When the Gor series began in the 1960s, reviewers compared it to the fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Some reviewers hoped that Norman might exceed Burroughs as a creator of vivid fantasies of adventure. This did not happen. Even in the early novels signs of weaknesses are evident. For instance, Outlaw of Gor (1967) takes forever to get its action underway and seems a mere prologue to the real story which comes in Priest Kings of Gor (1968). Magicians of Gor wanders endlessly. The plot of the novel does not become evident until after more than sixty pages. About three-fourths of the novel is devoted to descriptions of the pleasures of slavery. Purely as a matter of technique, the repetitive descriptions are without the variation or originality which might liven them up as sex fantasies. The sadomasochistic aspect of the novel is its primary interest, with the plot decidedly secondary...