Tarnsman of Gor by John Norman

Tarnsman of Gor is the first of a long running series of novels by John Norman. Referred to as either the Gor books or Chronicles of Counter Earth, I had never heard of this series till Robin Bougie of Cinema Sewer fame mentioned them on a message board I post at. So when I was at Coast Con this year I saw a dealer that had a huge stack of the Gor novels. Well I wasn't willing to pay 2 bucks for a book I hadn't read. But during the last hour of the con all the books were dropped to 10 cents each. So I picked up the first 7 books of the series.

Tarnsman of Gor is the story of Tarl Cabot. Who is a college professor. While out on a hike he learns that his father is from another planet that is on the opposite side of the sun from Earth. He is transported to Gor and starts to learn about this strange alien culture. He becomes part of the military of one of the major cities on Gor. And becomes a tarnsman. The tarns are flying creatures that the military of Gor use as transportation and for air attacks. After a few adventures Tarl is transported back to Earth and the novel ends.

This novel while kinda short,218 pages in the paperback edition,is still entertaining in the way that the old pulps use to be. Now I have heard that the later novels have a strong BDSM theme,but this first novel is more of a combo of Conan the Barbarian and John Carter of Mars. So if you are a fan of either series of stories this is worth picking up. Tarnsman of Gor gets a B+