The Author
John Norman
About the Author
John Frederick Lange, Jr., Ph.D. is the real name of John Norman, the author of the Gor series novels. John Lange was born on June 3, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois to John Frederick and Almyra D. (nee Taylor) Lange. He married Bernice L. Green on January 14, 1956 and has three children, John, David, and Jennifer. 
He appears regularly at East Coast (U.S.) science fiction conventions, sometimes accompanied by his wife.
John earned his B.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1953 and his M.A. from USC in 1957. In 1963 he obtained his Ph.D. from Princeton with a 149 page dissertation entitled In Defence of Ethical Naturalism: An Examination of Certain Aspects of the Naturalistic Fallacy, With Particular Attention to the Logic of an Open Question Arguement (Princeton University, 24-12, Page 5636).
John's best known works, are of course the Gor novels, 26 books written from 1967 to the present. His 27th book of the series, which is reported to be completed and titled Prize of Gor was expected to appear in print sometime in 2004. However, it seems there are still major problems in the publishing empire. He also has authored three installments of the Telnarian Histories, two other fiction works, one of which is entitled Time Slave ,and a nonfiction paperback entitled Imaginative Sex. Two of the Gor series books were made into low-budget movies: Gor (1987) and Outlaw of Gor (1987) (Ed.: neither of which are worth watching).
Although the Gor novels focus on alpha males dominating docile women, Norman seems to understand the difference between fantasy and reality. In his 1974 non-fiction book, Imaginative Sex, Norman suggests that one of his goals as a writer is to allow people's imaginations to become "sexually liberated." The book encourages couples (in monogamous marriages) to use role-playing and fantasy to spice up their love lives. Such games must be safe and consensual, Norman cautions. "Hurting and humiliating human beings, genuinely and with malice, is morally wrong," he writes. And while some critics allege that the Gor novels endorse rape, Norman writes: "Rape, as a sociological reality, is commonly an ugly, brutal, unpleasant, sickening, horrifying, vicious act." It seems that Norman in this, makes the distinction between the fictional portrayal of nonconsensual sex on Gor and its violent and malicious reality on Earth.
However, such comments do little to assuage those critics who denounce the Gor novels as poorly written, misogynistic trash. For example, Stan Nicholls, in the St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers (1995), stated that Norman is "the most reviled author in the history of fantasy fiction." Julia Gracen, in Salon.com (May 18, 2000), said the Gor series is "hilariously bombastic," and the "story lines, especially in the later installments, are frequently interrupted by long passages of repetitious philosophical blather" about how women should seek "utter obedience to a masterful man." "This is," she declares dryly, "not great literature." (Ed.: She does make a very good point.)
On the other side of the coin, there are those who critics disagree, and suggest Norman's novels are carefully constructed satire or barbed social commentary, while others theorize that the books are a reaction to the excesses of early-1970s feminism, or a Camille Paglia-style attack on political correctness.
While the Gor books were enormously popular in the 1970s — and were even translated into 10 languages — they were out of print by the late 1980s. 
Fans said the books were victims of political correctness, and accused publishers of bowing to the demands of feminists and censors. Norman himself said he was "blacklisted" by the publishing industry. But Gor did not roll over and die. In fact, in a revival facilitated by the Internet, fans built web sites praising the series, and secondhand copies of the novels sold for often times for $100 or more! By the late 1990s, several of the early Gor books were back in print and a Gorean Magazine was launched. In 2001, New World Publishers was formed to reprint all of Norman's Gor novels. However, this publisher too seems to have abandoned John Norman and Gor. The ill-fated Prize of Gor never made it to print after all, and fans anticipating this book were left high and dry.
The years of being rejected by publishers and snubbed by science fiction organizations has left its scars. In 2001, when Norman was not allowed to speak at the 59th World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia, he wrote a letter (printed in Locus Online, October 14, 2001) accusing convention organizers of being "uncritical, smug, effusively emoting, self-righteous" leftists with a "parochial PC mentality."
As John Lange, he has written The Cognitivity Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Claims of Philosophy (©1970 Princeton University Press, ISBN 691-07159-4) and edited C.I.Lewis' Values and Imperatives: Studies in Ethics (Stanford, 1969).
Professionally, John Lange has been — and still is — an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Queens College, CUNY.
The pages found within were put together with much hard work and research and would not be here without such resources. The following sourced were used to compile this biography:
- The Cognitivity Paradox — "About the Author" blurb on the back cover.
- Contemporary Authors on CD
- The New York City Public Library.
- Queens College, CUNY
Special Note
Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:
- Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
- Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
- Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
- Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)
Disclaimer
These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.