The Gor Series: Assassin of Gor

Assassin of Gor is the 5th book in John Norman’s Gor Series, but the first one I encountered. It was my discovery of BDSM and got me writing Gorean style fiction! As such, I’d like to begin my examination of Norman’s Gor series the same way I did.

Most Gor series reviews follow a tone of; “well this is cool fantasy story but its too bad about the disturbing sexy bits…” Well, fuck those reviews. I liked the Gor books, and I like BDSM. Now lets dive in.

(Spoilers ahead)

Assassin of Gor follows Tarl Cabot, an Earth human transported to brutal Gor, as he operates incognito as Kuruus the Assassin; investigating who wants him dead and the mysterious success of a slaver’s ‘house’ at acquiring ‘barbarian’ women. It’s a fun book and Norman put a good deal of work into the story, characters, and world-building. Let’s looks at how Norman deals with the culture of sex slavery on Gor.

Gor’s Sex Slave Industry

Assassin of Gor gives us a full on breakdown on how slave girls are treated in the city of Ar. From the ‘iron pen’ kennels where slaves are kept en masse underground:

“The pens seemed humid and, though we were below ground, warm from the heat of the bodies. The only sanitation facility was an open metal mesh, supported by close-set horizontal bars, in the bottom of the cages, beneath which, some five feet below, was a cement floor, washed down and cleaned by slaves once daily. There was a feed trough at one side of each cage and a low watering pan on the other, both filled by means of tubes from the catwalk. … The female slaves, like the men, were unclothed, and wore collars; their collars, however, were not the typical locked collar of the female slave but, since they were only in the iron pens, a narrow band of iron, with a number, hammered about their neck.”

To strict breaking rituals:

"Each girl in her processing," said Ho-Tu, "after her fingerprinting, is given five strokes of the lash, that she may feel it and know what it means. After that, to ensure prompt obedience, it is commonly enough to merely move one's hand toward the leather."

To elaborate training far beyond simple obedience:

“Elizabeth was, however, to my satisfaction, taught a large number of things which, to  my mind, were more appropriate to the training of slave girls, including a large number of dances, dozens of songs, and an unbelievable variety of kisses and caresses.”

And finally to dramatic slave auctions that are part entertainment spectacles.

The auctioneer sprang to the block and, from the darkness at the foot of the steps, was hurled a chain leash, and then two more. He held them for a moment and then, keeping them taut … in the darkness, there came the sudden, startling, savage report of a slave whip, snapped three times. Then, regally, in black cloaks, with hoods, three women climbed the stairs to the block, backs straight, heads high”

Norman has fleshed out a world where humans are fair game as livestock. The slavery females are put to (male slavery is only referred to superficially; it is very much there in Gor but not the focus of the story), is utterly abject. The only thing that keeps them alive is the physical value of their beauty, and how far they commit themselves to being desirable slave girls. Experienced handlers who may even be ex-sex slaves themselves, identify any level of resistance and confront it. The slaves are left with only one choice: fully submit to their new lives as property, completely at the mercy of men who will keep them chained and on their knees - or die.

In Assassin, all the slaves choose submission. This is too convenient; at least a few would refuse from the start and others would act up later: and the slavers would have to put them to death. Norman does not address this I think for three reasons:

1 - I don’t think he was comfortable writing about women getting butchered, and shown to the others.

2 - There isn’t much gore in the Gor series. Heads on pikes - and graphic sex - are not its thing.

3 - Norman genuinely believes all women would choose slavery (sigh).

It is a detailed piece of world building and it follows naturally from the world Norman has set up - which is not too different from most of the ancient and medieval world. It is easy to forget in these times that Gor is a fantasy reflection of what has been a very real world for most of human history.

Phyllis and Virginia

The book follows the breaking, training, and sale of Phyllis and Virginia, two girls from Earth. Both are less than delighted about this and resist accordingly. However they are taught to obey (by a female trainer), and commit themselves to their training for their own self-preservation. Over time however, Virginia especially comes to accept Gorean slavery as the new normal. Come the end of the book, both characters have changed to accept their roles in the Gorean world.

Vella

Vella / Elizabeth Cardwell however, has a peculiar relationship with Gorean slavery. Masquerading as a slave, she is treated to no shortage of indignities by her trainer and the men of the House of Cenrus. To her, her time as a slave is more a submission holiday than anything else. At the end of the book she has a brush with actual slavery which disturbs her: unlike the other girls, Vella has not had to make a genuine choice about submission. She is still very much Elizabeth Cardwell. This will come back to haunt her - and Tarl - later.

Tarl and Vella

Tarl is very much a boy scout towards her in this book. A boy scout who’s quite comfortable with beautiful women being kidnapped, broken, and trained as sex slaves, but a boy scout towards her. I think this is in part because anything further was beyond the scope of Assassin of Gor. Looking back however, Tarl and Vella have a lot of sex - and she is presented to him as a helpless, lovely, obedient slave. Tarl could at any time have turned around and properly enslaved the beauty - and yet he doesn’t. 

This is partly because the Gor series covers Tarl’s character growth of adapting to the ways of Gor. He begins not entirely enthusiastic about Gorean slavery (and quite happy to make exceptions when it suits him), before he goes on to become quite comfortable with it.

Phyllis’s Homosexuality

Here John Norman shits the bed. Phyllis is gay:

"But I warn you," said Elizabeth, "she hates men!"

And Norman has her ‘converted’ after being used by a ‘real man’ Gorean:

"Your master is a beast, slave," Virginia informed Phyllis.

"I know," smiled Phyllis, "Mistress." She took the cloth of Ho-Sorl's sleeve between

her teeth, delicately, pulling at it.

Norman was a New Wave writer exploring the sexual Wild West of what is today is not just BDSM culture, but part of a wider world of fetishes and turn ons one should (literally) not read too much into. However, he is also very much a creature of his times. His handling of Phyllis’s sexuality is unexamined and crass at best. At worst it is abundantly homophobic.

I don’t condemn Norman (a man now in his late ‘80s) for buying into the fictions of him time. However, as with any author, it is important to understand his influences and times when studying his work.

Go Read It!

I give Assassin of Gor a solid 5/5. It is an interesting world, a good story, even the minor characters are interesting -- and the sex slavery is hot.

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