Gor ( / ˈ ɡ ɔːr / ) is the fictional setting for a series of sword and planet novels written by philosophy professor John Lange, writing as John Norman . The setting was first described in the 1966 novel Tarnsman of Gor . The series is inspired by science fantasy pulp fiction works by Edgar Rice Burroughs , such as the Barsoom series. It also includes erotica and philosophical content. The Gor series repeatedly depicts men abducting and physically and sexually brutalizing women, who grow to enjoy their submissive state. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , Norman's "sexual philosophy" is "widely detested", but the books have inspired a Gorean subculture .
46-404: The series has been variously referred to by publishers with several names, including The Chronicles of Counter-Earth ( Ballantine Books ), The Saga of Tarl Cabot ( DAW Books ), Gorean Cycle ( Tandem Books ), Gorean Chronicles (Masquerade Books), Gorean Saga (Open Road Media) and The Counter-Earth Saga (DAW Books, for novels with a protagonist other than Tarl Cabot). In an interview with
92-471: A 67 percent sell-through . The second, The Captain , had a 91 percent sell-through, which is the sort of thing that would make Stephen King rush over to shake your hand... Brian Thomsen, my Warner editor for the Telnarian series... was replaced by an editor from one of the blacklisting presses, one that explicitly informed my agent they would not consider anything by John Norman. That new editor canceled
138-407: A founder of Bantam Books , announced that he would "offer trade publishers a plan for simultaneous publishing of original titles in two editions, a hardcover 'regular' edition for bookstore sale, and a paper-cover, 'newsstand' size, low-priced edition for mass market sale." When the first Ballantine Book, Cameron Hawley 's Executive Suite , was published in 1952, the publishing industry saw that
184-550: A gathered cabal pledged to secrecy. It is an understanding that a certain individual is to be ostracized, excluded, methodologically overlooked or such. Starting in 2001, John Norman's books were published by E-Reads as ebooks and print copies. According to their website, "they are among E-Reads' biggest sellers". Open Road Integrated Media acquired E-Reads in 2014. Two films have been made, Gor in 1987 and Outlaw of Gor in 1989 (also known as Outlaw ). While not officially connected to John Norman's work, Fencer of Minerva
230-410: A widely spoken lingua franca in many other areas. Most of the novels in the series are action and sexual adventures, with many of the military engagements borrowing liberally from historic ones, such as the trireme battles of ancient Greece and the castle sieges of medieval Europe. Ar, the largest city in known Gor, has resemblances to the ancient city of Rome , and its land empire is opposed by
276-519: Is a Japanese animated series containing many of the elements and ideas discussed in Gorean philosophy. During the mid-1990s, an attempt was made to publish an authorized graphic novel adaptation of the Gor series under Vision Entertainment . The project collapsed under a combination of financial issues and the nature of the imagery, which violated Canadian law , where the printer was located. A Gor region
322-527: Is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place against the background of a future culture where travel between worlds by spaceship is commonplace; others, particularly the earliest examples of the genre, do not, and invoke flying carpets , astral projection , or other methods of getting between planets. In either case, it
368-535: Is described as a habitable planet in the Solar System that shares the same orbit as Earth , but it is linearly opposed to Earth and consequently always hidden by the Sun , making direct observation of it from Earth impossible. The flora, fauna and customs of Gor are intricately detailed. Norman populates his planet with the equivalents of Roman , Greek , Native American , Viking , Inuit and other cultures. In
414-606: Is narrated by an unknown Kur, but features Tarl Cabot. Book 30 and parts of 32 are narrated by three Gorean men: a mariner, a scribe and a merchant/slaver. The series features several sentient alien races. The most important to the books are the insectoid Priest-Kings and the huge, sharp-clawed, predatory Kurii, both spacefarers from foreign star systems. The Priest-Kings rule Gor as disinterested custodians, leaving humans to their own affairs as long as they abide by certain restrictions on technology. The Kurii are an aggressive, invasive race with advanced technology (but less so than that of
460-495: Is the planetside adventures which are the focus of the story, not the mode of travel. A significant precursor of the genre is Edwin L. Arnold 's Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation (1905). In Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels (1985), editor and critic David Pringle named Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffrey two "leading practitioners nowadays" for the planetary romance type of science fiction. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction mentions two caveats as to
506-491: The Gor novels should be placed on the top shelves of bookstores, saying, "I’m not for censorship but I am for strategies which marginalize stuff that works to objectify women and suggests women enjoy being beaten." A fandom has developed based on the series. Gorean subculture developed independently of Norman's involvement, particularly starting as a fan network after the publishing houses ceased printing new paperback editions of
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#1732793960897552-595: The Star Trek Logs , a ten-volume series of Alan Dean Foster adaptations of the animated Star Trek . In 1968, Ballantine published a non-fiction book related to Star Trek , The Making of Star Trek by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry . In 1976, Ballantine published the novelization of a forthcoming science fiction film, Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas ( ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster ). The book, like
598-597: The Zacherley anthologies, the paperback of Hunter Thompson 's Hell's Angels , Harvey Kurtzman 's The Mad Reader and other early Mad paperbacks. He made four contributions to Mad and other magazines edited by Kurtzman. In 1956, Shir-Cliff edited a humor anthology, The Wild Reader , for Ballantine, including essays, poems and satirical pieces by Robert Benchley , Art Buchwald , Tom Lehrer , John Lardner, Shepherd Mead , Ogden Nash , S. J. Perelman , Frank Sullivan, James Thurber and others. The 154-page paperback
644-522: The catchphrase "I had one grunch, but the eggplant over there." The nonsense non sequitur was immediately adopted by science fiction fandom, appearing occasionally in fanzines, as noted in Fancyclopedia II (1959). Ballantine has also been the publisher of books featuring Jim Davis ' comic strip Garfield since 1980. Sword and planet Planetary romance (other synonyms are sword and planet , and (inter)planetary adventure )
690-517: The speculative fiction anthology Polygraff , John Norman spoke at length about the creation of the Gor universe and his influences. The Counter-Earth , or Antichthon , is from Greek cosmology. Speculation on such a world, you see, is ancient. One of the premises of the Gorean series is that a race of aliens, whom we might speak of as the Priest-Kings, have a technology at their disposal compared to which ours would be something like that in
736-430: The 1990s, the Gorean subculture has become attractive to a number of male teenagers through role-playing in chat rooms. The teenage role-playing Goreans who concealed many of their personal aspects such as age or lack of experience, thanks to anonymity, managed to appeal to a considerable number of married and middle-aged women as kajirae in role-playing contexts. Such notoriety caused by this profile and related practices in
782-465: The Bronze Age. I think, pretty clearly, the three major influences on my work are Homer , Freud , and Nietzsche . Interestingly, however obvious this influence might be, few, if any, critics, commentators, or such, have called attention to it. In the same interview, he said "one of the pleasures of writing science fiction is the development of, and characterization of, alien life forms". Gor
828-599: The Gorean culture and gender roles in their daily lives and some followers of an unofficial splinter group known as Kaotians who adhered to this approach were prosecuted for leading coercive sex cults. As opposed to literalists, the role players, divided into real-life sexual roleplayers (engaged or not engaged in BDSM practices) and online role-playing gamers (present particularly in Second Life ) are not necessarily committed to Gorean philosophy and ideals. Starting from
874-540: The Land (#7), Al Capp 's The World of Li'l Abner (#8, with Farrar, Straus & Young) and LaSelle Gilman's The Red Gate (#9). During the early 1950s, Ballantine attracted attention as one of the leading publishers of paperback science fiction and fantasy , beginning with The Space Merchants (#21). The Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth novel had first appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction under
920-461: The Priest-Kings) who wish to colonize both Gor and Earth. The power of the Priest-Kings is diminished after the "Nest War" described in the third book and the Priest-Kings and Kurii struggle against each other via their respective human agents and spies. Early entries in the series were plot-driven space opera adventures, but later entries grew more philosophical and sexual. Many subplots run
966-477: The community's diverse nature, continue. BDSM writer Michael Makai nevertheless asserts that Gorean fiction may be found responsible for shaping or otherwise popularizing many of today's established BDSM protocols and tenets. Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann . Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine . Ballantine
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#17327939608971012-460: The course of several books and tie back to the main plot in later books. Some of these plots begin in the first book, but most are underway in the first 10 books. DAW Books , which published the Gor series from the 8th volume ( Hunters of Gor ) through the 25th volume ( Magicians of Gor ), subsequently decided to cease publication of the books, citing low sales; Norman attributes the decision to feminist influences, saying in 1996: Tarnsman of Gor
1058-554: The equator, with the Thassa ocean to the west, and the Voltai mountain range forming an eastern boundary at many latitudes. There are also offshore islands in the ocean and some relatively sparsely settled plains to the east of the Voltai. The word "Gor" itself means "home stone" in the Gorean language, the native language of the "northern civilized cities of known Gor" (which resemble ancient Greco-Roman city-states in many respects), and
1104-442: The film Star Wars released the following year, was an enormous success and sold out its initial print run. In the first three months, Ballantine sold 3.5 million copies. After publishing The World of Li'l Abner , Ballantine introduced Shel Silverstein in 1956 with his Grab Your Socks! collection of cartoons from Pacific Stars and Stripes . As an editor at Ballantine during the 1950s and 1960s, Bernard Shir-Cliff handled
1150-603: The formats of both magazines and paperbacks. In the early 1960s, the company engaged in a well-known rivalry with Ace Books for the rights to reprint the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and Edgar Rice Burroughs in paperback form. Ballantine prevailed in the struggle for the Tolkien work, with their editions of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings including a message on the back cover from Tolkien himself urging consumers to buy Ballantine's version and boycott "unauthorized editions" (i.e.
1196-524: The humans' belligerent tendencies. The planet Gor has lower gravity than the Earth (which allows for the existence of large flying creatures and tall towers connected by aerial bridges in the cities) and would have an even lower gravity if not for the technology of the Priest-Kings. The known geography of Gor consists mainly of the western seaboard of a continent that runs from the Arctic in the north to south of
1242-424: The latter often in positions of slavery. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy has stated that the first several books are "passable exercises" of Edgar Rice Burroughs -style fiction while "later volumes degenerate into extremely sexist, sadomasochistic pornography involving the ritual humiliation of women, and as a result have caused widespread offence". Science fiction/fantasy author Michael Moorcock has suggested that
1288-438: The level of Classical Mediterranean civilization) due to restrictions on technology imposed by the Priest-Kings. The most advanced form of transportation is the riding of large predatory birds called tarns by masterful men known as tarnsmen . The limitation of technology is imposed to ensure the safety of both the Priest-Kings and the other indigenous and transplanted beings on Gor, who would otherwise possibly come to harm due to
1334-445: The novels, these various population groups are transplants from Earth brought there by spacecraft through the behind-the-scenes rulers of Gor, the Priest-Kings, an extraterrestrial species of insectoid appearance. The Gorean humans are permitted advanced architectural, agricultural and medical skills (including life extension), but are forced to remain primitive in the fields of transportation, communication and weaponry (at approximately
1380-495: The novels. Fans allege that due to the controversy and pressure from feminist circles, the Gor books went out of print in the late 1980s (trade paperback and e-book sequel novels were subsequently published from 2001 to 2016). It does not have a uniform following but encompasses different groups of varying views and practices. The Gorean subculture particularly focuses on the master-and-slave dynamic in sexual relationships and associated forms of female submission as portrayed in
1426-432: The novels. Therefore, although they are estimated to comprise less than 5% of the total female population on Gor, training and keeping a female slave (often known as a kajira ) is central to Gorean subculture. Formal slave training, slave positions, and commands, as well as slave attire and beautification, are practices central to the Gorean subculture. Literalists, otherwise known as lifestylers, incorporate elements from
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1472-616: The paperback edition instead gave the book more publicity. After the film rights were sold to MGM , Robert Wise directed the 1954 film , nominated for four Academy Awards. On the heels of that kind of sales and publicity, other Ballantine titles were seen in spinner racks across the country. Executive Suite was followed by Hal Ellson 's The Golden Spike (#2), Stanley Baron's All My Enemies (#3), Luke Short 's Saddle by Starlight (#4, also with Houghton Mifflin), Ruth Park's The Witch's Thorn (#5, also with Houghton Mifflin), Emile Danoen's Tides of Tide (#6), Frank Bonham 's Blood on
1518-459: The sea-power of the island of Cos. The series is an overlapping of planetary romance and sword and planet . The first book, Tarnsman of Gor , opens with scenes reminiscent of scenes in the first book of the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs ; both feature the protagonist narrating his adventures after being transported to another world. These parallels end after the first few books, when
1564-447: The series despite its success and without waiting to see how the third book, The King , would do. That way things are made nicely clear... Unfortunately for me, only about seven or eight publishing houses maintain a mass-market paperback line in science fiction and fantasy; this small, closely-knit group effectively controls the market. With such a group, a blacklist need not be an explicit, formal written or oral agreement subscribed to by
1610-447: The simultaneous hardcover and paperback editions were obvious successes. Houghton Mifflin published the $ 3.00 hardcover at the same time Ballantine distributed its 35¢ paperback. By February 1953, Ballantine had sold 375,000 copies and was preparing to print 100,000 more. Houghton Mifflin sold 22,000 hardback copies in its first printing. Ballantine's sales soon totaled 470,000 copies. Instead of hurting hardback sales as some predicted,
1656-773: The stories of the books begin to be structured along a loose story arc involving the struggles of the city-state of Ar and the island of Cos to control the Vosk river area, as well as the struggles at a higher level between the non-human Priest-Kings and the Kurii (another alien race) to control Gor and Earth. Most of the books are narrated by transplanted British professor Tarl Cabot, master swordsman, as he engages in adventures involving Priest-Kings, Kurii, and humans. Books 7, 11, 19, 22, 26, 27, 31, 34 and parts of 32 are narrated by abducted Earth women who are made into slaves. Books 14, 15, and 16 are narrated by male abductee Jason Marshall. Book 28
1702-507: The title Gravy Planet . Kauffman scored when he acquired and edited Ray Bradbury 's Fahrenheit 451 (originally in Galaxy as a shorter version, "The Firemen"). Ballantine's science fiction line also included the unusual Star Science Fiction Stories . With cover paintings by Richard Powers , this innovative anthology series offered new fiction rather than reprints. Edited by Frederik Pohl , it attracted readers by successfully combining
1748-400: The usage of the term. First, while the setting may be in an alien world, if "the nature or description of this world has little bearing on the story being told," as in A Case of Conscience , then the book is not a planetary romance. Second, hard science fiction tales are excluded from this category, where an alien planet, while being a critical component of the plot, is just a background for
1794-472: The use of symbolic substitutes, such as the sound of claps as a substitute for whippings and other physical punishments. Patrick Califia asserts that Norman was critical of the psychological and physical harm that non-stop BDSM slavery and corporal punishment might inflict. However, such views of Norman are not part of the Gorean canon and debate on Gorean practices' relationship to BDSM, focusing on aspects such as Total Power Exchange and further complicated by
1840-461: The version from Ace Books). A separate Canadian edition of the books was published with different front cover art work. Tolkien asked for (and received) permission to add the back cover message. Betty Ballantine recalled: "And we did put a little statement on the back covers saying that Ace was not paying royalties to Professor Tolkien, and everybody who admired Lord of the Rings should only buy our paperback edition. Well, everybody got behind us. There
1886-583: The virtual Gorean community succeeded in creating disdain among both feminists and the BDSM community. Nevertheless, scholars have discussed the way that Gorean subculture groups on media such as Second Life and Internet Relay Chat have influenced the development of online role-playing and even the MMORPG genre. Norman's non-fictional sex manual Imaginative Sex presents a series of elaborate fantasy scenarios to be acted out in isolated scenes. He also recommends
Gor - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-550: Was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains part of that company. Ballantine's original logo was a pair of mirrored letter Bs back to back, later changing to two Bs stacked to form an elaborate gate. The firm's early editors were Stanley Kauffmann and Bernard Shir-Cliff . Following Fawcett Publications ' controversial 1950 introduction of Gold Medal paperback originals rather than reprints, Lion Books, Avon and Ace also decided to publish originals. In 1952, Ian Ballantine,
1978-612: Was established in the virtual world of Second Life in 2005, where users roleplay as characters based on the novels. In it, characters interact in standard Middle Age scenarios, combat, and sexual situations. By mid-2024, many more regions had been added, and there is a body of fans who continue to roleplay in the Gorean settings. The Gor novels have inspired short fan fiction parodies freely available online, including "Houseplants of Gor" and "Gay, Bejeweled, Nazi Bikers of Gor". The Gor novels have been criticized for their focus on relationships between dominant men and submissive women ,
2024-525: Was illustrated with cartoons by Kelly Freas who also did the front cover. Another contributor to both Ballantine and the Kurtzman magazines was the cartoonist-author Roger Price . He did two humor books for Ballantine. I'm for Me First (1954) details Herman Clabbercutt's plan to launch a revolutionary political party known as the "I'm for Me First" Party. In One Head and Out the Other (1954) popularized
2070-541: Was literally no publication that did not carry some kind of outraged article. And of course, the whole science fiction fraternity got behind the book; this was their meat and drink." In 1969, Lin Carter edited the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series , which brought a number of rare titles back into print, as well as launching Katherine Kurtz 's Deryni series . During the mid-1970s, Ballantine published
2116-519: Was published in late 1966. It has been reprinted 22 times... I have recently signed contracts for fresh French and German sales, and have recently been published for the first time in Czechoslovakia. There have been recent Spanish and Italian sales. There's no evidence that my books no longer sell... After DAW refused to buy any more Gor books, I sold a three-part Telnarian series to Brian Thomsen of Warner Books. The first book, The Chieftain , had
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