Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version VT1.00C 11/1/84; site vortex.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!zehntel!tektronix!decvax!vortex!lauren From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) Newsgroups: net.books Subject: "Gor" Message-ID: <534@vortex.UUCP> Date: Thu, 31-Jan-85 05:22:44 EST Article-I.D.: vortex.534 Posted: Thu Jan 31 05:22:44 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 9-Feb-85 08:14:56 EST Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles Lines: 60 The "Gor" books comprise something of a paradox. They sell fantastically well. They virtually support DAW and allow it to take chances on new and unknown authors. John "Norman" (actually, John Lange) has apparently made a mint from the series, and he continues to crank them out at a furious pace. How he manages this, while continuing in his role as a Professor of Philosophy at a certain NYC area college is pretty obvious when you look at the atrocious nature of his writings. Not just poorly written, but inherently BORING as well. In all fairness, I read the first three in the series, and the first one wasn't too bad. Number two showed signs of decay. Number three was awful. From what I've been told (and what I've seen when glancing at the others in bookstores) they have continued the downward trend to an amazing degree. Now, apart from the horrible quality of the books, we are faced with a different question. Do the writings really *say* anything about men or women? I can only speak from the male side of course, but over the years the subject of the Gor books has come up from time to time and it's interesting what people say. You can get particular insight into Lange's views from reading his "Imaginative Sex" book (usually sold in the same areas as his Gor books) which is a non-fiction "sex manual." Someone I know was given this book as a gag gift by his girlfriend, and I scanned it quickly when he told me that I'd find it amusing. Lange's essential philosophy is that the "natural" state of being is with females as slaves. He often says that all women fantasize about being the slave of a man. He adds, however, that a critical part of the fantasy is that they themselves, and nobody else, choose the man to whom they'd be slave. Rot? Well, sure, generally. Especially in the contexts that he puts things. However, this isn't to say that there aren't *some* people who fit his theory, probably far more than one might imagine. Every so often I've come across women who are big fans of the Gor novels. They usually seem normal in every way. The key word is FANTASY. What people fantasize usually has very little impact on how they live their lives. In some cases, you find people who occasionally live out some of their fantasies in the privacy of their bedrooms, and I can't help but view that as an essentially healthy attitude. Who cares about what people fantasize if it doesn't affect their public behavior in negative ways? Trying to suppress such fantasies completely (i.e. don't think about them) would probably be the worst thing people could do. If a certain segment of the population gets some enjoyment out of the Gor books, however badly they're written, it doesn't represent any danger. It's too bad they aren't reading something with some literary quality, but at least they're reading. And, when you come right down to it, most of us have some kinks in our personality, however well camouflaged. So perhaps we should be careful before being too critical about such topics.... --Lauren--