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Gor #22
Dancer of Gor
Doreen Williamson is a quiet, shy librarian on Earth. As many other young women she is distrustful of her attractions, frightened of men, introverted in manner and sexually inhibited. She lives in a quiet, lonely, dissatisfying, sheltered, frustrated desperation, distant from her true self, her nature denied, her only friends books and her secret thoughts. In the realization and enactment of a profound fantasy, after acute self-conflict, she dares to study dancing, a form of dance in which she is at last free to move her body as a female, a form of dance in which she may revel in her beauty and womanhood, a form of dance historically commanded by masters of selected, suitable slaves, belly dance. Thusly may she fantasize her longed-for desirability. This is, of course, her delicious, shameful secret, one which must be concealed from all, one which must be forever carefully guarded. Unbeknownst to herself, however, she has independently come to the attention of skilled assessors of women, of Gorean slavers. While secretly practicing in the library after hours she is surprised by three men. She must then dance, for the first time, before men. For the first, time, too, she discovers her own desirability, and that she is such as may be well bid upon. She will be taken to the beautiful, perilous world of Gor, there, in a collar, to learn her womanhood, and there, at last, to beautifully and profoundly find and fulfill herself. 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, including the long-awaited 26th novel in the saga, WITNESS OF GOR. Many of the original Gor books have been out of print for years, but their popularity has endured. Each book of this release has been specially edited by the author and is a definitive text.
479 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
45 people are currently reading
569 people want to read
About the author
John Norman
99 books337 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John Norman, real name John Lange, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931. His best known works, the Gor series, currently span 36 books written 1966 (Tarnsman of Gor) to 2021 (Avengers of Gor). Three installments of the Telnarian Histories, plus three other fiction works and a non-fiction paperback. Mr. Norman is married and has three children.
John Norman, real name John Lange, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931. His best known works, the Gor series, currently span 36 books written 1966 (Tarnsman of Gor) to 2021 (Avengers of Gor). Three installments of the Telnarian Histories, plus three other fiction works and a non-fiction paperback. Mr. Norman is married and has three children.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 13, 2014
This was the first Gor book I read, because I heard it had belly dancing in it. As a dancer myself, I enjoy looking for old belly dance kitsch. After forcing myself to finish it, I can honestly say it is the most poorly written book I have ever read. John Norman has the most annoying writing style I have ever suffered through. He somehow manages to fill an entire book with words that don't seem to say anything. He likes to drag out his sentences by adding extra words that don't need to be there such as "to, therefor, also..." and he seems to think that run on sentences will make him sound intelligent.
Poor writing aside, his characters have as much depth as a sheet tray. The main character is supposed to be smart, but I don't recall one smart thing she did in the entire book. Apparently we are supposed to believe she is smart because people are always telling her she is. Mind you, the people telling her this are men who are her Masters and consider a "smart" woman to be one who obeys them at all times. The other characters are no better. The men are all sexist, controlling pigs who only care about war, drinking and reminding slave girls they are slaves. We are told that these Gorean men are somehow better than our Earth men, but I didn't see one example of a man who was in the least bit admirable. All these men seem capable of doing is bossing around naked women who have no choice but to do as they are told. How manly, forcing yourself on someone who is helpless. Puuuuhlease.
Which brings me to another point. Yes, this book is about women being slaves to men. I was not expecting it to be a feminist book. I could appreciate if it was the fantasy, sexy fun I figured it would be. Instead it's filled with pages full of Norman's own insistence that "modern women" are somehow denying their true femininity by not enslaving themselves to men. Norman *constantly* bashes feminism to the point that it pulls you right out of the fantasy at every turn. Slaves are constantly insisting they love to be a slave, how they were meant to be a slave, how they were now fully "aware" of their femaleness, how badly Earth women are missing out on this slave paradise, etc. Instead of feeling like I am taken to another world where things are different than on Earth, I feel like I am reading a book that is the authors soap box for his anti-feminist views and his sexual fantasy land (despite the fact he conveniently skips describing the sex scenes and spends all his time detailing how the women are chained instead). Not to mention the fact this idea is incredibly flawed. The main character is chosen to be a slave because the person who went to Earth and picked her out tested her by telling her to do things and seeing if she would comply. He was a total stranger and she just did what he told her to for no apparent reason. How many women would really do this? She was basically culled from the flock! But we are told that, deep down inside, all women are like this. It's so far off the mark it's completely unbelievable. I find myself wishing Norman had instead chosen to make her fully resist being a slave and showed her growth as a character into the role of a slave. But no, she's pretty much a slave before she's ever selected. There is no growth, no struggle. She takes to her slavery like a fish in water. What is this book about again?
Here is an example of Doreen's inner thoughts from the book. This is her thought process early in the story, not long after being enslaved:
"I supposed I was a wicked, worthless woman and, far worse, only a despicable natural slave, but something deep in me, fundamental in me, proud and ancient in me, loved men, and I did not want to make them small, and nothing, but wanted, rather, to please them, to obey them, to serve them, to give my all to them, to make them strong and proud, grand and glorious, to make them happy. But here, among the virile men of Gor, I had little choice in such matters. such things, regardless of whether or not I might wish to bestow them of my own free will, would be simply commanded of me."
The dialogue is atrocious. It's full of pointless conversations such as:
Master: You are chained
Slave: Yes, Master
Master: You enjoy being chained
Slave: Yes, Master. I am a slave!
Master: You enjoy being a slave
Slave: Yes, Master!
Followed by the slave begging for sex, although what she's all hot and bothered about remains to be seen.
The plot is weak, weak, weak. What IS the plot, anyway? We've already established that there is no character development, so what does that leave us with? Oh right, at some point Doreen gets kidnapped or whatever. I guess that's the plot.
At one point Norman actually switches a main character out for another and doesn't seem to notice his error. Where is the editor of this book?? He also likes to constantly avoid telling you of events that happened after the scene fades to black at the end of a chapter. You start the next chapter and suddenly they are in a new place and you don't know how they got there, what day it is, why they are there, who else is there with them, etc. He seems to think this is suspenseful when in fact it's just plain jarring.
I would not suggest this book to anyone. In fact, even years later I still refer to it as "the worse book I have ever read". Read it if you want a laugh, but don't be foolish enough to purchase it!
Poor writing aside, his characters have as much depth as a sheet tray. The main character is supposed to be smart, but I don't recall one smart thing she did in the entire book. Apparently we are supposed to believe she is smart because people are always telling her she is. Mind you, the people telling her this are men who are her Masters and consider a "smart" woman to be one who obeys them at all times. The other characters are no better. The men are all sexist, controlling pigs who only care about war, drinking and reminding slave girls they are slaves. We are told that these Gorean men are somehow better than our Earth men, but I didn't see one example of a man who was in the least bit admirable. All these men seem capable of doing is bossing around naked women who have no choice but to do as they are told. How manly, forcing yourself on someone who is helpless. Puuuuhlease.
Which brings me to another point. Yes, this book is about women being slaves to men. I was not expecting it to be a feminist book. I could appreciate if it was the fantasy, sexy fun I figured it would be. Instead it's filled with pages full of Norman's own insistence that "modern women" are somehow denying their true femininity by not enslaving themselves to men. Norman *constantly* bashes feminism to the point that it pulls you right out of the fantasy at every turn. Slaves are constantly insisting they love to be a slave, how they were meant to be a slave, how they were now fully "aware" of their femaleness, how badly Earth women are missing out on this slave paradise, etc. Instead of feeling like I am taken to another world where things are different than on Earth, I feel like I am reading a book that is the authors soap box for his anti-feminist views and his sexual fantasy land (despite the fact he conveniently skips describing the sex scenes and spends all his time detailing how the women are chained instead). Not to mention the fact this idea is incredibly flawed. The main character is chosen to be a slave because the person who went to Earth and picked her out tested her by telling her to do things and seeing if she would comply. He was a total stranger and she just did what he told her to for no apparent reason. How many women would really do this? She was basically culled from the flock! But we are told that, deep down inside, all women are like this. It's so far off the mark it's completely unbelievable. I find myself wishing Norman had instead chosen to make her fully resist being a slave and showed her growth as a character into the role of a slave. But no, she's pretty much a slave before she's ever selected. There is no growth, no struggle. She takes to her slavery like a fish in water. What is this book about again?
Here is an example of Doreen's inner thoughts from the book. This is her thought process early in the story, not long after being enslaved:
"I supposed I was a wicked, worthless woman and, far worse, only a despicable natural slave, but something deep in me, fundamental in me, proud and ancient in me, loved men, and I did not want to make them small, and nothing, but wanted, rather, to please them, to obey them, to serve them, to give my all to them, to make them strong and proud, grand and glorious, to make them happy. But here, among the virile men of Gor, I had little choice in such matters. such things, regardless of whether or not I might wish to bestow them of my own free will, would be simply commanded of me."
The dialogue is atrocious. It's full of pointless conversations such as:
Master: You are chained
Slave: Yes, Master
Master: You enjoy being chained
Slave: Yes, Master. I am a slave!
Master: You enjoy being a slave
Slave: Yes, Master!
Followed by the slave begging for sex, although what she's all hot and bothered about remains to be seen.
The plot is weak, weak, weak. What IS the plot, anyway? We've already established that there is no character development, so what does that leave us with? Oh right, at some point Doreen gets kidnapped or whatever. I guess that's the plot.
At one point Norman actually switches a main character out for another and doesn't seem to notice his error. Where is the editor of this book?? He also likes to constantly avoid telling you of events that happened after the scene fades to black at the end of a chapter. You start the next chapter and suddenly they are in a new place and you don't know how they got there, what day it is, why they are there, who else is there with them, etc. He seems to think this is suspenseful when in fact it's just plain jarring.
I would not suggest this book to anyone. In fact, even years later I still refer to it as "the worse book I have ever read". Read it if you want a laugh, but don't be foolish enough to purchase it!
February 15, 2009
My sister got me this book as a joke. It's librarian-falls-through-a wormhole-and-meets Conan the barbarian who then makes her a love slave. Ultra testosterone story.
September 3, 2011
I read this whole series in a marathon session, while stationed in England. The depth and volume of the stories is humbling for any writer and I consider this series very influential in my own approach to writing and world building in general; generic post for all the books in this series as I am finally getting around to recording my reading list in Goodreads.
June 4, 2024
I read this book almost by accident would you believe. I was into fantasy, Tolkien, Moorcok and similar and when browsing book shops regularly saw the 20 odd GOR books , the muscled men and barely dressed women in the covers probably also appealed to my teenaged brain so I read this one “why not start at number 1? “ I hear you say. Not a clue
The writing style is awful. Characters are cardboard cutouts not people. Sentences are jones together and padded out with no reference to English (so many sentences start with “Too, I was…..”. Of course the fantasy world and fantastic mythical creatures I was expecting with the devious politics and an inevitable battle of good vs evil I was expecting were replaced by the story of men who fly in space ships to kidnap women from earth and enslave them in a mediaeval world where the most advanced technology is metal working. Mostly used to produce weapons or chains to tie naked women up with.
Yes the book defends into badly written BDSM, real slavery stories. Multiple rapes……..
If your mind is as twisted as the author’s and you have little understanding of English grammar you will love this book.
The writing style is awful. Characters are cardboard cutouts not people. Sentences are jones together and padded out with no reference to English (so many sentences start with “Too, I was…..”. Of course the fantasy world and fantastic mythical creatures I was expecting with the devious politics and an inevitable battle of good vs evil I was expecting were replaced by the story of men who fly in space ships to kidnap women from earth and enslave them in a mediaeval world where the most advanced technology is metal working. Mostly used to produce weapons or chains to tie naked women up with.
Yes the book defends into badly written BDSM, real slavery stories. Multiple rapes……..
If your mind is as twisted as the author’s and you have little understanding of English grammar you will love this book.
November 22, 2020
Probably stylistic the best novel John Norman ever wrote, and to me myself of a certain central meaning - I felt caught. It was not a shame to place it near the Story of O and Justine in the shelf.
The girl in the mirror looked startled, and then pouting, and
angry.
„Is it not true?“ I challenged her.
„Yes!“ she sobbed. „It is true!“
„Are you not rather burdensomely garbed?“ I asked.
She drew off the tiny bit of silk. I watched her in the mirror.
„You may dance,“ I told her.
The girl in the mirror looked startled, and then pouting, and
angry.
„Is it not true?“ I challenged her.
„Yes!“ she sobbed. „It is true!“
„Are you not rather burdensomely garbed?“ I asked.
She drew off the tiny bit of silk. I watched her in the mirror.
„You may dance,“ I told her.
October 20, 2021
I mean I GUESS it is like the 50 Shades of the 70s/80s pulp fantasy. But I also think that book was boring and annoying and this is one of the "oh boy yeah his writing isn't even ok anymore"
November 13, 2025
A departure from the Cabot saga.
May 5, 2014
Another of Norman's little breaks from the main narrative and once again, we are in familiar territory - 'How I learned to stop worrying and love slavery' by an Earth girl. This one, Doreen, a librarian who secretly loves to belly dance (!) treads familiar ground. it's not good, it's not bad, it's just...more of the same, really.
Next up, we return to Tarl Cabot's storyline as he meddles in the Ar Land War.
Next up, we return to Tarl Cabot's storyline as he meddles in the Ar Land War.
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January 17, 2016GOR
January 23, 2016
This guys has gone off the deep end. When he started, they were action with is female slavery thing underneath. No he is all about the sex and have forgotten everything else
November 8, 2013
I read it because I wanted to know how bad it is. I wish I hadn't. It's worse.
December 13, 2011
My favorite of the Gor books.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews