Gor

In an interview with the speculative fiction anthology Polygraff,[3] 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 the Bronze Age.[4]

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 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 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 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 the humans' belligerent tendencies.[5]

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 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 a widely spoken lingua franca in many other areas.[6]

The Gorean Kajira "kef" symbol

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 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 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.

Personal flag of Bosk of Port Kar (a.k.a. Tarl Cabot of Bristol), the main narrator of the Gor books

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 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 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.[7]

Early entries in the series were plot-driven space opera adventures, but later entries grew more philosophical and sexual. Many subplots run 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.

To indicate a slave as a particular owner's property, a collar with the owner's name is placed upon the slave (male and female slaves are both collared).

Gorean slave women are usually branded, which means they are marked with certain signs burned into the flesh on being enslaved. The most common is the kef brand: "about an inch and a half in height, and a half inch in width. A rather simple, delicate, graceful, almost floral mark, in cursive script. Appearing slender, more vertical, more like a stem with floral, cursive curled loops. A rather severe, straight line staff, with two, upturned, frondlike curls, adjacent to it, joined where they touch the staff on its right. It bears a distant, remote resemblance to the printed letter K."[16]

Kajirae have a plethora of types[17] of varying prestige depending on various characteristics, including the following:

By virginity status

• Red silk girl: A kajira who is not a virgin.
• White silk girl: A kajira 'not yet opened to men' (i.e., a virgin), a case which is depicted very rarely in the novels[18] as a virgin kajira will usually be deflowered shortly after her enslavement.[19]

By origin

• Barbarian: The term "barbarian" usually refers to those who do not speak the main common language of known Gor and/or who are unassimilated to typical Gorean city-state culture. In the context of kajirae, it can refer to those who were brought from Earth by a journey of acquisition. Since they have never had any home stone, barbarian girls are often considered natural slaves, occupying the lowest rank and considered the most sexual.[20]
• Gorean-born
  • Passion slave: A kajira who has been bred through selective breeding for particularly desired physical or psychological traits, as opposed to other native Gorean kajirae who were usually born free.

By employment

• Flute girl: A kajira versed in playing the flute. They are employed at feasts and may also serve sexual tasks.
• Kettle girl / Kettle-and-mat girl: A kajira employed exclusively for domestic works is referred to as a kettle girl or pot girl. If the kajira's function is divided between household task and sexual service, she is known with the comparatively more prestigious moniker kettle-and-mat girl.
  • State slave: A kajira owned by a particular polity and used for the domestic needs of citizens.
  • Tower slave: A kajira owned as a maid in a private household.
• Message girl: A kajira who delivers secret messages.
• Paga slave or paga slut: A kajira who serves the alcoholic drink paga at a tavern. Their service usually includes sexual tasks.
• Pleasure slave: A kajira whose main function is providing sexual services. However, her training also includes broader skills, such as dancing and cooking.[21]
  • Prostitutes: Kajirae employed in prostitution by their masters.
    • Coin girl: A kajira used by her master as a streetwalker.
    • Camp slave: A kajira rented out for satisfying sexual needs during military campaigns.
    • Bath girl: A kajira who works as a prostitute and masseuse in a bathhouse.
    • Feast slave: A kajira rented out at feasts as a pleasure slave.

Kajiri (male slaves or slave boys) also exist on the planet Gor, but they are far fewer than kajirae, since Gorean men can only rarely be effectively "tamed", so that most male slaves are considered inherently slightly dangerous, and have little value other than as unskilled hard labor in work gangs which must often be kept under continual armed guard. Men conquered in war who are not left free are more often than not killed than enslaved, while women in the same situation are almost always enslaved (since kajirae are a readily-negotiable commodity, among other reasons).

A male slave kept by a woman owner for bedroom duties is a "silk slave" (while most male slaves on Gor are used for unskilled hard labor in work gangs). When a free woman makes use of a kajirus sexually, he is often chained so that he is unable to hold her in his arms — since allowing this would be considered to add a note of male domination to the lovemaking. Some free women carefully avoid kissing a kajirus when making sexual use of him, since they would consider it degrading to soil their lips by touching them to the body of a mere slave. Note that only a small minority of rich free women on Gor own silk slaves and (in contrast to the usual situation with free men and kajirae) it is often not very easy or convenient for a free woman to obtain the sexual use of a kajirus whom she does not personally own (in the city of Ar, the largest city of known Gor, it is strictly forbidden by law).

The phrase "lo kajirus" is said to mean "I am a slave boy." Silk slaves are generally despised by free men on Gor and their type of slavery is often considered to be rather unnatural. Kajiri do not usually wear locked collars; rather, they wear a band of iron.