Outlaw of Gor (Volume II in the Chronicles of Counter-Earth)

In his second Gor book, Outlaws of Gor, John Norman seem to have improved somewhat over his first book. There are far fewer extreme coincidences to stretch credibility. In the second book our hero, Tarl, is returned to Gor by the space alien Priest-Kings after spending an intervening 7 years back on Earth. Upon his return he discovers that his city has been destroyed by the Priest-Kings. Since Gor is a land of city states, and Tarl now has no city, he is therefore an outlaw. In order to find out why his city was destroyed, or to exact revenge, he begins a journey to the home of the Priest-Kings in the northern mountains of Gor. Along the way he passes through Tharna, a city ruled by dominant feminist females. In what is obviously a philosophical slam at feminist rule, everything about Tharna is dysfunctional and devoid of even simple pleasure. After several adventures in Tharna, our hero restores manly confidence to its men and restores natural order to the city. All the former feminist men-hating females are forced to become either wives or slaves of men, and the natural order and satisfaction of both men and women is restored. The parallels with many feminist inspired laws and politically correct silencing of subjugated men on Earth over the past several decades are many and obvious. Norman uses the Gor series to explain and promote the natural dominance of men and submissive nature of females. It also shows how females and the whole human race thrive with strong manly control over females, but how we fall into all manner of despair when females are allowed to become controlling. Its a good read with built in wisdom for men and females.

Tal! In this we find our hero Tarl were we last saw him, back on planet Earth. For some mysterious reason, he had been taken away from his true home...the world called Gor, Gor being the same wording as Homestone. Yet the Priest Kings have their reasons, and one of them is to have him come back...thus he returns to Gor in this second book of the series. However, not all is well in the return, we find that Koroba is no more, we find that all the Free of Koroba have been scattered across the four winds...not to be allowed to stand next to another Free of Koroba. Further, the love of Tarl's life, the daughter of the Ubar of Ar herself, is gone, disappeared, somewhere out there. Still, these tragedies are not going to be taken for despair and Tarl will not allow himself to give up. That is not what a true Gorean, a true Man, a true Free, wills of Himself (or even Herself). With sword and with shield and with determination, Tarl sets out to cross the wild world of Gor to see what fate may have for him. In this follow up novel, Tarl goes through adventures dealing with the city of Tharna...where not is all as it seems. Power players behind the throne, so to speak, fight with deadly care to bring down the Ubara...the Tatrix... Laura...as Tarl delves deeper, he realizes that he will bring forth a new fate for both the city itself and Laura. As this is the second novel, John Norman slowly but surely takes away the fabulous creatures one might find in a E. R. Burroughs novel (which is what this and Tarnsman is slightly, but not fully, akin to) and shows real world villains. Villains you may read about in European and Middle Eastern history. Again, there is a fierce dominance and submission equation here, but do not let it fool you. This is not some kind of Anne Rice erotica...in fact you rarely if ever even get a sex scene in any of the Gor books. Sensuality, yes. Pornography, no. Realize there is a big difference. It is important to understand this because one must realize that you can have beauty without being lewd and corse as many of the so called "pornography" magazines, books, videos, etc. Foolishness, I would rather have thoughts and possibilities instead of crase descriptions of what "he does and she does". That is not the way of John Norman and that is not the way of Gor. You can be playful, sensual, intimate, without being an idiot about it. Please enjoy this book and my future explorations of the series. Winds!

This book starts harsh and gives us an insight into the inhuman qualities of the priest-kings. However the general sense of adventure vs. an overindulgence in male dominance philosophy in the later books continues.Tarl is searching for his family/friends and Talena and ends up in the city of Tharna. At first the female dominated society which is just not working seems a shallow tool to hide the author's disdain for female dominance, but after finishing the book it works out rather nicely. The escape from the silver mines was particularly well accomplished. Some have critisized Norman's writing: there is a scene here which I thought proved the opposite. When Tarl and Thorn are fighting in the throne room and their reflections are in the water of a pool, their shadows fighting with them and all this is reflected in the golden mask of the girl watching them, I thought this brought the scene to life well.

In this, the 2nd installment of the Counter-Earth saga, Cabot is finally returned to Gor after being exiled to planet Earth for reasons unknown.This novel, which follows "Tarnsman of Gor" picks up with Cabot back on Earth in New York city. Cabot is greatly anguished at being separated from his city Ko-Ro-Ba, and his Free Companion, Talena of Ar. We get a peek at Cabot's persona, and how unfit he is for life on Earth after his exposure to life on Gor.Upon his return to Gor, Cabot learns that the mysterious Priest-Kings of Gor have destroyed Ko-Ro-Ba, and decreed that no two men of that city may stand together without risking the wrath of the Priest-Kings.Cabot sets forth to enter the forbidding Sardar mountains where legend says that the rulers of Gor reside, and demand an accounting of the Priest-Kings as to why his city was destroyed and its inhabitants forced to scatter before the winds. On the way Cabot passes through the city of Tharna, and learns that sometimes you cannot accept things at face value, when he is trapped into the slavery of the silver mines of Tharna.Cabot eventually escapes, and the novel closes with him making his preparations to enter the Sardar mountains.

I loved it, it's a great, great book. I was kind of confused at first because I haven't read the first one. What is it? I really want to know.