Assassin of Gor (Gorean Saga) [Audiobook] [MP3 CD]

As with the best of Norman?s books, "Assassin of Gor" is full of vivid characters. Elizabeth Caldwell is back as Cabot's chief ally in finding out why the House of Cernus wants him dead and how they are involved in the endeavors of the Others, the galactic foes of the Priest-Kings. There is also the return of a major character from earlier in the series and a brief flashback involving the fate of the last egg of the Priest-Kings. However, the depth of the book comes out in terms of the new characters, including Mip the Tarn Keeper, Sura the house slave, the new slave girls Phyllis and Virginia, the young warriors Relius and Ho-Sarl, Scormus the young Kaissa champion and Qualius the blind player, and Hup the Fool (my favorite). We also meet a major supporting character for future Gor novels, Samos the slaver of Port Kar.

The emphasis is still on the action and adventure in "Assassin of Gor" more than the Gorean philosophy that would come to dominate the later volumes in the series. Even by this fifth book in the series the principle that only by totally submitting to a master could a woman find true freedom, pleasure, etc., was pretty clear. I never really wanted a woman chained to my sleeping furs, so I tended to ignore those elements, especially as they became a repetitious mantra. For me the best Gor books were those that took the tradition of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars books with John Carter and upped the ante on the action. That is why "Assassin of Gor" is the best of the lot and why Norman never really tried to do anything this monumental ever again. In fact, the rest of the series would always suffer in my mind because of how far short the remaining volumes fell of the plateau of "Nomads" and "Assassin."

Similar to our known planet in some ways, Gor differs from our society in many others.
The people of Gor believe in the natural order, this is a mans world, more innocent, untamed, wild and free.

Though the style of John Norman may not be appreciated by all, his novels have a big following worldwide and this novel shows why.

The plot twists and turns as we follow an Assassin on a rather strange journey for revenge and justice.
Even from the beginning it keeps the reader captivated and wondering what is going on, and what will happen next.

And, of course, there is love...the red line through all the novels along with a fair amount of sensuality.

Assassins of Gor answers some questions we were left asking ourselves in the previous novels, and leaves us waiting for more.

I can highly recommend it to any fan of John Norman’s fiction, and for anyone who has not yet been introduced to that strange and intriguing planet.