Nora Jean

TARL JOINS THE VIKINGS

Revisado: 02-04-23

Tal, fellow Earthlings!

I just wrote my review but somehow I flubbed it and it didn't get posted. I'm not sure what I did, but nevertheless, I will still post a review, all be it much shorter.

I forget how much I actually loved the book.

I hated the way Talena treated Tarl. She acted the way she did in Tarnsman. She didn't even care that he'd been poisoned. Besides he did come to find her. I felt bad for her because of the way she was treated by Rask of Treve and Verna. After the way she treated Tarl, I was glad he freed her. And yet...

Because it is late and I really need to get some sleep, let me say that the book was riviting to me. I was never bord, not even when Tarl goes into the treatment of slaves. It's part of that world, a woman can't escape it, even though she might try. There was an epic battle between Kurii and Torvaldians. In my opinion, the Kurii are worse the the Alien or the Predator. I mean, they not only kill their combatants they eat them during the battle! Gross!

At and rate, it's a great book and I feel that Norman is a good writer dispite what other critics say about him. His books have kept me enthralled since I was 14. 50 years?! Priest-Kings! For that long? LOL

Well. I will stop here. Do give the book a chance. It's well worth the read. I always enjoy listening to Ralph Lister reading the books. It's a supreme joy listening to his voice.

I'm off to visit the Tribesmen....

I wish you well.

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I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BOOK

Revisado: 02-02-23

Tal and greetings.

What can I say about this book other than it had me throughly involved in the story, It did the last four times I read it. Yet I forgot how much I loved the book. It is true that in this book Tarl talks A LOT, about the enslavement of women, but what is funny is that when I read it I always tried to hurry over those passages, but having the story read to me, I think I began to understand what Norman was saying about females serving masters, and how much the women care for them. Many times they do free slaves but many times the women submit go back to those men who freed them. It is the men who "awaken" them and I don't mean violently, but with tenderness.

In this book, Tarl is determined to rescue his love Talena, who, through El-in-or a slave mentioned in Captive, was taken by Verna, who got her from Rask of Treve. Since he changed so much, he still wanted her for a free companion but as a tool to become even more powerful than what he was. There were times that I wanted to smack him, I hated his attitude, yet, at times, I could still see the person he once was before his encounter with Talima (Raiders).

One thing I disliked, was his treatment of Elizabeth Cardwell, (aka Vella, Tana). He said he wasn't angry with her for not returning to Earth as he requested (Assissin), that she decided to stay on Gor. For all of it's dangers, she loved the planet, and she also loved Tarl. Goreans don't thank slaves, yet, he could have bought her, freed her, given her money so she could attempt to set up a business on Gor, but he didn't. So I believe he was angry with her and ended up punishing her by telling the paga tavern owner that she could dance and that she hadn't been totally honest with him. It is not good for a slave to hide things from their master. In my eyes he was cruel.

Tarl is a bitter man, that is one thing I didn't like about him, just because he chose life over death(Raiders). Now he just wants to be rich and be done with service to the Priest Kings. The problem is the "Others" know of him and want him dead. So he's not done with them.

I forgot that this book got my emotions involved again because of what happened to him when he was struck by a couple of swords during a battle when he rescued Marlenus, the Ubar of Ar, I really felt bad for him. What I did like is that when the Ubar warned him not to enter Ar, Tarl stood up to him. Usually, no one stands up to Marlenus. For all of his spewing that he hated the Ubar of Ubars, he did respect the man and he was Talenas father and I believe , admired him. Besides one can't blame Marlenus, his honor took a beating when Tarl took the home stone of Ar so many years ago. Marlenus hasn't been able to forgive him, that a mere warrior caused him to abandon his city and was exiled from it for years. So although it seems Marlenus was neverdefested he was by Tarl, who was just a warrior.

Well, I will end the review here. It was enjoyable to listen to and I really love hearing Ralph Lister being Tarl Cabot. His voice really brings it alive for me.

'Til my review of Marauders...

I wish you well.

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IT IS HARD TO LIKE EL-IN-OR AND I STILL DON'T

Revisado: 01-30-23

Tal and greetings fellow Earth people,

When I first read this book, in 1972, I throughly disliked El-in-or. In fact I hated her. I still do. She was a spoiled, rich, b***ch. After all this time I STILL think she got what she deserved. She tried to shirk her duties, lied, constantly, hit poor Ena over the head, so that she wouldn't get captured, stole from the villages and would have lied to Enas foster parents, should she meet them, just so she'd have an easier life. Gor IS NOT like Earth and neither are the men. Yet, she went on and on and on at how she'd get a gorean man under her power and humilate him, and although she often saw how men treated women, both slave and free, she just didn't learn. It took Rask of Treve to bring her to heel. If it weren't for Rask (who I also have a fondness for), I would have simply tossed the book aside and went on to read Hunters. Then, of course, I would have not found out about Talena being in this book.

Then there is Verna. A strong panther girl. She even invited El-in-or to join her band, IF she fought one of her girls, but she wussed out. The woman had no backbone. I missed Elizabeth Cardwell (Vella), when I read this volume, SHE, unlike El-in-or, would have taken up the challenge. She might loose but she'd do her best to win. Not El-in-or. She just wanted an easy life having someone to take care of her, to tell a man to do her bidding and have slaves to do all the cleaning and such; I doubt she'd be very kind to them either. I liked Verna. What El-in-or did to her was uncalled for, she should have gotten tips from her on how to be brave, but no, she used her slavery to become a bully, and she enjoyed it. Then to her horror, she was found out about her dishonesty, her lies and betrayal, and was severely pushed, yes, whipped, and I don't like reading about a person being whipped, but in her case, by the Priest Kings, She deserved it!

When one of the slaves and her escaped, she didn't help much, she did as little as possible, and didn't even listen to the gorean girl, who KNEW what to do but she wheedled her way into getting her to do something foolish. It was El-in-ors fault that they were eventually caught. Ooooh! She made me so angry! I wished I could reach in and shake her! Are all rich woman like her in real life?

Granted it had a happy ending but I hope she is kept in chains for the rest of her life. Personally, I think Rask of Treve derserves a better woman.

Well, I will end my review here. I do like the book. If it weren't for Rask, Ena, Verna and a few other characters, I would have stopped reading the book because El-in-or was so irritating. I wish, like I said, I could've taken her by the shoulders, shook them and told her to stop acting like she was better then the other woman, because, in truth, she wasn't. She was a barbarian, plain and simple, even if she was beautiful.

By the way, Lexi Maynard was good at reading the book.

Until I review Hunters...

I wish you well.

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PORT KAR GAINS A HOME STONE!

Revisado: 01-29-23

I have a love hate mindset when it comes to this book. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful story, so far all of them are, but Tarl thinks he loses his humanity within the pages, but he really doesn't. He feels he loses his honor as a warrior, but in truth, he doesn't. Although he chooses the life of a slave over ignominiosus death, I don't feel he's lost anything, for how could he help the Priest Kings if he is torn apart by tharlarion, never to be heard from again? No one wishes to be a slave, especially a man, but if he is a slave, he at least, when the opportunity presents itself, can he then regain his freedom. Which he does. He doesn't lose who he is when he seeks vengeance on those who killed a small boy who offered him food when he was staked out during a celebration, the only one, of all the Rencers, who showed him kindness. He still has his kindness. He isn't like those of Port Kar, who are hard, unkind, and not very friendly to anyone.

Here he meets Talima, a name that I remember well, and Ho-Hak, Turnock, Clitis, Tab, Fish (aka Henrius Severius)and many others that I remember after all these years, but one person who always stood out in my mind, was Samos the great captain, merchant, slaver, of Port Kar. He was one you cannot forget. It bothered me, and still does, how he treated a little girl, who he rescued, who thought of him as a father, who turned around, and cruelly, rejects her, makes her into a slave, and, although she begs to see him, wanting to ask what she had done to deserve being enslaved, when she does see him, he breaks her heart by his telling the guard to take the slave away. I'm still angry, after all these years, that this was done to an innocent girl who simply considered him her father. I know Gor is a harsh and cruel world, but somehow, I still find the treatment of her unbeliveibly cruel. It altered her thinking and made her hate men so much that Tarl was treated cruely. I think, one reason that it bothers me so much, is because I had a foster father who did not treat very me well as a child, and, though while he was sober, he was a good father, a kind man, when he was drunk, however, he was not "good" or "kind", I hated him, and in many ways it took me a very long time to trust the males of our species. Eventually I did and am married to a fine, kind, but strong man. Who, ironically, has red hair. LOL Just as Talima grew to care for Tarl or rather Bosk as he is known after this book. :)

It was much easier for me to hear about the ships, and how they function rather than reading about it because I found those passages rather lengthy and boring. I did understand that Norman was building this fantastic world with ships that were
used by the Greeks long ago. Having it read to me made it more interesting for some unknown reason. At least I wasn't bored, nor drift to sleep, like I did when read it. Does that make sense? I loved that he named his first ship Dorna after Dorna the Proud from Tharna, who illuded him at the end of Outlaw. I wonder if he ever saw her again?

I cannot help but mention Port Kar itself as well. A place of "scum and willany". LOL. When Tarl started telling the reader about the city, about the canals and gates, it made me think of Venice Italy, but not as a beautiful, magnifent, city, but squalid and filthy, dreary and dark, cold and heartless; a place you don't want to visit for a long time. Being surrounded by pirates, pick pockets and thieves isn't a good city in which to live. You'd want to leave as soon as your business is done. Port Kar is another city I've never forgotten about in the 51 years I've had one or more of these books. It's unforgettable to me. It fact Gor is an unforgettable world to me. :)

Until my review of Captive...

I wish you well.

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IT GOT ME EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED...

Revisado: 01-27-23

I've been a fan of these book for 51 years. I was 14 when I picked up Tarnsman buying it from a discount book store with the allowance I made at baby sitting (do teens do that any more?); I would haunt second hand bookstores to buy books I thought I would love reading at a discount price. I read Tarnsman (was taken in by the Boris Vallejo cover) and was hooked, drowning in an adventure on Earths counter part, invisible because our sun is in the way. :) Can it really be 51 years?

At one time I had to move and I got rid of all of my books except two, my Bible and Assassin of Gor. I loved the book that much, (not as much as the Bible but the story stayed with me) rereading it several times until the pages became loose, like my Bible (that I had since I was around 10 years old) but, like the Holy book, I couldn't throw it away. It's still with me, I really need to get a new one before the pages start falling out.:) Strange combo right? :)

I couldn't put down Assissin, it had me ensnared from the beginning to the closing pages. I think I possibly could have read the entire book without eating, and because I had to get up in the mornings to go to school, I had to go to sleep, no matter how much I didn't want to. LOL As soon I got home, however, I was back in the adventure.!

I do not want to give to much away in case you have never read it, suffice it to say it will keep you involved. How do I give an over view without saying anything about the plot? It's starts with a murder and ends with justice being served. How's that? :)

Norman brings the Glorious City of Ar alive. I configure it with ancient Rome, except the buildings are cylinders, rising tall and magnificent above the people below on the street, two arenas; one for men and slaves and smaller animals and sea creatures to compete and die in, and another for tarn races. Oh! The tarn races! Would I wouldn't give to see one in reality! :) Those majestic, fantastic birds flying through those rings, vying for position to be the winner of the race!

Since it had been a little while since I'd read the book, I'd forgot the passage where'd I cried, yes really cried, at the lose of someone that Tarl came to know. The character, Elizabeth Cardwell, who is also in this book (introduced in Nomads), Ho-Tu, Mip, the tarn keeper (and so much more), slaves from Earth: Virginia and Phyllis; Sura, Melanie, Relius, Ho-Surl, Hup the Fool, (smarter than he is thought to be), the great Kaissa (a type of chess game) player Scormus, (there is a twist in his story), the blind player Qualius, Murmillius (a surprise character from an earlier book), Cernus, slaver of Ar with a brief introduction to Samos of Port Kar who shows up in later books.

I remember hating Cernus when I read it the first time, my feelings have not changed. I dispise him! He needed to be beaten until he couldn't breathe any longer and although I hate anyone being tortured and hurt, trust me, Cernus would deserve it. Until Darth Vader came along, he was the number one villian in my mind. At least with Vader, Luke saw the light side in him, Cernus, however, was evil through and through. There was no helping him and changing his mind, so to speak.

Now it's time for me to get to the elephant, or rather, bosk in the room: the Master /slave portion of the book. At 14 I had no problem with it. How the some.n were treated, and so forth. Norman does go into greater depth in regard to the enslavement of females. I didn't mind at 14 and I don't now. Why? They're fine in the respect the it's not a real world. It's imaginary and I feel that people have blown it all out of proportion. "Tarl" keeps saying; "It's a harsh, cruel world", which it is. Norman is NOT responsible with how readers take his books, interpret them. All he's done is bring his imagination alive in the books. You either like them or hate them, but not publish them because they offend some idiotic people? No. They are a joy to read, or in this case, listen to. I'm glad I'm refreshing my memory, although, to be honest, I remember the books quite clearly as it's being read. The same goes with the Star Wars trilogy, I can view the movies and say the dialog word for word even after all this time (since '77 to '83).

So if that makes me a weird female, then I'm a weird female. :) I really don't care. I throughly enjoyed Listers reading of the book. Funny enough, just like I see Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Ralph Lister is Tarl Cabot to me. :)

Til my review of Raiders...

I wish you well.

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TAKEN BACK TO A SAVAGE WOTLDI was 15

Revisado: 01-20-23

I was 15 when I first opened the pages of this novel. Once again I was taken to Gor. Hearing it read by Ralph Lister was exciting. I loved his reading of Tarnsman and knew I would enjoy it with this one. Like in Tarnsman, having it read, helped bring the world even more alive for me, in truth, I could picture him in my mind as red haired Tarl, see his reaction to what happened to Ko-ro-ba, being on the towers of Tharna, being in the arena and the mines.

As I don't want to ruin the book for any potential reader, I won't go to any favorite scenes from the book, but again it didn't disappoint me, in all honesty, it never does.

In regard to the Master/slave issue in the book: it's a different world, not like Earth. Yes, some woman are slaves but there are free companians. When I was young it didn't bother me, because it is a different world, it's on a different planet for goodness sake. Don't go by what other people say, read the second book, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I wish you well.

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A GREAT ADVENTURE ON ANOTHER WORLD

Revisado: 01-20-23

I first started reading this novel when I was 14, I'm 64 now. I have almost every single book in the series. For me it was a great adventure to another world that was like earth but so much different. I've read the book several times over the years. I've never tired of it. I never thought I'd get the audio version when it was released, however, I changed my mind since my Gor novels are in storage as I am moving and had a hunger to read the saga again, and, honestly, I read the synopsis of the latest released book and HAD to begin the series again.

Ralph Lister was wonderful as I heard him read the words I read so many times. Hearing the story, having it read, brought it even more to life to me. I could smell the air, hear it rustling the Ka-la-na trees, and hear the scream of his war tarn. It excited me even more as I listened to him tell of Tarl's reaction to that magnificent creature and he took his first flight on that fantastic bird! I especially like the interaction with Nar the Spider and the meeting with Talena. These names have been in my mind for all these years. So has his father, the older Tarl and Torm.

John Norman, in my eyes, is better than Burroughs, I've read his Barsoom series but it didn't take me "away" like the Gor novels; nor did his Tarzan series. I recommend this first book to anyone who likes a good science fiction novel.

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