Book Description
Once a month, the refinery workers of the Tropical Oil Company descend upon Tora, a city in the Colombian forest. They journey down from the mountains searching for earthly bliss and hoping to encounter Sayonara, the legendary Indian prostitute who rules their squalid paradise like a queen. Beautiful, exotic, and mysterious, Sayonara, the undisputed barrio angel, captivates whoever crosses her path. Then, one day, she violates the unwritten rules of her profession and falls in love with a man she can never have. Sayonara's unrequited passion has tragic consequences not only for her, but for all those whose lives ultimately depend on the Tropical Oil Company.
A slyly humorous yet poignant love story, The Dark Bride lovingly recreates the lusty, heartrending world of Colombian prostitutes and the men of the oil fields who are entranced by them. Full of wit and intelligence, tragedy and compassion, The Dark Bride is luminous and unforgettable.
Customer Reviews:
Love and survival.......2004-12-11
Under a shining moon in the Columbian jungle, the shabby village of La Catunga transforms itself to a place of merriment, music and beautiful women under the colored lights that connote the ladies' different nationalities. These women nightly await the petroleros, men who work for the American-owned Tropical Oil Company, who toil in the hot jungle during the days and spend their evenings drinking and seeking the favors of the women of La Catunga.
Columbia is the country of the Sacred Heart, common language peppered with references to a variety of saints, the Blessed Mother and the Sacred Heart; religion is wound tightly into a culture that must endure much and suffer greatly. Religion is hope, the promise of a better life after death. In sharp contrast to their religious beliefs, the women do what they must to survive and often all that is available to them is the sale of their bodies for the pleasure of men with a few coins in their pockets. These are businesswomen, who sell their bodies, rarely their hearts: "from the waist up is the soul, from the wait down is business." For the few who lose themselves in dreams of romance, only heartbreak awaits.
Sayonara arrives in the barrio with nothing but the clothes on her back. A cart driver delivers her to the door of the aging, but still beautiful, Todos los Santos, who takes the wild girl into her care, preparing her for a future as one of the most legendary of the women of the village; men will tremble with adoration at Sayonara's rare combination of helplessness and arrogance. Todos los Santos accepts the young girl willingly, recognizing the potential under the layers of dirt and wild blue-black hair that tumbles about the child, determined that this wild young creature might "prosper in the pursuit of survival".
This is an impossible love story in a place where love is forbidden. Narrating as a reporter seeking to separate truth from rumor, the author delves into the history of the legendary Sayonara from those who know her best: the old woman who trains her for success in the life, the cart driver who craves her obsessively, but is unable to sort the girl of the day from the woman of the night and the petrolero who loves her, but has a past he cannot escape.
Dark Bride is a compilation of memories, some truthful, some wishful, all contributing to the ultimate mystery of Sayonara, forever a creature of myth to the women of the village. Her power is their power in a world where simple survival exacts a heavy price and an incredibly lush jungle surrounds the most insidious poverty, juxtaposing the harsh realities of Columbia, where beauty coexists with despair and all is wrapped in the vague mysticism of religious belief. This is a land whose poor suffer deeply from the consequences of poverty, yet remain devoted to the religious convictions inextricably entwined with everyday life. The reader is drawn ever deeper into the small village of waiting women as the journalist unearths the truth of their existence in the dark of night, where fate rules with an unforgiving mien, but prayers of fallen women fill the skies on their way to a watching God. Luan Gaines/ 2004.
The essence of Colombia.......2004-07-26
I very much liked this book for several reasons. It gives you the flavor of Colombia. It describes the life of the putas from their perspective. It also is very romantic and kind of a poor man's Garcia Marquez. A very enjoyable read for me.
Magical journalism?.......2002-10-20
When I flipped this book over and saw that the blurbs on the back were by Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I knew this was going to be the book I read next.
The form of this book is journalistic--the narrator is a reporter doing research into the life of a mysterious and legendary young prostitute named Sayonara. Because the stories come filtered through the reporter and her interviews, there is some distance inherent in the tone. Yet because Sayonara changed every life she touched--including that of the reporter, who only comes to know her through a picture and stories--the passion of her story comes through, even secondhand.
The book is set in Colombia's oil fields and in the brothels of a nearby town. The focus of the narrative remains narrow, mining the intimacies of the lives of the prostitutes and oil workers who turn to them for comfort (and receive it, in all senses of the word) once a month.
Yet because their lives take place against the backdrop of the Columbian political and military situation, and the virtual colonization by American oil interests, there is another level to the story--at least insofar as all this affects the prostitutes and oilworkers.
Not everyone is going to like this book. There is no driving plot. Instead, we start with a loose frame of a story and then gradually fill in the details, layer by layer. But if you like a literary, richly detailed book with an unforgettable cast of unusual characters, this might just be the book for you.
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Avengers West Coast Annual #4 : Gather Now Ye Seven Brides (Atlantis Attacks - Marvel Comics)
John Byrne
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
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ASIN: B000UIGOOS |
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- A must read
- ARRIVAL AT JUPITER
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- Good conclusion to a fine story
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Planetes, Vol. 4: Part 2
Makoto Yukimura
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
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Binding: Paperback
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Planetes, Book 3
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Planetes, Book 1
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Planetes (Vol. 4)
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Planetes (Vol. 1) 2 Disc Special Edition
ASIN: 1595324674 |
Book Description
*A Sci-Fi drama that explores the boundaries of human relationships *"Compelling and realistic... recommended for all collections and especially for teen and adult fans of Alita and Cowboy Bebop." -Library Journal *"As hard science fiction, and as human drama, Planetes is a manga at the peak." -Scott Green, Aint-It-Cool-News.com *"Planetes Vol. 1...got me first interested in science-fiction at a young age. Planetes is not one that you want to miss. I absolutely cannot wait for the next volumes of Yukimura's masterpiece." -Greg McElhatton, iCOMICS.com
Fee decides to spend more time with her family and questions whether she'll ever return to space. 500 million miles away, Hachimaki is at the threshold of a new era for mankind as the crew of the Von Braun finally reach Jupiter. Back on Earth, the engineer of the Jupiter Mission, Weiner Locksmith, becomes haunted by the deaths of all those who lost their lives in pursuit of his vision.
Customer Reviews:
A must read.......2006-02-18
I aint good with words so here it is in just a few of them. A must read for any lover of sci-fi. Light hearted but not childish in nature. Mature but a good read for younger readers. Good near future sci-fi.
ARRIVAL AT JUPITER.......2005-08-22
This last installment of Planetes sets Hachimaki, who I had thought was the main character of the series, up as more of a backstory, much as in Part I. The most important part of this volume concerns the character of Fee as she comes to terms with her lack of parenting skills when it comes to her young son. Her character is further fleshed out as she remembers events from her childhood about an uncle who was falsely accused in the disappearance of a little girl simply because of his odd character. Werner Locksmith, the creator of the Van Braun ship is already moving on to other projects, already trying to recruit the brighest minds to begin work on a Saturn expedition. And while all this is going on, Hachimaki and crew finally reach Jupiter, but who is going to write the speech that needs to be delivered back to Earth, a speech that will inspire everyone to continue exploring the stars? Why Hachi or course!
Part II of Volume 4 made up for the immaturity of execution and plot in Part I. The story of Fee's uncle was touching, even though it reminded me of The Green Mile and Man Without A Face at times. We really got down into the belly of Fee's character and it was a great experience. It did seem a tad unrealistic that Tanabe was going to wait 7 years for Hachi to make it back. I doubt either of them will be the same people after that length of time. I thought that too little time was spent on the Jupiter mission and that Planetes needs more volumes to fully tell the story. I do feel that this series was a step above most manga in terms of plot, character, art, and depth. You should check it out.
COLONEL SANDERS MANIPULATES SPACE.......2005-08-11
Volume 4 of Planetes has been divided into two parts for some reason. Perhaps in order to bring characters that were once mainly in the background of Hachi's quest to go to Jupiter. Strangely enough, he is absent from this volume except in flashbacks. After a US transport is destroyed by an orbital mine controlled by the Republic Country, factions in both governments are itching to go to war. The problem is that any war conducted in space risks Kessler's Syndrome, in which so much debris accumulates in Earth's atmosphere that leaving the atmosphere becomes an impossible task. With the background of impending war, the story focuses mainly on Fee, and the decisions she makes on whether to intervene in the conflict or not. Along the way, her and Tanabe make friends with a weirdo named Baron who sports an Elvis pompadour and claims that he is an alien observer. In a more touching storyline, Dr. Locksmith, the designer of the Von Braun Jupiter exploration ship, meets with the loved ones of the scientists that died in the development of his dream. And in a homage to Kentucky Fried Chicken, a US Army Space Intelligence Officer named Col. Sanders tries to convince Fee to take his side against the coming space conflict.
The writing in the first part of Volume 4 seemed a little lacking in the maturity department, especially in the scenes where Fee is kicked in the butt by her young son and we see just how pitiful her home life is. I do not know of any parent that would allow their kid to kick them and not respond. Of course it's all a message about rebelling against the system and all that but I just didn't get it. The Baron storyline tried but failed to achieve humorous results. And what is the whole Col. Sanders thing? It was just weird. Again, the pages about Dr. Locksmith were well done but did not make up for the juvenalia of the others.
Good conclusion to a fine story.......2005-02-12
The small epic of planetary exploration comes to a close after only five volumes. It is difficult to say much about events and developments without giving away the story. Let it suffice to say the final volume continues the character-driven plotlines, is intelligent, well-written, poignant and logical. Drawings are well and carefully done, clear and more free of ambiguity and difficulty of comprehension than in most manga.
A supplemental section gives some of the backstory of the Planetes world, including some scientific speculation and timelines. I look forward to the next work from Makoto Yukimura, and hope to someday see the anime adaptation of this fine graphic novel.
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Captive of Gor (Gor, 7)
John Norman
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0345251857 |
Product Description
Abduction from space. . Spoiled, rich young Elinor Brinton was no longer on Earth. She had been kidnapped from her New York apartment and carried across space to Gor by alien slavers. . Then the ship was wrecked and she was stranded on the strange world of Counter-Earth, where women were only property, to be beaten and subjugated at the will of the men who were their Masters. . Life to her became a never-ending nightmare. . In the great luxury city of Ko-Ro-Ba, she was trained in the provocative skills of a pleasure slave. In the Northern Forests of Gor, she was captured by the fierce outlaw Panther Girls. . And finally came Rask of Treve to teach her what all women should learn.
Customer Reviews:
This may be the worst book I've ever read. It certainly makes the bottom 5........2005-12-29
It takes my breath away that Norman's work got published in the first place.
The man cannot write. He uses the passive voice so much that you wonder how the plot manages to move forward AT ALL. For example:
The girl, she is kidnapped. Then the girl, she is punished. The plant, it is watered. The men, they are satisfied. Sometimes they are angered. Then the girl, she is punished again. And the men, they are satisfied again.
Years ago, someone recommended the Gor series to me. I picked this volume at random at a used bookstore, and found it comically bad.
If you love to read about reluctant slave-girls, and you don't want your fantasy interrupted by a complex sentence or the active voice, these may be the books for you.
But if you have any standards at all for the quality of the writing, skip these. You'll find better writing on random fan-fiction or fetish web sites. (Ok, I don't actually know that, but aside from spelling, there's no way the writing could be worse.)
John Norman replaces Tarl Cabot with a slave girl from Earth.......2005-05-15
"Captive of Gor," the 7th volume in John Norman's Chronicles of Counter-Earth, was the first book in the series that I did not really enjoy. The reason was not because this is the first volume to be devoted primarily to Norman's Gorean philosophy of slavery/submission as the natural condition of women, but simply because Tarl Cabot (or Bosk of Port Kar as he is currently known in the series) is not the main character in this novel. In "Captive of Gor" we are introduced to Elinor Brinton, who was a wealthy and powerful woman on Earth, but who is brought to Gor and made a pleasure slave in the service of the slave merchant Targo. In other words, we have a modern "liberated" woman put into a condition of slavery where she is forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who purchases her for the night for a few tarn disks.
The conflict between the Priest-Kings and the Others which is the major backstory of the Counter-Earth series is behind Elinor's abduction, but that is ultimately a minor point in this 1972 novel where the focus is on the nature of human sexuality. Norman tells essentially the same story in "Slave Girl of Gor" (1977) and "Kajira of Gor" (1983), but then for that matter the story of Elinor Brinton is not that much different from what happened to Elizabeth Caldwell, transformed into Vella of Gor in the fourth Gor book, "The Nomads of Gor." Consequently, there is really no surprise to what happens in this novel and the style is not enough this time around to overcome the lack of substance (i.e., Norman does not create any compelling supporting characters as he did in previous novels).
Gorean philosophy aside, "Captive of Gor" is a major break in the developing narrative. There is nothing wrong with that, but Norman continues to abandon the epic story arc he created in the first six volumes in the ones that followed this volume as well. Consequently, "Captive of Gor" becomes a pivotal novel in the series, representing the end of the great adventures and the beginning of the sociological textbooks.
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Captive of Gor
John Norman
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KIV5UG |
Product Description
Volume VII in the Chronicles of Counter-Earth.
Average customer rating:
- John Norman does NOT live down to his principals,
- Early books are the best in Gor Series
- John Norman replaces Tarl Cabot with a slave girl
- My Favorite Gor Book
- A book with no redeeming features
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Captive of Gor
John Norman
Manufacturer: Masquerade Books
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Raiders of Gor
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ASIN: 1563335816 |
Book Description
On Earth, Elinor Brinton was accustomed to having it allwealth, beauty, and a host of men wrapped around her little finger. But Elinors spoiled existence is a thing of the past. She is now a pleasure slave of Gora world whose society insists on her subservience to any man who calls her his own. And despite her headstrong past, Elinor finds herself succumbingwith pleasureto her powerful Master. Also by John Norman:
Customer Reviews:
John Norman does NOT live down to his principals,.......2004-03-05
which is about the best thing I can say about this story. Gorean masters are supposed to be able to do anything they damn well please to their slaves. In fact, when Rask punishes Elinor too severely, he is punished pretty severely in turn. It seems that natural law does include retribution, even for Gorean masters.
It's also worth noting that Norman seems to identify with the slave women. They are, he said, often chained to their desks to write fantasies--and that's the story of his life. Unlike his other images, this has nothing to do with any form of slavery that has ever been described. And he has obviously done extensive research into them all: in Rome, Denmark, Arabia and, of course, the good old US of A.
So can't he come up with some other stories, in addition to the everlasting Torture of the Shrew? What about a slave girl whose master wins her true devotion by torturing the slave trader who captured and abused her? This really happened to a slave trader named John Newton, who responded by writing "Amazing Grace" and starting an anti-slavery society. ("Grace on Gor"?)
For that matter, what about a Free Woman who gets enslaved for starting an anti-slavery society but realizes that she can enjoy her slavery if she's allowed to say it is morally wrong? ("Traitors of Gor"?)
And what about a powerful televangelist from Earth who is forced to live her faith, by comforting the oppressed yet forgiving their oppressors on Gor? She could wind up being crucified, even though her love master would have to pull the nails out at the last moment. You KNOW that John Norman really wants to crucify a woman, if given half a chance. ("Passion of Gor"?)
And what if the slave traders capture Harriet Tubman's great-great-great granddaughter, who has heard more ways for slaves to escape than their masters can even dream of? ("Legacy of Gor"?) Sure, slavery is sexy because power is sexy, but it can be interesting, too.
But at any event, IMHO, these books should NOT be read by teen-agers. No matter what variations we come up with, this is still pro-slavery S/M bondage stuff. It is incredible that teens could freely find it on the sci-fi shelf 30 years ago, while adults debated whether they should be allowed to read the great anti-slavery masterpiece, Huckleberry Finn.
Early books are the best in Gor Series.......2003-11-24
I read the Gor series as a boy in the 70's and early 80's. IMHO the series is most appealing to teenage boys. I recently pulled "Assassins of Gor" off the shelf one night while bored, and re-read it. I was shocked that there was no real sex, and only a handful of pages of philosophy and psychology that I had to skip over. The book was really excellent, although in a straight forward, uncomplicated sort of way. These are escapist novels, richly detailed, which immerse you in an exotic world, not real thinkers. My enduring memories were of the later books in the series, which were almost unreadable because whole chapters were devoted to philosophy and psychology.
I am not offended by the idea that it is natural and enjoyable for women to be submissive to men. Although I recognize it as wish fulfillment fantasy, still I consider it harmless, especially in such an obviously fictitious setting. I even found it mildly interesting the first time it was mentioned. It is the umpteenth repetition that I find boring. I just turn those pages, skipping ahead to the next action sequence. Speaking of wish fulfillment, I wish someone would edit the series, and re-publish it without these parts. Maybe Eric Flint could do it? He likes to edit, according to his afterword to "1633" and he's good at it. Of course, if you take the sex out of Gor you get Barsoom, and that story has already been written.
I looked on Amazon to see if there was anything new going on with the series, and there was. It is being reprinted, starting at the beginning, and at least 2 new books seem to be published, or at least in the works. I was disappointed though that Amazon didn't have the whole series listed under one easy to find heading. I guess there are, after all, millions of books and only so many Amazon employees. So I'm listing the series, in order, along with some brief info. Some of these books I haven't read, as noted.
1.) Tarnsman of Gor - 1966. Earthman, Tarl Cabot, goes to another planet, hidden on the opposite side of our sun, and becomes a master swordsman and Warrior. This is the book that is most like "Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which I highly recommend. Note - the 1966 copyright is held by John Lange, the author's real name.
2.) Outlaw... - 1967. Tarl Cabot returns to Gor, to find he's been outlawed.
3.) Priest-Kings... - 1968. Tarl Cabot goes to lair of Priest-Kings to clear his name.
4.) Nomads... - 1969. Tarl Cabot goes to Southern Plains, and meets Mongol type nomads.
5.) Assassin... - 1970. Tarl Cabot returns to Ar, greatest city-state on Gor. Note - this is the first copy I have by Del Rey books, and it has cover art by Boris. I may not like reading about the Gorean philosophy on sexual roles for men and women, but I can't get enough of Boris' artwork depicting it.
6.) Raiders... - 1971. Tarl Cabot goes to Port Kar, pirate capitol of scum and villainy, and learns the meaning of shame. More Boris art on the cover of the Del Rey edition.
7.) Captive... - 1972. A new character, Elinor Brinton, is captured on Earth and becomes a slave girl on Gor. The first time this is done, it may be slightly creative and a little interesting, but it is a radical departure from the earlier books and I consider it to be the beginning of the end. At least Tarl Cabot has a few pages at the end, to tie this book into the rest of the series. This is also the last book published by Ballantine books, which I think is significant in the content and direction of the rest of the series.
8.) Hunters... - 1974. Tarl Cabot goes to the Northern Forest and meets amazon type women. This seems to be the first time there was a break in John Norman's writing, undoubtedly related to his switch to Daw books as a publisher.
9.) Marauders... - 1975. Tarl Cabot goes to the land of the Norsemen and meets Viking type Marauders.
10.) Tribesmen... - 1976. Tarl Cabot goes to the Tahari desert.
11.) Slave Girl... - 1977. Earth girl Judy Thornton enslaved on Gor. Again. No Tarl Cabot at all.
12.) Beasts... - 1978. Tarl Cabot goes to the Arctic ice pack and meets Eskimo type people.
13.) Explorers... - 1979. Tarl Cabot goes to the equatorial rain forests.
14.) Fighting Slave... - 1980. Earthman Jason Marshall is enslaved and forced to fight in a pit on Gor.
15.) Rogue... - 1981. Jason Marshall wanders free on Gor.
16.) Guardsman... - 1981. Jason Marshall earns a homeland.
17.) Savages... - 1982. Tarl Cabot goes to the great plains and meets American Indian type savages. Note - If you like this, John Norman also wrote "Ghost Dance" in 1970, a similar type story about real American Indians. I'm impressed that he kept the writing schedule he did on the Gor novels, and still wrote other books on the side. He also wrote "Time Slave" in 1975.
18.) Blood Brothers... - 1982. Savages and Blood Brothers are a two-part set. Just recently read this conclusion to Savages. Brings closure to Ubar of the Skies.
19.) Kajira... - unread. Another Slave girl story.
20.) Players... - 1984. Tarl Cabot joins the Carnival. Cos goes to war with Ar.
21.) Mercenaries... - 1985. Tarl Cabot returns to Ar again to try to save it.
22.) Dancer... - unread. Another Slave Girl novel? This is where I stopped even looking in the bookstore.
23.) Vagabonds... - unread.
24.) Magicians... - 1988, unread.
25.) Witness... - 2002, unread. I read on amazon that this is a story about Marlenus with amnesia, told by a slave girl.
26.) Prize... - unread. This is not yet published.
John Norman replaces Tarl Cabot with a slave girl.......2003-02-28
"Captive of Gor," the 7th volume in John Norman's Chronicles of Counter-Earth, was the first book in the series that I did not really enjoy. The reason was not because this is the first volume to be devoted primarily to Norman's Gorean philosophy of slavery/submission as the natural condition of women, but simply because Tarl Cabot (or Bosk of Port Kar as he is currently known in the series) is not the main character in this novel. In "Captive of Gor" we are introduced to Elinor Brinton, who was a wealthy and powerful woman on Earth, but who is brought to Gor and made a pleasure slave in the service of the slave merchant Targo. In other words, we have a modern "liberated" woman put into a condition of slavery where she is forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who purchases her for the night for a few tarn disks. The conflict between the Priest-Kings and the Others which is the major backstory of the Counter-Earth series is behind Elinor's abduction, but that is ultimately a minor point in this 1972 novel where the focus is on the nature of human sexuality. Norman tells essentially the same story in "Slave Girl of Gor" (1977) and "Kajira of Gor" (1983), but then for that matter the story of Elinor Brinton is not that much different from what happened to Elizabeth Caldwell, transformed into Vella of Gor in the fourth Gor book, "The Nomads of Gor." Consequently, there is really no surprise to what happens in this novel and the style is not enough this time around to overcome the lack of substance (i.e., Norman does not create any compelling supporting characters as he did in previous novels). Gorean philosophy aside, "Captive of Gor" is a major break in the developing narrative. There is nothing wrong with that, but Norman continues to abandon the epic story arc he created in the first six volumes in the ones that followed this volume as well. Consequently, "Captive of Gor" becomes a pivotal novel in the series, representing the end of the great adventures and the beginning of the sociological textbooks.
My Favorite Gor Book.......2002-11-17
'Captive' is my favorite book in the Gor series. I'm a female, I'm a serious Sub, and I love to be dominated. Although I'm very independent, very dominating in my personal business affairs, where sex is concerned I am into utter and complete submission. So now you know where I am coming from.
The Gor series is about dominance and submission, period. Of course there is the 'big' story. But the sexual philosophy is the core of the series IMHO. I love the series up until Captive, but after that I find it becomes far too brutal, (for me) leaning toward an ugly, mean-spirited sadism. The first seven books reveal the true beauty of sexual slavery, masters and slaves have a mutual need, whose end result is pleasure, pain, and an immense erotisism that only those who understand, can experience. For me, the series ends after this book.
I read 'Captive of Gor' some 20 years ago. I was so excited to read the story of a slave, rather than Tarl/Bosk adventures and POV. I love Elinors abduction, and induction into the world of the Kajira. As I read it I became her, Gor entered my dreams, both awake and asleep. I loved the majority of the 'minutae' of Gorean slave culture. On a few occasions it became excessive, but hey, that is what skimming is for, to get back to the good stuff. I wanted so badly to be whisked off to the counter earth, I could hardly stand it.
If you compare this book to 'Slave Girl of Gor' it is about the incredible joy of submission, while the latter is about pure sadism, humiliation, and punishment. I hated the books immediately after 'Captive' for their excessive punishment and cruelty, so much that I skipped ahead to 'Slave Girl'. I never made it through the first hundred pages. How noble is it for three hardened Gorean warriors to rape, and mercilessly beat, a frightened girl from Earth? Not very. Gone is any sense of pleasure, of rapturous joy. All that is left is brutality. In 'Captive of Gor' Miss Brintons journey is brutal to be sure, but the element of erotic joy between master and slave is what makes it wonderful for her in the end. If you are powerfully stirred by dominance and submission, I think you might really like it.
My issue with Mr. Norman is his insistance that the Master/Slave relationship must be built on intense physical abuse, punishment, psychological violence, and Sadism. No master need treat me that way. I am a good little slave, obedient, and ready to serve, I need no abuse. I am ready to please my Master, but I have my own demand, which is respect, kindness, protection, and to recieve pleasure myself. I should be cherished.
A book with no redeeming features.......2001-08-23
I had a hearty laugh over a used John Norman book a friend brought over, "Tribesmen of Gor," a colorful,purply-prosed desert space opera with slave girls. "So bad it's good!" I picked up Captive of Gor with the same expectation and was deeply disappointed, primarily because the main character, Elinor, is such a shallow, self-deceiving twit, impossible to sympathize with. The plot - such as it is - proceeds with glacial slowness, interrupted by snivelling catfights and petty snitching. Little of the color or culture of Gor is presented, and little of the amusing bombast of Tarl Cabot. Not recommended.
Book Description
In this seventh book in the Gorean Series, beautiful and headstrong Elinor Brinton of Earth finds herself thrust into the savage world of Counter-Earth, also known as Gor. Brinton must relinquish her earthly position as a beautiful, wealthy and powerful woman when she finds herself a part of the harsh Gorean society. She is powerless as a female pleasure slave in the camp of Targo the slave-merchant. Forced to learn the arts of providing pleasure to any man who buys her, Elinor is determined to escape. Nevertheless, she is sold for a high price, and her master is determined to get his money's worth. 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.
Average customer rating:
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Captive of Gor
John Norman
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0345271149 |
Book Description
Every fifteen minutes a jumbo jet filled with children crashes, leaving no survivors. The jet is actually hunger, but the haunting image is real--33,000 children dead each day. What is even more haunting is that the deaths are unnecessary because the world has long had the technology and experience to end hunger. Its persistence is a challenge to the integrity of everyone who claims the name Christian.
This primer on the causes and cures of hunger is written by Bread for the World's founding president Arthur Simon and current president David Beckmann. Never oversimplifying, the book shows how issues such as population, resources, economics, and human rights are interwoven in their impact on hunger. The book gives compelling biblical motivation for personal action and public policy--and explains practical strategies individuals can take to help effect worldwide change.
Using a question-and-answer format for clear reading, stories and examples for personalization, and graphics and sidebars for eye-appeal, this is an important book for all Christians. It's of special interest to Bread for the World members, social justice workers, parish social-action committees, grassroots activists, historians, political scientists, and anyone concerned with the poor.
Customer Reviews:
A superb book on the problems and solutions on hunger.......1999-08-15
The insightful authors, both Lutheran ministers active with Bread for the World, start with a careful overview of the biblical teachings related to hunger and poverty and then examine the state of the hungry in the USA and throughout God's world. There is plenty in the book to celebrate: the percentage of those living in poverty in the USA has dropped in the last forty years, child mortality in developing countries is one half of what it was in 1960, world grain production per acre has doubled in the same time period, the global population's rate of growth is slowing, the proportion of hungry people in developing countries has fallen sharply, and the number of people who die in famines has also decreased in the last few decades. There is still far too much bad news: the percentage of U.S. children living in poverty (one in five) is triple that of other industrialized nations; thousands of children are dying daily in developing nations because of hunger (one child is dying for every breath we take); and less than one percent of our national budget goes for foreign assistance. The book's question and answer format makes for easy reading while its content can be troubling, but also inspiring for people of faith who can make a difference.
A nuts and bolts book on hunger,and what you can do about it.......1999-06-15
While it can get a bit technical at times, overall, this book is very good at explaining why we should care about poor and hungry people in our country and around the world. It also gives people the tools they need to be citizen advocates on hunger -- going beyond helping at soup kitchens or donating money to good causes. It shows how we can use our power as citizens to affect the root causes of hunger and poverty, and not just put a Band-Aid on the problem. A great book for anyone who cares about this issue, but especially for Christians who understand the teachings of Jesus to mean that we are obligated to care for all of God's children.
Books:
- The Fierce and Beautiful World (New York Review Books Classics)
- The Four Wise Men
- The Garden Planner and Record Book (Record Books)
- The Lesser Blessed: A Novel
- The Marriage at Antibes
- The Most Amazing Thing
- The Never Ending Pigeon Saga
- The Red Heifer: A Novel (New York City History & Culture)
- The Service of Clouds
- The Transformers: Infiltration (Transformers)
Books Index
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