Blood Brothers of Gor

Gor #18

by John Norman

In this book is concluded the adventure which began in the 17th book in the Gorean series, Savages of Gor. Half-Ear, or Zarendargar, a Kur general fallen from favor in the Steel Worlds, now sought by a death squad of his savage compeers, has determined to lure his pursuers into the Barrens, the vast prairies to the east of known Gor, populated by warring tribes known to Goreans as the Red Savages. He has arranged matters in such a way that he will be abetted in his stand against the death squad, and its human allies, by a human ally of his own, his former foe, Tarl Cabot. The ancestors of the Red Savages, as those of many other Goreans, were brought to Gor long ago in Voyages of Acquisition by the Priest-Kings. The Red Savages were settled in an area not unlike that of their former home, a sweeping, almost endless grassland, where they tend to continue their former ways of life, and war. The various tribes have in common a tradition, or myth, called the Memory. And in virtue of this tradition, myth or memory, they entertain an inveterate hostility to lighter-skinned races. Cabot makes his way into this land, and amongst these tribes, in his quest for Zarendargar, he encounters enemies and perils, conflicts and hatreds, and, ultimately, friends. And meets once more the dreadful Zarendargar. 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.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Erotica, Ebooks, Adventure, Adult

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Darryl Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

BLOOD BROTHERS OF GOR, preceded by SAVAGES, actually form a single work comprising Tarl Cabot's last major adventure. These two books are among author John Norman's better mid-stage Counter-Earth novels (books 11-21); the others are BEASTS and PLAYERS. BLOOD BROTHERS is almost as good as the powerhouses of the Gorean saga: PRIEST-KINGS, NOMADS, ASSASSIN, HUNTERS, MARAUDERS, TRIBESMEN. If one only wanted to read the best of the Gor novels I'd recommend all of the above. Norman demonstrates his mastery of plotting, character creation and world-building throughout the ten volumes; everything this writer does well can be found here. If one wanted to read the top twelve, I'd add RENEGADES and MAGICIANS to the list. These are all Tarl Cabot POV adventures by the way.

Combined with SAVAGES OF GOR, this is an 800-page tale, almost 300,000 words originally (with over 20,000 more added years later in newer editions), the last time Norman transports a culture from Earth to Gor until Cabot encounters the Pani a quarter of a century later. This epic adventure in an arid land among warring native American tribes even has familiar names from the past cropping up, like Kamchak and Ivar Forkbeard. Norman obviously researched American Indians extensively to bring authenticity to the story. SAVAGES and BLOOD BROTHERS aren't his only works on the subject, one of his non-Gor books GHOST DANCE deals with the culture as well. It also deals with a captive woman. In a John Norman book, that's no coincidence.

[AmbushPredator · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief reconnection with Tarl Cabot's timeline concludes, and we meet a couple of old friends - Zarendargar, the whole reason for this journey (a rather unnecessary one, as it turns out!) and Cabot's faithful mount who serves, yet again, as a deus ex machina in the final battle.

And then, for the next book, we leave this timeline and, once again, take up with a solo character and dark political intrigue.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea that Norman was going to write a book about transplanted Indians, but the slavery stuff just really slowed it to a glacial pace.

[Alan Standsalone Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most misspelled worded books I have ever read. If you took out all of the repetitive conversations and repetitive slave information from all the previous books, the actual story would be 1/3 a shorter read. I enjoyed the main story-line regarding Tarl Cabot but tired of the same repetition of his books. Oh wait, looks like I'm being repetitious in this review regarding the repetition of this Gor book series.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#18 in the Gor series. Despite the overdone BDSM elements the Gor series remains a master class in world-building.