Summaries of the Books

01. Tarnsman of Gor (©1966-1967) ~ 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 twenty-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?

02. Outlaw of Gor (©1967) ~ Tarl Cabot finds himself transported back to Counter-Earth from the sedate life he has known as a history professor on Earth. He is glad to be back in his role as a dominant warrior and back in the arms of his true love. Unfortunately, Tarl finds that his name on Gor has been tainted, his city defiled and all those he loves have been made into outcasts. He is no longer in the position of a proud warrior but an outlaw for whom the simplest answers must come at a high price. He wonders why the Priest Kings have called him back to Gor and whether it is only to render him powerless.

03. Priest Kings of Gor (©1968) ~ Tarl Cabot is the intrepid tarnsman of the planet Gor, a harsh society with a rigid caste system that personifies the most brutal form of social Darwinism. In this volume, Tarl must search for the truth behind the disappearance of his beautiful wife, Talena. Have the ruthless priest-kings destroyed her? Tarl vows to find the answer for himself, journeying to the mountain stronghold of the kings, knowing full well that no one who has dared approach the priest-kings has ever returned alive....

04. Nomads of Gor (©1969) ~ Tarl has dedicated his life to ensuring that the Priest-Kings survive the harsh lands of Gor, but a savage tribe that closely guards its secrets has halted his quest. To continue his quest, Tarl must unravel the mysteries of this strange, private band of nomads called the Wagon People or die trying. He is the only man alive who has not trembled in the presence of this mysterious tribe. Now he is embarking on the most perilous adventure of his time on the counter-world of Gor. Will he be accepted by the tribe and learn the secrets they guard with their lives or will he die trying?

05. Assassin of Gor (©1970) ~ An assasin journeys across Gor in search of the man responsible for the death of Tarl Cabot who was killed in his own city late at night.

06. Raiders of Gor (©1971) ~ Tarl Cabot finds himself in the most depraved city that Gor has to offer. Port Kar is a city of robbers, brigands and men without allegiance to any cause or kingdom where the weak are quickly consumed by the strong. However, Tarl Cabot is able to flourish in the cutthroat environment of the city, for he is a powerful Tarnsman, used to having his way. He finds that there is much to learn in Port Kar, where the people are celebrated for their skill of training their voluptuous slaves into utter obedience.

07. Captive of Gor (©1972) ~ beautiful and headstrong Elinor Brinton of Earth finds herself thrust into the savage world of Counter-Earth, also known as Gor. Brinton must relinquish her earthly position as a beautiful, wealthy and powerful woman when she finds herself a part of the harsh Gorean society. She is powerless as a female pleasure slave in the camp of Targo the slave-merchant. Forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who buys her, Elinor is determined to escape. Nevertheless, she is sold for a high price, and her master is determined to get his money's worth.

08. Hunters of Gor (©1974) ~ Former Earthman Tarl Cabot is now a powerful Tarnsman of the brutal and caste-bound planet of Gor, also known as Counter-Earth. He embarks on an adventure in the dangerous and mysterious wilderness of Gor, pitting his warrior's skills against treacherous outlaws, bandits and fighters. Three different women are working to bring change to Tarl's far-from-peaceful life on Gor: Talena, his one-time wife and first love; Elizabeth, his brave fighting partner; and the Amazonian Verna, chief of the fierce and wild panther women. As Tarl journeys through the wilderness, the fates of these three remarkable women will finally be decided.

09. Marauders of Gor (©1975) ~ Former earthman Tarl Cabot has been struggling to free himself from the cruel control of the Priest-Kings of Gor to no avail. As he pits his strength against such a formidable enemy, a terrible beast appears from the mysterious northern lands, bearing a token of the demise of Tarl's once-beloved woman Talena. The missive is a sign of defiance and disrespect from his enemies, meant to humiliate him and force him to challenge them in response. To gird his weapons and set out on a mission of vengeance against those who sent the beasts means Tarl must jeopardize his fortune and position as a wealthy slave merchant. But he is no longer practical and calm as he was on earth. He must conform to the social codes of Gor, where the only way one can avenge wounded manhood is to respond with all one's might!

10. Tribesmen of Gor (©1976) ~ An ultimatum from the Others starts Tarl on a voyage to the central desert of Gor where he must find the reason the Others have become so bold.

11. Slave Girl of Gor (©1977) ~ Taken as a possession, Judy Thornton, an Earth resident, is found meandering in the wilderness of the Earthlike planet of Gor. In keeping with the uncivilized culture of the Goreans, she is trained and used as a slave. What her masters don't know is that Judy is more than just a beautiful chattel. She has the power to obliterate Gor and all that is related to it. Determined to seize control of her, Priest Kings and Kurii enter combat, neglecting the fact that the fate of Gor rests in the hands of the ethereal Judy.

12. Beasts of Gor (©1978) ~ On Gor, there are three different kinds of beings that are labeled beasts: there are the Kurii, a monster alien race that is preparing to invade Gor from space; the Gorean warriors, who fight with viciousness almost primitive in its blood lust' and then there are the slave girls of Gor, lowly beasts for men to do with as they see fit, be it as objects of labor or desire. Now all three come together as the Kurii fight to take over Gor with its first beachhead on the planet's polar ice cap. As all three kinds of beasts struggle together, an incredible adventure is told, one that begins in lands of burning heat and ends up in the bitter cold of the polar north among the savage red hunters of the polar ice pack.

13. Explorers of Gor (©1979) ~ 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.

14. Fighting Slave of Gor (©1980) ~ Emotionally lost, Jason Marshall finds himself thrust into a lengthy struggle to save his beloved from slavery on an Earthlike world called Gor. Kidnapped and helpless, Jason begins a life on Gor as a slave and becomes a prominent warrior. He must battle his way to freedom, if only to liberate his love from the clutches of the alien slave emporium. Will Jason overcome the numerous obstacles he encounters? Will he ever reunite with the girl he loves? Can he survive the trials and tribulations he must endure on Gor?

15. Rogue of Gor (©1981) ~ Learning a valuable lesson in gender roles, Jason Marshall, an Earthman enslaved by the Goreans, must prove himself on the planet Gor. Determined to find the beautiful Earthwoman who was kidnapped with him, Jason is caught in the middle of a devastating war between Ar and the Salerians. Jason must prove himself a real man and survive the war in hopes of finally finding the girl of his dreams.

16. Guardsman of Gor (©1981) ~ Thrust into a life full of woeful twists and turns, Jason Marshall has contended with the prehistoric customs and immeasurable power of the Goreans. His struggles on Gor, a planet resembling Earth, included escaping imprisonment, enslavement, and redeeming lost land. Jason has fought to regain control of his life. Having ascended to a position of power in the Gorean army, Jason must prevail in a battle that seems destined to destroy Gor. Jason has a lot riding on his success as a war leader: prestige, wealth, and an Earth girl of goddesslike beauty. Will Jason be able to win the war and avoid a fate worse than death? Will he be able to find the girl who holds his affections? Will he be able to live as a free man on Earth's counterpart and rise to a still higher position of power and respect?

17. Savages of Gor (©1982) ~ Refusing to bargain with the evil Kurii, who have taken possession of Port Kar, Tarl Cabot travels into the deepest, least known parts of Gor and face the most barbaric of Goreans to save Half-Ear, a rebellious Kur who is useful to the Priest Kings. SAVAGES OF GOR is an amazing adventure in which Tarl Cabot must survive all kinds of tribulations so that the Kurii, a monster alien race that is preparing to invade Gor from space, do not get the Priest Kings' valuable captive.

18. Blood Brothers of Gor (©1982) ~ Tarl Cabot must battle enslavement as he tries to restore order to a world immersed in destruction. Cabot's mission is to defeat the evil union forged by the Kurii, a monster alien race that is preparing to invade Gor from space, and smite treason and calamity. At every turn, Cabot faces a darkness that plagues the planet. Though he is in bondage, he, his partners, and his masters must find a way to prevent Kur's apocalyptic army from seizing control of the hearts and minds of the Goreans.

19. Kajira of Gor (©1983) ~ The Goreans kidnap Tiffany Collins and sweep her away to the Earthlike planet, Gor. She is made ruler of an important city, where she seems to wield great powers. Tiffany, though, is not a queen but merely a kajira, "slave girl" in Gorean. Installed as a puppet of the Kurii, a monster alien race that is preparing to invade Gor from space, Tiffany discovers that she is meant to be a slave forever. Yet, perhaps she is more than just a slave, for in this exhilarating adventure she will play a pivotal role in many burning conflicts.

20. Players of Gor (©1984) ~ Tarl Cabot's life is in danger. After an assassination attempt during the holiday, Cabot discovers that the traitorous Priest Kings are no longer his allies. They have declared Cabot a treasonous fiend, and now he must find a way to clear his name. To track the complex path of the assassin, Cabot must assume the guise of a Player. As a member of this circuslike company, he must survive the lunatic antics of the carnival, evading dangerous monsters of every ilk. In this riveting adventure story, Cabot must combat enemies from all sides in order to clear his name and reclaim his life.

21. Mercenaries of Gor (©1985) ~ Prepared to regain the favor of the Priest Kings by fighting in the war between Ar and Cos, Tarl Cabot confronts the challenge of surviving the war. Having devised a war strategy, Cabot is ready to execute his plan with help from warriors, free women, and slave women. The involvement of the mercenaries of Dietrich of Tarnburg causes Cabot's plans go awry, and now he must devise a plan to shift the war in another direction. The action and suspense in MERCENARIES OF GOR will entrance the reader, as Tarl Cabot fights for his reputation and his life.

22. Dancer of Gor (©1985) ~ Librarians are kind, quiet old ladies who love books, aren't they? Not Doreen Williamson. Doreen has a secret life. After the library closes for the day, she strips and practices belly dancing. But one day, slave collectors from Gor, a world resembling Earth, take an interest in this belly-dancing librarian. Doreen gets her wish and becomes a professional belly dancer, but it's not exactly what she had in mind. Forced to wear chains and ankle bells, she must submit to the barbaric desires of her Gorean slave masters. What the slave masters don't know is that Doreen is a vessel for powerful forces. She has the power to determine the outcome of the war between Ar and Cos, two mighty empires. Both sides need to get rid of her before she can unleash her power.

23. Renegades of Gor (©1986) ~ War has taken hold of Gor, with the empire of Ar battling Cos, the invaders. But since the Priest Kings ousted him, Tarl Cabot has a personal stake in the battle at Ar's river port. As war grips Gor, the destiny of the warring parties rests in the hands of one warrior: only Tarl Cabot has the power to decide the fate of Gor.

24. Vagabonds of Gor (©1987) ~ Tarl Cabot is once again thrown into the midst of battle, danger, and intrigue. After the fall of one of Ar's ports, Tarl Cabot and the other survivors flee the ruins. Caught between two armies, Ar and Cos, Tarl Cabot must risk everything and dare to follow his beliefs. Trapped after a raid, Tarl seeks help from the loyal Vosk League in order to escape. A novel of espionage and extreme danger, VAGABONDS OF GOR have Cabot face his most difficult task, while trying to evade capture and destruction. But can Tarl tell Ar before it's too late, or will this be the end of it all?

25. Magicians of Gor (©1988) ~ Talena, a puppet of the invaders of Cos, rules the capital city of Ar. Tarl Cabot and the Delta Brigade, devoted to ousting the Cosian empire, must recover the revered Home Stone. Using the "magical" abilities of Boots Tarsk-Bit, Cabot must break the Cosian protection over the Home Stone and use the stone to propel Ar's citizens into a revolution.

26. Witness of Gor (©2002) ~ Deep within the cells of Treve, a glorious and mysterious city at the center of Gor's struggle for supremacy, awakens a nameless slave girl who will witness events about which others will only dare to whisper. Abducted from Earth and dubbed Janice by her owners, this lovely girl learns the art of obedience and the erotic life that is required of a slave girl while watching the world of Gor tremble with its inner conflict. From her cell Janice can see the city's splendor of majestic snowcapped mountains, a beauty marred only by the on-going struggle between the most powerful cities of Gor, Ar and Cos, and the presence of the Larl guardians awaiting an escapee. When Janice is assigned to care for a mysterious male prisoner the comfortable fabric of her days she has learned to accept begins to tear apart. She knows somehow he has a role in the escalating turmoil outside her bars, but he cannot recall anything of his life before his imprisonment. As her life is put in ever-increasing danger, Janice begins to question who this man she is instructed to care for is and when her ordeal will end.

27. Prize of Gor (©2008) ~ Ellen is a beautiful young slave girl on the planet Gor. Yet she was not always thus. For nearly sixty years she was a woman of Earth, but life had largely passed her by. Then, following an apparently chance encounter at the opera with a strangely familiar young man, an echo from her past, she finds herself transported from Earth to Gor. Here she discovers the true identity of her kidnapper and his sinister motives. She is given a strange drug that reverses the aging process, turning back time itself, and once again she’s the beautiful young woman she remembers from years before, so long ago. Now her adventures really begin. Ellen finds herself a slave in the mighty Gorean city of Ar, where the harsh rule of the occupying forces of Cos and their mercenary allies is being challenged by the mysterious Delta Brigade. Surrounded by intrigue, rumors, plots, and betrayal, her adventures bring her face to face with strange and terrifying beasts, and sickeningly familiar weapons. Men challenge one another to own her. To the victor the spoils, but who will that victor be? Her fate is decided in this latest thrilling installment of John Norman’s best selling Gorean Saga.

28. Kur of Gor (©2009) ~ Some might suppose that the Kurii are monsters, but that is distinctly unfair. They are merely another life form. The Kur is often eight to ten feet in height, if it should straighten its body, and several hundred pounds in weight, and is clawed, fanged, long armed, agile, and swift, often moving on all fours when it wishes to move most rapidly, and that is far faster than a man can run. It does not apologize for its strength, its speed, its formidableness. Nor does it attempt to conceal them. Once, it seems, the Kur race had a planet of their own, but somehow, apparently by their own hands, it was rendered unviable, either destroyed or desolate. So they searched for a new home, and in our solar system found not one but two suitable planets, planets they set their minds to conquering. But these planets, Earth and it's sister planet Gor, the Counter-Earth, were not undefended. Four times have the Kur attempted their conquest, only to be beaten back by the mysterious Priest-Kings, rulers of Gor. As the Kurii lurk deep within an asteroid belt, awaiting the chance to seize their prize, their attention is drawn to a human, Tarl Cabot. Cabot was once an agent of Priest-Kings, but is now their prisoner, held captive in a secret prison facility. But what is their interest in Tarl Cabot? Whatever it may be, one thing soon becomes clear - that Tarl Cabot is a man to be taken seriously.

29. Swordsmen of Gor (©2010) ~ Fresh from his exploits in the Steel Worlds, home of the Kurii, a savage alien race intent on conquering Gor, Tarl Cabot has been returned to an isolated beach, at coordinates apparently specified by the Priest-Kings, the masters of Gor and the enemy of the Kurii. His only companions are his beautiful new slave Cecily, and Ramar, a ferocious sleen bred in the Steel Worlds to hunt and kill. But why has he been returned to such a remote spot? Did the Priest-Kings wish their former agent to serve them once more? Did the Kurii intend to use Cabot to further their own ends? The truth, as Tarl will learn, is darker, and deeper, than either of these possibilities. In SWORDSMEN OF GOR, the latest book in John Norman's best-selling Gorean saga, follow Tarl as he embarks on a new adventure with the Pani, a strange people with mysterious origins, and learn the dark, sinister truth behind his return to Gor, the Counter-Earth.

30. Mariners of Gor (©2011) ~ MARINERS OF GOR is a direct sequel to SWORDSMEN OF GOR and the action picks up immediately from the end of the earlier book. Many on Gor do not believe the great ship, the ship of Tersites, the lame, scorned, half-blind, half-mad shipwright, originally of Port Kar exists. Surely it is a matter of no more than legend. In the previous book, however, SWORDSMEN OF GOR, we learn that the great ship, commissioned by unusual warriors for a mysterious mission, was secretly built in the northern forests, and brought down the Alexandra to Thassa, the sea, beginning her voyage to the "World's End," hazarding waters beyond the "farther islands," from which no previous ship had returned. In MARINERS OF GOR one learns the history and nature of the voyage through vast, dangerous, and uncharted waters, a voyage beset with dangers, both within and without the ship. One encounters storms and calms, fearful marine life and volcanic seas, hardships, treacheries, intrigues, desertions, and mutinies, and entrapments in ice and later amongst the thick, broad tendrils of the narcotic Vine Sea, and, eventually, once come to the "World's End," one learns what has been the intent and meaning of this mysterious enterprise, and the human ferocities into which the mariners find themselves introduced.

31. Conspirators of Gor (©2012) ~ The 31st volume of the series, the 7th narrative from a female viewpoint, and the 1st book written for a Gorean audience; CONSPIRATORS OF GOR follows up on the alien war between Kurii and Priest-Kings which escalated in book 28, KUR OF GOR. The leading character, a young woman by the name Allison Ashton-Baker, involved in playing Gorean games on Earth, is transported to Ar to become a major witness of the unfolding events. We meet again with Lord Grendel, the result of a failed experiment to mix the genes of humans and Kurii; the Lady Bina, former pet of Agamemnon, she who dreams of becoming Ubara of Ar; and Agamemnon himself, Eleventh face of the Nameless One, the illustrious mastermind behind the Kurrian invasion. Packed with action, and, as usual, presented with a spicy dressing of cultural relativism and critical remarks on modernity and gender relations. One word - brilliant!

32. Smugglers of Gor (©2012) ~ This is an unusual book, having to do with alleged events on the alleged world, Gor, the Antichthon, or Counter-Earth, as it seems to have two narrators, or authors, who, as the texts will have it, see, and relate to, certain events, possibly of consequence to the fate of worlds. It may be recalled that the great ship of Tersites, to the best of our knowledge, was the first ship to successfully negotiate Thassa, the sea, in a voyage which led to the World's End, an unusual gaming board on which two, from the human point of view, alien species may be gambling for a world, the pieces being men. In this book, which, in its way, constitutes a prequel to MARINERS OF GOR, we learn that a mysterious cargo, suitably disguised, was covertly placed on the great ship, a cargo which might influence the outcome of the aforementioned gamble, or wager. One narrator is a young woman, once a Miss Margaret Alyssa Cameron, and the other is an individual whose name, for reasons which will become obvious, is withheld in the manuscript. It does seem clear, however, that the individual referred to was somehow instrumental in bringing the former Miss Cameron to the height of a large slave block in the coastal city of Brundisium, one of Gor's major ports. John Norman is creator of the Gorean Saga, a series of novels spanning over 30 titles that have become cult classics. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the first book of the Gorean Saga, Tarnsman of Gor, E-Reads is proud to release the very first complete publication of all Gor books by John Norman, in both print and ebook editions. Each book of this release has been specially edited by the author and is a definitive text.

33. Title (©Year) ~   Summary

NOTE:The book titles and descriptions are copyrighted and the property of John Norman and/or his agents, and are used under the fair use provision of International Copyright Law.