than he could cover in this one book (I'd be curious to find out the circumstances around which it was written - and perhaps more interestingly, published), and I'm tempted to pick up a few of the later books to see if he delivers on the promise he's set up in Tarnsman.
eleven_hummingbird's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
bishop's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mehitabels's review
1.0
so my best friend, let's call him Ninja, gave me a stack of books, which I greatly appreciate, but a large number of them were from the Gor series. I thought he must have really enjoyed it to have so many, so I started to read the first one.
Let's just say if you enjoy soft-core bondage and misogyny these are for you. For those who actually like books, pretend you never heard of these, and run away.
Let's just say if you enjoy soft-core bondage and misogyny these are for you. For those who actually like books, pretend you never heard of these, and run away.
schwarmgiven's review against another edition
1.0
This is a legendary Fantasy book. The world building is ok. The writing is overly descriptive, repetitive, and dry. Plot is predictable and bad. The obsessive talk of birds is interesting.
The sex stuff, for which this book is notorious, is EXTREMELY light--the fact that it became famous for having SM themes is mostly commentary on the times--there is very little erotica in this at all. Elric of Melniboné has infinitely more sexual content, for comparison--Gor is way more LotR then 50 shades...
I am glad I read this to say that I have, but I would never recommend this to anyone. ever.
The sex stuff, for which this book is notorious, is EXTREMELY light--the fact that it became famous for having SM themes is mostly commentary on the times--there is very little erotica in this at all. Elric of Melniboné has infinitely more sexual content, for comparison--Gor is way more LotR then 50 shades...
I am glad I read this to say that I have, but I would never recommend this to anyone. ever.
jaipal's review against another edition
3.0
This is an ok adventure book that reminds me a lot of of John Carter (Edgar Rice Burroughs) and Conan (Robert E. Howard).
The world of Gor is a feudalistic and stratified society, where people are either free or slaves. The free people are further divided into castes.
The world is dangerous and it generally follows the rule of "might is right". There is also an element of dominant/submissive through the interaction between the master and slave. Like most feudalistic societies, women have a harder life and are at the whim and call of the men.
In the first book, we are introduced to Gor through Tarl Cabot, someone from our Earth that got transported to this alternate world. There, he is trained as a warrior and she goes off on a mission against an enemy city. He has a lot of adventures, fighting against people and creatures. He defies death a few times and at the end of the book, gets sent back to Earth.
The world of Gor is a feudalistic and stratified society, where people are either free or slaves. The free people are further divided into castes.
The world is dangerous and it generally follows the rule of "might is right". There is also an element of dominant/submissive through the interaction between the master and slave. Like most feudalistic societies, women have a harder life and are at the whim and call of the men.
In the first book, we are introduced to Gor through Tarl Cabot, someone from our Earth that got transported to this alternate world. There, he is trained as a warrior and she goes off on a mission against an enemy city. He has a lot of adventures, fighting against people and creatures. He defies death a few times and at the end of the book, gets sent back to Earth.